Narrow-gauge railway Nebitzschen – Kroptewitz

Nebitzschen – Kroptewitz
Route number :	6968; sä. NK
Course book section (DB) :	502
Route length:	6.31 km
Gauge :	750 mm ( narrow gauge )
Maximum slope :	20  ‰
Minimum radius :	80 m
Top speed:	20 km / h
Legend from Mügeln (b Oschatz) 0.00 Nebitzschen 152 m to Neichen Kemmlitzbach bridge 1.0 Poppitz 160 m 2.24 Kemmlitz (b Oschatz) place (since 1995) 174 m At the kaolin plant Kemmlitz II 2.66 Kemmlitz (b Oschatz) 178 m At the kaolin plant Kemmlitz I At the kaolin factory Kemmlitz III 4.51 Börtewitz 204 m 6.31 Kroptewitz 217 m

The narrow-gauge railway Nebitzschen – Kroptewitz was the only Saxon narrow-gauge railway built as an industrial railway . The route, which is still partially available today, branches off from the Mügeln – Neichen route in Nebitzschen and continued to Kroptewitz, past today's end point in Kemmlitz , until 1967 . The route served in particular to remove kaolin from the mines in the Börtewitz basin .

history

Freight train in Nebitzschen (1988)

Around 1883, Kemmlitz and Kroptewitz began mining kaolin, a raw material for making porcelain . In 1900 the first project of a narrow-gauge railway was presented, which was supposed to connect the mines to the existing Mügeln – Nerchau – Trebsen (later Neichen) line. In 1902 the project was approved by the Saxon government. After only nine months of construction, the line was opened on August 3, 1903 as a narrow-gauge industrial line.

In addition to the kaolin removal, the route subsequently also proved to be important for agriculture. The narrow-gauge railway Nebitzschen – Kroptewitz from then on had the highest freight traffic of the central Saxon narrow-gauge railways around Mügeln . For decades, five pairs of freight trains ran daily to Kemmlitz, two of which continued to the end point in Kroptewitz.

In the time of need after the Second World War, passenger transport was introduced on October 1, 1945, using a single passenger car added to the freight trains. In view of the long travel times caused by shunting, passenger traffic was given up again on December 14, 1964.

On November 30, 1967, the Kemmlitz – Kroptewitz section was closed due to the low traffic volume and dismantled a little later. However, several pairs of freight trains continued to run daily to Kemmlitz to serve the various connections to the Kemmlitz kaolin plant.

Only after the political change in East Germany (1989) did the situation change. Part of the production of the kaolin was now also carried out by truck. Nevertheless, the kaolin plant was still interested in maintaining the rail connection. It was only through the initiative of the district and the Pro Bahn passenger association that the route was maintained. In December 1993 the line became the property of the newly founded Döllnitzbahn .

Nevertheless, there was a further decline in traffic in the following years. In 2001, freight traffic was completely abandoned. Then the route was only used by special trains, regular traffic no longer took place. From 2006 to 2017 the route was closed due to damage to the superstructure, and parts of the route were washed away by flooding .

The regional Sparkassenstiftung announced on February 5, 2016 that it would provide a total of 50,000 euros over the next two years for the re-opening of the route. The money is given to DBV -Förderverein Wilder Robert , who has been working since 1994 to preserve the narrow-gauge railway. The aim is to develop tourism in the former kaolin mining area , the transport of which is directly linked to the history of the route. The repair of the route is expected to cost 70,000 euros. In addition to the repair of the track, the Kemmlitzbach Bridge in the Poppitz location was rebuilt and the Kemmlitz (Ort) stop was renewed.

On June 10, 2017, the line that had initially been repaired to Kemmlitz Ort was reopened. On September 8, 2018, the remaining section to Kemmlitz Bbf was put back into operation.

Web links

Commons : Schmalspurbahn Nebitzschen – Kroptewitz  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Data on the route on www.sachsenschiene.de

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Sparkassenstiftung for the Torgau-Oschatz region funds expansion with 50,000 euros. Sparkassenstiftung for the Torgau-Oschatz region, February 5, 2016, accessed on February 7, 2016 . 
2. ↑ Reopening of the line to Kemmlitz. In: wilder-robert.de. Retrieved May 16, 2017 . 
3. ↑ press release. Döllnitzbahn, September 8, 2018, accessed on November 26, 2018 .