Steyrtalbahn

Steyrtalbahn
Two locomotives of the 298 series are shunting in Garsten, 1977
Route length:	39.8 km
Gauge :	760 mm ( Bosnian gauge )
Minimum radius :	60 m
Legend 0.0 Cooked 1.2 Sarning 2.7 Steyr local train station 3.7 Unterhimmel- Christkindl 5.2 Rosenegg 6.7 Pergern 0.0 former branch to Bad Hall Steyr 2.1 Sierninghofen 3.1 Voting mill 4.8 Sierning 6.9 Oberwallern 9.5 Steinersdorf 11.1 Waldneukirchen - Adlwang 12.6 Sankt Blasien (Mangstmühle) 13.8 Chamber stroke 15.4 Bad Hall 9.3 New stuff 10.5 Latvians 12.1 Aschach an der Steyr 14.4 Sommerhubermühle Steyr 17.9 Waldneukirchen 19.2 Grünburg 22.2 House of Commons 22.9 Haunoldmühle 28.1 Leonstein 30.2 Minor 31.7 Agonitz 34.3 Steyr breakthrough 36.8 Frauenstein 39.8 Klaus

The narrow-gauge (760 mm) Steyrtalbahn ran from Garsten via Grünburg and Molln to Klaus with a side wing from Pergern via Sierning to Bad Hall in Upper Austria . Today it only runs as a museum train on weekends in the summer months, in Advent and at the turn of the year. (As of 2020).

history

Establishment

Share of the Steyrtalbahn from 1890

Freight train in Molln station, 1977

Steyrtalbahn locomotives 4 and 6 at the local train station in Steyr

The Klaus train station. Today only a former boiler house serving as a restaurant reminds of the former connection of the Steyrtalbahn to the Pyhrnbahn .

The economic pillars of the Steyr Valley were forestry and metal processing. The wood was transported away on the Steyr by rafts and wood drifts , known as shop karls , which only allowed it to be used as construction and firewood or for charcoal or paper production. Road transport was too expensive; only rail transport would allow the sale of quality wood.

In 1868 the city of Steyr was connected to the railway network by the Rudolfsbahn . In 1887 the Kremstalbahn reached Bad Hall and Klaus . In 1888, the year in which the concession for a “narrow-gauge local train from Steyr (Garsten) through the Steyerthal to Unter-Grünburg” with a possible continuation to Klaus was issued in favor of Josef Ritter von Wenusch , the construction of the railway took place immediately subsequent establishment of the Steyrtalbahn AG.

On August 19, 1889, the Garsten – Grünburg line was officially opened, and a year later, on November 18, 1890, the extension to Agonitz. There was resistance from the Kremstalbahn-Gesellschaft, who feared to lose part of the traffic to the Steyrtalbahn, against further construction to Klaus . So the Steyrtalbahn concentrated for the time being on the construction of the Pergern – Bad Hall wing section, which was officially opened on December 1, 1891 (based on the concession document of September 21, 1890).

The Steyrtalbahn started from the beginning with the Garsten station next to the Garsten station on the standard gauge line. At least until 1891, the center of operations was with the boiler house (now a residential building) and workshop 2 km north of it at route km 2.7 at the Steyrdorf station, which is only known as the Steyr Lokalbahn from 1928 . Because there was a lack of space for expansion, the Steyrtalbahn heating house and workshop were rebuilt in 1891/1892 at Garsten station and the center of operations was set up here.

After the nationalization of the Krems Valley Railway (1902), the project to extend it to Klaus was resumed. Construction began in 1908, and on October 26th, 1909, the building was officially opened and opened for operation. The network of the Steyrtalbahn had thus reached its greatest extent (55 kilometers).

Development until 1918

Train in the Christkindl station with the pilgrimage church of the same name

Apart from a few setbacks due to floods, the operation of the Steyrtalbahn developed positively. It was always possible to generate an operating surplus and even a modest dividend was paid out. The line extensions were financed through capital increases. Major shareholders were the state of Upper Austria , the city ​​of Steyr , the Österreichische Waffenfabriks-Gesellschaft, the Sparkasse Steyr and finally the state (capital increase for the Agonitz – Klaus section).

During the First World War , there was a strong increase in traffic mainly due to the transports to and from the two arms factories owned by Josef Werndl near Steyr Lokalbahn (then: Steyrdörfl) and in Letten . From 1916 to 1918, a temporary roll-stand was set up as far as Letten .

Development until 1945

After the First World War , an economically difficult time began for the Steyrtalbahn. Road traffic became a serious competitor (establishment of bus routes Steyr – Bad Hall and Steyr – Grünburg). Especially on the wing route to Bad Hall, where there was a connection to the normal-gauge route to Rohr (Kremstalbahn), the majority of passengers migrated to the bus. All renovation efforts failed and so the operation was taken over by the Austrian Federal Railways (BBÖ) in 1931 . The wing section to Bad Hall remained an unprofitable problem child even under BBÖ operation and so the Sierning – Bad Hall section was shut down on August 1, 1933 and removed in the early 1940s for the purpose of material extraction.

Through the " connection of Austria " to the German Reich , the operation of the Steyrtalbahn was transferred to the Deutsche Reichsbahn (DR). In 1940 the Steyrtalbahn AG was dissolved, the railway lines were taken over by the DR, and after 1945 they came to the ÖBB .

Development after 1945

The former Heeresfeldbahn locomotive 699.103 in Aschach an der Steyr station

The Steyrtalbahn survived the war undamaged, but renovation (reinforcement of the superstructure ) would have been necessary. This did not happen, however, and war damage had to be repaired on other routes. The light superstructure prevented the use of the new narrow-gauge diesel locomotive series 2095 (built from 1958), so that the line continued to be operated exclusively with steam locomotives.

To reduce costs, the remainder of the wing section (Pergern – Sierning) was also discontinued on January 1, 1967, and from 1968 passenger traffic between Klaus and Molln was carried out by bus ( rail replacement service ).

On March 14, 1980, the route between Leonstein and Haunoldmühle was interrupted by a rock fall. The next day the route was cleared and operations resumed. Two weeks later, however, a commission came to the conclusion that operational safety was not guaranteed and closed the route again. This was taken as an opportunity to Section Grünburg- Klaus shut down completely, although a further operation at least in the section Molln- Klaus would have been possible.

Play media file

Locomotive No. 6, "Klaus", drives over the Waldneukirchner bridge

Winter operation on the Steyrtal Museum Railway in Grünburg station

Two years later, in 1982, the remaining Garsten – Grünburg line was also closed.

For the Steyrtalbahn locomotives see main article Steyrtalbahn 1–6 .

Museum train from 1985

Play media file

Ride in the driver's cab of locomotive no. 6 "Klaus"

The Austrian Society for Railway History (ÖGEG) took over the Steyr Lokalbahn - Grünburg line and has been operating it as a museum railway with steam trains since 1985. The Steyr Lokalbahn station is now located at Steyr, Redtenbachergasse 14, a good 2 km walk from the Garsten station.

All other track systems were removed. A cycle path has been laid out on the Grünburg – Klaus route (part of the Steyrtal cycle path ). Above all, the abutments of the Steyr bridge are reminiscent of the Pergern – Bad Hall branch .

The museum runs according to a timetable on May 1st , June to September on Saturdays and Sundays, on October 26th , on the Advent weekends and around the turn of the year; special trains are also run at any time upon request. (As of March 2020)

The museum train offers bicycles to take along - free of charge. After the train ride, passengers can still cycle 21 km to Klaus via the Steyrtalradweg and thus drive most of the remainder of the former railway line here to the final stop in Klaus.

Overview of opening, shutdown

Opening:

• August 20, 1889 Garsten – Grünburg
• November 19, 1890 Grünburg – Agonitz
• 0December 2, 1891 Pergern – Bad Hall
• October 26, 1909 Agonitz – Klaus

Shutdown:

• 0August 1, 1933 Sierning – Bad Hall
• 0January 1, 1967 Pergern – Sierning
• May 26, 1968 Molln – Klaus (passenger transport)
• March 29, 1980 Molln – Klaus (total traffic)
• March 29, 1980 Grünburg – Molln
• 0March 1, 1982 Garsten – Grünburg

Museum railway (no line operation):

• 1985: Steyr local train station - Grünburg

Remarks

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Opening ceremony the day before.

literature

• Walter Schober: The Steyrtalbahn . Bahn im Bild 25. Verlag Pospischil, Vienna 1982, revised edition 1992
• Christian Hager, Peter Wegenstein: Steyrtalbahn. Narrow gauge lines Garsten – Steyr – Klaus and Pergern – Bad Hall . Denkmayr Verlag, Linz 1988, ISBN 3-901838-22-8 .
• Helmut Grassner: The Steyrtalbahn - 90 years of romance . In: Oberösterreichische Heimatblätter , Volume 33, 1979, ZDB -ID 505037-6 . State of Upper Austria, Linz 1979, pp. 192–204. (Historical recordings: unpaginated p. 204A ff.), Online (PDF) in the forum OoeGeschichte.at.
• Walter Krobot, Josef Otto Slezak, Hans Sternhart: Narrow gauge through Austria. History and fleet of narrow-gauge railways in Austria. 327 photos, 1063 vehicle sketches, 23 route plans, 36 station plans, 11 type drawings . Fourth edition. International Archive for Locomotive History , Volume 3, ZDB -ID 256348-4 . Slezak, Vienna 1991, ISBN 3-85416-095-X .
• Elmar Oberegger : The Steyrtal Railway. Garsten – Steyr local train station – Pergern – Bad Hall / Klaus . Publications of the Information Office for Austrian Railway History, Volume 14.2007, ZDB -ID 2278238-2 . Self-published Info-Büro für Österreichische Eisenbahngeschichte, Sattledt 2007. - Table of contents obvsg.at (PDF).
• Patrick Van Brusselen: The Steyrtalbahn in the picture - yesterday and today . Self-published, Brussels 2011, ISBN 978-3-200-02241-6 .
• Andreas Knipping, Wolfgang Kaiser: Austria - the railway history. The big album . GeraMond-Verlag, Munich 2012, ISBN 3-86245-117-8 .

Web links

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

Commons : Steyrtalbahn  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• steyrtalbahn.at Internet presence of the Steyrtal Museum Railway
• Steyrtal Museumbahn on steyr.info, the website of the Tousmusverband Steyr
• Historical photos of the operation before the hiring
• Steyrtal cycle path

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Ernst Neweklowsky: Download Karl and Schiftfuhren. In: Upper Austrian homeland sheets. April - June 1957. online (PDF) in the forum OoeGeschichte.at
2. ↑ RGBl. 1888/30.
3. ↑ The opening of the Steyrthalbahn. In:  Tages-Post , No. 191/1889 (XXV. Volume), August 21, 1889, p. 3 f. (Online at ANNO ). .
4. ↑ Grünburg – Agonitz. In:  Tages-Post , No. 267/1890 (XXVIth year), November 20, 1890, p. 3 middle. (Online at ANNO ). .
5. ↑ RGBl. 1890/188 .
6. ↑ Opening trip Pergern – Bad Hall. In:  Tages-Post , No. 278/1891 (XXVII. Year), December 3, 1891, p. 3, bottom left. (Online at ANNO ). .
7. ↑ Harald Süß, Steyrtalbahn Museum Railway, phone call March 17, 2020.
8. ↑ opening of the line-Agonitz Klaus the Steyrtalbahn. In:  Tages-Post , No. 246/1909 (XLV. Year), October 27, 1909, p. 6, center left. (Online at ANNO ).