Mansfeld mine railway

Mansfeld mine railway
Bocksthal station from the direction of Ernst-Schacht
Route map of the mine railway at the time of the greatest expansion
Route length:	11.8 km
Gauge :	750 mm ( narrow gauge )
Legend 0.0 Benndorf transition to Klostermansfeld train station 0.1 L 225 0.8 Light hole 81 to Leimbach and Hettstedt 1.0 Bridge 22, Klostermansfeld – Wippra / –Güsten 1.1 Bridges 23/24 from Ernst-Schächte u. a. End of the siding Route division 1.2 Bocksthal 2.9 Compass shaft 3.0 B 180 formerly B 242 formerly to the Ernst-Thälmann-Schacht 5.1 Thondorf 5.3 Bridge 25 6.3 formerly B 180 6.4 Siersleben to the O. Brosowski shaft 7.2 Niewandt shaft 7.7 Bridge 26 8.2 Bridge 27, Klostermansfeld – Güsten 8.5 paradise formerly B 180 from the Eduard shaft 9.5 Bridge 28 9.8 Eduard Schacht 10.7 Hettstedt Kupferkammerhütte Pbf formerly from Feinhütte 11.8 Hettstedt Kupferkammerhütte Gbf

Coaling plant of the MBB, in the background the multi-lane transfer platform of the MaLoWa with the rocker liese

Steam locomotive 20 ^III ex SŽD class ГР -320 (LKM 15417/1951) in Hettstedt

Steam locomotive 10 ^II with museum train in summer 1991

The Mansfeld Mining Railway (MBB) is, with a gauge of 750 millimeters, the oldest operational narrow-gauge railway in Germany. It is operated on part of the formerly extensive network of mining railways in the Mansfelder Land in the function of a steam-powered museum railroad by the Mansfeld Mining Railway Association.

history

Beginnings in the 19th century

After ore ( copper slate ) had been transported from the pits and small shafts to the firing sites and smelters with carts for centuries, the end of the 19th century the opening of larger shafts and the opening of the Krughütte in Eisleben reached its limits. Therefore, in 1878 it was decided to build a "locomotive conveyor". Due to the hilly terrain, the decision was made (mainly because of the lower technical and financial outlay) to build a narrow-gauge railway with a gauge of 750 mm. On November 15, 1880, the Mansfeld Mining Railway opened to transport ores, coal, coke and other materials. First, a 4.5 km long stretch was opened between the Glückhilfsschacht near Welfesholz and the Kupferkammerhütte in Hettstedt. It quickly became apparent that rail transport brought significant financial benefits. The route network was therefore systematically expanded between 1882 and 1886. The backbone of the network was the 24 km long route from Eisleben to Hettstedt . It began at the Krughütte in Eisleben and then went via Ernst-Schacht and Hövel-Schacht to Mansfeld train station (later renamed Klostermansfeld). From there it went on via Leimbach, God's reward huts, copper chamber hut to the Hettstedt coal station. Only the shafts in the immediate vicinity were connected to this main line.

expansion

Between 1898 and 1906 the newly opened shafts such as the Zirkel-Schacht, the Niewandt-Schächte and the Paul-Schacht were connected. In the 25th year of existence, the track network had grown to 48 km, plus 26 km of connecting and branch lines. At the same time as the mining railway was built, special narrow-gauge stations were built at the Mansfeld and Hettstedt state stations. Its tracks were 6.5 m lower than those of the standard-gauge railway, so that the bulk goods were reloaded by tipping the standard-gauge wagons. Other goods such as machine parts or pit wood were reloaded on adjacent tracks, as was the cinder blocks coming from the huts. When the Krughütte in Eisleben (1901) and the Kupfer-Silber-Hütte in Hettstedt (1914) were connected to the standard gauge network, the transshipment stations largely lost their importance. In addition to transporting materials, the train was also used to transport people. In 1906 the mine railway had over 26 locomotives, 705 freight cars (2–6 t load weight) and 30 passenger cars with around 1,100 seats; the workforce consisted of 401 employees. This year over 980,000 t of cargo and around 780,000 people were transported.

Further expansion

The next extension of the route network to 95 km took place in the years 1913 to 1924, when the large shafts Vitzthum-Schacht and Wolf-Schacht were connected. The route network from this time is shown in the illustration. A major innovation was the introduction of rolling operations in 1932. The goods were no longer reloaded, but the standard-gauge wagons were completely driven onto a special narrow-gauge wagon ("piggyback") and transported. A planned further modernization could not be implemented because of the Second World War. It was not until the early 1950s that the rolling stock could be renewed, so 8 steam locomotives (1951–1954) and 8 diesel locomotives (1959–1962) as well as new passenger and larger rolling wagons were purchased. Nevertheless, the operation was uneconomical, as the net transport performance was unsatisfactory due to the high empty weight of the standard gauge wagons. The transport capacity was increased, on working days 6000 t ore, 1500 t intermediate steel products and 80 to 120 standard-gauge freight cars were transported. At peak times, up to 52 passenger trains ran a day and handled a large part of the rush hour traffic, which, however, was switched to bus operation from 1960.

Dismantling and decommissioning

The exhaustion of the deposit in the Mansfelder Mulde and the relocation to the Sangerhäuser Mulde led to considerable changes. On November 1, 1961 , the raw smelter in Helbra was connected to the standard gauge network so that rolling operations were practically discontinued. By 1969, all the manholes in Mansfeld were gradually closed; the length of the route shrank to 20 kilometers. With the cessation of copper slate mining and the smelting and liquidation of VEB Mansfeld Kombinat Wilhelm Pieck Eisleben , the history of the Mansfeld mine railway ends in regular operation.

Klostermansfeld railway workshop

As early as 1882, a railway workshop was built at Mansfeld station. It was used for the maintenance of wagons and locomotives. For a long time, all work had to be carried out with great physical effort; modernization only followed in the 1950s, especially after the introduction of diesel locomotives. The work in the workshop required a high level of craftsmanship, so that a tribe of qualified craftsmen could develop. This fact enabled the workshop to survive after mining and smelting ended. As a result of a takeover by the company's own managers in 1991, the railway workshop of VEB Mansfeld Kombinat Wilhelm Pieck Eisleben became the Mansfeld Lok- und Waggonbau Bahnwerkstatt Mansfeld GmbH (Klostermansfeld), now MaLoWa Bahnwerkstatt GmbH in Benndorf. MaLoWa specializes in repairs of steam and diesel locomotives as well as passenger and freight wagons of all track widths. B. Museum railway associations continue to operate.

Museum operation

In 1991, rail enthusiasts joined forces to form the Mansfeld Mining Railway Association (MBB eV). Thanks to the association, vehicles and part of the route network were preserved. Right next to the DB train station Klostermansfeld the association operates its own train station, which is called Benndorf to distinguish it. In 1994 the association bought 11.8 kilometers of the line and has since taken care of maintaining 7 bridges and 17 level crossings. The association is based in the station building of Klostermansfeld. The district of Mansfeld-Südharz supports the activities and is committed to the mining traditions of the region. The former station restaurant has been redesigned with EU funding and is now available for events.

vehicles

Steam locomotives

• Locomotive 10 ^II , Orenstein & Koppel 1936
• Locomotive 11 ^II , Orenstein & Koppel 1939
• Locomotive 20 ^II , LKM Babelsberg 1951

Diesel locomotives V 10 C

• Locomotive 31, LKM Babelsberg 1961
• Locomotive 33, LKM Babelsberg 1962
• Locomotive 35, LKM Babelsberg 1962
• Locomotive 36, LKM Babelsberg 1961

Former locomotives

• Locomotive 7 ^II , Orenstein & Koppel 1931 - sold to the Prora railway operating company in 2002 , currently in use for the Rügensche BäderBahn as 99 4011-5
• Locomotive 8 ^III , Orenstein & Koppel 1931 - formerly Locomotive 6 ^II , permanently exhibited in the outdoor area of ​​the Mansfeld Museum in Hettstedt
• Locomotive 9 ^II , Orenstein & Koppel 1931 - sold in 2014 and in service with the Sverdlovsk children's railway in Yekaterinburg

literature

• Mansfeld - History of mining and metallurgy, Verlag Deutsches Bergbau-Museum, November 1999, ISBN 3-921533-69-4
• Mansfeld - The history of mining and metallurgy, Vol. 3: Die Sachzeugen, Verlag Deutsches Bergbau-Museum, Lutherstadt Eisleben and Bochum 2008, ISBN 978-3-937203-40-9
• 125 years of the Mansfeld mining railway , Jacobi photo publisher, August 2005, ISBN 3-937228-21-7

Web links

Commons : Mansfelder Bergwerksbahn  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Homepage of the mining railway
• Website of the MaLoWa Bahnwerkstatt GmbH

Individual evidence

1. ↑ http://www.iks.hs-merseburg.de/mansfeld/menu/index-fahrzeuge.htm , accessed on May 26, 2014