Freital Ost – Possendorf railway line

Freital Ost - Possendorf junction
Route number :	6609; sä. PP
Course book range :	159g (1957)
Route length:	13.266 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Route class :	C3
Maximum slope :	25  ‰
Minimum radius :	85 m
Legend from Dresden Hbf -0.039 Abzw Freital East 156 m 0.000 after Abzw Werdau arc triangle 0.222 Infrastructure border DB Netz / Windbergbahn eV At the wheat mill Plauenscher Grund 0.260 Freital -Ost formerly Niedergittersee 158 m 0.492 Freital - Birkigt 158 m 0.715 Anst Baukombinat 0.872 EÜ Coschützer Strasse (18 m) 1.069 Anst Elektrizitätswerk Coschütz 1,270 At the Otto Hänsel machine factory 1,442 Anst Fördertechnik GmbH, Plant I 1.461 Anst Fördertechnik GmbH, Plant II 1.476 Branch line to Moritzschacht 1,597 EÜ Fördertechnik GmbH (3.43 m) 2.678 EÜ F-Freiligrath-Strasse (8 m) 3,685 EÜ Bannewitzer Strasse (7 m) 4,558 EÜ Kesselgrund (21 m) 5.035 Branch line to Meiselschacht 5.204 EÜ Karlsruher Strasse (18 m) 5.503 At the tire factory in Dresden 5.683 Dresden - Gittersee 276 m 6.060 (End of route 6609) 6.590 Branch line to the Reiboldschacht Windberg branch line 7,866 Junction Kleinnaundorf Po77 8.224 First luck-on-shaft 8.314 Kleinnaundorf 307 m 8,990 Initially the Thürk quarry 9.530 Cunnersdorf (b Freital) 304 m 9.608 In place of Marienschacht 10,500 Bannewitz 299 m 10.730 EÜ Horkenstrasse 11.753 Hänichen - golden height 306 m 12,142 Branch line to the persistence shaft Branch line to the Berglustschacht Branch line to Hermannschacht 13.266 Possendorf 300 m 13,573 (End of route)

The Freital Ost – Possendorf railway is a standard-gauge branch line near Dresden in Saxony , which is considered the first German mountain railway . It was built in 1856 by Albertsbahn AG as a Hänichen coal branch line for the removal of the hard coal extracted from the Windberg near Freital . After being converted into a public line and extended to Possendorf , it was an important excursion railway. The route is generally known as the Windbergbahn . Historically, the line has become known as the Saxon Semmering Railway and Possendorfer Heddel .

The upper section was shut down in 1951, the remaining section was mainly used for the strategically important uranium ore transports of SDAG Wismut until 1989 . The remaining freight traffic ended in 1993. Since 2008, the remaining railway systems to Dresden-Gittersee have been owned by the Saxon Museum Railway Association Windbergbahn e. V. , who uses it as a museum railway.

The remaining buildings and facilities of the entire route are since 1980 because of its railway historical significance as a cultural monument under monument protection .

history

prehistory

The first evidence of the extraction of hard coal in the Döhlen basin dates back to 1452. However, it was not until the beginning of industrialization at the beginning of the 19th century that mining took on larger proportions. During this time the first underground shafts were built. The transport of coal to Dresden served in that time, the carbon road used by the assisted areas in Hänichen and the Windberg over Coschuetz led directly to the consumers in Dresden.

In 1849, the Hänichener Steinkohlenbauverein was established as a joint stock company, to which the pits Beckerschacht , Persistlichkeitsschacht and Berglustschacht near Hänichen belonged. In 1852 the Hänichener Steinkohlenbauverein requested the construction of a railway connection to the shafts on a private basis in order to improve the inadequate transport conditions. The line should begin in Niedersedlitz on the Saxon-Bohemian State Railway and lead through the Lockwitztal to Hänichen. The necessary license was refused, however, because the Saxon state at that time was primarily interested in profitable main railways.

At the same time, however, similar demands for a railway connection came from the mining companies and manufacturers of the Plauen reason . Here the Saxon state agreed to the plans to build a railway line that would lead from Dresden to Tharandt and later become part of a long-distance connection towards Freiberg and Chemnitz . The Albertsbahngesellschaft was founded on May 4, 1853, and its line from Dresden to Tharandt was opened on June 28, 1855. The concession to build the Dresden – Tharandt line also included the possible construction of a branch line to Hänichen.

On May 31, 1855, the Albertsbahn AG signed a contract with the Hänichener Steinkohlenbauverein, which provided for the establishment of a branch line to their shafts near Hänichen.

Construction and opening

The construction of the Hänichener Kohlenzweigbahn ultimately turned out to be extremely problematic. Because of the enormous differences in height, the construction of a cable car was initially designed to connect to a horse-powered route in the Poisental . However, such a solution would have had a transport capacity that was far too low, so that it was discarded - also for reasons of cost.

The route of the Hänichener Kohlenzweigbahn on Windberg

The railway engineer Guido Brescius , who was responsible for planning and construction management , finally designed a route designed as a pure adhesion railway , which led upward in bends on the Birkigte slope in an artificial length development . A clever choice of route made it possible to get by without expensive engineering structures such as bridges and cuttings. Most of the mines could also be connected to the new route with very short connecting lines. However, it was initially planned to operate with horses.

The route on a drawing by Guido Brescius (1861)

After the rail project became known, the interested hard coal works concluded connection contracts with Albertsbahn AG for the tonnages to be transported. However, the planned transport volumes were so large that a farm with horses was no longer possible. Guido Brescius now planned the route as a normal locomotive train. Despite considerable resistance from critics of his own profession and the shareholders of the Albertsbahn, he ultimately pushed through his plan.

In the course of 1855, the construction work finally began and progressed rapidly. On April 4, 1856, the turnout to the Albertsbahn was installed in Niedergittersee. On October 21, 1856, the line was completed with the examination by an expert committee. In February and March 1857 the Hartmann company in Chemnitz delivered the three ordered locomotives.

The first empty freight train drove from the Dresden coal port to Hänichen on April 1, 1857, only to roll down again in the afternoon, loaded with coal from the Hänichen coal-mining association. The first mountain railway in Germany had started operating.

On April 15, 1857, the Saxon King Johann undertook an inspection trip on the Hänichen coal branch railway. After the trip, in a speech to the shareholders of Albertsbahn AG, he said: “Well, gentlemen, now we are in no way inferior to the Austrians. We now also have a Semmering Railway, a Saxon Semmering Railway. ”The name Sächsische Semmering Railway has been in use for the route since then .

In operation by Albertsbahn AG

A coal train with five-ton coal hoppers in Niedergittersee (1867)

The new lift met expectations from the start. Operation on the tight radii turned out to be completely safe. In the first few years of operation, the problem was that there was insufficient equipment. Before the nationalization, the Albertsbahn AG had only procured 290 five-tonne Hunte for the Hänichen coal branch , which was never enough. The problem was exacerbated by the fact that the Hänichener Steinkohleverein was preferred as the main shareholder of Albertsbahn AG for the provision of empty wagons.

From March 10, 1857, the Albertsbahn also offered excursions to the public on Sundays. The uncomfortable coal hunt were given benches for this. At that time the legendary reputation of the Windbergbahn as an excursion railway was established.

After nationalization

The concession for the Albertsbahn was initially issued for 20 years until 1873. After the German War in 1866, the Saxon state sought to nationalize its railways. The line between Freiberg and Tharandt, which had been planned for some time, was also intended to create the necessary connection between the previously separate networks of the Eastern and Western State Railways. Albertsbahn AG did not oppose these plans, as the hoped-for rich profits for the shareholders had not materialized. On July 1, 1868, the Albertsbahn AG became the property of the Saxon state for 2,862,800 thalers . At the time of the nationalization, five locomotives and 290 five-tonne trucks with a net load weight of 1450 tons were in use on the Hänichen coal branch.

The persistence shaft in Rippien (1882)

Scheme of the Niedergittersee transshipment facility

In 1869 the gap between Tharandt and Freiberg was completed under the direction of the Royal Saxon State Railways . This opened up new sales areas for the hard coal extracted from the Windberg. Since a transfer of the Albertsbahn's five-ton coal hunt to the state railroad tracks was not permitted, a reloading facility was built in Niedergittersee in 1870. For use on the reloading facility, the State Railways had 80 more coal hunts manufactured in an improved design in 1873, which could be unloaded underground.

In the next few decades, the tonnage carried fell significantly. The decrease from 171,000 t in 1872 to only 137,000 t six years later is remarkable. The reason for this was the increasing exhaustion of the buildable reserves in the wind mountain area. The once important Windbergschacht was abandoned in 1877, shortly afterwards the neighboring Neuhoffnungsschacht . The Hänichen coal branch railway was downgraded to a secondary railway in 1879 .

In the years 1893/94, the line was expanded to accommodate larger axle loads. From now on, in addition to the use of more powerful locomotives, the transport of normal ten-ton freight cars was permitted. Nevertheless, some of the outdated five-tonne hunt remained in use until after 1900.

The extension to Possendorf

The pageant for the opening of passenger traffic with two locomotives of type VII T on September 21, 1907

On September 30, 1908, the extension to Possendorf was opened.

By 1900 the coal reserves near Hänichen were exhausted. The Berglust shaft closed in 1905, the other two shafts shortly afterwards. On May 18, 1906, the Hänichener Steinkohlenbauverein was deleted from the trade register. After the workers were dismissed, a social emergency arose in the surrounding areas. In this situation, it was suggested again to continue the railway to Possendorf and to expand it to a line serving public transport. On December 16, 1905, the Chamber of Estates was presented with a decree to expand the coal railway. The state parliament approved the project before the end of the year. At the beginning of 1906, the royal tax office approved the necessary funds of 490,000 marks , and construction could begin.

On September 12, 1907, the renovation work began with ongoing operations. In addition to the extension of the route to Possendorf, the superstructure of the entire route was renewed. However, it was not possible to significantly expand the existing narrow radii, as this would have required extensive realignment. For example, the 85-meter radius of the track in Geiersgraben was retained. After just 100 days of construction, the converted line to Hänichen-Goldene Höhe was completed. The route was opened to public transport with a pageant on December 21, 1907.

The construction of the extension to Possendorf took another nine months. On September 30, 1908, the mayor of Possendorf opened the new section, which was over a kilometer long. On October 1, 1908, scheduled train operations began on the Dresden – Possendorf route.

The new connection quickly developed into one of the most important excursion routes in Saxony. Even before the First World War, this was met with the development of powerful locomotives and corresponding observation cars.

In operation of the Deutsche Reichsbahn until the end of the Second World War

After the First World War - on April 1, 1920 - the Royal Saxon State Railways merged with the newly founded Deutsche Reichsbahn . The Windbergbahn now belonged to the network of the Reichsbahndirektion Dresden .

The water station in Freital-Birkigt was destroyed in an air raid in 1944 and later only rebuilt in a simplified manner.

The coal transport decreased in the following years with the exhaustion of the supplies. The last two active shafts in the Windberg area stopped mining in 1930. From now on, the traffic on the Windbergbahn sank to a minimum. During rush hour, the Windbergbahn lost many travelers to the regular bus service established in 1919 on today's federal highway 170 . In contrast, excursion traffic on Sundays remained important.

From 1933, the Deutsche Reichsbahn tried to make passenger traffic in peripheral locations more rational with modern internal combustion engines. However, in mid-1934 they stopped using the railcars for unknown reasons.

With the beginning of the Second World War, excursion traffic was restricted, and in 1943 the Sunday excursion trains were completely canceled. The 1944 timetable finally only showed two pairs of trains on working days. Traffic was stopped on Sundays.

On August 24, 1944, the first air raid on the industrial facilities around Dresden took place . The primary target of the bombing attack was the Rhenania-Ossag mineral oil plant in Freital-Birkigt, but it was missed. The destruction of the surrounding housing developments was all the more severe, resulting in many civilian lives. The Freital-Birkigt train station also suffered considerable damage.

After the Second World War

After the end of the Second World War, traffic on the Windbergbahn was resumed on May 14, 1945. From then on, however, passenger trains ran almost exclusively for commuter traffic. On Sundays there was only one pair of passenger trains.

In the post-war period, the weakly used section between Kleinnaundorf and Possendorf fell victim to the construction work for the Berlin outer ring . The line section was closed on April 20, 1951 and dismantled within a week. A little later, the dismantled rails of the S33 profile were used for the reconstruction of the Frose – Quedlinburg railway line in order to be able to gain their stronger rails of the S49 profile.

As an ore railway in the service of SDAG Wismut

The Soviet mining company Wismut AG (from 1954: SDAG Wismut) built an ore processing plant in Gittersee in 1952 and enriched the uranium ores mined in Saxony and Thuringia for transport to the Soviet Union . From now on, the freight traffic on the wind mountain railway increased enormously. In this context, the primarily uphill load direction was problematic . The ore trains arriving in Freital- Potschappel from the Western Ore Mountains were split up in Freital-Birkigt and then transported uphill with two of the old wind mountain railway locomotives.

In 1951 and 1952, VEB Steinkohlenwerk Freital also sunk two new shafts at Gittersee station. The coal mine started operations in 1956. This increased freight traffic on the wind mountain railway even further.

In 1957, the Reichsbahndirektion Dresden therefore applied to the Ministry of Transport to cease passenger traffic in order to have all line and vehicle capacities available for uranium ore traffic. On November 9, 1957, the last passenger trains ran on the remaining section between Dresden and Kleinnaundorf. In the following years the militarily important route was increasingly pushed into oblivion.

The ore washing closed in 1965. From then on, the primary load direction was downhill again. The main cargo was now the coal mined in Gittersee. From 1968 the SDAG Wismut took over the shafts for the extraction of uranium-containing hard coal. The ore coal was transported in block trains to the processing plants in Crossen and Seelingstädt . At the end of the 1960s, a Pneumant tire plant was built on the Erzwwasher site, which has since become another important goods customer. The remaining freight traffic to Kleinnaundorf ended in 1967. Students dismantled the Dresden-Gittersee-Kleinnaundorf track from 1972 to 1974 as part of FDJ student summers.

On March 8, 1979, the Dresden professor Hans-Ullrich Sandig submitted an application for monument protection for the Windbergbahn. On April 10, 1980, the entire line to Possendorf was included in the district monument list as one of the first railway lines in the GDR area.

On July 20, 1980, the "AG Windbergbahn" was founded as part of the German Model Railway Association (DMV). Its members looked after the Dresden-Gittersee train station and saved it from deterioration. Between 1980 and 1985 they restored the station building, which is now in its original condition from 1916, and in 1988 set up an exhibition on the history of the Windbergbahn. From now on, the route slowly moved back into the public eye.

Due to the exhaustion of the deposit, the closure of the bismuth shafts in Dresden-Gittersee was planned for 1989. In order to give the miners of the mining company "Willi Agatz" future prospects, the Politburo of the GDR decided in May 1987 to set up a company for the production of pure silicon , which is the basis of the semiconductor and computer industry. The required extremely flammable base material trichlorosilane (TCS) was to be delivered by train from the Nünchritz chemical plant near Riesa over the tracks of the Windbergbahn. On November 3, 1989, with the fall of the Wall in the GDR, construction was stopped .

On December 30, 1993, the last freight traffic carried out for a few connections in the Coschütz / Gittersee industrial area ended .

New perspectives as a museum train

The Dresden-Gittersee Museum Station (2009)

After the political change in eastern Germany in 1989/90, the AG Windbergbahn became the Saxon Museum Railway Association Windbergbahn e. V., which was entered in the register of associations in the summer of 1991 . As early as May 19, 1991, he organized special trips - the first passenger trains on the Windbergbahn since 1957 - between Dresden Hauptbahnhof and Gittersee . The association has been the sole user since December 1993 when goods traffic was stopped on the route. In the course of the special trips, which are carried out several times a year, the last remaining Windberg observation car was on the way, which was part of a passenger train for the first time after 14 years of repair in September 1997. A year later, in November 1998, the line had to be closed due to damage to the superstructure . Since then, journeys have only been possible in the station area of ​​Dresden-Gittersee.

A turning point was the expansion of the Dresden – Werdau line planned after 1997. In order to save the cost-intensive new construction of the branch, the Deutsche Bahn AG finally aimed to shut down the wind mountain railway. On May 2, 2002, the Federal Railway Authority (EBA) rejected the application to close the line. The authority justified its decision by stating that “the railway wanted to charge the majority of the costs for a new connection of the line to the main Chemnitz – Dresden line to a potential takeover”. The legal dispute with the EBA only ended on November 2, 2006 with an oral hearing before the Dresden Administrative Court . DB AG withdrew its objection in the course of the negotiations; the decision of the EBA thus became final.

As a result, the route was put out to tender by DBAG for delivery to a private infrastructure company. The railway company demanded 113,000 euros as the purchase price, plus 11,000 euros annually for the operation of the connection point in Freital Ost. A buyer was not found by the end of the offer period on February 23, 2006.

After the foundation of the Verkehrsverbund Oberelbe (VVO) in 1998, the name Sächsische Semmeringbahn , which is historically guaranteed for the Windbergbahn, was used to market the Sebnitz Valley Railway in Saxon Switzerland. Thereupon the Windbergbahn e. V. protected the name Sächsische Semmeringbahn as a word mark at the German Patent and Trademark Office in 2006 . Since then the commercial use of the name has only been permitted for the Windbergbahn. Regional media and the public, as well as the VVO, sharply criticized the Windbergbahnverein for this approach. The Sebnitztalbahn is marketed under the name Sächsisch-Böhmische Semmeringbahn .

Wernesgrüner Rail Express (2013)

Museum train with Windberg observation car (2019)

After some local politicians in Freital called for the construction of a cycle path on the railway line, the association started collecting signatures on May 25, 2008 for the maintenance of the Windbergbahn. On December 4th, 2008 the collected 4743 signatures were handed over to the Freital city council.

On December 22nd, 2008 DB Netz AG and Windbergbahn e. V. signed a lease for the Freital Ost – Dresden-Gittersee railway line with a term of 20 years. On October 20, 2010, the Windbergbahn e. V. from the Saxon State Ministry for Economic Affairs, Labor and Transport issued the “permit to operate a railway infrastructure” for a period of 50 years.

The necessary track construction work began in 2011. The re-installation of the branch switch in Freital Ost is planned for the near future, so that direct train runs between Dresden Hbf and Gittersee will be possible again. In the long term, the aim is to rebuild the line to the Boderitz-Cunnersdorf (Marienschacht) stop, if possible.

As part of the 5th Gitterseer Bahnhofsfest in September 2012, special trips with passengers could be carried out for the first time in 14 years. For this purpose, the “Wernesgreen Rail Express” of the Förderverein Historische Westsächsische Eisenbahnen e. V. loaned.

After extensive track construction work, public trips could be carried out again on August 31, 2019 after a long break. The Windberg observation car was used together with the club's two diesel locomotives. Due to the ongoing damage to the upper structure, however, only about 1.5 kilometers were driven from the Gittersee station.

Route description

course

Simplified height profile of the Windbergbahn

The beginning of the Windbergbahn is located directly on the city limits between Dresden and Freital, at km 5.717 of the Dresden – Werdau railway line . The former Freital Ost freight yard with the Freital-Birkigt stop is located directly at the junction. After the stop, the five-kilometer-long, 25 ‰ steep ramp to the Dresden-Gittersee train station begins in a left curve. The track now leads uphill through the Birkigt district of Freital in several bends. In the Geiersgraben there is the narrowest radius of the route in a right-hand arc with a radius of 85 meters.

After the Dresden-Gittersee train station, the route climbs even further to the Windberg plateau. In the further course the track led without major inclines within sight of the historic coal road via Kleinnaundorf and Bannewitz to Hänichen. The last stretch to Possendorf was on a gentle slope parallel to today's federal highway 170 (Dresden – Zinnwald), which was crossed at the same level shortly before the end point.

Operating points

Freital-Ost junction

At the former Blockstelle branch Freital-east of Dresden-Werdau railway the Windbergbahn starts. From 1912, the line branched off to the right parallel to the freight train track to Tharandt from the main line and then crossed under it in the so-called Höllenmaul . Another track connection to Freital Ost station was only used for freight traffic. In 1946, the Deutsche Reichsbahn dismantled both sidings as reparations for the Soviet Union . All train journeys now took place on track 1, which was originally built as a separate connecting track to Freital-Potschappel station. The hell mouth was filled in 1984 and completely demolished the roadway support on the Dresden-Werdau railway in the year of 2003. Since 2003, there has been no turnout at the Freital-Ost junction.

Freital-Ost freight facility

Freital-Birkigt stop (2009)

The Freital-Ost train station was located directly at the junction of the main Dresden-Werdau line. It was only used for freight traffic, and passenger traffic used the neighboring Freital-Birkigt stop. The origins of the station can be traced back to the Niedergittersee reloading station, where the coal was reloaded from the branch wagons onto the state railway wagons. The siding of the wheat mill in Plauenschen Grund began in Freital Ost. With the cessation of freight traffic in 1993, the facilities were abandoned and later partially dismantled. In the infrastructure register of DB Netz AG, the station is referred to as Freital Ost freight facility .

Freital-Birkigt

The Freital-Birkigt passenger stop established in 1907 (former Potschappel-Birkigt stop) is located on the curved track between the former Höllenmaul and the Coschützer Straße level crossing. Its importance lay above all in rush hour traffic to the surrounding factories.

The water station building was badly damaged in an air raid on August 24, 1944 and was later rebuilt in a modified form. The facilities have been dismantled except for the continuous track.

Dresden-Gittersee

Dresden-Gittersee train station

The Dresden-Gittersee station (formerly Obergittersee ) has been the most important operating point of the Windbergbahn in recent years. From 1951 the “Willy Agatz” mine of the SDAG Wismut was located at the station, which ensured a brisk freight traffic until 1990. There was also another siding to the VEB tire plant in Dresden. The tracks and buildings of the station are still in their original condition. The museum on the history of the Windbergbahn has been located in the service building since 1988.

The entire area is currently being used by Windbergbahn e. V. transformed into a museum train station. In the medium term, for example, the reconstruction of the toilet building ("Freiabtritt") at a historic location and the renewal of the station lighting with mushroom lights are planned.

The station was classified as a cultural monument on June 13, 2000.

Junction Kleinnaundorf Po77

The Kleinnaundorf Posten 77 junction (formerly change point 77 ) was the starting point of the Windberg branch railway to the shafts on the Windberg plateau. The former guard house has been preserved and is used for residential purposes.

Kleinnaundorf

Kleinnaundorf stop (2009)

The Kleinnaundorf stop is on the disused section. The connecting railway to the Glück-Auf-Schacht began right at the stop. Kleinnaundorf was also important for travel. Around 1972 the track systems of the operating site were dismantled.

The area of ​​the stop is built over with a garage. The Windbergbahn e. V. restored the small service building of the bus stop in the 1980s, true to the original. The service building and the toilet building, which has also been preserved, are under monument protection. On October 25, 2012, the Windbergbahn e. V. the use of the entire area to the association G-Haus Kleinnaundorf.

Cunnersdorf (b Freital)

Petitions from the community representatives of Neubannewitz, Boderitz and Cunnersdorf did not effect the establishment of the Cunnersdorf (b Freital) (formerly Boderitz-Cunnersdorf ) stop until 1908 . The stop was mainly used for rush hour traffic in the nearby Marienschacht . In addition, there was a lot of excursion traffic on Sundays and public holidays, as the famous dance and excursion bar “Zur Prinzenhöhe” was located nearby. The small, wooden station building was moved from the old Dresden-Plauen stop on the Dresden-Werdau railway line in 1923. In 2010, the renovation was carried out in accordance with the listed buildings with the financial help of a sponsor.

Bannewitz

Hänichen-Goldene Höhe station (2009)

Possendorf station (2009)

Before the Second World War, Bannewitz station was the operational and transport hub of the Windbergbahn. After the line was closed in 1951, VEB Kompressorenbau Bannewitz took over the site, which gradually demolished all of the buildings. The listed goods floor disappeared last in 1993.

Hänichen-Goldene Höhe

The Hänichen-Goldene Höhe train station used to be the most important stop for excursions. With the Goldene Höhe there was an important excursion destination at that time with a restaurant nearby. In addition, Hänichen-Goldene Höhe had brisk general cargo traffic. After the closure, the station building served u. a. as a kindergarten and base of the road maintenance depot. The entire area was renovated in 2010 by the municipality of Bannewitz.

Possendorf

The Possendorf station was only built in 1908 when the route was extended. In addition to the excursion traffic, there was a brisk freight traffic in Possendorf. In addition to the agricultural products of the region, coal, fertilizers and building materials were handled.

After the line was closed, the Possendorfer daycare center moved into the reception building. The former freight transport facilities were taken over by an agrochemical center , whose successor companies still use the site. Of the high-rise buildings of the station, only the station building remains, the two-tier engine shed was demolished in 1972. Since December 2010 a passenger car has been standing on a section of track that serves as an advertising medium for the technical monument Windbergbahn.

Branch lines and sidings

Wheat mill Plauenscher Grund

The connecting line to the wheat mill in Plauenschen Grund branched off directly at Freital Ost train station. The siding, which was operated until the beginning of the 1990s, was dismantled after the floods in 2002 in connection with the rebuilding of the Dresden – Werdau main line.

Power station Coschütz

The Coschütz electricity works was built in 1899 on the site of a former water mill on the land border between Coschütz and Birkigt. In addition to Coschütz, it also supplied the Dresden suburb of Naußlitz, the towns of Birkigt, Boderitz, Cunnersdorf, Dölzschen, Gittersee, Groß- and Kleinburgk, Kleinnaundorf, Zschiedge and the manors in Burgk and Cunnersdorf with electrical energy. In 1937 the company was closed. The short connecting line existed since 1906. On August 1, 1955, it was dismantled.

Birkigt brickworks / Hansel machine factory

When the Moritzschacht branch railway was removed in 1861, the cause of the embankment migrations there was discovered. The exposed clay was later the basis for the production of a brick factory, which was built in place of the shaft from 1890. In 1894, the brickworks built a siding at its own expense. When the clay increasingly showed admixtures of saltpeter, the brickworks ceased operations in 1915. The site was subsequently used by the Otto Hänsel machine factory , which terminated the connection on September 30, 1969.

Conveyor technology Freital

Remnants of the Freital conveyor system connection, on the right in the background the buildings of the former Otto Hänsel machine factory (2011)

The two opposite connecting lines of the two operational parts of VEB Fördertechnik Freital (formerly bahnrechts Möbelfabrik Anton Schega and bahnlinks Mühlenbau-Anstalt Gebrüder Bühler) already existed before the Second World War. The connecting points in the main line were expanded in 2011 after the production site was abandoned by the Windbergbahnverein.

Moritz shaft

The Moritzschacht of the Gitterseer Steinkohlenbauverein was sunk in 1836 and produced until the bankruptcy of the company in 1859. The branch track, which had existed since July 1, 1867, began at kilometer 1.4. Its construction resulted in enormous costs, as there was no stable subsoil. It was opened again on July 10, 1861 with the backfilling of the shaft. Ten days later it was worn away. The uphill siding remained. The dam is still partially preserved.

Meisel shaft

Like the Moritzschacht, the Meiselschacht sunk in 1828 in Obergittersee belonged to the Gitterseer Steinkohlenbauverein. The short branch line, which was broken off again in 1859, led to two loading ramps. It comprised 550 meters of track with four points.

Mining company "Willy Agatz"

The siding to the shaft of the “Willy Agatz” hard coal works was not installed directly at Dresden-Gittersee station until after the Second World War. After the construction of a uranium ore processing plant, the connection advanced to become the most important freight transport point for the Windbergbahn. Block trains with uranium ore ended here several times a day.

After the processing plant was shut down, the current bismuth shaft remained the route's most important freight customer. VEB Reifenwerk, VEB Polypack and VEB Fettchemie later settled on the grounds of the processing plant . The connection was closed at the end of 1993 and later dismantled by the Windbergbahnverein.

Reiboldschacht

The Reiboldschacht was sunk in 1828 and belonged to the Potschappler Aktienverein. In 1871, after supplies were exhausted, dismantling was stopped and the branch line was canceled in 1872.

Windberg branch line (branch lines GHW and GHS)

The Windberg branch line began on the open track at junction 77. It led to the shafts of the Freiherrlich von Burgker coal and ironworks , Neuhoffnungsschacht and Segen-Gottes-Schacht as well as on the Windberg plateau to the Windbergschacht of the Potschappler Aktienverein. The route has been preserved in its entirety, some of it is used as a road or hiking trail. A remarkable seven meter long wooden bridge over a public path at Neuhoffnungsschacht, of which the eastern abutment has still been preserved.

Glückauf shaft

Railway body of the branch line to Glückauf-Schacht (2015)

The Glückauf bay in 1867 sunk . The connecting railway, built at the expense of the Baron von Burgker Steinkohlen- und Eisenhüttenwerke, was put into operation in 1875. It began directly at the Kleinnaundorf stop and then rose steadily to the shaft area. It was used to ship coal until the mine was closed in 1930. The railway line was then used to supply the briquette factory located in the shaft area with fine coal from the Königin-Carola shaft of the joint stock company Sächsische Werke . On July 27, 1942, the administration of the Burgker Werke transferred the site to the Dresden mineral oil products company "Kontak" GmbH, which was located here . After the Second World War, the successor company VEB Tankholzwerk and another seven connections continued to use the siding. The DR announced it on August 19, 1967 and had it dismantled a short time later.

Thürk quarry

The connection to the Thürk quarry existed from 1859. The quarry supplied gravel for the railway construction and shipped it in normal ten-ton freight wagons right from the start. The connection was closed in 1884/85.

Marienschacht

The former railway line at Marienschacht , the last remaining hard coal shaft in the Windberg area (2009)

The Marienschacht of the Baron von Burgker Steinkohlen- und Eisenhüttenwerke, which went into operation in 1893, was the youngest shaft in the Windberg area. It was located directly on the track of the Windbergbahn near Neubannewitz. A siding had existed since 1898. The shaft produced until April 11, 1930.

After the Second World War, the VEB Steinkohlenwerk Freital and SDAG Wismut continued to use the Marienschacht as a service shaft. The preserved shaft building with the striking Malakoff winding tower is a listed building.

Beckerschacht and Berglustschacht

The pits of the Hänichen coal mining association Beckerschacht and Berglustschacht in Hänichen and the neighboring persistence shaft in Rippien were the original reason for the construction of the Hänichen coal branch. The nominal end of the Hänichen coal branch line was located in the Berglustschacht at km 12.478.

Branch line GHR (persistence shaft)

The approximately one kilometer long branch line existed since the line opened. It began shortly before the end of the route at the Berglustschacht and led to the persistence shaft in Rippien. After the colliery was closed, the track was demolished in 1907.

Branch line GHP (Hermannschacht)

From 1862 a privately financed two-kilometer branch line led to the Hermannschacht of the Dresden-Possendorfer Aktienverein in Possendorf. It began at the end of the Berglustschacht track. The line was in operation until the Hermannschacht was shut down in 1868, then it was dismantled. From 1908, the first 200 meters of the old route were used to extend the Windbergbahn to Possendorf. From kilometer 12.7, the route was changed. The old route is still available up to the B 170 .

Branch line Dippoldschacht

To connect the Dippold shaft of Golberoder-Dippoldiswalder share a private club branch plan was planned. The approximately 880 meter long track should branch off at about 1.75 km of the Hermannschachtbahn. Due to the cessation of mining operations, the plan was not implemented.

Engineering structures

The construction of viaducts and tunnels could be avoided thanks to the alignment well adapted to the terrain. All that was needed was the construction of several small passages , all of which were made of sandstone . Some of them are still preserved and sustainable for today's rail traffic. The largest bridges are the 18 m long overpasses over Coschützer Strasse in Freital-Birkigt and over Karlsruher Strasse in Dresden-Gittersee. A total of 21 bridges and culverts once existed.

Vehicle use

Because of the 85-meter arch in the Geiersgraben, there are special restrictions on the use of vehicles on the Windbergbahn. Rigid-axle vehicles - regardless of whether they are locomotives or wagons - can only be used up to an axle base of 3.00 m. Vehicles with steering axles , on the other hand, can have an axle base of 4.50 m. Wagons with bogies were permitted up to a pivot spacing of 8.00 m and an overhang of 2.60 m up to the buffer level.

Locomotives and railcars

The BURGK (factory photo from 1866)

The former VII T HEGEL as a works locomotive in the Dresden-Friedrichstadt depot (1952)

The museum locomotive 98 001 (Saxon class I TV) in the Saxon Railway Museum in Chemnitz (2001)

Starting in 1856, Albertsbahn AG purchased five locomotives from Hartmann in Chemnitz specifically for use on the Hänichen coal branch line . They were given the names ELBE, WINDBERG, STEIGER, FREIBERG and BURGK . Due to their design with a leading bogie, they were well suited for traffic on the narrow radii of the coal railway. After the Albertsbahn AG was nationalized, all five locomotives were still part of the Kgl. Saxon State Railways, where they were henceforth classified in the class H VIIIb T. They were retired from 1885 to 1893.

To replace the old locomotives of the Albertsbahn, the double-coupled tank locomotives of type VII T came to the Hänichen coal branch line . Until the First World War the VII T handled all traffic. A total of 19 different locomotives that were used on the Windbergbahn at the time are proven. The HEGEL , which was built in 1886 at the Saxon machine works in Chemnitz , was preserved and, as a non-operational museum locomotive, belongs to the inventory of the Dresden Transport Museum .

Around 1900 the genus sä was tried out . M I TV . However, it was not used as planned.

In the years 1910 to 1914, the locomotives of type I TV, specially designed for the Windbergbahn, were put into service. Like the M I TV, they were designed as Meyer type bogie locomotives . The type IV K narrow-gauge locomotives served as a constructive model , which proved themselves well in use on the winding narrow-gauge railways in Saxony . The Deutsche Reichsbahn classified the locomotives in the 98.0 series from 1925. Until the mid-1960s, the locomotives handled all the traffic on the Windbergbahn, when they were replaced by diesel locomotives. The 98 001 (ex I TV 1394) was preserved and belongs to the Dresden Transport Museum as a non-operational museum locomotive . It is on loan at the Saxon Industrial Museum in Chemnitz .

From January 4 to 9, 1934, the four-axle internal combustion engine 766 ran on a trial basis together with a two-axle sidecar (number range 140 001ff).

Diesel locomotives of the DR series V 60 (later series 106, today 346) with wheel flange lubrication replaced the worn steam locomotives at the end of the 1960s. They handled all traffic until 1993.

dare

Freight wagons

Brescius' Belgian coal hunt with a load capacity of three tons served as a model for the coal wagons. The Albertsbahn AG wagons had a load capacity of five tons and were made of wood. The extended longitudinal beams also served as unsprung buffers. A simple coupling with hook and hook function as a pulling device that was compatible with normal state railroad cars. First the Dresden company Schrumpf & Thomas, later the Lüders company in Görlitz built the cars. The 34 wagons of the first delivery could only be unloaded by hand, and they had removable side panels. All other 256 cars were equipped with a hinged floor for heavyweight unloading.

As the successor to the coal hunt, normal freight wagons of the state railway were used from the turn of the century. A special situation did not arise until the 1960s, when the Coschütz tire factory received more and more wagons from other railways in the entrance. With a special permit, two-axle wagons with an axle base between 4500 and 6500 millimeters could therefore also be transported from 1965 if they were lined up at the rear of the train with special coupling rods that were attached to the draw hooks. Two cars coupled in this way were permitted per train. Trolleys with buffer plates smaller than 450 mm were problematic. In order to avoid overbuffering, they were given temporary buffer plates of appropriate size screwed on for the journey on the Windbergbahn from 1971.

Passenger coaches

3rd class passenger wagon of type C Sa 12 ("Windberg Viewing Car")

In the first years of passenger transport, existing passenger coaches were initially used, which could be used on the Windbergbahn with their short wheelbase. Almost all of them were compartment cars, some of which were already 35 years old and with their small windows were no longer up to date. From 1910 onwards, two open observation cars with a roof , which had been converted from two old compartment cars, ran on the Windbergbahn for the first time .

It was not until 1911 that a completely new generation of cars came into use, known as the Windberg observation car . The wagon and machine factory in Bautzen built four of the new wagons especially for the Windbergbahn. The wide windows and glazed viewing platforms were new. One of these cars was preserved. As an operational museum car, it is owned by Windbergbahn e. V.

In the 1930s, the last compartment cars still available for reserve purposes were finally retired. Therefore, replacements had to be procured, as the existing observation cars were not always sufficient. But there were no suitable modern wagons because they were all too long. They did not want to have new cars built, so the running gear was adapted for some type C Sa 95 compartment cars (see class 156). The wheelbase was reduced to 4500 mm and the new design was designated as C Sa 95/32. In 1936 there were five such converted cars. On November 9, 1957, the last passenger train of the Windbergbahn ran alongside the two existing observation cars and the Prussian freight train van as well as two of these conversion wagons.

Museum of the history of the Windbergbahn

The museum for the history of the Windbergbahn is set up in the waiting hall of the former reception building of the Dresden-Gittersee train station. Along with the railway museum Bw Dresden-Altstadt , the Dresden Transport Museum and the Dresden Tram Museum, it is one of four museums in Dresden that deal with rail-bound transport.

The small exhibition recalls the history of the railway line. There are display boards with photos and drawings as well as historical objects. It is supplemented by a souvenir shop, in which the relevant literature is offered. In the goods shed, which was completed in 1920, a Jüdel- type mechanical signal box can be viewed again. It has been in this location since 1957 and is the only one on the route.

The association's railway vehicles are presented on the tracks of the Dresden-Gittersee train station.

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  Detail on the museum building

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  Saxon inclination pointer

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  information sign

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  Former goods handling

The existing route

In Hänichen the route of the Windbergbahn is used as a road.

With the exception of the dismantled branch in Freital Ost, the route as far as Dresden-Gittersee is kept in a passable condition. After repairing some track damage, regular train traffic would be possible again in the future.

The further stretch to the end point Possendorf has been dismantled since 1951 and 1972. Thanks to the monument protection declared in 1980, the former railway line has been preserved throughout, with the exception of a short section on the premises of Kompressorenbau Bannewitz. A cycle path has been running on the track since the 1990s.

literature

• Gunther Hoyer: The Windbergbahn, the first German mountain railway. in: Messages from the Saxon Homeland Security Association . Issue 2/1992, pp. 29-33.
• Hans-Ullrich Sandig: The Windbergbahn - on its 120th anniversary . in: Sächsische Heimatblätter 24 (1978) 4, pp. 145–153
• Rainer Scheffler: About the "cross spiders" of the Windbergbahn . in: Modelleisenbahner 30 (1981) 3, pp. 75/76
• Jürgen Schubert: The Windbergbahn . Transpress VEB Verlag für Verkehrwesen, Berlin 1982, without ISBN, or Alba-Verlag, Düsseldorf, ISBN 3-87094-202-9 .
• Jürgen Schubert: The Windbergbahn . Kenning Verlag, Nordhorn 1993, ISBN 3-927587-18-4 .

Movie

• The Windbergbahn (episode 276, from 10:50) ,SWR's railway romance broadcast

Web links

Commons : Windbergbahn  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

• Saxon Museum Railway Association Windbergbahn e. V.
• Information about the Windbergbahn at www.sachsenschiene.de
• Saxon Industrial Museum: Tender locomotive 98.001 ( Memento from July 31, 2013 in the web archive archive.today )
• The Windbergbahn in the Stadtwiki Dresden

Individual evidence

1. ^ Günther Reiche: The Chemnitz machine builder Richard Hartmann and his locomotives . Oberbaum Verlag, Chemnitz 1998, p. 82.
2. ^ Jürgen Schubert: The Windbergbahn. Kenning Verlag, Nordhorn 1993, p. 16.
3. ^ Jürgen Schubert: The Windbergbahn . Kenning Verlag, Nordhorn 1993, p. 83.
4. ^ German course book - annual timetable 1944/45 - valid from July 3, 1944 until further notice
5. ↑ The course of the attacks . In: Sächsische Zeitung , February 12, 2005.
6. ^ Extension of the Selketalbahn to Quedlinburg. Friends of the Selketalbahn e. V. (FKS), accessed on July 10, 2016 . 
7. ^ Jürgen Schubert: The Windbergbahn . Kenning Verlag, Nordhorn 1993, pp. 89f.
8. ^ Jürgen Schubert: The Windbergbahn. Kenning Verlag, Nordhorn 1993, p. 88.
9. ↑ Windbergbahn: Bahn withdraws complaint. (No longer available online.) Federal Railway Authority, November 14, 2006, archived from the original on July 10, 2016 ; accessed on July 10, 2016 (press release). 
10. ↑ Windbergbahn is for sale . In: Sächsische Zeitung edition Dresden, December 15, 2006.
11. ↑ Discussion about the name “Sächsische Semmeringbahn” ( memento from November 22, 2013 in the web archive archive.today ), Windbergbahn e. V., December 13, 2006.
12. ^ Sächsisch-Böhmische Semmeringbahn SB 71 ( Memento from February 17, 2013 in the web archive archive.today ), Verkehrsverbund Oberelbe.
13. ↑ Handing over of the signature lists to the Freital City Council ( memento of July 10, 2016 in the web archive archive.today ), Windbergbahn e. V., December 4, 2008.
14. ↑ Can the Windbergbahn start steaming again soon? . In: Sächsische Zeitung edition Dresden, October 23, 2010.
15. ^ Matthias Weigel: Windbergbahner start rebuilding the line , Sächsische Zeitung of June 4th, 2011.
16. ^ Statutes of the Saxon Museum Railway Association Windbergbahn e. V. of March 7, 2009 (PDF; 310 kB)
17. ^ Jürgen Schubert: The Windbergbahn . Kenning Verlag, Nordhorn 1993, p. 94f.
18. ^ DB Netz infrastructure register
19. ↑ ^{a b} Jürgen Schubert: The Windbergbahn . Kenning Verlag, Nordhorn 1993, p. 45.
20. ↑ Work on the redesign of the Dresden-Gittersee station , updates from Windbergbahn e. V. at www.windbergbahn.de, 23 August 2008.
21. ↑ Stadtverwaltung Freital (Hrsg.): Monuments in Freital - workshop report 3 of a municipal working group against forgetting . Freital 2013, p. 52-55 .
22. ^ Peter Weckbrodt: Change of operator at the Kleinnaundorf station. In: Dresdner Latest News , October 26, 2012 ( PDF; 261 KB ).
23. ^ Jürgen Schubert: The Windbergbahn. transpress VEB Verlag for Transport, Berlin 1982, p. 102.
24. ^ Description of Boderitz-Cunnersdorf on www.saechsische-semmeringbahn.de
25. ^ Jürgen Schubert: The Windbergbahn . Kenning Verlag, Nordhorn 1993, p. 50.
26. ↑ Arrival at 6 p.m. at Hänichen train station. In: Blog of the Windbergbahn e. V. December 17, 2010, accessed July 10, 2016 . 
27. ^ Jürgen Schubert: The Windbergbahn . Kenning Verlag, Nordhorn 1993, p. 52f.
28. ^ IV. Class car travels to Possendorf. In: Blog of the Windbergbahn e. V. December 21, 2011, accessed July 10, 2016 . 
29. ↑ Coschütz on www.dresdner-stadtteile.de
30. ^ Jürgen Schubert: The Windbergbahn . Kenning Verlag, Nordhorn 1993, p. 85.
31. ^ Jürgen Schubert: The Windbergbahn . transpress VEB Verlag for Transport, Berlin 1982, p. 151.
32. ↑ Freight wagons at www.windbergbahn.de. Archived from the original on October 24, 2007 ; Retrieved January 4, 2013 . 
33. ^ Eisenbahngeschichte No. 18 Oct./Nov 2006. Verlag DGEG Medien, p. 12f.
34. ^ Jürgen Schubert: The Windbergbahn . Kenning Verlag, Nordhorn 1993, p. 25.
35. ^ Jürgen Schubert: The Windbergbahn . Kenning Verlag, Nordhorn 1993, p. 76.
36. ^ Jürgen Schubert: The Windbergbahn . Kenning Verlag, Nordhorn 1993, p. 69ff.

This article was added to the list of excellent articles on March 10, 2010 in this version .

Coordinates: 51 ° 0 ′ 23.5 "  N , 13 ° 40 ′ 31.6"  E