Plaue – Themar railway line

Plaue (door) subject
Route number :	6694 (Plaue – Rennsteig) 6708 (Rennsteig – Themar)
Course book section (DB) :	566
Route length:	62 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Maximum slope :	61.2  ‰
Legend from Neudietendorf 0.00 Plaue (door) 331 m to Ritschenhausen Angelroda Viaduct (100 m) 7.35 Martinroda 430 m Bundesautobahn 71 ( Reichenbach Viaduct ) 10.32 Geraberg 473 m 12.06 Elgersburg 495 m 15.00 Ilmenau-Roda 513 m 16.75 Ilmenau Pörlitzer Höhe (since 1995) 492 m Connection to the porcelain factory (2 km; 1973–1991) 19.18 Ilmenau 478 m to Großbreitenbach 20.45 Ilmenau bath 485.8 m 23.83 Manebach 520.1 m Meyersgrund (until 1920) 28.98 Stützerbach 591.9 m 30.81 Beginning of the rack section (until 1927) 32.93 End of rack section (until 1927) 33.38 Rennsteig to Frauenwald 747.7 m 33.93 Beginning of the rack section (until 1927) 35.13 End of rack section (until 1927) 35.27 Schmiedefeld am Rennsteig 681.6 m 35.76 Beginning of the rack section (until 1927) 36.94 End of rack section (until 1927) 37.88 Beginning of the rack section (until 1927) 38.93 End of rack section (until 1927) 39.00 Thomas Mill 551.6 m 42.92 Schleusinger Neundorf 467.2 m 47.25 Close to the bottom 411.5 m A 73 49.00 Schleusingen East 418.2 m 49.24 Beginning of the rack section (until 1927) 49.99 End of rack section (until 1927) from Suhl 50.98 Schleusingen 371.6 m 53.08 Rappelsdorf 57.26 Zollbrück (Thür) 59.17 Veßra Monastery from Lichtenfels 61.97 Themar to Eisenach

The Plaue – Themar line is a branch line in Thuringia . It branches off the Neudietendorf – Ritschenhausen railway line in Plaue and leads over the ridge of the Thuringian Forest via Ilmenau and Schleusingen to Themar , where it joins the Eisenach – Lichtenfels railway line . The section Stützerbach – Schleusingerneundorf was the first Prussian railway to be equipped with an Abt rack and pinion system in order to be able to safely negotiate the enormous incline.

The section from Plaue to Rennsteig station is now served by the Süd-Thüringen-Bahn , from Plaue to Ilmenau every hour (on weekdays with some additional express trains), from Ilmenau to Rennsteig only on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays every two hours. Museum trains also run occasionally. There is sometimes freight traffic on the southern part.

Plaue-Ilmenau

Route

Plaue station , starting point of the route

Today's branch line branches off the Erfurt – Schweinfurt line at Plaue station . On the 10 km long section to Geraberg you have to overcome 200 meters in altitude. The route was not chosen here in the more favorably located Reichenbachtal, but along the slope in the valley of the Zahmer Gera . The reasons are historical ( see section History ). There are numerous rock breakthroughs here, as the terrain is very impassable. The route climbs steeply on the western slope of the valley and in Angelroda reaches a height of approx. 30 m above the valley. In this place the valley is spanned by a viaduct , which is followed by a 20 m deep breakthrough. Here the route changes from the Geratal to the Reichenbachtal . It continues through relatively flat terrain past the village of Martinroda , which also has a stop, but is about 2 km from the village. The next place on the route is Geraberg. The route changes again from Reichenbachtal to Geratal . The route leads above the village around the Mönchsheide mountain to Elgersburg train station . In the village there is an approx. 12 m deep breakthrough through which the route changes again from the Geratal to the Reichenbachtal. Here it leads relatively flat at the edge of the forest in a south-easterly direction to Ilmenau-Roda . The apex of the section is reached there at 515 meters. Then it leads in a wide arc, past the Ilmenau Pörlitzer Höhe stop (newly established in 1995) through the town of Ilmenau down into the Ilm valley , where the Ilmenau train station is at 477 meters above sea level.

history

Prehistory and construction

Course through the small Thuringian states (until 1920)

When the Arnstädter with the railway Neudietendorf Arnstadt received their path, the call for the railroad grew louder in Ilmenau. The efforts initially failed due to the political fragmentation of Thuringia. On the planned route between Arnstadt and Ilmenau, the rulers of four small Thuringian states had to be asked for consent. These had little interest in competing with the economy in their capitals along the Leipzig-Weimar-Erfurt-Gotha-Eisenach line. On the other side were the traffic planners who were already forging further plans, such as a connection Ilmenau – Suhl , which would have belonged to the Berlin – Stuttgart line, and a connection Ilmenau – Saalfeld . Prussia in particular pushed for an efficient connection between Suhl (Suhl and Erfurt belonged to Prussia) to the northern Thuringian foreland and an efficient access to the arms industry located in Suhl. A later extension of the route via Stützerbach to Suhl, which was planned by the project engineers in the early planning phase, was not carried out because no agreement was reached between the small Thuringian states affected by the route and the construction costs were too high. With this variant, an approximately 2000 m long tunnel would have had to be built under the ridge of the Thuringian Forest in the area of ​​the Schmücke / Großer Finsterberg.

When the Thuringian Railway Company wanted to continue the route from Arnstadt to Ilmenau in 1876 , difficult negotiations had to be conducted with the various state representatives. The Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Ernst II offered the greatest resistance . The Thuringian Railway Company knew that the Duke liked to relax in Elgersburg and wanted to meet him with a route originally following the valley of the Tame Gera and via Geschwenda , Arlesberg (the place later merged with the central Thuringian Gera to today's Geraberg ) reach Elgersburg. This plan failed due to the initial resistance of the duke, who wanted to build his own route from Ohrdruf to Elgersburg, which would only have run over his territory, but also to massive protests from Geschwenda citizens against the railway. The citizens feared that constant boiler explosions would devastate the country, that the smoke from the locomotives would pollute the air, make the grass bitter and that the cows would only give sour milk when they saw the monsters - common prejudices in those days. B. George Stephenson also had to fight in England. The entire route planned as a result in the Reichenbachtal via Martinroda was very much welcomed there and Martinroda provided any desired route free of charge. This route failed because of the renewed veto of the Gotha Duke. Since his desired route from Ohrdruf to Elgersburg turned out to be far too expensive, he had to give up this project and now wanted a train station in Elgersburg on the Arnstadt – Ilmenau route. His approval for the project was also needed because one had to drive on his sovereign territory in the Arnstadt – Plaue section. The sole route from Plaue in the Reichenbachtal would not have touched Elgersburg, but would have been a lot cheaper. However, one was dependent on the consent of the Duke and therefore fulfilled his wish for a large and representative train station in Elgersburg, in which additional tracks had to be permanently available for the provision of his special trains.

The viaduct in Angelroda (before the renovation)

The now necessary route with the complex and expensive engineering structures in Angelroda was now necessary in order to still be able to fulfill the assurance given to Martinroda, even if the Martinroda train station no longer had to be built in the village, but 2 km away from it. With the new, complex route, it was also avoided to touch the area of ​​the Geschwenda community, whose citizens were vehemently against building a railway. Martinroda and Geraberg (at that time still called Gera) provided all plots of land on the route virtually free of charge, as promised. With the new routing, Geraberg now also has a train station. This is only about 1.1 km as the crow flies from the train station in Elgersburg, and is also connected to it by a direct road, but the connection was difficult in terms of rail technology, is 1.7 km long and required an extensive, deep rock cut. In Angelroda they were anything but enthusiastic about the now necessary 26 m high dam on the outskirts, as they were less afraid of the "good air" that came down from the Thuringian Forest in the fall winds . They wanted a bridge that was as remote as possible. This would have made the project, which is now estimated at 4,140,000 M, more expensive by a further 27,000 M, funds that the Thuringian Railway Company did not want to raise for the benefit of the Angelroda forest farmers. The small village of Angelroda itself did not have the necessary financial means to relocate the route, which would have caused the builder only a fraction of the costs that were spent solely on the special requests of the Gotha Duke.

The Principality of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt wanted to continue the route to Gehren and on to Schwarzburg , Rudolstadt and Saalfeld . There would have been a connection to the Gera – Saalfeld – Eichicht line opened in 1871 . The building permit for the Arnstadt – Ilmenau line was therefore only granted under the condition that this connecting line had to be built within 10 years and that the entire line was at least prepared for double-track operation. This requirement meant that all viaducts, mountain cuts and bridges had to be built significantly larger than originally planned. All stone bridges and also the 825 m long and up to 8.5 m high dam behind Plaue in the direction of Ilmenau across the valley of the Zahmen Gera (in Plaue the valley is called "Sand") were laid out for the later laying of a second track. In the case of steel bridges such as the viaduct over Angelroda, however, only the stone abutments were prepared for two tracks, whereas the steel superstructures and piers were only single-track. The line was later only expanded to two tracks between Arnstadt and Plaue as part of the construction of the main line from Plaue via Oberhof and Suhl to Würzburg and Stuttgart.

As a result of the tough negotiations, the Thuringian Railway Company was able to conclude contracts with all four Thuringian principalities concerned. The signing took place with Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach on April 16, 1877, with Saxe-Coburg and Gotha as well as Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt on June 6, 1877 and with Schwarzburg-Sondershausen on June 27, 1877. In the winter of 1877/78 logging began, the first groundbreaking took place on April 23, 1878 on the Kleiner Spiegelsberg between Roda and Elgersburg. The construction was divided into two sections (Arnstadt – Angelroda and Angelroda – Ilmenau) and it was carried out simultaneously in all construction phases. An average of 300 workers were employed in each section. Among them were very many workers from Italy, Croatia, Poland and Tyrol. The earnings in the summer amounted to 3.50M to 4.50M per day, in winter because of the shorter days 2.25M to 3.25M per day. Day laborers received 2.25 M per day. During the construction work, five workers were killed in accidents at work; there were also five seriously injured and eleven slightly injured. Essentially, the route was built by hand, from Arnstadt a field railway was used.

The most outstanding achievements were the rock cut up to 26 m deep when driving through the mountain to the bridge in Angelroda and the earth moving for the 825 m long and up to 8.5 m high dam near Plaue. For this dam, 90,000 m³ of rock were broken out of the rock below and 150,000 m³ above the route. A funicular railway was used for this, which ran on a wooden scaffolding that had previously been erected and marking the future embankment, from which the rock for the embankment was poured down. The wooden framework later remained in the finished dam. Almost the entire route had to be loosened with explosive charges. 2,950 kg of dynamite , 8,810 kg of black powder and 115,000 primers were used in around 10,000 boreholes.

From Plaue, the route has gradients of 1:50 to 1:70 and, with its radii of only 300 m in places, represents a real mountain route. The largest quarry stone bridge on the route is the Marienbrücke near Plaue. It spans the former B4 at kilometer 15.9. The largest bridge on the route is the arched viaduct in Angelroda. It is 26.5 m high, 100.4 m long and consists of three fields. 253 tons of steel were used for the bridge. It was erected in a method that was very innovative at the time using auxiliary scaffolding as an inserted bridge. For this purpose, the individual sections of the bridge were mounted on the projections of the viaduct and moved towards the bridge piers using cables. The location of the entire bridge in a narrow curved track made this bridge construction difficult and also posed a challenge for the designers. Another curiosity is the execution of the retaining walls at the end bearings of the bridge piers. Here, the retaining walls were not inclined, as is usually the case, but built in a stepped manner. It is not yet known why the greater and self-reinforcing stability of the retaining wall was dispensed with due to a slope. The original steel lattice structures of the two pillars were cast in concrete in 1905 to increase the load-bearing capacity. In contrast to the steel piers, the now concrete bridge piers were designed to accommodate the superstructures that were never installed for the second track. On the new, wider pillars, a new, more load-bearing structure was built parallel to the previous bridge, the tracks were swiveled onto this and the old superstructures, with the exception of the old bridge piers, were demolished. The eastern side of the pillar has been undeveloped since then. The masonry structure of the bridge piers is deceptive and only has an optical character. In fact, the pillars are not bricked, but a solid concrete cast.

Later development

On August 6, 1879, the Arnstadt – Ilmenau line was opened.

The continuation of the line from Ilmenau to Gehren, which was planned for the construction of the line, went into operation on November 13, 1881. The planned extension to Königsee and Saalfeld did not take place, however, and the temporarily planned extension to Stadtilm and Weimar through the Ilm valley was not built. Königsee was reached in 1899 with the Schwarzatalbahn from Rudolstadt , the gap to Gehren of only 8 km through geologically easily accessible terrain was never built and this was partly responsible for the later closure of both branch lines due to lack of profitability . However, the line to Gehren was extended to Großbreitenbach on December 2, 1883 (see main article, Ilmenau – Großbreitenbach railway ). This was not originally planned route led to the curiosity that the train station in Miter now unplanned for railway terminus was. The planned continuation from Großbreitenbach to Schönbrunn or Katzhütte (which the Schwarzatalbahn reached from Rudolstadt on August 18, 1900) did not take place. In particular, the 7 km connection to Katzhütte would have greatly improved the profitability of the route, but it did not take place due to the difficult geological situation.

Angelroda Viaduct, 2006

In the last days of the Second World War , the bridge in Angelroda, which is completely insignificant for the war, was prepared for demolition . Citizens of Angelroda, who feared damage to their houses, some of which were directly on the bridge, delayed the demolition until American troops arrived. During the Cold War there was fear of sabotage on the bridge. That is why it was permanently guarded by the military from 1950 to 1958/59.

During the GDR era, the line initially had the course book number 189d, and since 1968 the Reichsbahndirektion Erfurt has had DR number 622 on the Erfurt-Schleusingen section (0.0 km Erfurt Hbf - 22.6 km Arnstadt Hbf - 30.9 km Plaue) (Thür) - 50.1 km Ilmenau - 64.3 km Rennsteig - 66.2 km Schmiedefeld - 81.9 km Schleusingen).

A general overhaul of the line took place in the summer of 1970. The superstructure was replaced and the track was often relocated to the middle of the subgrade, as a double-track expansion was no longer to be expected.

In 2012/2013, the line between Plaue and Ilmenau was renovated with a full closure for several months and the line speed increased to 80 km / h. Adjacent rock faces were secured with a special network over a length of two kilometers. The three steel framework superstructures of the viaduct near Angelroda were excavated with mobile cranes and then repaired. A total of 13 million euros was earmarked for the measures. Due to severe corrosion damage to the bridge superstructure, it could not be lifted in again as planned at the end of October 2012. The recommissioning of the line was postponed from November 19, 2012 to May 16, 2013. The renovation of the section between Elgersburg and Ilmenau, originally planned in a separate construction phase, was brought forward and should also be completed by May 2013. After the refurbished bridge superstructures were lifted in in mid-July 2013, the line was put back into operation on August 11, 2013.

The railway line was tendered for in the diesel network in southern Thuringia . The contract was awarded to the Süd-Thüringen-Bahn , which replaced the Erfurt Railway as the operator when the timetable changed in December 2017 .

Accidents and breakdowns

In the winter of 1928/29 the temperature fell to -38 ° C. This led to the cessation of operations for several days due to the icing up of the water supply, the locomotives and the switches on the line.

On January 9, 1935, a freight train derailed in Martinroda when it was leaving for Ilmenau. The locomotive 94 1026 overturned and leaned against a mountain slope at an angle of approx. 45 °. It has been recovered and repaired. Personal injuries are not recorded.

On February 6, 1945, the Arnstadt depot was bombed. This attack cost the lives of 70 slave laborers who were housed in barracks set up not far from the depot.

Shortly before the end of the war, a P-38 Lightning shot at a passenger train coming from Arnstadt near Geraberg, in which people also died, including a pregnant woman.

In the last days of the war, German soldiers senselessly blew up isolated bridges, such as the small bridge over Reichsstrasse 88, today's B88, behind Elgersburg. This was replaced by a wooden emergency bridge by July 1, 1945 and finally repaired again in 1948 by installing a steel superstructure.

Vehicles used on the route

Due to the nature of the route as a mountain route and main line, locomotives suitable for this route profile were used on it from the start. Flatland runners only reached Ilmenau in exceptional cases. The three-coupled TEG tender and tender locomotives were soon followed by Prussian three-couplers such as the G3 freight locomotive and the pr. T9 ¹ and pr. T9 ² and later the pr. T11 (BR 74 ^0-3 ) with 15 t axle load. The four-coupler pr. G7 (a Prussian freight tender locomotive) and the Prussian P4 ² express train tender locomotive in use. On July 1, 1914, BW Arnstadt had the following locomotive stock:

G4 ² (BR 53 ⁰ ) 3829
G5 ⁴ (BR 54 ^8-10 ) 4155, 4178
G7 ² (BR 55 ^7-13 ) 4614, 4628, 4654, 4659, 4660, 4661, 4662, 4674, 4680, 4704
G8 ( BR 55 ^16-22 ) 4804, 4807
pr. G10 (BR 57 ^10-35 ) 5405, 5406, 5407, 5408
pr. P3 ¹ 1626
pr. P4 ¹ (BR 36 ^0-4 ) 1805, 1836, 1926, 1927, 1928
pr. S4 (BR 13 ⁵ ) 404 (originally based in Bromberg)
pr. S6 (BR 13 ^10-12 ) 605 (originally based in Altona)
pr. T9 ³ (BR 91 ^3-18 ) 7207, 7208 (both originally located in Danzig), 7264, 7266 (both originally located in Bromberg), 7287 (originally located in Altona)
pr. T13 (BR 92 ^5-10 ) 7902 (originally based in Altona)
pr. T15 (BR 94 ⁷⁰ ) 8004, 8008, 8009, 8022, 8025 (none of the five-way coupled freight locomotives were taken over by the DRG 1920)
pr. T16 (BR 94 ^2–4 ) 8112, 8113, 8117 (originally all based in Altona)

By April 1, 1920, the day the DRG was founded , the first Prussian pr. T16 and pr. T16 ^{1 is used} as a replacement for the failure-prone T15. These five-way coupled tank locomotives, designated by the DRG as BR 94, were able to drive on the steep sections of the Rennsteigbahn behind Ilmenau in adhesion mode. These locomotives made the previous rack and pinion drive superfluous on the steep sections of the Rennsteigbahn. In 1922, all cogwheel locomotives were therefore relocated to Suhl.

In 1920 Prussian T18 (BR 78) were used to transport passenger trains between Erfurt and Ilmenau. They replaced the BR 74 ^0-3 (pr. T 11). The home of 74 271 in Ilmenau is still secured until 1925.

From 1923 machines of the series pr. T20 (BR 95 ⁰ ) used. These powerful tank locomotives accelerated traffic and they could also handle larger trailer loads. However, their use from 1923 onwards occasionally caused damage to the superstructure, as these locomotives with their 19 t axle mass were classic main-line locomotives. These main lines were reinforced to 20 t axle mass and so the superstructure was reinforced on the Plaue-Ilmenau line so that the locomotive could continue to be used, although the line was not a main line.

The stock of locomotives at the Arnstadt depot was as follows on January 1, 1937:

BR 39 166, 167, 169, 170, 171, 210 (preferred use on the routes to Oberhof and Saalfeld)
BR 58 ^10-21 1920
BR 78 079, 082, 096, 122, 399, 424, 425, 503
BR 94 847 , 924, 925, 976, 984, 985, 1007, 1026, 1141, 1146, 1167, 1168, 1566
BR 95 ⁰ 005, 020, 021, 022, 023, 024, 025, 027, 028, 029

From 1943, class 52 and class 42 war locomotives were also used on the route.

After the war, the BR 93 (pr. T 14 ¹ ) , which had not previously operated on the line, was used.

From Arnstadt, the coal dust locomotives of the BR 44 ⁹ and BR 58 ^{9 also operated} on the route.

From the summer of 1956, new DR steam locomotives of the BR 65 ^{10 series} were used. These powerful universal tank locomotives soon dominated train traffic on the connection to Ilmenau. On September 23, 1977, an era finally came to an end with the last scheduled steam deployment of 65 1042 on the line. In the steep sections of the Ilmenau – Schleusingen line, the class 94 steam locomotives could only hold up until 1971, when the class 118 ^2-4 and later the modernized version class 118 ^{6-8 took over} the covering with a higher output. The BR 118 ^{2-4 (6-8)} was the only German large diesel locomotive with full branch line capability, because it had only 15.6 t axle load, but 2000 (BR 118 ^2-4 ) to 2400 (BR 118 ^6-8 ) HP and was therefore ideally suited for the steep sections behind Ilmenau.

The number of locomotives at the Arnstadt depot from January 1, 1975 testifies to the foreseeable end of steam operations:

BR 44 ⁹ 9232 (coal dust)
BR 65 ¹⁰ 1004, 1008, 1012, 1029, 1036, 1039, 1040, 1041, 1042, 1046, 1048, 1049, 1050, 1054, 1061, 1073
BR 94 1601
BR 106 310, 449, 454, 494, 648, 789, 798
BR 118 ^2-4 349, 406
BR 120 004, 005, 037, 056, 060, 064, 066, 080, 288, 290, 292, 300

The locomotives of the BR 120 were replaced in 1982 by the more powerful BR 131 . These heavy freight locomotives were also used in front of passenger trains in the summer. However, the lack of a train heater prevented it from being used in the colder seasons. The main-line diesel locomotives of the BR 132 , which are equipped with train heating, ran on the line from the mid-1980s, and from 1987 they were also based in the Arnstadt depot. The BR 120 and BR 131/132 were too heavy for the steep sections. They were reserved for the BR 118 ^6-8 . In 1992 locomotives of the BR 213 of the former DB were moved to Erfurt and replaced the locomotives of the BR 118.5-8, which had been renamed BR 228.

Class 119 locomotives were only used on the line after the fall of the Wall . Here, too, they proved to be prone to failure and were replaced by class 628 railcars .

Today's train service

Diesel multiple unit of the Erfurt Railway near Ilmenau

Today, the Plaue – Ilmenau section is operated every hour by the STB 46 line (Erfurt – Arnstadt – Ilmenau, route book route 566) of the South Thuringia Railway. Usually two diesel multiple units of the type Regio-Shuttle (150 seats) are used. Since then, the Süd-Thüringen-Bahn has also operated a manned ticket office in Ilmenau station.

Since the timetable change in June 2014, trains of the Erfurt Railway have been running to Rennsteig station on weekends and public holidays. Four pairs of trains were used on the route between Ilmenau and Rennsteig on the operating days. It was not clear until the end of 2017 that the Süd-Thüringen-Bahn would also operate the Rennsteig shuttle for eleven years from the timetable change in December and thus for the same duration as the diesel network in South Thuringia .

Ilmenau – Schleusingen (Rennsteigbahn)

Route

simplified elevation profile of the Plaue – Schleusingen section

Ilmenau train station

Rennsteig train station

Stützerbach station

The Ilmenau – Schleusingen section has a length of 31.8 km. The line to Großbreitenbach, which was closed in 1998, branched off directly behind the Ilmenau train station . In a long right-hand bend, the line stretches 1.3 km through the Ilmenau urban area to the Ilmenau Bad train station . From here the route follows the Ilm valley at the foot of the Kickelhahn to Manebach . The train station is in the lower part of the approximately two kilometer long street village . The route continues along the Ilm valley through the Meyersgrund, where there was another stop until 1920, to Stützerbach. The train station is at the beginning of the village in the valley. The route separates here from Bundesstraße 4 (B 4). This also runs up to here in the Ilm Valley and then leads up in serpentines to the Rennsteig. The first steep section of the route begins behind Stützerbach. A height difference of 156 m is overcome over a distance of 4.4 km. The route of the Rennsteigbahn initially follows the Lengwitz . The steepest section of the route north of the Rennsteig follows in the valley of the Göpfersbach, with a gradient of sometimes over 60 ‰. The apex of the route is at the Rennsteig switchback station at an altitude of 747.7 m above sea level. NN. Behind the Rennsteig train station, the route descends on the next steep section (59 ‰) to reach Schmiedefeld am Rennsteig after two kilometers . After Schmiedefeld, the route leads along the right slope of the Nahe valley . There are two more steep sections with a slope of 59 ‰. At Schleusingerneundorf the route reaches the valley floor of the Nahe and runs next to the B 4 into the train station. Behind Schleusingerneundorf the valley widens and the route continues alongside the road. It then leads directly through Hinternah , where the foothills begin. Shortly before the Schleusingen Ost stop, the route leaves the Nahe. The last steep section (59 ‰) down into the Erletal begins here . Here the line meets the tracks of the Suhl – Schleusingen railway line and leads to Schleusingen station .

history

Pushed train in front of Schleusingen Ost around 1910

The first plans for a railway line from Ilmenau via Stützerbach to Suhl were made in 1868. This project failed because of complex structures and the fact that the approval of various countries was necessary.

Schleusingen belonged to Prussia since 1815 . There were many glass and porcelain factories in the area . After the line from Schleusingen to Themar had been built in 1888, Schleusingen city councilors tried to convince the Prussian government of the necessity and profitability of a railway line to Ilmenau in order to further promote economic development. In 1899 the decision was made to build the line. In the same year surveying work began; In 1903 the construction of the line began. The construction work lasted 15 months. The construction costs were only 3 million marks instead of the planned 4.4 million , partly because numerous guest workers were involved in the construction. The operation started in August 1904 as a rack railway .

From 1913 to 1965 there was a connection to the Rennsteig – Frauenwald railway line at Rennsteig station .

Until the end of the Second World War, the route had only a local significance, but this changed after the founding of the GDR. Since many more distant travel destinations were initially difficult and later no longer accessible, tourism in the Thuringian Forest experienced its heyday. There were continuous holiday trains from Schmiedefeld to Berlin; the 1990/1991 DR timetable names a daily pair of trains between Schmiedefeld and Magdeburg.

Freight traffic on the steep section Stützerbach – Schleusingen had already been stopped on January 1, 1970. The rest of the route was discontinued on December 31, 1993.

Even after the reunification of the GDR , there was express train traffic on this branch line from Themar to Erfurt and in the opposite direction. On May 23, 1998 the regular local rail passenger traffic was discontinued.

Use from 1998

The line from Ilmenau to Schleusingen was taken over in 2003 by the rail transport and infrastructure company Rennsteigbahn GmbH & Co KG, which maintains the line and carries out privately organized museum trips on it, mostly with class 94.5-17 steam locomotives . When the 2006 annual timetable came into force, there was again scheduled traffic between Ilmenau and Ilmenau Bad and on weekends from Ilmenau to Stützerbach , which was operated by the Erfurt Railway. However, this was discontinued in December 2007. At the end of 2009 there were reports that weekend and holiday traffic from Ilmenau to Rennsteig train station was planned. This notification was renewed in April 2014 and announced as a trial run from Erfurt to Rennsteigbahnhof at least until 2016 at mdr .

On June 15, 2014, the Erfurt Railway was to start operating on the line by extending the railway from Erfurt to Ilmenau to Rennsteig station every two hours on Sundays and public holidays . After the district administrator Petra Enders succeeded in integrating all the neighboring districts and transport companies involved in the project, Transport Minister Christian Carius refused to approve the start of operations because the almost parallel bus line 300 had not been discontinued. The newspaper Freie Wort suspected personal animosity between the district administrator and the transport minister in the course of the upcoming state elections as the actual reason for the refusal of the previously promised support.

However, on June 10, 2014, Transport Minister Christian Carius ultimately signed the transport contract and District Administrator Petra Enders agreed to adjust the bus connections on line 300 by September 2014. The Erfurter Bahn operates and markets the offer under the name "RennsteigShuttle". Up to August 26, 2014, a total of 9,476 passengers drove these trains. 1,041 bicycles were transported.

In June 2018, the state of Thuringia handed the Rennsteigbahn a notification of just under 2.4 million euros for the renovation of the route.

Operational peculiarities

This class 94.5-17 steam locomotive is still used today for special trips

A train near Stützerbach in the winter of 1994

The route is one of the steepest still-traveled steep sections in Germany in friction mode . The maximum slope is 61.2 ‰. Until 1927 it was partially in rack operation sail and was the first cog railway to the Prussian State Railway . The racks according to the Abt system with two lamellas were laid on several sections:

• between Stützerbach and Rennsteig train station over a length of 2.12 kilometers (route kilometers 30.81 to 32.93) with a 60.1 ‰ gradient
• between Rennsteig and Schmiedefeld am Rennsteig over a length of 1.2 kilometers (route kilometers 33.93 to 35.13) with a 54.4 ‰ gradient
• between Schmiedefeld and Thomasmühle over a length of 1.18 kilometers (route kilometers 35.76 to 36.94) with a 57.8 ‰ gradient and 1.05 kilometers in length (route kilometers 37.88 to 38.39) with a 60.6 ‰ gradient
• between Schleusingen-Ost and Schleusingen on 0.75 kilometers (route kilometers 49.24 to 49.99) with a 61.2 ‰ gradient

The steam locomotives of T 26 series had on the rack sections are always on the side of the valley. Therefore the trains were pushed uphill. On the one hand, in order not to have to move again at the apex in Rennsteig station and so that the locomotives could always stand with the chimney on the mountain side, this station was laid out in the form of a hairpin. This ensured that the boiler water on the steep sections was always at a sufficient height above the ceiling of the fire box .

Soon they were looking for alternatives to the labor-intensive and cost-intensive rack railway operation (among other things, the maintenance of the rack locomotives and rack sections was time-consuming and expensive, especially in winter). As early as 1923, both the 94.5–17 series and the 95 series were tested as alternatives . The machines of the 95 series turned out to be too heavy as they caused damage to the superstructure . The tests with the class 94.5-17 were satisfactory, however, and so the changeover of train operation to adhesion operation took place in 1927 with steam locomotives suitable for steep routes (with Riggenbach counter-pressure brakes ), which now allow trains to go uphill due to the widespread introduction of the automatic compressed air brake and reinforced drawbars pulled.

Since the 1950s, passenger trains have mostly consisted of a two-part double - decker unit . From 1971 the six-axle diesel locomotives of the DR class 118 were used, which could still drive a load of 155 t on a maximum gradient. The travel time on the course book route number 622 was at least 70 minutes for the 32 kilometers between Ilmenau and Schleusingen. From 1995 the class 213 operated .

On steep stretches, the locomotives are always required to have three independent braking systems. In the summer of 2006 found on the Rennsteigbahn test drive railcars of series 612 with and Regio-Shuttle BR 650 instead to test above all the braking systems of this series on their steep distance comfort. The tests were carried out with the aim of admitting these railcars for the route. Since the beginning of 2007 the Regioswinger (series 612) have been allowed to pass the Rennsteig. On March 24, 2007, the 612 176 traveled the route for the first time as a non-public special train and was thus able to prove its suitability for the Rennsteigbahn. In January 2011, railcars of the DB Regio (BR 612) traveled the route as special public trains. On January 24, 2014, the Federal Railway Authority finally granted the Erfurt Railway regional shuttles permission for steep routes without any additional modifications after several years of drawing up a new set of rules.

Schleusingen – Themar

LVT class 771 at the Rappelsdorf stop, May 1998

Themar train station

This railway line was opened in 1888 by the Werra Railway Company to connect Schleusingen to the Werrabahn. Schleusingen now had the long-awaited connection to the railway network, which created an important factor for the economy and made it possible to revitalize the Rennsteig regions around Schmiedefeld. The mayor of Schleusingen at the time, Ludwig Becker, had fought for it for a long time, as he did later for the Rennsteigbahn Ilmenau – Schleusingen. In 1895 the railway line was bought by the Prussian State Railways .

Scheduled traffic ceased on June 16, 1998. Schleusingen, for example, was completely disconnected from the railway network a few weeks earlier on the Rennsteigbahn and on May 31, 1997 on the Friedbergbahn .

In 2003 the Rennsteigbahn GmbH leased the Schleusingen – Themar railway line together with the Rennsteigbahn. The occasional special trips from Ilmenau and Stützerbach also reach Veßra monastery and Themar. Occasionally there are special trips on the Süd-Thüringen-Bahn with RegioShuttles between Themar and Schleusingen. Rennsteigbahn GmbH carries out freight transport if required. At times, timber trains drove up to twice a week from Schleusingen via Themar to Schweinfurt , from where some of the timber was brought to Austria and the Czech Republic . In March and April 2006, a class 52 steam locomotive of the IGE Werrabahn Eisenach e. V. used.

Rennsteigbahn GmbH & Co. KG

Logo of the RennsteigBahn GmbH

Diesel locomotive (class 213) of the Rennsteigbahn GmbH & Co KG, suitable for steep routes, on a touristic trip in the Ilmenau Bad station

Rennsteigbahn GmbH & Co KG is a private railway company and railway infrastructure company based in Schmiedefeld am Rennsteig, which is responsible for the Ilmenau – Themar and Schleusingen – Suhl routes. As the owner, the company organizes together with the Dampfbahnfreunde Mitteler Rennsteig e. V. on several weekends a year on the Ilmenau – Rennsteig – Themar route, carrying out nostalgic trips and transporting goods (including transporting wood and loading rubbish from Ilmenau to the Leuna incineration plant ).

See also

• Railway in Thuringia
• List of railway lines in Thuringia

literature

• Georg Thielmann, Roland Pabst: On the rail route to Ilmenau , Wachsenburgverlag, Haarhausen 2004, ISBN 3-935795-09-2 .
• Walter Grüber: Steep sections in Thuringia: the history of the Ilmenau – Schleusingen and Suhl – Schleusingen sections . EK-Verlag, Freiburg (Breisgau) 1997, ISBN 3-88255-428-2 .
• Stefan Wespa: 125 years of the railway in Ilmenau , 2nd edition 2004, printed by Unicopy Reprozentrum Ilmenau.

Web links

Commons : Plaue – Themar railway line  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Rennsteigbahn website
• History of the Rennsteigbahn on rennsteig-park.de
• Route pictures
• Vehicles of the Rennsteigbahn Gesellschaft mbH & Co. KG

Individual evidence

1. ↑ 125 years of the railway in Ilmenau, Stefan Wespa, p. 13/14.
2. ↑ All about great inventions, Karl Rezac, ISBN 3-358-00813-4 , p. 43.
3. ↑ 125 years of the railway in Ilmenau, Stefan Wespa, p. 15.
4. ↑ 125 years of the railway in Ilmenau, Stefan Wespa, p. 19.
5. ↑ 125 years of the railway in Ilmenau, Stefan Wespa, p. 21
6. ↑ 125 years of the railway in Ilmenau, Stefan Wespa, p. 26.
7. ↑ 125 years of the railway in Ilmenau, Stefan Wespa, p. 38.
8. ↑ Investments of 13 million euros: DB renews the Plaue – Ilmenau line. (No longer available online.) Deutsche Bahn, July 6, 2012, archived from the original on January 21, 2013 ; Retrieved July 10, 2012 . 
9. ↑ Extension of the line closure Plaue (Thür) –Ilmenau until May 16, 2013. (No longer available online.) Deutsche Bahn, November 7, 2012, archived from the original on January 21, 2013 ; Retrieved November 8, 2012 . 
10. ↑ Renovation of the listed superstructures of the historic Angelroda Viaduct completed. (No longer available online.) Deutsche Bahn, July 9, 2013, archived from the original on January 10, 2014 ; Retrieved July 12, 2013 . 
11. ↑ 125 years of the railway in Ilmenau, Stefan Wespa, p. 58.
12. ↑ 125 years of the railway in Ilmenau, Stefan Wespa, p. 59.
13. ↑ 125 years of the railway in Ilmenau, Stefan Wespa, p. 62.
14. ↑ 125 years of the railway in Ilmenau, Stefan Wespa, p. 62.
15. ↑ 125 years of the railway in Ilmenau, Stefan Wespa, p. 64.
16. ↑ 125 years of the railway in Ilmenau, Stefan Wespa, p. 97.
17. ↑ 125 years of the railway in Ilmenau, Stefan Wespa, p. 98.
18. ↑ 125 years of the railway in Ilmenau, Stefan Wespa, p. 100.
19. ↑ 125 years of the railway in Ilmenau, Stefan Wespa, p. 104.
20. ↑ 125 years of the railway in Ilmenau, Stefan Wespa, p. 104.
21. ↑ insüdthüringen.de: From June the train has free travel to the Rennsteig from April 25, 2014
22. ↑ HCS-Content GmbH: In the Ilmenau train station people are again . In: inSüdthüringen.de . ( insuedthueringen.de [accessed December 7, 2017]).
23. ↑ [1] Arne Martius re-driving the railway line to the Rennsteig is getting closer. Thuringian General, January 8, 2010.
24. ↑ From summer on, you can take the train to the Rennsteig ( memento from April 30, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), MDR from April 29, 2014.
25. ↑ Bühl: Trains should go to the Rennsteig . In: Free Word, June 7, 2014.
26. ↑ At the last minute the green light for the Rennsteigbahn . In: Free Word, June 11, 2014.
27. ↑ [2] . Flyer of the Erfurt Railway.
28. ↑ “The 10,000th passenger is expected at the weekend”. Thüringer Allgemeine - Edition Arnstadt, August 26, 2014, p. 13
29. ↑ Land invests 2.4 million euros in Rennsteigshuttle. MDR Thuringia, June 9, 2018, accessed on November 16, 2018 . 
30. ↑ Deutsche Bahn: Group guideline operation on steep routes ( Memento from July 19, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 557 kB).
31. ^ Line Ilmenau - Themar . In: Bahn-Report . tape 32 , no. 188 , February 27, 2014, ISSN  0178-4528 , p. 59 ( Bahn-Report website [accessed March 17, 2014]).