Narrow-gauge railway Grünstädtel – Oberrittersgrün

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Grünstädtel – Oberrittersgrün
Section of the route map of Saxony (1902)
Section of the route map of Saxony (1902)
Route number : sä. GR
Course book range : 452 (1971)
Route length: 9.361 km
Gauge : 750 mm ( narrow gauge )
Maximum slope : 33.3  ‰
Minimum radius : 80 m
Top speed: 30 km / h
Legend
   
 0.000 Grünstädtel 441 m
   
 (Transition to the Annaberg-Buchholz-Schwarzenberg route )
   
 0.214 Pöhlwasser (12 m)
   
 Bundesstrasse 101
   
 2.160 Factory ditch
   
 2.280 Pöhlwasser (10 m)
   
 2,371 Pöhla 466 m
   
 2.830 Conn. Eisenwerk Pfeilhammer
   
 3.250 Factory ditch
   
 3,644 Siegelhof 488 m
   
 3.980 Conn. New hut
   
 4.800 Bridge of bismuth
   
 5.210 Meadow path
   
 5.421 Niederglobenstein 530 m
   
 6.418 Oberglobenstein 556 m
   
 Conn. Breitfeld cardboard factory and Hofmühle sawmill
   
 6.990 Pöhlwasser (10 m)
   
 7.106 Pöhlwasser (16 m)
   
 7.232 Sub-Knight Green 572 m
   
 6.830 Conn. Sternkopf sawmill
   
 7.710 Factory ditch
   
 8.510 Pöhlwasser (15 m)
   
 9.170 Factory ditch
   
 9.294 Pöhlwasser (13 m)
   
 9,361 Oberrittersgrün ( railway museum ) 607 m

The narrow-gauge railway Grünstädtel – Oberrittersgrün , also called Pöhlwassertalbahn , was a Saxon narrow-gauge railway in the Western Ore Mountains . It ran from Grünstädtel on the Pöhlwasser up to Rittersgrün . The line, opened in 1889, was closed in 1971. The Saxon Narrow Gauge Railway Museum Rittersgrün is located on the site of the former Oberrittersgrün station .

Route description

Prehistory, planning and construction

The ore mining, which is characteristic for the area, was in decline in the 19th century in the catchment area of ​​the narrow-gauge railway or was already completely finished. The economy now concentrated more on iron processing and the timber industry, as there was sufficient water power and wood available in the Pöhlwassertal. In addition to a few sawmills, the paper industry, which is typical of the Erzgebirge, was one of the emerging branches of the economy.

The preparatory work began in 1883, due to the local conditions, the line should be built as a narrow-gauge railway from the start. After examining several variants, the variant with a connecting railway in Grünstädtel was approved on July 31, 1887.

Construction work began in the spring of 1888 and was completed in the summer of 1889. Numerous culverts were created, 11.6 km of track with 28 points were laid and 15 buildings were erected. The construction costs were around 850,000 marks.

Already during the construction of the railway there were first plans to extend the route beyond Oberrittersgrün, which, like later ones, were not implemented. During the Third Reich, an extension to Oberwiesenthal with a top tunnel in the Fichtelberg was planned.

business

Oberrittersgrün station around 1905

The inaugural train ran on June 30, 1889, and scheduled operations began one day later together with the Schwarzenberg – Grünstädtel section of the Annaberg-Buchholz – Schwarzenberg railway line . As a result of company expansions and modernizations, the initially moderate transport services increased sharply at the beginning of the 20th century. Rush hour traffic in the direction of Schwarzenberg also grew steadily.

The narrow-gauge railway survived the Second World War without damage. From 1949 uranium mining began in Pöhlwassertal, which brought the narrow-gauge railway a brief new blooming phase.

Until the mid-1960s, the number of passengers and the tonnage carried increased slowly. However, the income did not even cover the operating costs. It was only from the end of the 1960s that freight transport services declined due to the relocation of transport to other train stations and to motor transport.

Shutdown

Niederglobenstein, Bridge Bahnradweg (2017)

The first plans to change the mode of transport had been in place since 1969, but due to the lack of transport capacities in motor transport, these could not initially be implemented. The suspension of traffic planned for spring 1971 had to be postponed for these reasons. It was not until the autumn of 1971 that there were nearly enough buses to handle the still important rush hour traffic. The closure was approved on September 14, 1971, and the last trains were running on September 25, 1971, with the active participation of the population.

The route was dismantled between 1972 and 1974. Today, large parts of the route are used for a cycle and hiking trail.

Route description

course

"Felsengluck" in Globenstein, the track was on the side of the street in place of today's footpath (2007)
simplified elevation profile of the route

Starting from Grünstädtel, the narrow-gauge railway ran along the eponymous brook Pöhlwasser to Oberrittersgrün.

The first 300 m ran the railway line or parallel to the railway line Annaberg-Buchholz-Schwarzenberg , according to a first crossing of the Pöhlwassers together on a bridge with the standard gauge railway both webs crossed with a barrier secured road from Aue to Annaberg-Buchholz (now B 101 ) and then turn south.

Initially, the railway ran slowly upwards over the local area of Raschau , but this place had no station on the narrow-gauge railway. The valley narrows increasingly from in front of the Pöhla stop and the railway, together with the Pöhlwasser and the country road, followed the narrow valley floor to Oberrittersgrün.

Operating points

Grünstädtel ⊙

Grünstädtel station (2016)

The Grünstädtel station was opened on July 1, 1889 as a stop on the standard-gauge railway line Annaberg-Buchholz-Schwarzenberg and as the starting point of the narrow-gauge railway to Oberrittersgrün and upgraded to a station in 1905. The standard gauge systems divided the freight and passenger traffic area of ​​the Pöhlatalbahn. The three level crossings between narrow and standard-gauge railways that existed as a result significantly hampered operations at the station. During the construction of the railway, a goods shed, a loading hall , a loading ramp and a combined locomotive and coal shed were built next to the station building . The separate locomotive shed was only dimensioned for locomotives of the I K series, the machines used later were too long for the building and were partly in the open air. In 1966 the dilapidated shed was demolished. Grünstädtel was the only station on the narrow-gauge railway that was secured with an entry form signal.

Pöhla ⊙

Location of the former Pöhla stop, view towards Grünstädtel (2017)

The Pöhla station , which required extensive earthworks and the relocation of the Pöhlwasser, initially consisted of only two switches and a wooden waiting hall with a service room and free access. The station also had two standard gauge wagons as a material store for the railway maintenance office. Initially, the wagons were maneuvered into the butt-end loading siding with muscle power. A third switch was installed around 1920. Between 1905 and 1933 the Pöhla stop was used as a train station. It was on the northern edge of Pöhla, but was still in the corridor of Grünstädtel. From the direction of Grünstädtel, the Pöhlwasser was crossed directly in front of the station. After all the buildings were demolished in 1974, a sales point and garages were built over the area on “Pöhlaer Straße”.

Siegelhof ⊙

Location of the former Siegelhof stop, view towards Grünstädtel (2017)

The Siegelhof station was at the southern end of Pöhla at the start of a narrow curve of the Pöhlwasser on the Kleinpöhla side. It was named after the Siegelhof hammer mill located nearby . Between 1905 and 1933 the Siegelhof stop was operated as a train station. In addition to a loading lane with a loading track and two switches, there was only a wooden waiting hall and a free pass. Until 1920, the loading track was just a stump track; in the following it was connected to the main track with a third switch. Due to the curve radius of only 90 m directly on the hillside, trolley traffic could never be carried out on the route , so the goods always had to be reloaded onto narrow-gauge wagons. The “Neue Hütte” cardboard factory, the Lein and Sternkopf sawmills (Luchsbachtal) and the Harnisch brewery loaded their products on the loading platform at the stop. The “Neue Hütte” cardboard factory later also had a siding. The neighboring Siegelhof restaurant, which was demolished in 2014, was used by travelers as an overnight or eatery.

The area of ​​the former stop in the south of Pöhla between the ski jumps and the Pöhlwasser was built over with garages after the rail traffic was discontinued in 1971. The wooden waiting hall survived the time between the garages. In autumn 2014 it was dismantled and stored in the narrow-gauge railway museum Oberrittersgrün.

Niederglobenstein ⊙

Location of the former Niederglobenstein train station (2017)

Initially Niederglobenstein was classified as a stop, only between 1905 and 1933 the station was run as a train station. Only as a result of regular train crossings was the stop raised to a station in 1953. The track system of the only crossing station on the railway line, which was not changed during the entire operating time, consisted only of a through and a passing track, on which the loading street was also located. A waiting hall for travelers was also built. Extensive rock removal was necessary for the construction of the station. It was located north of Globenstein right next to Pöhlaer Strasse . After the shutdown, all buildings were demolished.

Oberglobenstein ⊙

Oberglobenstein, old stamp mill and former Oberglobenstein stop (2017)

The Oberglobenstein stop was the smallest station on the narrow-gauge railway line. It was only approved during the construction of the railway line. The station, which had no additional points or loading tracks, was very spartan. Apart from a bank and a station sign, there was nothing. Later, the travelers had a rented waiting room below the terrace at a nearby residential building. The Oberglobenstein stop was located at the southern exit of the village a few meters behind the connection to the Flemming plant on the east side of Karlsbader Strasse near the old stamp mill . A few meters north is the Oberglobenstein bus stop today .

Underknight Green ⊙

Location of the former Unterrittersgrün stop (2017)

The Unterrittersgrün stop was opposite the Arnoldshammer inn below Karlsbader Strasse in a curve . The stop, which was popularly called Arnoldshammer , was dedicated as a train station between 1905 and 1933. The track system of the station consisted of a reloading and a loading track with a total of three switches, which remained unchanged over the entire 82 years of operation. The station also had a waiting hall with a loading street. After the stop was closed, all of the buildings were demolished and garages were built on the site.

Oberrittersgrün ⊙

Oberrittersgrün station (2009)

Although the Oberrittersgrün station was always smaller in terms of the number of points than the Grünstädtel station, the operational center of the Pöhlawassertalbahn was always in Oberrittersgrün. When the line opened in 1889, the station on the Hammerrittersgrün corridor had three tracks, a simple reception building and a two- tier boiler house . The timber-framed boiler house was designed for two class I K locomotives . The only water crane on the route was located in Oberrittersgrün .

Around 1920 the station received a fourth track and a second loading line . The use of the longer class III K and IV K locomotives also required an extension of the boiler house. In 1928/1929 it received a third stand that was used for major repairs.

Locomotives and wagons

In the early years, the triple-coupled I K locomotives were initially used on the line. However, the small locomotives were overwhelmed by the increasing train mass, so that III K locomotives were soon used. Later, the train traffic was handled exclusively by the Saxon class IV K (class 99.51-60).

Freight traffic was handled with narrow-gauge freight wagons. There was no rolling vehicle traffic . The cars used corresponded to the general Saxon building and procurement regulations for the narrow-gauge railways and could therefore be freely exchanged with vehicles on other Saxon narrow-gauge lines.

Saxon narrow-gauge railway museum Rittersgrün

The locomotive shed at Oberrittersgrün station is now part of the narrow-gauge railway museum

After the cessation of railway operations in 1971, there were considerations to set up a railway museum on the site of the Oberrittersgrün station. After various efforts, the municipality of Rittersgrün bought the site, a class IV K (99 579) locomotive and various wagons. In January 1972 the vehicles were transported to Oberrittersgrün along the already disused route. For this, the museum locomotive 99 579 was put into operation for the last time and an existing gap in the track was closed again.

After purchasing further exhibits in 1976, the museum was officially opened on June 18, 1977 as the first railway museum in the GDR. The vehicle stock has been expanded over the years. In 1984 the station building was taken over by the Deutsche Reichsbahn and track areas that had already been removed were rebuilt.

The museum and its entire holdings are now a listed building.

The Rittersgrüner museum, station and rifle festival takes place annually on the grounds of the narrow-gauge museum.

See also

literature

  • Bernd Kramer / Rainer Heinrich: The narrow-gauge railway Grünstädtel - Oberrittersgrün - secondary line documentation, Volume 25 ; 2nd, revised edition; Kenning Publishing House; Nordhorn 2006; 3-933613-30-2

Web links

Commons : Pöhlatalbahn  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Martina Schattkowsky (Ed.): Erzgebirge - Kulturlandschaften Sachsen Volume 3 , Edition Leipzig, Dresden / Leipzig 2010, p. 98 f.
  2. ^ Rainer Karlsch, Michael Schäfer: Economic history of Saxony in the industrial age , Edition Leipzig, Dresden / Leipzig 2006, p. 85
  3. ↑ The Siegelhof stop on www.sachsenschiene.net
  4. ↑ Private website about the Siegelhof stop