Karlsruhe Palace Garden Railway

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Karlsruhe Palace Garden Railway
Route of the Schlossgartenbahn Karlsruhe
Route of the Schlossgartenbahn
Route length: 2.7 km
Gauge : 600 mm ( narrow gauge )

The Schlossgartenbahn Karlsruhe is a park railway with a 600 mm gauge, which runs on a 2.7 kilometer long circuit with only one station through the Karlsruhe Palace Gardens .

Steam locomotive Greif of the Schlossgartenbahn on the meadow behind the castle, just before the train station
The diesel train after about a third of the total distance on the lake in the castle garden

history

The Schlossgartenbahn was built on the occasion of the Federal Garden Show in Karlsruhe in 1967 . Four train sets in the colors dark blue, light blue, red and yellow coped with the onslaught of the masses. Two trains, the red and the light blue, were transported away again at the end of the Federal Garden Show so that they could be used at other garden shows. The original plan was based on the assumption that the railway would be completely dismantled at the end of the Federal Horticultural Show, but the Karlsruhe population had grown too fond of their "Bähnle" and did not want to do without it. Only through long and extremely difficult negotiations did the regional council allow continued operation, albeit with clear conditions. The railways were no longer allowed to carry advertising and a new depot had to be built because the existing shed was on the site of the allotment garden.

In 1974 the dark blue train was also removed and brought to Saarbrücken. Originally it was supposed to be the yellow one, as it was built in 1960 for the park railway in the Franco-German Garden. After a private operator initially operated the two and a half kilometer long circuit with a 600 mm gauge, Verkehrsbetriebe Karlsruhe GmbH took over the little train in 1988. The remaining train was overhauled and freshly painted by the VBK workshop, but in the colors red and green.

The following years were modernized: the decrepit petrol locomotive was replaced by today's diesel locomotive, a new station building was built in the palace garden and the locomotive shed was relocated a second time; since then it has been located on the site of the heating plant on Teutschneureuter Allee. A fourth car was newly built in the VBK depot west. The steam locomotive "Greif" is also available, which has been owned by Müller & Waidelich GbR since 2016 and operated as a subcontractor. The historic "Porschelok" was returned to its original condition and painted yellow for the 40th anniversary of the railway.

Guest locomotive "Emma" left on platform 2, "Greif" right on platform 1

In August and September 2016, the steam locomotive “Emma” from the Frankfurt Feldbahnmuseum made a guest appearance on the Schlossgartenbahn on three Sundays.

vehicles

There are three locomotives available:

  • A diesel-mechanical locomotive, built in 1955 at Gmeinder , Mosbach , rebuilt in 1991 by Verkehrsbetriebe Karlsruhe GmbH, wheel arrangement: B, 37 Kw (50 HP ), 5.2 t, designation: SGB 60.
  • A steam locomotive of the type Bn2t, type "Riesa", which bears the name Greif and is privately owned. It was built in 1939 by Henschel in Kassel and converted to wood-burning in 1970. At that time she also got her "western look". The machine has an output of 51 kW (70 hp).
  • A yellow Porschelok , wheel arrangement B, 20 kW (27 HP), built in 1959 at Sollinger Hütte, first used in 1960 in Saarbrücken, came to Karlsruhe in 1967 with a complete train (three cars).

In addition to the existing three passenger cars, the transport company built another car. In 2015 a fifth car was purchased from Intamin . In addition to these five passenger cars, from which three or four-car trains are drawn by one of the three locomotives, there are other cars for work assignments. Four-car trains are pulled exclusively by the steam locomotive.

during a major event

  • Diesel locomotive SGB60

  • Porschelok petrol locomotive

  • Greif steam locomotive

business

The Schlossgartenbahn Karlsruhe runs every year from Good Friday to All Saints' Day on weekends and public holidays and between the end of May and the beginning of October also during the week. However, it does not operate in bad weather and during large events in the palace gardens. A tour takes about 15-20 minutes. The steam locomotive is usually used on Sundays and public holidays, with a steam surcharge being added to the fare. On Fridays the train is pulled by the Porschelok. The “Bähnle”, as it is affectionately known, is very popular among the people of Karlsruhe. The railway transports around 50,000 passengers a year.

literature

  • Verkehrsbetriebe Karlsruhe: Schlossgartenbahn . Leaflet no year
  • Jochen Zefferer: The Schlossgartenbahn in Karlsruhe . Meeting point for local rail transport in Karlsruhe eV, Karlsruhe 2017, ISBN 978-3-9812925-1-0 .

Web links

Commons : Schlossgartenbahn Karlsruhe  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 49 ° 0 ′ 51 ″  N , 8 ° 24 ′ 4 ″  E