Oberweißbacher Bergbahn
| Oberweißbacher Bergbahn | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 The passenger car of the funicular
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| Course book section (DB) : | 563 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Route length: | 3.986 km | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gauge : | 1800/1435 mm | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Maximum slope : | 250 ‰ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Top speed: | 30 km / h | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Oberweißbacher Bergbahn is a railway line in the Thuringian Slate Mountains . Since 1922 it has connected the Obstfelderschmiede stop on the Schwarzatalbahn (city of Schwarzatal ) with the community of Cursdorf .
The railway consists of a 1.351-kilometer wide-gauge funicular railway and an adjoining 2.635-kilometer long, standard-gauge and electrified adhesion line . The latter is often referred to as a flat section to distinguish it from the cable car .
Both track parts are operatively connected closely and stand in January 1982 as a monument to the production and transport history under monument protection . The Oberweißbacher Bergbahn is now operated by Deutsche Bahn AG . Thirty trips are offered every half hour between 5:30 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.
history
Already on April 8, 1895, the construction of the Schwarzatalbahn was decided by the Prussian railway administration by law. This construction was realized in the three stages Rottenbach – Königsee, Köditzberg – Sitzendorf and Sitzendorf – Katzhütte. The entire 29.33 kilometer line was put into operation on August 18, 1900, including the Köditzberg – Königsee branch line. Before the construction of the Oberweißbacher Bergbahn, the villages of Lichtenhain , Oberweißbach , Deesbach and Cursdorf , located on a plateau, were difficult to reach, and transport of people and goods was temporarily not possible, especially in winter. In the meantime, further sections of the route to Ernstthal am Rennsteig and Lauscha have been planned. A connection to this would have been technically possible, but economically the construction and operating costs were in no reasonable relation to the benefit.
After weighing the costs (1.8 million marks calculated construction costs), the Oberweißbacher Bergbahn AG was founded on August 14, 1919. To improve the traffic situation, a connection with a funicular to the Schwarzatalbahn, which has existed since 1899/1900, was to be created. A combination of a 1.351 kilometer long funicular railway (with a freight platform for transporting standard-gauge railway wagons ) and an attached 2.635 kilometer long adhesion railway was planned.
For this purpose, the Free State of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and the communities of Lichtenhain, Oberweißbach, Deesbach and Cursdorf founded the Oberweißbacher Bergbahn-Aktiengesellschaft in June 1919 .
The Saarland specialist company Gesellschaft für Förderanlagen Ernst Heckel from Saarbrücken designed and supplied the ropeway technology. The electrical drive technology was obtained separately from the Berliner Bergmann-Electrizitätsgesellschaft . The remainder of the route was started according to plans by Wolfgang Bäseler as a job creation measure in September 1919. For this purpose, the Erfurt Railway Directorate built the new Obstfelderschmiede stop in the Schwarzatal next to the future valley station of the mountain railway for the Schwarzatalbahn. On February 15, 1922, goods traffic on the mountain railway began and the Obstfelderschmiede stop opened. In the autumn of 1922, the installation of automatically acting safety gears could take place, so that after the trials on January 8th and 9th and the final railway inspection on January 15, 1923, passenger traffic began on March 1, 1923. Two weeks later, on March 15th, the Oberweißbacher Bergbahn AG finally officially opened its route.
In 1920, the state of Thuringia took the place of the founding partner, Free State of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, and in 1926 brought its shares into the state- owned stock company Thuringian Works from Weimar . On April 1, 1949, the railway was taken over by the Deutsche Reichsbahn by order of the German Economic Commission .
In the mid-1970s, the transport capacity was calculated to be 650,000 passengers per year.
The mountain railway was designated as a technical monument back in 1982. The mountain railway has belonged to Deutsche Bahn AG since January 1st, 1994. This makes it the only German cable car that is not owned by local authorities or privately.
On January 1, 2002, the railway and the Schwarzatalbahn were outsourced to the subsidiary DB RegioNetz Oberweißbacher Berg- und Schwarzatalbahn ( OBS ) and leased by them for 20 years. OBS employs 29 people. It is organized as a so-called profit center , with local representatives from DB RegioNetz Infrastruktur GmbH (RNI) as the railway infrastructure company and DB RegioNetz Verkehrs GmbH (RNV) as the railway company . In 2017, the route network comprised 29 kilometers, 28 kilometers of which were on its own route network with 10 own stations. Every year 358,000 train kilometers are provided and 1200 passengers are transported every day.
Funicular
The most remarkable part of the cable car is the 1.351 kilometer long funicular, which connects the valley station at the Obstfelderschmiede stop with the Lichtenhain mountain station. With a gauge of 1,800 millimeters, the cable car is the only broad-gauge cable car in Germany and overcomes a height difference of 323 meters with an almost constant gradient of 1: 4.
A passenger car (car 1, 42 seats, 58 standing places, empty weight 26 tons) and a so-called freight platform for the transport of standard-gauge railway vehicles (empty weight 25 tons, load capacity 27 tons) alternate along the route. In the middle of the route there is an Abt switch which enables the cars to pass automatically. In the valley station, another Abt switch guides the passenger car into a platform hall and the goods platform to a loading ramp.
The goods platform enables vehicles to be exchanged between the Schwarzatalbahn and the normal-gauge adhesion route at the mountain station via turntables at the ends of the funicular. It was actually designed for the freight transport that was discontinued in 1966 and can transport two-axle freight wagons up to a mass of 27 tons - the total weight is then around 52 tons.
Since 1924 the freight platform can also be used for passenger transport. Initially, a regular-gauge passenger car that had been decommissioned by the Magdeburg Reichsbahndirektion was used as a so-called attachment car. With a few exceptions, this has been the only use of the freight platform since freight traffic was discontinued. Today, the former EB 188 513 trailer car of the former Schleizer Kleinbahn is put on. After the electrical operation between Schleiz and Saalburg was given up in 1969, it came to the mountain railway and was adapted accordingly in 1972. However, it only offers 32 seats. Since 2008, from May to October, if the weather is good, an open car without a roof has been used as an alternative . The one-way travel time is 18 minutes.
From 2001 to 2002 the funicular was completely overhauled, the track bed was renewed, the pull rope replaced, and three-phase asynchronous motors were installed for the rope drive. Since then, the train has been controlled from the wagons; before that, it happened in the mountain station.
In November there is an annual shutdown for inspection.
Adhesion stretch
The adhesion route is 2.635 kilometers long and connects the Lichtenhain mountain station on the mountain railway with Cursdorf, the only intermediate station being the Oberweißbach-Deesbach stop. The kilometering of the flat route takes place continuously from the fruit field forge, mountain railway and flat route are traditionally viewed as an operational unit.
The adhesion line has been electrified since the line opened . The contact wire voltage was initially 500 volts direct current, in the course of the replacement of the railcars in 1982 it was increased to 600 volts. Originally, felled spruce along the route were used as contact line masts, which only received a short boom made of flat steel. The overhead line was therefore not located around the center of the track axis, but almost above the rail on the side of the contact line masts. Therefore the electric railcars used had an eccentrically arranged pantograph . In August and September 1979 the overhead line was renewed and the old masts replaced by concrete masts. Since then, the overhead line has been running in the usual zigzag over the track axis, and the pantographs have been moved to the center.
Today electric railcars of the 479 series drive the route; A total of three cars are available for operation. As planned, only one circuit is used (the one-way travel time is eight minutes), in some cases this one circuit is also driven with a double traction - in this case two out of three vehicles are required at the same time. The stations along the route have a platform height of 96 centimeters for stepless entry into the vehicles .
While people always have to change trains in Lichtenhain, standard-gauge freight wagons were transported continuously until 1966. They were transported with the freight platform of the funicular railway and then attached to one of the railcars on the flat section. That is why all vehicles on the flat line still have normal screw couplings and side buffers . Since the demolition of loading and overtaking tracks after the cessation of freight traffic, the line outside of Lichtenhain station has only consisted of one track.
Some of our own rail service vehicles are available for track maintenance. In addition to a track work vehicle of the type SKL 26 , there are two Skl trailers with a snow plow or a fixed lifting platform for overhead line work. The latter replaced a tower car that was several decades old .
The so-called Olitätenwagen (479 205) has been running on the flat route between Lichtenhain and Cursdorf since May 2016 , it is entirely dedicated to the topic of herbs and natural remedies and has some technical features. Among other things, the car has a panoramic glass roof, herb memory and an aroma box. Like the convertible car, it is used from May to October when the weather is nice.
Operating points
Fruit field smiths
Obstfelderschmiede is a stop at the Schwarzatalbahn and the valley station of the funicular. To connect the two lines, there is an entry point on the Schwarzatalbahn a few 100 meters to the west, which leads to a transfer and takeover track. The two tracks, inclined 1: 400 to the east, have a usable length of 63 meters and end in a turntable with a diameter of 8.5 meters. Since the Schwarzatalbahn has a steeper incline, it is 3.3 meters above this route behind a retaining wall. In the direction of the funicular, the goods platform pit connects to the turntable. There is a side platform at the pit, which allows access to the push-on car in passenger traffic.
The exact stopping point of the passenger car depends on the length of the rope, which must always be compensated at this end, as the goods platform requires a fixed stopping point. Therefore the passenger car hall has a stair platform and a measuring device for the rope elongation.
The single-storey station building was built as a timber frame construction.
Lichtenhain
Lichtenhain train station is the mountain station of the funicular and the starting point for the adhesion route. The wide-gauge track of the funicular ends in an open platform hall. A stairway platform also provides access to the passenger car. Since there are no separate tracks for passenger cars and freight platforms in the mountain station, access to the attachment car is via a platform on the same track.
A small, sliding loading ramp is located at the top end of the steep section to bridge the gap between the goods platform and the horizontal rail connection of the flat section. As an extension of the steep section, this leads directly to a turntable that connects the platform track, loading lane, further sidings and the route to Cursdorf. The platform of the flat line is directly above the staircase platform and has a usable length of 18 meters.
Due to the limited space, the reception building was built into the mountain. Access from the site is through a platform tunnel, and the engine room is partially under the steep section.
Oberweißbach-Deesbach
The Oberweißbach-Deesbach stop used to have a passing track and two loading tracks , but these were dismantled.
Cursdorf
In Cursdorf, the continuous track of the line ends in a stand-alone car shed in which the sidecar or the attachment car was parked. Since the previous loading track was dismantled, Cursdorf has only been a stopping point.
Tariff
The mountain railway, including the adhesion route, is not integrated into the regular price system of Deutsche Bahn . Although both the cable car rides and the trains on the flat route run as regional trains (RB), a special tariff applies that is significantly higher than the usual prices for local public transport . Regular, continuous DB tickets to the mountain railway stations cannot be purchased; However, free transport for severely disabled people is given. The owners of a BahnCard , regardless of the variant, are granted a three euro discount. However, mountain railway tickets also entitle you to travel to and from the Schwarzatalbahn , on which the normal nationwide tariff applies.
Bicycle transport
In the course of the restoration, a bicycle platform was added to the car at the end of the mountain in 2002. It is only attached to the chassis and can accommodate eight bicycles . Since then, it has been possible to take bicycles with you every second trip, and it is still not possible to transport bicycles in the push-up cart. Bicycles can also be taken into the railcars on the flat line.
Others
- In 2007 the mayors of the communities in the mountain railway region elected a "mountain railway queen". The office is held by the singer Sylvia Potreck (Duo Sylvia & Laurent), who lives in Cursdorf.
- On the anniversary day of the 80th anniversary of the Oberweißbacher Bergbahn - in May 2003 - 5628 passengers were carried. In 2003 a total of 196,000 passengers were registered.
- The restoration of the railway was awarded the Rail Transport Prize in 2003 by the German Railway Customers' Association .
- The hauling rope has been replaced for the 13th time since it was commissioned. It is checked once a year by the TÜV and is designed for eight times the load.
- As part of a wood sculptor symposium in 2012 in Lichtenhain / Bergbahn, numerous wooden sculptures related to the region were created. B. the humpback pharmacist, the herb woman, the Porzeline, u. a.
- In 2015 the Obstfelderschmiede and Lichtenhain stations were awarded the title of “Station of the Year 2015” by the “ Pro-Rail Alliance ”. The reason given was: "Germany's steepest funicular railway offers the seamless embedding of refined engineering in an extremely lovely landscape".
- In 2017 the adventure museum "Maschinarium" was opened. In this the drive system of the mountain railway can be viewed.
See also
literature
- Günter Fromm: From the history of the Oberweißbacher Bergbahn. Rockstuhl 1997, ISBN 3-929000-95-4 .
- Michael Kurth: The Oberweißbacher Bergbahn. Regional traffic history. EK-Verlag, Freiburg 1998, ISBN 3-88255-433-9 .
- Hermann Lohr and Georg Thielmann: The Oberweißbacher Bergbahn. Bahn & Bild Verlag, Berlin, 1991, ISBN 3-928720-00-7 .
- Günter Kretzschmar: Mountain railway technology and operation. Oberweißbacher Berg- und Schwarzatalbahn, Mellenbach-Glasbach 2003, ISBN 3-935961-04-9 .
- With the Oberweißbacher Bergbahn to the heights of the Thuringian Forest . In: Tourismusverband Thüringer Wald eV (Hrsg.): Magazin Naturpark Thüringer Wald . Volume 4, 2004, pp. 10-13 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Info Bergbahntechnik ( Memento from November 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 1.9 MiB).
- ^ Michael Kurth: The Oberweißbacher mountain railway. Regional traffic history. EK-Verlag, Freiburg 1998, p. 30ff. ISBN 3-88255-433-9
- ↑ Jan Bartelsen: BahnInfo special page: A visit to the Oberweißbacher Berg- und Schwarzatalbahn. In: bahninfo.de. Retrieved April 19, 2009 .
- ↑ Rural areas as a think tank . In: DB World . No. 10 , 2017, p. 4 .
- ↑ Small - but nice . In: railway magazine . No. 2 , 2018, ISSN 0342-1902 , p. 53 .
- ↑ VBR News-Net and Bahnaktuell: Die Bergbahnkönigin, February 27, 2009
Coordinates: 50 ° 36 ' N , 11 ° 8' E
