Mariazellerbahn

St. Pölten-Gußwerk
Route number :	153 01
Course book route (ÖBB) :	115
Route length:	91.3 km
Gauge :	760 mm ( Bosnian gauge )
Power system :	6.5 kV / 25 Hz  ~
Maximum slope :	28  ‰
Minimum radius :	78 m
Top speed:	80 km / h
Legend Westbahn from Vienna Westbf Tullnerfeld Railway from Tulln on the Danube -0.038 St. Pölten Hbf 273  m above sea level A. Westbahn to Salzburg Hbf 0.610 Small Eisberg Tunnel (138 m) 0.785 Big Eisberg tunnel (274 m) 1,980 St. Pölten Alpenbf Leobersdorfer Bahn Freight train bypass St. Pölten 5.796 Schwadorf 314  m above sea level A. 7.700 Matzersdorfer Bridge (31 m) 8.720 Zlm Völlerndorf 9.300 Pielach (101 m) 9,682 Völlerndorf (until June 2, 1996) 274  m above sea level A. 11.955 Ober-Grafendorf 276  m above sea level A. Local railway Ober-Grafendorf – Gresten 15,550 Sounds 300  m above sea level A. 16,572 Weinburg 17,542 Kammerhof 308  m above sea level A. 19,519 Hofstetten-Grünau 318  m above sea level A. 22.876 Mainburg 335  m above sea level A. 25.003 Rabenstein on the Pielach 341  m above sea level A. 27.000 Pielach (30 m) 27.374 Steinklamm 357  m above sea level A. 28,939 Steinschal-Tradigist 363  m above sea level A. 31,316 Kirchberg an der Pielach 372  m above sea level A. 33.948 Schwerbach 391  m above sea level A. 35.294 Loich 400  m above sea level A. 38.176 Weißenburg (until around 1925) 418  m above sea level A. 38.859 Weißenburg Tunnel (98 m) 39,313 Schwarzenbach an der Pielach 429  m above sea level A. 39.729 Schönau tunnel (62 m) 39.800 Pielach (20 m) 40.024 Natterstunnel (30 m) 43,043 Frankenfels 462  m above sea level A. 46,469 Boding 508  m above sea level A. 46.600 Nattersbach Bridge (20 m) 48.317 Laubenbachmühle 535  m above sea level A. 50.320 Natterstal-Unter Buchberg (until 2010 persons) 571  m above sea level A. 51,323 Kerlstein tunnel (93 m) 51.631 Steinbach tunnel (49 m) 52.300 Buchgraben Viaduct (32 m) 52.800 Weißwasser Viaduct (36 m) 53.500 Meierlberggraben Viaduct (34 m) 53.843 Upper Buchberg 650  m above sea level A. (up to 1975 and since Dec. 2015 company switch) 54,447 Meierlberg Tunnel (89 m) 55,332 Stettenriegel tunnel (43 m) 57.116 Winterbach 719  m above sea level A. 58.400 Eierzeilgraben Viaduct (34 m) 58.600 Sturzgraben Viaduct (40 m) 60.988 Puchenstuben 804  m above sea level A. 62.000 Heugraben Viaduct (24 m) 63,339 Leg bar tunnel (121 m) 63.689 Florkogel tunnel (78 m) 64.030 Zlm Brandeben 64,324 Gösingtunnel (2369 m) 66.985 Goesing 891  m above sea level A. 68.300 Gösinggraben Viaduct (84 m) 68.373 Ameiskogel tunnel (46 m) 69.180 Zlm Wasserlochhäusl 70.041 Great Klausgraben tunnel (102 m) 70.200 Klausgraben Viaduct (116 m) 70.296 Small Klausgraben tunnel (35 m) 70.428 Reithmauer tunnel (63 m) 70.700 Saugraben Viaduct (116 m) 71.287 Annaberg formerly Annaberg-Reith 806  m above sea level A. Lassing reservoir 72.862 Wienerbruck - Josefsberg 795  m above sea level A. Lassingbach 74.170 Zlm Raingraben 74.353 Raingraben tunnel (269 m) 74.700 Raingraben Bridge (40 m) 75.100 Lassingkienbach Bridge (40 m) 75.269 Kienbach tunnel (375 m) 76.000 Erlaufkienbach Bridge (15 m) 76.100 Kienbach-Klaus Bridge (15 m) 76.691 Small tine tunnel (59 m) 76.823 Large tine tunnel (68 m) 76,947 Erlaufklausetunnel (111 m) 77.237 Erlaufklause 815  m above sea level A. 77.500 Kuhgraben Viaduct (68 m) 78.500 Eselgrabenbrücke (20 m) State border Lower Austria / Styria 80,347 Mitterbach ( Gemeindealpe ) 799  m above sea level A. Museum tramway Mariazell – Erlaufsee from Erlaufsee 84.230 Mariazell 849  m above sea level A. Mariazell Promenadenweg stop - Grazer Bundesstraße 87.700 Rasing - Sankt Sebastian (until May 29, 1988) 768  m above sea level A. 89.200 Sigmundsberg (until May 29, 1988) 758  m above sea level A. 91.300 Gußwerk (until May 29, 1988) 739  m above sea level A.

The Mariazellerbahn , abbreviated to MzB , is an electrified narrow-gauge railway with a gauge of 760 millimeters ( Bosnian gauge ) in Austria . The mountain railway connects the Lower Austrian capital St. Pölten with the Styrian pilgrimage site Mariazell ; originally it continued to Gusswerk . The original, official name was Lower Austrian-Styrian Alpine Railway .

The Niederösterreichische Verkehrsorganisationsgesellschaft (NÖVOG) has been the owner and operator since December 2010 . The Mariazellerbahn is part of the Eastern Region Transport Association . The southern section between Mitterbach and Mariazell is integrated into the Styrian transport association .

Operationally, the Mariazellerbahn was closely linked to the disused Ober-Grafendorf – Gresten (“Krumpe”) local railway , a non-electrified branch line.

Route description

Valley section

At the wing signal at Rabenstein

The route begins at St. Pölten main station . Immediately after leaving the station, the Leobersdorfer Bahn is crossed between the first two tunnels , the St. Pölten Alpine Station that follows is the operational center of the Mariazellerbahn. Here are the vehicle halls, the workshops and the extensive facilities of the meanwhile discontinued goods traffic. The train then leaves the city. In the first few kilometers, it mainly crosses hilly land used for agriculture and changes south of St. Pölten from the valley of the Traisen to the valley of the Pielach . After eleven kilometers, the Ober-Grafendorf station is reached, the largest station on the route; it was the starting point for the non- electrified branch line ("Krumpe"). In the past, this was the center of the diesel vehicles needed on the Krumpe. Today the Mh.6 Railway Club has its headquarters on this area with its turntable and roundhouse , which maintains and restores the Mh.6 steam locomotive and other museum vehicles.

The Mariazellerbahn follows the Pielach valley via Hofstetten-Grünau , Rabenstein an der Pielach and the main town of the valley, Kirchberg an der Pielach , to the Loich station , which was of particular importance for freight traffic: because the clearance profile of the following tunnels was only suitable for narrow-gauge vehicles is laid out, freight traffic ended here with trestles or later with trolleys . From here the valley of the Pielach narrows noticeably, there is just enough space for the road and railway line next to the river. Shortly before the next train station, Schwarzenbach an der Pielach , the train passes the Weißenburg tunnel and immediately leaves the Pielachtal and follows the gorge-like narrowing valley of the Nattersbach via Frankenfels to the Laubenbachmühle train station. The section that follows from here is called the mountain route .

Mountain route

Laubenbachmühle station is the starting point for the mountain route

The route gains height in a long double bend in the upper section of the Natterstal valley. About the stations Winterbach and Puchenstuben the Gösingtunnel, in which with 891.6  m above sea level. A. the highest point of the route is reached. At this point, the route changes to the Erlauftal , which it will follow until shortly before the end point. The Gösing train station follows the tunnel, about 350 meters above the town of Erlaufboden. Here the passenger is offered the first sight of the 1893 meter high Ötscher . This panorama and the good accessibility with the newly built railway led to the construction of an inn opposite the train station at the time the railway opened. This inn was expanded into the Alpenhotel Gösing in 1922 and later expanded.

From the web follows here in slight slope of a steep wooded mountain slope, happens to the Saugrabenviadukt the highest viaduct to the Mariazell Railway and reaches am Reith saddle the station Annaberg . The Lassing reservoir, which feeds the Wienerbruck power plant , is quickly followed by the Wienerbruck- Josefsberg station , a popular starting point for hikes into the Ötschergräben . After another bend around the lake, the route turns towards the Erlauf. This section is considered to be the scenic highlight of the Mariazellerbahn: Between a series of short tunnels, there are several glimpses of the "Zinken", as the rugged Erlauf gorge is called here. After the Erlaufklause stop, Mitterbach am Erlaufsee is the last stop in Lower Austria, and shortly afterwards the narrow-gauge railway reaches its end with the pilgrimage site of Mariazell in Styria.

The subsequent 7.1 km long section to Gußwerk, which was mainly used for freight transport to a large sawmill, has been closed since 1988 and was dismantled in 2003. The interest group Museumstramway Mariazell - Erlaufsee tried from 2008 to reactivate a short section of the route to their standard gauge museum tram from the station to extend to the center of Mariazell. As the first stage, the extension from the train station to the Mariazell Promenadenweg - Grazer Bundesstrasse stop was opened on August 29, 2015.

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  Winterbach train station at 719 meters above sea level

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  Gösing station, panorama with Ötscher

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  Heugraben Viaduct

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  The Saugraben Viaduct

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  Today's Mariazell terminus

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  Remains of the old route to Gußwerk near Teichmühle (Sept. 2012)

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  Work on the old route to Gußwerk to extend the museum tramway in the direction of Mariazeller town center (Sept. 2012)

Branch line

→ Main article : Local railway Ober-Grafendorf – Gresten

In Ober-Grafendorf, the so-called "Krumpe" branches off, a non-electrified branch line that led through the Alpine foothills in an approximately westerly direction via Mank , Ruprechtshofen and Wieselburg to Gresten . In Wieselburg, the narrow-gauge Krumpe crossed the standard-gauge Erlauftalbahn . The section from Wieselburg to Gresten was converted to standard gauge to simplify freight traffic . After the gauge change, there was only passenger traffic as part of special trips.

The narrow-gauge section from Ober-Grafendorf to Wieselburg was taken over by the State of Lower Austria in 2010 and completely shut down in the same year with the timetable change on December 12th. Most recently, regional trains ran between Ober-Grafendorf and Mank , some of which were connected to and from St. Pölten Hauptbahnhof.

history

Steam train in Frankenfels station around 1900

Street and Mariazellerbahn before electrification at Gillus near the Schwarzenbach an der Pielach train station in the Frankenfels municipality, 1907

Freight train on the Erlauf-Kienbach Bridge, probably before it opened in 1907

Share over 200 kroner from the St. Pölten - Kirchberg local railway on August 1, 1898

Train with Uv series locomotive on the Saugraben Viaduct, 1908

Train on the ascent, middle level of the north ramp

The pilgrimage site of Mariazell was one of the most popular tourist destinations in Austria-Hungary in the 19th century . Considerations for the construction of a railway from St. Pölten to Mariazell have therefore existed since the opening of the Western Railway in 1858. Several variants as an extension of one of the standard-gauge lines in the Lower Austrian Alpine foothills were considered in the following decades. In 1890 the engineer Franz Ipser and the mayors of Kirchberg an der Pielach and Pyhra planned a local railway from Böheimkirchen or Spratzern via Ober-Grafendorf to Frankenfels with meter gauge .

The construction of a railway from St. Pölten into the Pielachtal was initially aimed at independently of this.

Construction and steam operation

This Pielachtalbahn including a branch line from Ober-Grafendorf to Mank was only decided after the Lower Austrian State Railway Act of 1895 ; an extension to Mariazell was also taken into account. Because of the difficult terrain, the railway should be implemented as a narrow-gauge railway. As with all narrow-gauge railway projects in the Danube Monarchy, the track width of 760 millimeters was specified by the military administration, as vehicles for military service were to be drafted on the railways in Bosnia-Herzegovina if necessary . A connection to the Styrian Thörlerbahn , which ran from Kapfenberg to Au-Seewiesen, was also planned as a further expansion. In July 1896 the concession for the formally independent corporation of the local railway St. Pölten - Kirchberg an der Pielach - Mank was granted. In the same year construction began by the Lower Austrian State Railway Authority , which later became the Lower Austrian State Railways , with the deputy director Josef Fogowitz being responsible for planning .

The main line from St. Pölten to Kirchberg and the branch line to Mank were opened on July 4, 1898, the operator of both lines was the State Railway Authority itself. After securing the financing, the Lower Austrian State Parliament decided on January 27, 1903 to build the continuation to Mariazell and Gußwerk . Construction continued from spring 1904, in 1905 the Pielachtal route to Laubenbachmühle was completed and, like the Mank - Ruprechtshofen route, opened on August 5, 1905. For the further continuation to Mariazell, the three route variants that had been shortlisted were selected that led through geologically more favorable terrain and had the shortest tunnel lengths. The 2369 meter long Gösingtunnel, the longest tunnel on an Austrian narrow-gauge railway, is regarded as an outstanding individual structure. In 1906, the mountain route was so far completed that freight traffic to Mariazell could be started. On May 2, 1907, passenger traffic to Mariazell began operating and in the summer of the same year the line to Gußwerk was opened. That line from Mariazell to Gußwerk was built at the urging of the State of Styria, which made its financial participation in the Alpine Railway dependent on it.

The Lower Austrian-Styrian Alpine Railway , as the Mariazellerbahn was called in official parlance, was thus completed. The well advanced plans for the extension over the Styrian Seeberg as a connection with the Thörlerbahn and thus the Styrian railway network were no longer implemented because of the outbreak of the First World War . Likewise, the construction of a connection to the Ybbstalbahn did not take place , for which several route proposals were worked out.

On the mountain route, operations were initially carried out using the Mh and Mv series of steam locomotives specially developed for this route, but this soon proved to be inadequate. The rush of passengers was so great that at times there was no advertising for the Alpine railway, which had quickly become popular. In freight transport, in addition to agricultural products and ores from local mining operations , wood was mainly transported from the wooded mountain region. The wood remained the predominant cargo of the Mariazellerbahn until freight traffic was discontinued. As early as 1909, as far as the clearance profile permitted, standard-gauge freight wagons were transported on roller blocks.

electrification

Electric locomotive E.1 as delivered at the Alpine train station in St. Pölten, around 1910

Several scenarios for increasing performance were considered, including the two-track expansion and the purchase of an even more powerful steam locomotive. Even before the line to Mariazell and Gußwerk was completed, the incumbent director of the State Railway Office, Eduard Engelmann junior , proposed electrifying the Mariazell Railway with single-phase alternating current .

North view of the Wienerbruck power plant built between 1908 and 1911

This proposal was considered revolutionary. Never before had a railway line of this length, on which mainline-like traffic should take place, been operated electrically. In this epoch, electrical traction was only known from trams and light local railways , all of which were operated with low-voltage direct current . Only the Stubai Valley Railway , built in 1904, was operated with alternating current. Despite fierce opposition, Engelmann was able to implement his visions, so that the project, which had been worked out in detail from 1906, was approved in December 1907. The work was carried out in the years up to 1911: In addition to the construction of the technical facilities, the largest single project of which was the Wienerbruck power plant , the 1099 series locomotives used until 2013 were developed and purchased.

In the implementation of the project, numerous concepts were implemented for which there was no model before. The experience gained with the electrification of the Mariazellerbahn proved to be trend-setting for later projects to electrify the Austrian rail network . In contrast to trams, the catenary was built using massive supporting structures and steel masts; the design of the locomotives with two separately driven bogies corresponds to the design that is still common today. The power plants required for energy supply and built under the most difficult conditions in the mountainous landscape were also used to supply the region with electricity and formed the cornerstone for the Lower Austrian state energy company NEWAG, today's EVN AG .

From World War I to 1945

During the First World War , several steam locomotives and numerous wagons were temporarily drafted for war use, including the locomotives Mh.1 to Mh.5. The latter did not return from Sarajevo until 1920 .

In 1922 the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) took over the Mariazellerbahn from the Niederösterreichische Landesbahnen, which had run into financial difficulties. After Austria was annexed to the German Reich , the Mariazellerbahn was integrated into the Deutsche Reichsbahn in 1938, like all other ÖBB railway lines . During the war years of 1944 and 1945, especially in the vicinity of St. Pölten, several places were destroyed and damaged by acts of war.

After 1945

New (ÖBB 4090) and old (ÖBB 1099) in Ober-Grafendorf

After the Second World War, the former regional railway lines remained with the ÖBB, and the vehicles were transferred to the new numbering scheme from 1953. In the following years, several minor corrections were made to the route. Between 1954 and 1957, new steel superstructures in a uniform design were placed on the underframes of the passenger cars. In the 1960s, some wagons were lengthened by welding in spacers. This conversion of the vehicle fleet and the conversion of the branch line to diesel operation were the most extensive modernization measures. In 1984 the last trolleys were replaced by trolleys .

The Mariazellerbahn was also affected by the wave of branch line closures in Lower Austria in 1988. Freight traffic with narrow-gauge wagons on the mountain route was completely abandoned, the short section from Mariazell to Gußwerk was discontinued. Only as far as Schwarzenbach an der Pielach were timber transports on narrow-gauge wagons for a few years after the goods traffic to Mariazell ceased. On December 31, 1998, the ÖBB stopped the freight traffic with trolleys on the valley route.

Since 2000

From around 2000 the ÖBB started considering selling or discontinuing the Mariazellerbahn. Until December 11, 2010, however, the railway continued to be operated by ÖBB on behalf of and at the expense of the Province of Lower Austria. In autumn 2003, one of several future scenarios was considered to change the gauging of the valley route between St. Pölten and Kirchberg an der Pielach, which is important for commuter and school traffic, to standard gauge; for the remaining narrow-gauge route, more tourist-oriented marketing concepts would have been sought. However, since the extensive renovation work on the existing narrow-gauge tracks between St. Pölten and Ober-Grafendorf, which was carried out in spring 2007 on the occasion of the Pope's visit to Mariazell , this project is no longer in discussion. To promote tourist traffic, a renovated train set in a new design was sent out on the route in 2007 on the initiative of NÖVOG. This train is used daily under the name “Ötscherbär” on the entire route and is pulled by a brown painted machine of the 1099 series, based on the original color scheme of the electric locomotives.

Takeover by NÖVOG in 2010

After the takeover by NÖVOG, the vehicles are initially presented without a logo.

A takeover of the Mariazellerbahn by the state of Lower Austria has been under discussion since December 2008, following the example of the takeover of the Pinzgauer local railway by the state of Salzburg. In January 2010, the takeover by the State of Lower Austria was agreed with the timetable change on December 12, 2010. At the same time, operations on the wing section from Ober-Grafendorf to Mank were discontinued. It is still unclear what their re-use will look like.

The Niederösterreichische Verkehrsorganisationsgesellschaft  (NÖVOG) has been the owner and operator of the Mariazellerbahn since December 12, 2010 . On November 11, 2010 the Lower Austrian provincial government announced the conclusion of a contract for the procurement of nine electric multiple units and four panorama cars from Stadler Rail , which operate under the name “Himmelstreppe” (NÖVOG line R8). The new vehicles are now being serviced in Laubenbachmühle , where a new train station including an operations center, consisting of a workshop and a coach house, has been built since December 2011 for 20 million euros. From September 2013, the first set of the Himmelstreppe operated according to schedule.

Since October 27, 2013, the scheduled traffic on the Mariazellerbahn has only been managed through the "Himmelstreppe"; the old locomotives of the 1099 series were completely replaced in scheduled traffic. Since the 2014 summer season, new panorama cars and the “Ötscherbär” alternating with steam or electric traction have also been used in nostalgic traffic.

The Mariazellerbahn was the focus of the Lower Austrian State Exhibition 2015 .

Construction work 2016

For construction work on rails, track structures, masts, high-voltage cable troughs, stations and safety systems at two road-rail crossings, the Mariazellerbahn was closed on its entire St. Pölten - Mariazell route from March 30th to May 12th, 2016, i.e. for 1.5 months . A rail replacement service with buses with almost identical departure times was offered.

business

Timetable

Since December 2011, almost all journeys have been based on the symmetry time customary in Central Europe , which ensures symmetrical connections in St. Pölten. On working days there is a half-hourly service from Laubenbachmühle to St. Pölten. During the day, the valley route is every hour and the mountain route is every two hours. During the Lower Austrian state exhibition there was an hourly cycle on the mountain route from April 25 to November 1, 2015. The train crossings usually take place in Klangen, Loich and the rebuilt Ober Buchberg siding.

Prices and discounts

In addition to the NÖVOG's own in-house tariff for the Mariazellerbahn, tickets for the Ostregion transport association and, in the Mitterbach - Mariazell section, tickets for the Styrian transport association are also valid . Owners of an ÖBB Vorteilscard receive a 40% discount on the house rate, and the ÖBB Österreichcard is also recognized. There is a surcharge for the “Ötscherbär” nostalgia train and for steam trains. Tickets can be purchased on the train at no extra charge.

Accidents

• On February 11, 1981, the locomotive 1099.15 and the first car of a train traveling downhill crashed from the Buchberggraben viaduct due to excessive speed. The engine driver was killed and the machine dismantled at the scene of the accident.
• On June 26, 2018. derailed Völlerndorf directly behind the Pielach the front garnish bridge the two "heaven stairs" h existing regional train at 55 km /. The rear ET 6 remained in the track, but came into an inclined position due to the collision with the leading ET 5. 34 people were injured, three of them seriously. On the straight section in front of the Pielach Bridge, 70 km / h is permitted, on the bridge and the following arch a maximum of 35 km / h. One end car of the ET 5 and the middle car of the ET 6 were irreparably damaged. Two of the other end cars and the middle car of the ET 6 are put together to form a complete composition after the repair. Due to heavy workload, Stadler can not start building the two replacement cars until summer 2019. On June 13, 2019, the first repaired stairway to the sky in St. Pölten Alpenbahnhof was put together and put on the rails. At the beginning of July 2019, this should be put into scheduled operation. The second set was damaged even more severely in the train accident; repairs are scheduled for next autumn. She is expected to return to Lower Austria in March 2020. The second set returned to Lower Austria in July 2020. At the end of July 2020, this should be put into scheduled operation.

vehicles

Locomotives

A 1099 after the takeover by NÖVOG, named Ötscherbär

One of the U-series locomotives of the Mariazellerbahn runs today on the Steyrtalbahn

A class 2095 diesel locomotive in the St. Pölten Alpine Station

For the opening of the first line sections in 1898, the NÖLB acquired four locomotives of the U series , which had already been tried and tested by the Murtalbahn , which, together with the two-axle passenger and freight wagons common at the time, formed the basic equipment of the route network. Starting in 1903, the vehicle fleet was supplemented by two-axle, light steam railcars built by Komarek in Vienna , which took over the management of less frequented trains. For the opening of the next section between Kirchberg and Laubenbachmühle in 1905 and with a view to the mountain route to Mariazell, a composite locomotive ( NÖLB Uv ) and a superheated steam locomotive ( NÖLB Uh ) were ordered as further developments of the "U".

Particularly powerful machines were required for the extension to Mariazell. The Krauss locomotive factory in Linz presented a design for a locomotive with four driven axles and a supporting tender , which was implemented in 1906 with four units with superheated steam drives. The locomotives were given the type designation Mh (for the ÖBB class 399). In 1907 two locomotives with compound drive followed, known as Mv . Since these did not work so well, two more machines were subsequently delivered in 1908 again as superheated steam locomotives. In order to be able to transport the expected number of passengers, a large number of four-axle passenger coaches were purchased, which were comparable in equipment and comfort to contemporary standard-gauge vehicles. Also in 1906 three larger steam powered rail cars were delivered, which could be used more intensively with several cars.

The NÖLB P .1 was procured as a construction and station locomotive in 1904 , probably for similar purposes in 1907 the NÖLB R .1 added to the fleet, which, however, was not part of the official stock of the state railways and was sold again in 1913.

For the electrical operation, which opened in 1911, a total of 16 E series locomotives were delivered between 1911 and 1914  . Steam operation on the main line ended after just five years. All steam railcars were sold, most of the steam locomotives remained on the branch line, and some machines were relocated to the Waldviertel narrow-gauge railways .

With the extension of the branch line to Gresten, new steam locomotives of the P and Uh series were added to the St. Pölten narrow-gauge network, and the first diesel locomotives were tested in the 1930s. This type, known as 2040 / s (ÖBB 2190), was only suitable for guiding light passenger trains; the 2041 (ÖBB 2091) baggage multiple units introduced shortly afterwards were slightly more powerful. A loner was the tank locomotive 99 1301 , which had been refurbished from a former ČSD locomotive in 1940 in the Reich repair shop in Linz. It operated from 1940 to 1943 before it was handed over to a Galician forest railway.

From 1960, the electric locomotives, since then referred to as the 1099 series, received new vehicle bodies, the passenger coaches were also provided with new, standardized steel boxes ( frame wagons ). From 1962, the steam locomotives were replaced by the new series 2095 diesel locomotives . The class 399 locomotives came to the Waldviertel, the others were taken out of service.

Up until October 27, 2013, the main line was still operated by the almost 100-year-old electric locomotives of the 1099 series together with the passenger coaches, which were practically the same age. The 1099 was thus the oldest electric locomotive in the world, which until then was still in daily use on the route for which it was originally built. In the meantime, with the exception of the brown Ötscherbärloks, they have been replaced by the new "Himmelstreppe". Some of the parked locomotives are looked after by Club Mh6, while the rest were acquired by the Romanian narrow-gauge railway company CFI.

The Mh.6 steam locomotive stationed in Ober-Grafendorf is used for nostalgic trains, an original mountain line machine that was brought back to the Mariazellerbahn in the 1990s on the private initiative of some railway workers and restored to its original condition.

On special occasions, such as the narrow-gauge festival that takes place every two years (in odd years) in Ober-Grafendorf and other communities in the Pielach Valley, or anniversary celebrations, guest locomotives from other narrow-gauge railroads are also used. These guests included the 83-076 of the Club 760 , the Yv.2 of the Ybbstalbahn or the 699.103 of the Steyrtalbahn .

Railcar

A class 4090 multiple unit in Annaberg station

Himmelstreppe of the NÖVOG before the entrance to the Winterbach train station (2013)

From 1994 to 2013, two newly developed, but not produced in large numbers, 4090 series electric multiple units were also used on the main line to Mariazell . Diesel multiple units of the 5090 series were used for less crowded courses on the valley section ; until 2010 these were also used on the branch line to Mank, where diesel locomotives of the 2095 series were also used.

Stairway to heaven

For the renewal of the Mariazellerbahn, the state of Lower Austria purchased nine new articulated railcars ( NÖVOG ET1 – ET9 ) from December 2012 , which became known under the name Himmelstreppe . The Swiss company Stadler Rail won the tender for the multiple units . These three-part multiple units were motorized enough to pull additional cars up the demanding route and they were designed for a top speed of 90 km / h. After extensive test drives, the sets were gradually used in passenger traffic. Since the end of October 2013, the new trains have replaced the old rolling stock (except for the “Ötscherbär” tourist train).

Side view of a panorama car in Mariazell station

Panorama car

In December 2013 the first of four panorama cars ( NÖVOG P1 – P4 ) was delivered. The panorama cars complete the fleet of the Himmelstreppe. Three of the four panorama cars are equipped with 1st class long-distance seating for 36 passengers, the fourth panorama car can accommodate 33 passengers thanks to a built-in kitchen. Further equipment features include full air conditioning, folding armrests, plenty of legroom and a state-of-the-art passenger information system. All four cars have been in use since summer 2014.

Passenger cars

Jaffa-themed car

Valousek design

Ötscherbär

For the opening of the St. Pölten - Kirchberg an der Pielach and Ober-Grafendorf - Mank routes, 14 two-axle passenger cars of the types Bi / s, BCi / s and Ci / s were ordered from the Grazer Waggonfabrik . When the extension of the main line to Mariazell and the Krumpe to Ruprechtshofen was in operation in 1907, a further 44 two-axle third-class (Ci / s) and six second / third-class (BCi / s) coaches from the Grazer Waggonfabrik were purchased in order to cope with the increasing number of passengers to become. Just one year later, the available capacities were no longer sufficient to cope with the enormous rush of passengers on the route to Mariazell, and so 25 four-axle (20 Ca / s, two saloon cars Aa / s 1 and Aa / s 2 as well as three Ba / s) and nine two-axle (Bi / s) passenger cars with open platforms can be ordered from Graz.

In 1909, the saloon car (later number Aa / s 3) was bought by the Murtalbahn to reinforce the five more comfortable four-axle vehicles. In 1912 the Grazer Waggonfabrik built another replenishment of passenger cars, this time there were 44 four-axle passenger cars (two ABa / s, four Ba / s, four BCa / s and 34 Ca / s) with closed platforms. All four-axle vehicles were equipped with an electric heater and only used on the main line with E- series locomotives  . After the delivery of the last car series, the NÖLB had a fleet of 141 cars (Ci / s 12 and Ci / s 220 were cashed in in 1908 after an accident) and more than 5000 seats.

From the late 1930s to the early 1940s, the four-axle vehicles were given new wooden car bodies with wider struts between the windows. The two-axle vehicles, which used to have eight windows, were given new bodies with four windows on each side, while the four-axle vehicles got seven or six (Aa / s + Ba / s) windows on each side. In 1954, a major renovation program was started that gave the cars their current appearance. The frames were left in their original form with the exception of extensions and widening of some cars. The four-axle vehicles were also equipped with upholstered seats and half-windows (the full windows that were initially available were later replaced). In addition to the passenger cars built in 1908 and 1912, various baggage and freight cars were also used for the conversion. The two-axle wagons (only used occasionally on the Krump) were painted green when they left the main workshop, the four-axle vehicles of the Mariazellerbahn brown, the other railway lines also green. The last remaining two-axle vehicles were either given to other narrow-gauge railways or handed over to ÖBB Nostalgie.

Starting in August 1980, four-axle vehicles to be painted were given the "Jaffa" design (blood orange / ivory), which affected around three quarters of the vehicle fleet. In 1981, an important step was taken to make the Mariazellerbahn more attractive for group travel: The AB4iph / s 2105 was called up to the main workshop in St. Pölten for conversion into a buffet car (WR4iphz / s 5600-7). In the former 2nd class compartment and toilet, a small kitchen area with two small windows was set up, where the 1st class used to be, bar tables and armchairs were installed. Since 1992, when repaints were due, the cars were no longer painted in Jaffa, but in "Valousek" design. Its inventor, the ÖBB designer Wolfgang Valousek, had provided a separate color code for each narrow-gauge railway; he chose brown for the Mariazell Railway. However, as with the Jaffa design before, not all of the cars were repainted accordingly, which means that there are cars of all three variants today.

In 1989 the first car was given a special paint job: The B4iph / s 3121-6 has been promoting the state capital St. Pölten since August 15, 1989. In the two following years, a further advertising car followed, namely the B4iph / s 3108-3 “G'sund in Frankenfels” (painted in May 1990) and the B4iph / s 3110-9 “Kirchberg ad Pielach”, which has had this design since July 1991 wears. In 2001, 2005 and 2006 three more cars followed with advertising: the B4iph / s 3154-7 as "Mariazeller Advent", BD4iph / s 4100-9 as "Pielachtal powered by Sparkasse" and another as "Mariazeller Land ... one Present from heaven".

From 1998 onwards, seven cars were converted and painted to match the nostalgic “Panoramic 760” train. For the time being, this affected the three seated carriages 3202, 3245 and 3260, and the former BD4iph / s 4220, which was converted into a “Pano's Kids Treff” children's toy car. A further three vehicles were provided with a more luxurious interior including armchairs, brass lamps, carpets, seat covers and curtains with Art Nouveau motifs - namely the former seated car 3204, which was converted into a 1st class saloon car with a panoramic window at one end, which was converted into a dining car with a kitchen The converted former 1st / 2nd class car 2103, and finally the B4iph / s 3112, jointly redesigned by the ÖBB and Club Mh.6 into a social car with side panoramic windows.

In order to have a suitable set for the Mariazellerbahn brand train of the same name, eleven passenger cars, two bicycle transport cars and three electric locomotives of the 1099 series were repainted in the Ötscherbär design in 2007. The Panoramic 760 children's toy car and the WR4iphz / s 5600-7 buffet trolley were also included. When the Ötscherbär was the only locomotive-hauled train that remained on the route after Himmelstreppen was put into service, the wagons were rearranged. There are only nine cars left in the set, including dining, salon and party cars of the Panoramic 760, but children's play cars were eliminated. All remaining vehicles were repaired in 2014/2015 and repainted uniformly in the Ötscherbär design, with the second class cars being given an interior design similar to that of the panorama car.

After the takeover of NÖVOG, several passenger cars were auctioned off by Dorotheum , along with superfluous freight cars and vehicles from the Ybbstalbahn , and a second wave of sales took place after the sky stairs were put into operation. The wagons were taken to the Pinzgauer local railway and various museum railways in Austria, as well as to the Čierny Balog forest railway as well as to Poland and Romania.

Power supply

For historical reasons, the Mariazellerbahn is operated with single-phase alternating voltage of 6.5  kV and a frequency of 25  Hz . Since the rest of the Austrian traction current network as well as the public electricity network have different frequencies, the Mariazellerbahn has its own traction current network, for which from 1922 to 2010, when the railway belonged to ÖBB , the energy supply company EVN (until 1986 NEWAG) belonging to the state of Lower Austria was responsible. The basis for this was a contract from 1908 between the state of Lower Austria and the Bahn AG and its legal successors, which is still valid today.

For the power supply of the entire Mariazellerbahn and the region along the route with a 25-Hz current industry four 25 Hz were originally three-phase generators in a power plant Wienerbruck having a total apparent power of 6.6  MVA . Of this, the single-phase apparent power for rail supply was 4.5 MVA. The machine sets were and are powered by the water of the Lassing and Erlauf. The 6.5 kV traction current generated by the generators in the Wienerbruck power plant was partly fed directly into the overhead contact line near the power plant and partly stepped up to 27 kV for transmission to the substations in Kirchberg and Ober-Grafendorf. A power station with two diesel generators of 420 kVA each was set up at the Alpine train station in St. Pölten as a fail-safe.

Right from the start, both the conductors for the power lines for the public supply and those for the railway were mounted on trusses above the overhead lines on the overhead line masts. Even today - after the public supply had been switched to three-phase current with a frequency of 50 Hz - around 21 kilometers of communal lines are still in operation. However, in the 1970s and 1980s, EVN, the energy supplier responsible for the public power supply in this area, built a separate 20 kV line of the medium voltage network between Loich and Frankenfels, so that only the 27 kV line for supply in this area the Mariazellerbahn and the overhead line itself are installed on the overhead line masts of the Mariazellerbahn.

In 1923, the Stierwaschboden compensation pond and the Erlaufboden power plant with three sets of machines were built below the Wienerbruck power plant . In the second half of the 1960s, the outdated power plant and distribution systems were renewed. The traction current is now normally generated by a 2.8 MVA machine set in the Erlaufboden power station. It consists of a Francis turbine and two synchronous machines , one each for 25 Hz single-phase alternating current and one for 50 Hz three-phase current.

Gösing railway substation, on the right the south portal of the Gösing tunnel

An old, smaller converter replacement in Erlaufboden and two old 25 Hz machine sets in the Wienerbruck power plant serve as a reserve for the railway. Two further generators in Wienerbruck and three in Erlaufboden with a total of 11.5 MVA generate three-phase three-phase current with 50 Hz, which is fed into the public 110 kV distribution network via transformers.

The backbone of the rail network today is the 27 kV ring line between the two power stations and the newly built Gösing substation, as well as the transmission line from the Gösing substation to the newly built Rabenstein substation. After these systems were completed, the direct contact wire feed at Wienerbruck and the Kirchberg an der Pielach and Ober-Grafendorf substations were shut down. This has significantly improved the power supply for the mountain section.

From the control room in the Erlaufboden power plant, not only the company's own machines but also the machine sets of the Wienerbruck power plant were remote-controlled. The intermediate substations in Gösing and Rabenstein were remotely monitored and controlled by the EVN system operator in Maria Enzersdorf .

The newly built converter plant in Klangen (municipality of Weinburg ) and the newly built substation in Laubenbachmühle (municipality of Frankenfels ) have been on the grid since June 2014 and feed into the traction power supply, and the Rabenstein and Gösing substations were also converted and modernized by the end of 2014. Since this conversion phase has been completed, the operation of the traction power systems has also been carried out by NÖVOG itself; a corresponding new telecontrol system was previously in the test phase. The converter machines in the Erlaufboden power plant remain in reserve. The Wienerbruck power plant has been completely taken off the rail network and only supplies to the EVN network.

The location of the power supply systems can be found in the list of railway power systems in Austria .

literature

• Rudolf Elmayer-Vestenbrugg: Memorandum on the establishment of the Lower Austrian state electricity works as the foundation of NEWAG and on the electrification of the Lower Austrian-Styrian Alpine Railway St. Pölten-Mariazell-Gusswerk . NEWAG, 1961.
• Horst Felsinger, Walter Schober: The Mariazellerbahn . Verlag Pospischil, Vienna 1971, 1973, 1979, 2002 (online)
• Wolfdieter Hufnagl: The Lower Austrian State Railways . Transpress, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-613-71214-8 , pp. 146-164.
• Walter Krobot, J. O. Slezak, H. Sternhart: Narrow gauge through Austria. 4th edition. Slezak, Vienna 1991, ISBN 3-85416-095-X .
• Hans P. Pawlik: Technology of the Mariazellerbahn . Slezak, Vienna 2001, ISBN 3-85416-189-1 .
• Hans P. Pawlik: Mariazellerbahn in the landscape . Slezak, Vienna 2000, ISBN 3-85416-188-3 .
• Josef O. Slezak, Hans Sternhart: Renaissance of the narrow-gauge railway in Austria . Slezak, Vienna 1986, ISBN 3-85416-097-6 .
• Markus Strässle: Narrow-gauge railway activities in Austria . Slezak, Vienna 1997, ISBN 3-85416-184-0 .
• Peter Wegenstein: Mariazellerbahn and "Krumpe". Bahn im Bild, Volume 204. Pospischil Verlag, Vienna 1999.
• Collective of authors: Electrically to Mariazell “The first 100 years” . Railway-Media-Group, Vienna 2011, ISBN 978-3-9503057-2-2 .
• Austrian Siemens-Schuckert-Werke (Ed.): The single-phase alternating current railway St. Pölten – Mariazell . 1926; Railway-Media-Group, Vienna 2010 (reprint).
• Franz Gemeinböck, Markus Inderst : Mariazellerbahn - The Lower Austria-Styrian Alpine Railway. Kiruba-Verlag, Mittelstetten 2011, ISBN 978-3-9812977-3-7 .
• Markus Inderst: Narrow-gauge endurance runners. In: Railway History No. 67 (December 2014 / January 2015) & No. 68 (February / March 2015), DGEG-Medien GmbH, Hövelhof.

Web links

Commons : Mariazellerbahn  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Official homepage of the Mariazellerbahn (NÖVOG) (www.mariazellerbahn.at)
• The Lower Austrian-Styrian Alpine Railway (Maria-Zeller Bahn). In:  Illustrated guide through the Austrian health resorts, summer retreats and winter stations , year 1909, booklet Vienna and Wiener Wald , pp. XVII – XXIV. (Online at ANNO ). .
• Mariazellerbahn , website of NÖVOG (www.noevog.at)
• Club Mh.6 (www.mh6.at)
• Mariazellerbahn as an interactive 360 ° × 180 ° panorama photo (requires Adobe Flash )
• Pictures of all tunnel portals of the Mariazellerbahn , on Eisenbahntunnel.at
• Current schedule of the NÖVOG
• Current timetable

Movies

• SWR railway romance : The Mariazellerbahn (episode 323, swr.de )
• SWR railway romance: The Mariazellerbahn - on the Himmelstreppe to the pilgrimage (episode 816, swr.de )
• Railway in the film: The Mariazellerbahn (episode 37, bahn-im-film.at )
• 3sat : The Mariazeller Bahn - The discovery of slowness (2009, buzz-pictures.com )

Individual evidence

1. ↑ The Civil Technician, April 15, 1890, p. 3
2. ^ H. Felsinger: The Mariazellerbahn. P. Pospischil publishing house, Vienna 2002, p. 18.
3. ^ The railway to Mariazell. With three photographs on page 9. In:  Wiener Bilder , No. 32/1905 (Xth year), August 9, 1905, p. 10, bottom center (online at ANNO ). .
4. ↑ W. Schiendl: With bag and baggage to Pfaffenschlag - The history of narrow gauge railway Kienberg-Gaming - Lunz am See. Kenning Verlag, 1995, pp. 43-48.
5. ^ H. Felsinger: The Mariazellerbahn. Verlag P. Pospischil, Vienna 2002, p. 55.
6. ^ W. Krobot, JO Slezak, H. Sternhart: Schmalspurig durch Österreich. Slezak, Vienna 1991, p. 227.
7. ^ HG Kraus: With the narrow-gauge railway to Mariazell. East Bundesverlag, 1986, pp. 51-57.
8. ^ H. Felsinger: The Mariazellerbahn. P. Pospischil Verlag, Vienna 2002, pp. 63–84.
9. ^ H. Felsinger: The Mariazellerbahn. P. Pospischil Verlag, Vienna 2002, p. 45.
10. ^ W. Krobot, JO Slezak, H. Sternhart: Schmalspurig durch Österreich. Slezak, Vienna 1991, p. 80.
11. ^ H. Felsinger: The Mariazellerbahn. Verlag P. Pospischil, Vienna 2002, p. 139.
12. ↑ Infrastructure contract for the Lower Austrian Narrow Gauge Railways  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )
13. ↑ Country: Definitely want to maintain the railway! In: Niederösterreichische Nachrichten . Edition Pielachtal 52/2008, p. 35.
14. ↑  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )
15. ↑ Lower Austria buys new vehicles for Mariazellerbahn. Lower Austrian correspondence from November 11, 2010. ( Archive link ( Memento from April 30, 2015 in the Internet Archive ))
16. ↑ Project operating location Laubenbachmühle , on Architekturwettbewerbe.at
17. ↑ First regular trip of the “Himmelstreppe” on orf.at on September 7, 2013, accessed on September 7, 2013.
18. ↑ Last run of the legendary 1099 series electric locomotive in scheduled traffic. ( Memento from October 29, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
19. ↑ Lower Austrian Provincial Exhibition 2015 - Preview: ÖTSCHER: REICH - The Alps and Us. ( Memento of August 11, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Retrieved on August 8, 2015.
20. ↑ noe.orf.at Mariazellerbahn: total closure until May 12, orf.at, March 29, 2016, accessed on September 6, 2017.
21. ↑ valid prices from 1st January 2019
22. ↑ Horst Felsinger, Walter Schober: The Mariazellerbahn. Verlag Peter Pospischil, 2002, p. 134.
23. ↑ Leopold Handlfinger: Photo of the crashed 1099.15.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) On: www.eisenbahn-bilder.com, uploaded on January 11, 2005.
24. ↑ Ernst Lassbacher: Serious derailment at the Mariazellerbahn. In: Eisenbahn-Revue International. No. 8–9 / 2018, pp. 414–415.
25. ↑ Mariazellerbahn accident Trains: Three into two. In: Swiss Railway Review. No. 12/2018, p. 617.
26. ↑ First stairway to heaven back on track. noe.orf.at, June 13, 2019, accessed on June 13, 2019 . 
27. ↑ Mariazellerbahn: Second stairway to heaven comes back. noen.at, July 9, 2020, accessed on July 9, 2020 . 
28. ^ H. Felsinger: The Mariazellerbahn. Verlag P. Pospischil, Vienna 2002, p. 44.
29. ↑ E-locomotive series 1099 - the world record locomotive. ( Memento from May 4, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
30. ↑ Data sheet of the manufacturer's sky staircase: (PDF)
31. ↑ Tendering for new vehicles  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )
32. ↑ Panorama car: mariazellerbahn.at
33. ↑ DI Eckmaier, EVN power to the Mariazell Railway. In: Full train! Number 11, members' newspaper d. Association of Friends of the Mariazellerbahn, Nov. 2002. ( Archive link ( Memento from August 18, 2004 in the Internet Archive ))
34. ^ HP Pawlik: Technology of the Mariazellerbahn. Slezak, Vienna 2001, p. 25.

This article was added to the list of excellent articles on November 9, 2005 in this version .

Coordinates: 47 ° 57 ′ 8.9 ″  N , 15 ° 17 ′ 14.2 ″  E