Nostalgic railways in Carinthia
The Nostalgia Railways in Carinthia (NBiK) are an Austrian association that emerged from a group of railway enthusiasts who split off from the association "KMB-Kärntner Museumsbahnen" in 1990.
history
In the spring of 1990, the Nostalgic Railways Association in Carinthia - Museum for Technology and Transport was founded in Klagenfurt . The trigger for the establishment were internal differences at the “Kärntner Museumsbahnen-KMB”, whose board wanted to see the association's activities limited to the narrow-gauge “Gurktal-Museumsbahn” (Austria's first museum railway). A group of approx. 20 members who also wanted to secure other areas of historical traffic for posterity left the association and founded the “Nostalgia Railways in Carinthia”. Today the NBiK is one of the largest companies in the field of historical transport and technology in Austria. The association, which had around 350 members in 2012, of which around 90 were active, operates the means of transport presented here on a voluntary basis.
Rosental steam trains
Between the stations Weizelsdorf (at the ÖBB -distance Klagenfurt - Rosenbach ) and Ferlach run during the summer months on weekends trains with steam locomotive and carriages with open platforms in the style of the 1950s. The approximately six-kilometer route was part of the “Karawankenbahn”, which ran from St. Veit / Glan via the Rosental to Laibach. It was primarily used to transport goods to the KESTAG steelworks and to transport wood. Passenger traffic was discontinued in the 1950s and freight traffic in the 1990s. The nostalgic railways managed to buy the line from the ÖBB and continue to operate it as a museum railroad. The journey takes about 30 minutes in each direction. In Ferlach there is a connection to the “Historama” museum - with a nostalgic bus or the new “Histotram”. On the journey from Weizelsdorf to Ferlach, there is the possibility of taking picture and sound recordings of the passing train during a photo stop. As special highlights, historical railcars of the Graz-Köflacher Eisenbahn (GKB), so-called rail buses, etc. also run on certain days during the summer . a. the VT 10.01 , the oldest twin-engine rail bus, and the “Adele” steam tram locomotive from Budapest on the route. Also popular with children are the “Santa Claus trains”, which run on the route around December 6th and which are also regularly visited by the Krampus .
HISTORAMA - Museum of Technology and Transport
In the former halls of KESTAG, the nostalgia railways in Carinthia have created the second largest Austrian transport museum. In many different sections, the exhibition offers an insight into technical developments since the 19th century. In addition to trams, fire engines, cars and trucks from the middle of the 20th century, there are also means of transport from the 19th century, exhibits of railway safety technology and an original steam engine from a Klagenfurt leather factory. There is also a separate department for the history of household technology. In 2011 the Austrian Post donated a large part of its historical vehicle collection to the museum for preservation; a separate hall is dedicated to this collection. Special curiosities of the museum are the oldest Carinthian car (from the vehicle factory Thomas Bohrer ) and also an aircraft in the style of Otto Lilienthal , which belonged to Count Khevenhüller of Hochosterwitz and was discovered in the castle dungeon. An LGB system complements the exhibition.
Histotram Ferlach
The Histotram has been operating between Ferlach train station and the Historama museum area (approx. 1 km away) since 2012 . The former KESTAG connecting line was electrified according to the tram standard and has been used with historic trams since 2012. Visitors who arrive by steam train from Weizelsdorf have a stylish connection to the museum. Tram vehicles from Austria and Germany are used on the standard-gauge route; These come from the extensive collection of trams that the nostalgic railways have been able to collect in recent years and which are partially stored in halls on the Historama site that are not accessible to the public.
For the serviceable vehicles with a gauge of 1000 mm or 760 mm, which are also in the collection, the association is planning a separate route in Klagenfurt's Europapark or the addition of a third track on the Histotram route.
Vintage bus fleet
The club currently has more than ten original old-timers in its operational portfolio and more vehicles are waiting to be reconditioned. The historic vehicles can also be rented.
Lendcanaltramway Klagenfurt
The NBiK operate an approx. 1 km long demonstration route for historic vehicles near the Klagenfurt lido. This operation was taken over by the KMB in the course of the association's separation and every summer offers the opportunity to discover trams from bygone times. The route is operated with a battery powered rail car.
City Transport Museum and Cinema Museum in Klagenfurt
At the entry point of the Lendcanaltramway on the Lendkanal is the former medium-wave transmitter of the Austrian radio, which was taken over by the nostalgia railways as a museum building after its closure. The exhibition shows the history of Klagenfurt local transport by rail (tramway), road (trolleybus and bus) and shipping (Wörthersee shipping and Lendkanal shipping). There is also a literature room and special exhibitions that change every year. The Klagenfurt Cinema Museum , which deals with the history of cinema and film in Klagenfurt, is also integrated into the museum . In 2011 a large number of historical projectors, cameras and film utensils were taken over by a private collector; This creates a new department with the focus on "How the cinema got into the living room ...".
Nostalgic shipping on the Wörthersee
On the Wörthersee , the nostalgic railways in Carinthia operate two historic motor ships, the Loretto and the Lorelei, as the Wörthersee nostalgia shipping company . Both ships were built in Vienna in 1924, sailed the Wörthersee for 71 years until 1995, were sold to a private person on the Danube and were brought back to the Wörthersee by MBiK in 1999 and 2001 respectively. Restored, they have been available for special trips since 2000 and 2004 and can each hold 40 passengers.
Sankt Veit an der Glan heating house
Until a few years ago, the Austrian Federal Railways maintained a large marshalling yard and their own boiler house in Sankt Veit an der Glan . When the marshalling yard was closed, the end of the boiler house was in sight. The nostalgic railways in Carinthia were able to acquire the entire complex and thus create a suitable shelter and maintenance option for their historical standard-gauge vehicles. Once a year, the system and the vehicles can be viewed at the “Heizhausfest”.
Museum workshop Ferlach
As a supplement to all operations, a large workshop facility was created in Ferlach, in which historical vehicles of all kinds can be refurbished or repaired. In order not to let the knowledge of the old technology get lost and because machines for the production of spare parts, e.g. B. of steam locomotives are becoming increasingly rare, this workshop is of great importance for the nostalgic railways in Carinthia. External orders are also processed here, thus generating financial resources for the further expansion of the systems.
Web links
- Carinthian nostalgia experiences (website of the nostalgia railways in Carinthia)