Saxon narrow-gauge railways

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The Saxon narrow-gauge railways were once the largest uniformly operated narrow-gauge railway system in Germany . At the height of the development of the route network shortly after the First World War , the network reached its greatest extent of over 500 kilometers. Originally built primarily for economic reasons, in order to connect remote parts of the country to the railway network and to accelerate industrial development, many routes developed into important excursion railways shortly after 1900.

Schmalspurbahn Klingenthal–Sachsenberg-Georgenthal Schmalspurbahn Reichenbach–Oberheinsdorf Schmalspurbahn Wilkau-Haßlau–Carlsfeld Schmalspurbahn Mosel–Ortmannsdorf Schmalspurbahn Grünstädtel–Oberrittersgrün Schmalspurbahn Cranzahl–Kurort Oberwiesenthal Schmalspurbahn Wolkenstein–Jöhstadt Schmalspurbahn Wilischthal–Thum Schmalspurbahn Schönfeld-Wiesa–Meinersdorf Schmalspurbahn Hetzdorf–Eppendorf–Großwaltersdorf Schmalspurbahn Mulda–Sayda Schmalspurbahn Klingenberg-Colmnitz–Frauenstein Schmalspurbahn Klingenberg-Colmnitz–Oberdittmannsdorf Schmalspurbahn Freital-Potschappel–Nossen Schmalspurbahn Wilsdruff–Gärtitz Schmalspurbahn Oschatz–Mügeln–Döbeln Schmalspurbahn Mügeln–Neichen Schmalspurbahn Nebitzschen–Kroptewitz Schmalspurbahn Oschatz–Strehla Weißeritztalbahn Müglitztalbahn Lößnitzgrundbahn Bahnstrecke Dresden–Straßgräbchen-Bernsdorf Schmalspurbahn Goßdorf-Kohlmühle–Hohnstein Schmalspurbahn Taubenheim–Dürrhennersdorf Schmalspurbahn Herrnhut–Bernstadt Zittauer Schmalspurbahn Schmalspurbahn Zittau–Hermsdorf
Narrow gauge railways in Saxony (red)

history

prehistory

In contrast to the networks of other German states, the Saxon railway network covered large parts of the country by 1875. Due to the mountainous relief of Saxony, however, the costs for the construction of further railway lines rose sharply. In order to reduce costs and after a nationwide uniform regulation of building and operating regulations for railways of minor importance followed in 1878, new rail projects were now preferably implemented as secondary railways , in which smaller curve radii, simpler operating procedures and the waiver of guarding the railway systems led to considerable cost savings. For the development of the many industrial-rich Ore Mountains valleys , normal-gauge secondary railways also proved to be unsuitable: Comprehensive traffic development with regular -gauge routes in these valleys would only have been possible with very high technical and financial expense. Therefore, it was decided in Saxony to implement future narrow-gauge railway projects based on the model of the Upper Silesian narrow-gauge railway or the Bröltalbahn .

The first narrow-gauge routes

The Royal Saxon State Railways opened the first narrow-gauge railway in Saxony in 1881 with the Wilkau – Kirchberg line. With the Weißeritztalbahn and the Oschatz – Mügeln – Döbeln line , additional lines were already under construction. In quick succession, a large number of routes were built in just a few years. Almost all of the new lines built in the years from 1880 onwards were designed as narrow-gauge railways with the uniform gauge of 750 mm. In standard gauge, only lines were built that connected existing railway lines with one another or where reloading the goods from standard to narrow gauge seemed unprofitable.

The heyday before the First World War

Passenger train with II K in the old Schmiedeberg station of the Weißeritztalbahn (around 1900)

Within 20 years the narrow-gauge network of Saxony almost reached its final size. After 1900, only a few lines were built, mostly just additions to existing lines that brought operational advantages.

Although the narrow-gauge lines generated little overall profit, they proved to be extremely important for Saxony's economic development. Without the narrow-gauge lines - which also offered a siding for smaller businesses in the narrow Erzgebirge valleys - extensive industrialization in the "poor house" Erzgebirge would not have been possible.

Passenger Train on the Müglitztalbahn in Dohna (May 1912)

However, it turned out that the narrow-gauge railways were not up to all transport tasks. The time-consuming reloading of all goods in the lane changing stations caused problems in particular. In order to avoid reloading on the Klotzsche – Königsbrück route, for example , tests were carried out with a container system , the so-called transfer boxes, in which entire car bodies were supposed to change from normal to narrow gauge. However, these pioneering attempts were given up after a short time with the change of gauge to standard gauge. Instead, the use of trolleys for the transition from standard-gauge cars to narrow-gauge cars was now favored. Now it became clear that the original goal of operating narrow-gauge railways with the least amount of resources could not be maintained. Considerable investments were now necessary for the reinforcement of the tracks, the creation of larger clearance profiles and the purchase of stronger locomotives.

A flood of the century left the narrow-gauge railways with severe devastation in July 1897. Mainly affected were the Mügeln – Geising-Altenberg and Hainsberg – Kipsdorf routes in the Eastern Ore Mountains , but also routes in the Western Ore Mountains.

Around the turn of the century, the extensive procurement of four-axle wagons of a few types for the Saxon narrow-gauge railways began, which was to shape the appearance of trains until the early 1980s. The Royal Saxon State Railways broke new technical territory with the introduction of trolleys for transporting standard-gauge wagons from 1901.

Between the world wars

With the First World War , the construction of narrow-gauge railways in Saxony largely came to a standstill. Only a few projects that had been started were completed, such as the extension of the Müglitztalbahn to Altenberg and the construction of the connection between Klingenberg-Colmnitz and Oberdittmannsdorf . In the case of the Pöbeltalbahn (Schmiedeberg – Moldau), which was under construction , work was canceled in November 1923 because the purpose of construction was no longer applicable as a result of the establishment of Czechoslovakia .

Most narrow-gauge railways got into a first crisis after the First World War. Although increasing traffic volumes still had to be provided, the costs of rail operations now exceeded the income generated. The main reason for this was the rapid rise in personnel costs as a result of the legal introduction of the eight-hour working day, but also the enormous inflation at the beginning of the 1920s. In addition, the Reichspost and the state-owned motor vehicle transport company Freistaat Sachsen (KVG Sachsen) set up new bus routes that pulled passengers away from the narrow-gauge railways at barely higher fares and shorter journey times.

Destruction in Glashütte after the floods in July 1927

The Deutsche Reichsbahn (DR) tried to counteract this trend with new, modern passenger coaches , more powerful locomotives and accelerated trains. Some of the lines should therefore also be converted to standard gauge, but this was only implemented on the Müglitztalbahn in 1938. From the 1930s onwards, it was also planned to shut down individual routes, which was ultimately not implemented. Only on the Mosel – Ortmannsdorf route was travel in 1939 shifted to a rail-own bus connection.

Formative for the period from 1928 onwards is the commissioning of the modern standard wagons , with which technical innovations such as steam heating , electric lighting, suction air brakes and semi-automatic Scharfenberg couplings were comprehensively introduced on the Saxon narrow-gauge railways. For travelers, these cars now offered the comfort they are used to from standard gauge.

In the 1930s, new, modern high-level signal boxes were built in Kipsdorf and Bertsdorf , which was and is unique for German narrow-gauge railways. The Kipsdorf and Oberwiesenthal train stations have been extensively expanded and expanded. In Kipsdorf, the cramped train station from 1883 was completely demolished and a new train station with four platform tracks and a new, spacious station building was built in its place. From then on, over-long passenger trains with up to 56 axles could run on the Cranzahl – Oberwiesenthal and Freital-Hainsberg – Kurort Kipsdorf routes.

In July 1927, the railway lines in the Eastern Ore Mountains were again hit by a severe flood. The Müglitztalbahn in particular was completely destroyed over large sections of the route, but was soon rebuilt.

In World War II

In World War II the technical development stagnated. More and more personnel were drawn in from the routes to the Wehrmacht and maintenance was increasingly neglected. Nevertheless, on some routes, enormous transport services had to be provided to supply the war economy. The Saxon narrow-gauge railways were only slightly affected by fighting. With the fronts approaching, train traffic on the narrow-gauge railways in Saxony came to a standstill in April and May 1945.

After the Second World War

After the end of the Second World War, operations on the narrow-gauge lines in Saxony were quickly resumed. Problems were initially caused by the run-down vehicles, especially since the badly damaged repair shop in Chemnitz could not carry out any repair work on narrow-gauge locomotives for the time being. For example, traffic on the Kohlmühle – Hohnstein narrow-gauge railway was temporarily suspended when repairs were due to the only still operational locomotive. The situation worsened again in 1946 when some of the most modern and powerful locomotives had to be given to the Soviet Union as reparations . The two lines in the Upper Lusatia , Herrnhut – Bernstadt and Taubenheim – Dürrhennersdorf , were dismantled in autumn 1945 as reparations. On the other hand, there was an enormous increase in traffic on some routes in the Ore Mountains from 1946, when the Soviet Wismut AG began mining uranium in the Ore Mountains and from then on thousands of miners had to be transported to the mines to change shifts. Nevertheless, the overall transport performance remained at a low level. In May 1947, 467 cars from the total stock of 521 passenger cars and 120 baggage cars were defective because they were not needed for operational use.

Only with the commissioning of new, powerful narrow-gauge locomotives from 1953 did the precarious situation noticeably ease. With the start of the FDGB holiday service in 1949, the narrow-gauge railways increasingly regained their old importance as excursion railways. In the 1950s, the transport performance of the pre-war period was reached again.

But the situation already known from the 1920s and 1930s was soon repeated: Faster, newly established bus routes withdrew travelers, and freight traffic was increasingly shifted to trucks.

The shutdown phase from 1964

At the beginning of the 1960s, the situation on the narrow-gauge lines came to a head. Due to a lack of maintenance since the Second World War, the track systems of most of the lines were now so worn that a thorough renovation was inevitable. Some of the vehicles, especially the locomotives of the IV K series, reached the limit of their service life in the early 1960s.

Broken rail in the main track of the narrow-gauge railway Oschatz – Mügeln (1982)

Renewal of the tracks and systems on the most important routes began only in sections. In the 1960s, for example, new tracks with concrete sleepers were installed on some sections. In the absence of alternatives - the development of a modern diesel locomotive had been discontinued in 1962 - the Raw Görlitz-Schlauroth began with the comprehensive renovation of the locomotives of the earlier classes IV K and VI K, which in some cases amounted to a completely new construction.

However, it turned out that a fundamental decision had to be made about the continued existence of the narrow-gauge lines of the DR. Economic feasibility studies carried out in 1963/1964 led to the result that the continuation of the routes would only make sense if the vehicles and systems were comprehensively renewed. The closure of the lines was "not only a technical, but above all an economic requirement" , it was argued. The lack of capacity both for track renewal and for building new diesel locomotives and wagons was cited as an important reason for the line closure.

On May 14, 1964, a Council of Ministers decision made the decision to shut down all narrow-gauge lines in the GDR by 1975. Initially, this shutdown program got off to a slow start, as buses and trucks were initially not available in the required number. Rather unnoticed by the public, the DR shut down the first routes in 1966/67 and carried out the so-called change of mode of transport . In the beginning in particular, true folk festivals were held on the occasion of the change of mode of transport, but from 1970 onwards there was initial resistance to the closures. In many cases, line operations have now been stopped at short notice without prior official announcement. Farewell trips and folk festivals hardly took place anymore.

In 1971, an overturned narrow-gauge locomotive near Frauenstein attracted national attention, which, however, served those responsible as a good argument for the unreliability of the narrow-gauge railways. Such and other incidents brought the remaining stretches even more into the public eye. However, it was also completely unclear how the regularly occurring traffic peaks in excursion traffic on the routes to the Ore Mountains and Zittau Mountains should be managed in view of the lack of buses by motorized traffic.

With the argument of economic importance , seven narrow-gauge railways in the GDR were selected in 1974, which should be preserved as monuments of traffic history for tourist traffic. In Saxony this concerned the individual routes:

The narrow-gauge railway from Radebeul Ost to Radeburg was to play a role as a traditional railway (the term museum railway was frowned upon in the GDR). The background to this decision was that at the end of the 1960s, railway enthusiasts had begun to secure the last two-axle vehicles on the Saxon narrow-gauge railways for a museum preservation in Radebeul. The first traditional trains were still running there in 1974.

Development from 1975

At the beginning of 1975 six narrow-gauge railways were still in operation in Saxony for passenger and freight traffic. Freight trains were still running on a section of the Thumer network and a section of the Wilkau-Haßlau-Carlsfeld route was still operated as a whole. Two remaining stretches served as sidings for local paper mills.

Freight train in Oschatz (1988)

Due to the shutdowns and the subsequent vehicle relocations, the technical condition of the locomotives and wagons was good, especially since they had only been modernized and rebuilt a few years beforehand. In contrast, the lines were worn out, the tracks and systems worn out.

For the routes not intended for further maintenance, the change of mode of transport was continued. At the end of 1975, the rest of the freight traffic in the Thumer network ended and travel between Oschatz and Mügeln was discontinued. The last trains on the remainder of the longest Saxon narrow-gauge railway near Schönheide ran in 1977.

On the lines intended for maintenance, however, the necessary renewal of the systems, tracks and vehicles made only slow progress. In 1977 the first modernized, so-called Reko car was presented. The wagons were only gradually converted; by the end of the 1980s, around half of the passenger car fleet had been reconstructed. The originally planned acquisition of new passenger coaches was not pursued any further.

Train on the narrow-gauge railway Wolkenstein – Jöhstadt in Niederschmiedeberg (1984)

The GDR's transport policy did not turn around until 1981, when, completely unexpectedly, the oil imported from the Soviet Union was no longer available in the required quantity. From then on, the motto was to carry out all transports by rail if possible. As a result, the DR's decommissioning program was also reconsidered. In 1981 the decision was made to keep the line from Oschatz via Mügeln to Kemmlitz, which was only operated in freight traffic. The urgently needed renewal of the tracks could be completed there by 1984. In the case of the scenic and touristically significant narrow-gauge railway Wolkenstein – Jöhstadt, however, the closure was maintained. It was not until 1986 (more than ten years after the original objective) that transports could be shifted to the road and the route stopped.

By 1989, around half of the track systems had been renewed. Only in 1987 were the last in Mügeln Heberlein -gebremsten vehicles parked as by the closure of Pressnitz Valley Railway enough saugluftgebremste were vehicles. At this point in time the first train set with compressed air brakes was used on the Weißeritztalbahn. Until 1989, it was still possible to convert the vehicles of almost all the remaining routes to air brakes.

At the end of the 1980s, the first new and standard locomotives had to be shut down due to frame and boiler damage. From 1995 the import of new diesel locomotives from Romania was planned.

Reorientation and reconstruction after 1990

With the political change in the GDR, a new situation arose for the narrow-gauge lines operated by the Deutsche Reichsbahn. In early 1990, a DR working group dealt with the question of how the narrow-gauge railways could be further developed under the now market-economy conditions.

Separated from state regulations, associations were formed in 1990 that wanted to rebuild the narrow-gauge railway Wolkenstein – Jöhstadt and the upper part of the Wilkau-Haßlau – Carlsfeld line as quickly as possible. Initially ridiculed, they actually managed to put some sections of these routes back into operation. In the case of the Wolkenstein – Jöhstadt narrow-gauge railway, an internationally recognized museum railway line emerged from nowhere in just a few years, which is a worthy monument to the narrow-gauge railway traffic of the 1960s and 1970s.

Passenger train in Cranzahl station (1995)
Train of the Zittau narrow-gauge railway near Oybin (2006)

From 1992 the Reichsbahndirektion Dresden emphatically closed or privatized the lines. The first to be affected was the line from Oschatz via Mügeln to Kemmlitz, which is now only operated by freight traffic. It was only through the commitment of the Pro Bahn passenger association and on the initiative of the district that it was possible to privatize the route at short notice and to preserve freight traffic by rail for the time being. On all other routes, too, the cessation of goods transport was ordered at short notice, although at least on the Freital-Hainsberg-Kurort Kipsdorf route, there was still a brisk freight traffic.

In the mid-1990s, the Saxon state government presented concepts for maintaining the railways for the first time. It was then planned to continue operating the routes by a state-owned company. This concept was not pursued any further only a little later, instead privatization by the neighboring communities and districts was now favored.

The district of Zittau took on a pioneering role; at the end of 1996, together with the neighboring communities, it took over the narrow-gauge railway Zittau – Kurort Oybin with the branch to Kurort Jonsdorf on its own. To mark the 100th anniversary of the Cranzahl – Kurort Oberwiesenthal line, a festival week was held in 1997 that had never been organized on any narrow-gauge railway in Germany before. Only now did the people in charge rethink, and the Oberwiesenthal route was also taken over by the district a little later. Shortly afterwards, DB also moved away from its closure plans and declared that it wanted to continue operating the two lines near Dresden .

The narrow-gauge railways still in regular operation in Saxony are currently operated by the railway companies Sächsische Dampfeisenbahngesellschaft mbH (SDG, formerly BVO-Bahn), Sächsisch-Oberlausitzer Eisenbahngesellschaft mbH (SOEG) and Döllnitzbahn GmbH . They carry more than 1.1 million passengers a year.

Museum Railway Preßnitztalbahn (2009)

The following routes are in operation (as of June 2018):

Route descriptions

Wilkau-Haßlau - Kirchberg - Carlsfeld

The line from Wilkau to Kirchberg was the first Saxon narrow-gauge railway to be built in 1881 . Later the route was continued up to the ridges of the Ore Mountains to Carlsfeld . The route mainly opened up the industrial areas south of Zwickau, including Kirchberg, Saupersdorf and Schönheide . The scaffolding pier viaducts, which were once located near Stützengrün and demolished in 1981, were remarkable. Part of the line was rebuilt as a museum railway after 1990.

Hainsberg - Kipsdorf

Outgoing train in Seifersdorf (2008)

The Weißeritztalbahn was built as the second Saxon narrow-gauge railway and is today the longest-serving public narrow-gauge railway in Germany. The route leads from Freital near Dresden to the health resort Kipsdorf in the Eastern Ore Mountains through the valley of the Roten Weißeritz with the scenic Rabenauer Grund and leads past the Malter dam .

Large parts of the route have been destroyed since the flood of the century in 2002. On October 29, 2007, work began to rebuild the Freital-Hainsberg – Dippoldiswalde section. On December 13, 2008, this section was put back into operation. The reconstruction of the rest of the route to the health resort of Kipsdorf was delayed by many years and was completed in summer 2017.

Oschatz - Mügeln - Chub

The line from Oschatz via Mügeln to Döbeln, opened in 1884, was the third Saxon narrow-gauge railway and at the same time the first beet railway in the central Saxon hill country . A significant part of the freight traffic was based on the sugar beet transports to the sugar factories in Oschatz and Döbeln, which took place for a few weeks in autumn during the so-called beet campaign . Only between Oschatz and Mügeln was there until recently a significant season-independent freight traffic.

The section between Oschatz and Mügeln, which today belongs to the Döllnitzbahn network , has been preserved. The line between Mügeln and Döbeln lost passenger traffic as early as 1964, in 1968 it was shut down and dismantled a little later.

Radebeul - Radeburg

Passenger train in Moritzburg (2012)

The Radebeul Ost - Radeburg line was opened in 1884 as the fourth Saxon narrow-gauge railway. The scenic train leads through the Lößnitzgrund and the Moritzburg pond area to Moritzburg and on to the small town of Radeburg. It developed into an important excursion train early on.

The railway became known primarily through the traditional traffic introduced in 1974. The last two-axle wagons of the Saxon narrow-gauge railways had already been secured for museum preservation in Radebeul Ost. The Radebeul Narrow Gauge Railway Museum is currently being built in the former goods handling facility in Radebeul Ost .

Since June 11, 2004, the line has belonged to BVO Bahn GmbH (since May 2007: Saxon Steam Railway Company).

Klotzsche - Koenigsbrück

The Klotzsche - Königsbrück line is known today as the standard-gauge railway line north of Dresden . Originally, this line was also opened as a narrow-gauge line. Due to the steadily increasing freight traffic, however, the line was converted to standard gauge as early as 1897 with ongoing operations and extended to Schwepnitz . The tests carried out on the route with a container system , the so-called transfer boxes, are remarkable . Complete car bodies could be reloaded from normal to narrow gauge using a crane.

Zittau - Hermsdorf

Former border station Hermsdorf of the Friedländer district railway (2009)

A Saxon narrow-gauge railway, which is hardly known today, ran from Zittau to Reichenau and on to the Bohemian Hermsdorf from 1884 . There was a connection to the line to Friedland in Bohemia built by the Friedland District Railway . This only cross-border narrow-gauge railway in Saxony was mainly used to remove coal from the pits around Türchau and to transport the products of local industry. In contrast, cross-border traffic was insignificant. After the new border was drawn on the Lusatian Neisse , operations ceased in 1945. The Polish state railway PKP operated the section, which is now located in Poland, until 1961.

Moselle - Ortmannsdorf

The Mülsengrundbahn from Mosel to Ortmannsdorf, which opened in 1885, was one of the first lines in Saxony on which traffic was suspended due to unprofitability. As early as 1939, travel was switched to a rail bus route. In 1951 the traffic was finally stopped and the line dismantled.

Wilischthal - Thum, Herold - Ehrenfriedersdorf

Wilischthal train station (1972)

The line, opened in 1886, brought the cities of Thum and Ehrenfriedersdorf in the central Ore Mountains the rail connection. It ran its entire length through the Wilisch Valley, in Herold originally there was a branch towards Ehrenfriedersdorf and Thum. The branch line to Ehrenfriedersdorf was given up in 1906 with the construction of the Geyer – Thum line. The Wilischthal – Thum route was mainly characterized by freight traffic. In 1972, with the exception of the short stretch from Wilischthal to the local paper mill, operations were given up. The paper mill was last serviced in 1990.

Freital-Potschappel - Nossen

The Freital-Potschappel-Nossen route west of Dresden was one of the narrow-gauge railways with a higher volume of traffic. There was heavy tourist traffic in particular between Freital-Potschappel and Wilsdruff, the rest of the route was more characterized by freight traffic. In the 1930s, it was expected that the Freital-Potschappel-Wilsdruff section would be converted to standard gauge, which was ultimately not implemented. In 1972 the tourist traffic was given up, the complete closure followed in 1973.

Schönfeld-Wiesa - Meinersdorf

The narrow-gauge railway Schönfeld-Wiesa-Meinersdorf was one of the longest and busiest Saxon narrow-gauge railways. The origin of the line was the connection Schönfeld-Wiesa-Geyer in 1888, which was extended to Thum in 1906. There was a connection to the Wilischthal line, which had existed since 1886. The last and later operationally most important section to Meinersdorf was opened in 1911. In 1967 the DR closed the line between Schönfeld-Wiesa and Thum, and in 1975 the remainder of the line to Meinersdorf followed. There was still a remaining operation to operate the paper mill in Schönfeld-Wiesa until 1985, when it was converted into a standard-gauge siding.

Mügeln - Neichen

Freight train in Nebitzschen (1988)

The line from Mügeln to Neichen went into operation in 1888. It opened up an agriculturally used area east of Leipzig that is particularly important for sugar beet cultivation. The line between Nebitzschen and Neichen was closed until 1972. The route between Mügeln and Nebitzschen was preserved because of the heavy freight traffic. This section has been part of the Döllnitzbahn network since 1991. The section from Nebitzschen to Glossen was rebuilt in 2006 for tourist reasons.

Grünstädtel - Rittersgrün

Saxon narrow-gauge railway museum in Oberrittersgrün station (2008)

A well-known route ran from 1889 to 1971 in the Pöhlatal in the Western Ore Mountains. The route was particularly important for the woodworking industry typical of the Ore Mountains. After 1945 the route also served the extensive Bismut rush hour. Today the Saxon Narrow Gauge Railway Museum exists on the site of the former Oberrittersgrün terminus .

Mügeln (near Heidenau) - Geising - Altenberg

The narrow-gauge railway opened in the Müglitz Valley in 1890 from Mügeln b Heidenau (today: Heidenau ) to Geising and Altenberg was once one of the longest narrow-gauge lines in Saxony. Originally only leading to Geising, the route was extended to Altenberg after the First World War as an emergency work. This route also became more important as an excursion train at an early stage, especially in winter sports traffic, which had to cope with major traffic peaks. As a job creation measure , the line was converted into a standard-gauge railway from 1935 , which was opened in 1938.

Oschatz - Strehla

With the Oschatz – Strehla line opened in 1891, the lines of the so-called Mügelner Netz were connected to the Elbe shipping. The Elbhafen was used at times for the transshipment of the kaolin mined in the Börtewitz basin, otherwise the route was only of regional importance for the needs of local agriculture and industry in Strehla. The line was closed in 1972. A part of the route was used from 1987 by the Strategic Railway Oschatz – Röderau .

Zittau - Oybin, Bertsdorf - Jonsdorf

Kurort Oybin station (1989)

The narrow-gauge railway from Zittau to Oybin and Jonsdorf was the only privately owned Saxon narrow-gauge railway. Originally rejected by the Saxon state as unprofitable, the route quickly became extremely important for excursion traffic to the Zittau Mountains . As a result, the line was nationalized in 1906 and developed into a powerful excursion train. Even before the First World War, the Zittau-Vorstadt-Oybin section was expanded to two tracks, so that the train sequence could be compressed to ten-minute intervals when the weather was fine. In contrast, freight traffic remained insignificant.

Despite the dismantling of the second track during and after the Second World War, the line retained its importance as an important excursion railway into the 1980s. Because of an open-cast brown coal mine , the line was originally supposed to be shut down in 1990 and later replaced by an express tram line. As a result of the political change in eastern Germany, these plans were abandoned and the open-cast mine was shut down.

Today the railway is owned by the Saxon-Upper Lusatian Railway Company . The trains are mainly used by tourists, for the excursion traffic from Zittau the train is currently of little importance.

Selva - Jöhstadt

Steinbach station (2007)

The narrow-gauge railway Wolkenstein – Jöhstadt between Wolkenstein and Jöhstadt, inaugurated in 1892, opened up the Preßnitz valley as far as the ridges of the Ore Mountains and was mainly characterized by freight traffic. The most important freight customer was the famous refrigerator factory of dKK (now FORON ) in Niederschmiedeberg that got the train alive until the end of the 1986th The line is best known as the last operational area of ​​the Saxon IV K in regular operation in front of passenger trains. After 1990, Railway Friends succeeded in rebuilding the upper part of the line as a museum railway. Today the Preßnitz Valley Railway is the most famous museum railway in Saxony.

Taubenheim (Spree) - Dürrhennersdorf

A narrow-gauge railway in Upper Lusatia, which is little known today, was the line from Taubenheim / Spree to Dürrhennersdorf , which was opened in 1892 . The route was particularly important in freight traffic. In contrast, tourist traffic was low, although this too experienced a certain recovery from excursion traffic from the 1930s onwards. After the Second World War, the line fell under reparations payments to the Soviet Union and was dismantled in 1945.

Herrnhut - Bernstadt

From 1893 to 1945 there was also a narrow-gauge railway between Herrnhut and Bernstadt in Upper Lusatia. The railway had very little traffic during its entire operating time. After the Second World War, the line also fell under the reparation payments to the Soviet Union and was dismantled in 1945.

Hetzdorf - Eppendorf - Großwaltersdorf

From 1893 on, a narrow-gauge railway had its starting point at Hetzdorf station on the Reitzenhain – Flöha railway line , which led to the industrial villages of Eppendorf and Großwaltersdorf. The line had only a modest volume of traffic, so that it was one of the first disused narrow-gauge railways in Saxony. The extension of the route to Großwaltersdorf, opened in 1913, had already been dismantled in 1951, and the entire route was closed on January 1, 1968.

Kohlmühle - Hohnstein

The rebuilt Lohsdorf train station (2011)

The Kohlmühle - Hohnstein line was once the only narrow-gauge railway in Saxon Switzerland . During the entire period of operation, it was only of very local importance for the removal of agricultural products. In addition to the Mülsengrundbahn, the line was the first disused narrow-gauge railway in Saxony. It was dismantled in 1951 under the pretext of extracting material for the Berlin outer ring . The two only Saxon narrow-gauge tunnels that are still preserved today are remarkable . The Schwarzbachbahn eV association has been working on a partial reconstruction of the line between Goßdorf-Kohlmühle and Lohsdorf since 1995 .

Mulda / Sa. - Sayda

The Mulda - Sayda line, opened in 1897, was the first narrow-gauge railway in 1966 to officially change the mode of transport . The little-known railway served mainly the local industry and had only a modest passenger traffic.

Cranzahl - Oberwiesenthal

Passenger train on the narrow-gauge railway Cranzahl – Kurort Oberwiesenthal near Kretscham-Rothensehma (2009)

The narrow-gauge railway from Cranzahl to Oberwiesenthal , known today as the Fichtelbergbahn, was put into operation in 1897. It developed into an excursion train early on; Enormous transport services are still provided today, especially in winter sports traffic. In freight transport, the railway was particularly important for the removal of products from the lime and gravel works in Hammerunterwiesenthal . Today the railway is used almost exclusively for tourism. Since June 1, 1998, the Fichtelbergbahn has been operated by BVO Bahn GmbH ( operating as Sächsische Dampfeisenbahngesellschaft mbH since May 2007 ).

Klingenberg-Colmnitz - Frauenstein

The line, opened in 1898, connected the town of Frauenstein, located on the crest of the Eastern Ore Mountains, to the railway network. The route was particularly important in freight traffic. In 1971 the traffic was stopped.

Reichenbach - Oberheinsdorf

The Rollbockbahn from Reichenbach to the nearby Oberheinsdorf , which opened in 1902, served primarily as a connecting railway for industry in Heinsdorfer Grund. For the first time in Saxony the standard gauge of 750 mm was abandoned and the line was built as a meter- gauge railway due to the roll-headed traffic . The route ran largely on the road surface and was shut down in 1962.

Nebitzschen - Kroptewitz

The Nebitzschen – Kroptewitz line, opened in 1903, was the only Saxon narrow-gauge railway that was designed only for freight transport. Above all, it served to remove the kaolin extracted from the Börtewitz basin , a raw material for porcelain production. Tourist traffic only existed for a few years in times of need after the Second World War.

The section between Kemmlitz and Kroptewitz was abandoned in 1967, the rest of the route was still used by the kaolin works until 2001. This section has been part of the Döllnitzbahn network since 1991. Due to damage to the superstructure, the route was closed from 2006 to 2017.

Wilsdruff - Gärtitz

Former route Wilsdruff – Gärtitz near Polenz (2012)

The line between Wilsdruff and Gärtitz (later: Döbeln-Gärtitz), opened between 1909 and 1911, was the last Saxon narrow-gauge railway that could be completed before the First World War. It opened up an agricultural area far away from larger cities. Their importance has always been in freight transport, especially in the autumn for the sugar beet campaign. There was only significant travel between Wilsdruff and Lommatzsch. On the first section of the line, traffic ceased in 1966, and in 1972 it was completely shut down.

Klingenthal - Sachsenberg-Georgenthal

The narrow-gauge railway from Klingenthal to what is now the Sachsenberg-Georgenthal district, inaugurated in 1916, was the only electrified narrow-gauge railway in Saxony. Because of the electric drives, a track width of 1000 mm was chosen as with the Rollbockbahn in Reichenbach . Tram- like railcars were used for passenger transport so that the public perceived the route as a real tram . For freight traffic, there were two four-axle electric locomotives that were used in front of roller car trains . The line was closed in 1964.

Klingenberg-Colmnitz - Oberdittmannsdorf

The Klingenberg-Colmnitz – Oberdittmannsdorf line was the last narrow-gauge railway to be built in Saxony. It connected the Freital-Potschappel-Nossen and Klingenberg-Colmnitz-Frauenstein routes. Traffic has been extremely sparse throughout its existence. Two mixed pairs of trains a day were sufficient to cope with it until it was shut down in 1971.

vehicles

From the beginning, the Royal Saxon State Railways and later the Deutsche Reichsbahn only procured a few types of locomotives and wagons , but these in large numbers. This also explains the uniform appearance of the narrow-gauge railways in Saxony, especially since the vehicles were also exchanged between the routes as required.

Due to the war, a number of foreign vehicles remained on the Saxon routes after 1945. Most of these loners were usually only used briefly and then given to other narrow-gauge lines in the GDR.

Locomotives

Steam locomotives

Type IK

No. 54 in Mügeln (2010)

For their first narrow-gauge railway, the Royal Saxon State Railways purchased triple-coupled tank locomotives from Hartmann , which they initially classified as class H V TK. A total of 39 locomotives of this type were put into service. The private Zittau-Oybin-Jonsdorfer Eisenbahn (ZOJE) also purchased five identical locomotives for their routes.

The Deutsche Reichsbahn took over 27 copies and classified them in the 99.750-752 series. They were retired by 1928. The former number 12 was sold to the Schmiedeberg foundry and served there as a factory locomotive until 1964. A possible museum preservation failed due to the short-term dismantling of the machine.

As part of the opening ceremony for the anniversary "125 Years of narrow gauge railways in Saxony" proclaimed Association for the Advancement Saxon narrow gauge railways eV (SSB) on 12 January 2006, the project to rebuild a locomotive of the series I K. With the support of sponsors and companies could much of the Components can be manufactured inexpensively. The Meiningen steam locomotive works was entrusted with the overall assembly and manufacture of some large components such as the boiler. In June 2009 the locomotive was presented to the public in an operational state. It is based at the Preßnitztalbahn in Jöhstadt, where it has been used regularly in front of the museum trains ever since. As part of special events, it can also be experienced on the other Saxon routes in train traffic.

Class II K

No. 19 on the Weißeritztalbahn (undated)

Because of the low power of the class IK, there was soon a need for a more powerful locomotive. R. & W. Hawthorn from Newcastle in England delivered two Fairlie locomotives in 1885 . The vehicles had a double boiler with two standing boilers. They had four wet steam engines with a Heusinger control for each engine. Due to their high mass and the unfavorable cab design was supported by a further acquisition in favor of the III K apart. The two locomotives were retired in 1903 and 1909.

In 1913, four locomotives of the class IK were experimentally combined to form two double locomotives. They were assigned to the class II K with a second cast. More locomotives were to follow, but the concept did not work. One double locomotive was separated again in 1916 and the other decommissioned in 1924.

Class III K

No. 43 (photo of Saxon machine works)

In 1889, the Royal Saxon State Railways ordered two support-tender locomotives from Krauss in Munich , as they had previously been delivered to Bosnabahn . Since the machines proved their worth, a second series of four locomotives was manufactured by Hartmann in 1894 . As a special feature reported the locomotives Klose engine with Engerth - Supports Ender on. With this a radial adjustment of all coupling axes was possible. Because of the high maintenance costs of the complicated engine, no more locomotives were purchased.

The six locomotives were taken over by the Deutsche Reichsbahn and classified in the 99.754 series. The locomotives were retired by 1926.

Class IV K

99 555 (see 145) in Bertsdorf (2010)

The IV K are the most famous Saxon narrow-gauge steam locomotives. The first locomotives were developed and built by the Sächsische Maschinenfabrik in Chemnitz in 1892 . In terms of performance, it was clearly superior to all the narrow-gauge locomotives previously put into service, but the design proved to be ideal for operation on the winding and incline-rich Saxon routes. Up to 1921, 96 locomotives of the IV K were put into service. The IV K is the most built narrow-gauge locomotive in Germany. The locomotives were still in use as planned on the narrow-gauge railway Wolkenstein – Jöhstadt and the Oschatz – Mügeln – Kemmlitz line until the end of the 1980s . A larger number of the IV K were preserved as museum locomotives, some of which were operational.

Genus VK

No. 206 on the Müglitztalbahn (undated)

Nine copies of the VK class were procured primarily for the Müglitztalbahn in order to better cope with the increasing train loads. The locomotives received the boiler that had already been tried and tested by the IV K, so that the locomotives also had the same output. The engine with hollow axles of the Klien-Lindner design was remarkable, but it did not prove itself due to high maintenance costs. For these reasons, no more locomotives of this type were procured. At the Deutsche Reichsbahn the machines were given the numbers 99 611 to 99 619. The locomotives were decommissioned by 1942.

Type VI K

99 715 in Schmalzgrube (2007)

The locomotives of the later Saxon class VI K were built in 1918/19, originally for the Deutsche Heeresfeldbahn by Henschel & Sohn in Cassel. They were supposed to replace the underperforming Saxon IV K in the area of ​​the Warsaw Military Directorate General. Due to the peace of Brest-Litovsk, they were no longer used there. In 1919 the Saxon State Railways bought all 15 locomotives for their routes. They were classified as class VI K and were given the track numbers 210 to 224. With the VI K, superheated steam locomotives were used for the first time on the Saxon narrow-gauge railways. The five-fold coupled engine corresponded to Gölsdorf 's principles: The first, third and fifth wheelset of the locomotive was movably mounted on the sides so that even tight radii could be passed. The Deutsche Reichsbahn gave the locomotives the numbers 99 641 to 99 655. By 1927, Henschel & Sohn Cassel, the Sächsische Maschinenfabrik AG, formerly R. Hartmann Chemnitz and the Maschinenbaugesellschaft Karlsruhe , built another 47 locomotives and put them into service. Some of these locomotives were also used on the Bottwartalbahn in Württemberg .

After 1945, some locomotives had to be given to the Soviet Union as reparations. In the 1960s, most of the remaining locomotives in the Görlitz-Schlauroth Reichsbahn repair shop were equipped with new boilers. Some of the locomotives also received new frames and cabs and their appearance was matched to the new locomotives.

Most of the machines were retired by 1975. The locomotives 99 713 and 99 715 remained in Saxony. Both are operational again today and are used by the Pressnitz Valley Railway and the SDG . The locomotives 99 651 and 99 716 are preserved on the Öchsle -Bahn in Württemberg.

DR class 99.73-76 (standard locomotive)

99 731 in Kurort Oybin (2007)

The already quite powerful VI K turned out to be too weak for operation on the routes in the Ore Mountains and in the Zittau Mountains . An even stronger series was needed, especially to cope with the traffic peaks in winter sports traffic. The standardization office of the German Locomotive Association in Berlin-Tegel worked out the design for a standard locomotive . The Sächsische Maschinenfabrik in Chemnitz delivered the first 13 locomotives in 1928, which were followed by 19 more from BMAG in Berlin by 1933 . These most powerful narrow-gauge locomotives for 750 mm gauge ever used in Germany met expectations. With the leader it was now possible to transport extra-long narrow-gauge trains up to 56 axles uphill.

Locomotives of this series are still in regular daily operation on the Zittau narrow-gauge railway and the Weißeritztalbahn .

DR class 99.77-79 (new construction locomotive)

99 794 in Oberwiesenthal (2010)

In 1945 ten standard locomotives of the 99.73-76 series had to be given to the Soviet Union as reparations . On the other hand, there was an enormous increase in traffic on the narrow-gauge railways in the Ore Mountains due to the newly started uranium mining of SDAG Wismut . In order to remedy the resulting shortage of locomotives, a similar successor type was created from 1952 at VEB Lokomotivbau Karl Marx in Babelsberg as the 99.77-79 series . In accordance with the construction principles that were modern at the time, the locomotives are exclusively welded constructions and otherwise largely resemble the standard locomotives.

The first operational areas were the routes Schönfeld-Wiesa-Meinersdorf and Wilischthal-Thum , the route Cranzahl-Kurort Oberwiesenthal (Fichtelbergbahn) and the route Hainsberg-Kurort Kipsdorf ( Weißeritztalbahn ). From the beginning of the 1970s, the locomotives were also used between Radebeul Ost and Radeburg. At the end of the 1980s, the first locomotives had to be shut down due to frame and boiler damage. The responsible Reichsbahn repair shop in Görlitz-Schlauroth then built new frames and new boilers for several locomotives in order to keep the locomotives operational.

Today the locomotives carry the main load of the traffic together with the standard locomotives on all routes that are still in service .

Diesel locomotives

DR series V 36 K

Even in the first diesel locomotive procurement program of the Deutsche Reichsbahn in 1953, a narrow-gauge locomotive was planned, which was primarily intended to replace the IV K on the Saxon routes. The VEB Lokomotivbau Karl Marx in Babelsberg developed from 1956 the two prototypes locomotives V 36.4801 and 4802, which were completed in 1960 and 1961st The locomotives were tested on the Freital-Hainsberg-Kurort Kipsdorf route and around Wilsdruff, and some serious defects were found. The high axle load of over nine tonnes, which precluded the use of the locomotive on most of the intended routes from the outset, was particularly problematic. Since the manufacturer was unable to rectify the defects, series production was not carried out. The two prototype vehicles were dismantled and scrapped in 1965.

DR 199 007 and 199 008

199 007 in the depot of the Preßnitztalbahn in Jöhstadt (2009)

The two diesel locomotives 199 007 and 199 008 corresponded to the type Ns4 of VEB Lokomotivbau Karl Marx Babelsberg. They were the most powerful locomotives in a series of narrow-gauge diesel locomotives that were designed especially for field and forest railways.

The 199 007 was originally the shunting locomotive on the connecting line of the VEB Spinnerei Venusberg . The DR bought the locomotive in 1972 and from then on used it on the remainder of the Wilischthal – Thum narrow-gauge railway between the Wilischthal station and the Wilischthal paper mill. When it was no longer needed there, it acquired the IG Preßnitztalbahn in 1992. Today it is occasionally used on their museum railway between Steinbach and Jöhstadt.

The 199 008 was originally built for the VEB gravel works Ottendorf-Okrilla , later it ran as work locomotive 2 in the VEB GISAG Schmiedeberg . The DR rented the locomotive in 1987 for the dismantling of the disused Pressnitz Valley Railway, and in 1990 it was bought by the DR. Until 1992 it served in Wilischthal as a reserve locomotive for the 199 007. In 1993 it was sold to the Döllnitzbahn .

FAUR L30H

199 013 of the SOEG in Zittau (2010)

The FAUR L30H locomotives were built between 1977 and 1982 at the August 23 locomotive factory in Romania for use on field and forest railways. In 1994, the Döllnitzbahn acquired two locomotives with a gauge of 600 mm that came from a Polish industrial railway. At the MaLoWa in Mannsfeld, they were re- gauged to 750 mm and were used between Mügeln, Oschatz and Kemmlitz in front of passenger and freight trains. Due to a lack of demand, the vehicles are now parked damaged.

The SOEG uses another locomotive of this type in front of its diesel trains . It is listed there as 199 013.

BBÖ 2041 / s / ÖBB 2091

199 031 of the DBG in Oschatz (2010)

The 2041 / s were procured from 1934 by the Austrian Federal Railways (BBÖ) for the narrow-gauge railways with 760 mm gauge in Austria. From 1997 the Döllnitzbahn acquired the locomotives 2091.10 and 2091.12 of the second series from 1940. They are mostly used there before the school trains introduced in 1995. Initially, the colorful paintwork was unusual, "to encourage the young passengers to take the trip".

FAUR L45H

The FAUR L45H locomotives were built between 1967 and 1985 at the August 23 locomotive factory in Romania as mainline locomotives, but also for use on industrial railways. The first locomotive of this type was acquired by the then BVO Bahn in 1998 for use as a reserve and construction locomotive on the Cranzahl – Kurort Oberwiesenthal route. Later the Central German Railway Cleaning Company also bought two locomotives, which were stationed in Freital-Hainsberg and Radebeul Ost. These and two other vehicles used as spare parts donors are now part of the SDG portfolio.

Another L45H came to SOEG in 2009. It is used there as 199 018.

Railcar

Diesel multiple unit 137 322

137 322 with sidecar in Zittau (2010)

In 1938 Busch delivered four narrow-gauge diesel railcars for the Saxon narrow-gauge railways in Bautzen . The modern vehicles were designed for a maximum speed of 65 km / h and had multiple controls for driving in a train.

From then on, the railcars were used on the narrow-gauge railways from Zittau to the Zittau Mountains and to Hermsdorf. The vehicles proved their worth, only the outbreak of the Second World War on September 1, 1939 prevented the procurement of further vehicles. After 1945 only a single railcar remained in Zittau, which was used again together with appropriately adapted normal passenger cars. In 1964, after an engine failure, the vehicle was parked in the locomotive shed in Bertsdorf , but not scrapped.

In 2006 and 2007, the railcar was refurbished using donations. On August 11th and 12th, 2007, the unique vehicle was used again as scheduled on the Zittau narrow-gauge railways for the first time in over 40 years.

Diesel multiple unit 137 600

The railcar VT 137 600 was rebuilt from a damaged three-part railcar of the Latvian State Railways, which had remained in the Selva station at the end of the Second World War. From 1951 to 1954 the DR used the vehicle on the Freital-Potschappel-Nossen narrow-gauge railway. Because of frequent malfunctions in the drive system and the insufficient engine power, the railcar was handed over to Zittau as early as 1954, where it was hardly ever used. From 1957 it still ran on various narrow-gauge railways in the north of the GDR, where it retired from service in 1965.

New railcars

137 515 of the Döllnitzbahn (formerly ÖBB 5090.015) during the public presentation trips in Kurort Oybin (November 4, 2018)

After 1990 it became clear that an operating concept analogous to the narrow-gauge railways in Austria would also be optimal for the Saxon routes. Ten new narrow-gauge railcars were then also planned, which were to be delivered in Switzerland following a tender from Stadler . Although the Saxon state government had given a financing commitment from the mid-1990s , the four different owners of the routes at the time could not agree on a joint order for such vehicles. One of the reasons for the failure of the project was the intended purchase of new narrow-gauge steam locomotives by what was then BVO Bahn.

In 2017, the Döllnitzbahn acquired a railcar of the ÖBB series 5090 from the year of construction 1995 from NÖVOG , which is to be used in school traffic between Oschatz and Mügeln from 2018 together with an existing passenger car of Austrian origin.

Meter-gauge locomotives and railcars

Genus IM

IM No. 251 (photo from Sächsische Maschinenfabrik)

The locomotives of the IM type were procured for the meter-gauge Rollbockbahn between Reichenbach and Oberheinsdorf . Because of the laid in the road subgrade track body, the locomotives were originally as tramway locomotives of steam tram completely covered. The vehicles had two boilers with fire boxes that were connected to each other. The driver's cab was between the two boilers. Originally, the entire length of the locomotive was roofed over, and the driver had a separate seat at the end of each drive ahead.

The locomotives were given the numbers 99 161 to 99 163 by the Deutsche Reichsbahn . They were retired by 1963. The 99 162 was preserved as a museum locomotive of the Dresden Transport Museum and is now in Oberheinsdorf as a monument locomotive .

Genus I ME

In 1914, the Royal Saxon State Railways procured two electric locomotives for freight train service for operation on the electrified line from Klingenthal to Sachsenberg-Georgenthal . The four-axle vehicles were manufactured at the Sächsische Maschinenfabrik in Chemnitz and received the electrical equipment from Siemens-Schuckert-Werke (SSW). They were designated as E 191 from 1950 and were in use on the line until operations were discontinued. They were then scrapped.

Electric railcar I MET

ET 198 06 and EB 198 03 as a vehicle monument at the Klingenthal train station (2007)

For operation on the electrified line from Klingenthal to Sachsenberg-Georgenthal , the State Railroad procured two tram-like railcars for passenger train service in 1916. The vehicles were manufactured in the Bautzen wagon factory and received the electrical equipment from the Siemens-Schuckert works . The Deutsche Reichsbahn took over the vehicles and from 1950 they were designated as ET 197 21 and 22. In 1958 the decommissioning and scrapping took place.

Electric multiple unit ET 198

Main articles: LOWA ET54 , Gothawagen T57

The Deutsche Reichsbahn purchased four new railcars to replace the outdated vehicles of the I MET series . In order to save development costs, it was decided to purchase adapted tram vehicles from the production of VEB Waggonbau Gotha . The vehicles were in use until the end of operation in April 1964 and were then transferred to the Plauen tram .

dare

Passenger coaches

In 1881 only two-axle 2nd and 3rd class passenger cars were procured for the first Saxon narrow-gauge railway . The 4th class initially seemed dispensable due to the short travel distances, but was introduced from 1913. Four-axle wagons were soon put into service, initially with a skylight, later with a barrel roof and a significantly widened car body. These two types of wagons, which were put into service from 1906, were to have a decisive impact on the appearance of narrow-gauge trains in Saxony for decades. Modernized several times, these cars still form the basis of the passenger car fleet in Saxony today.

From 1929 the so-called standard cars were put into service. With these modern vehicles, technical innovations such as electrical lighting and steam heating were introduced on the narrow-gauge railways for the first time. At the same time, the 4th class was abolished again in the same year.

In 1933, five open observation cars were built on the chassis of decommissioned skylight cars . The cars had no roof and could therefore only be used in good weather. After the Second World War, however, they were rarely used in scheduled trains because of the now common brown coal firing and the associated flying sparks. One of the vehicles came into the holdings of the Rittersgrün narrow-gauge railway museum in 1971, and another came to the traditional Radebeul railway in 1974. Only recently have new cars of this type been put into service.

After the Second World War, with the exception of two cars for the Deutsche Post , there were no more new vehicles. From the end of the 1950s, most of the cars in the “Wilhelm Pieck” raw material in Karl-Marx-Stadt were modernized. On the outside, instead of planking, the wagons were given sheet metal planking, while new, hard-padded benches were installed inside.

From 1977 onwards, the wagons still needed in the Perleberg factory department of Raw Wittenberge were subjected to another modernization called reconstruction . Initially only new windows were installed and the seating changed, but later the cars were given new car bodies with a standardized width. When the Perleberg factory department was closed in March 1992, the reconstruction program ended. At this point in time, around four fifths of the remaining wagons had been converted.

Freight wagons

The development of freight wagons was similar to that of passenger coaches . Initially only two-axle designs were procured, but from 1901 the procurement of spacious four-axle open and closed freight wagons began. From the 1920s, four-axle turntable wagons and, from 1930, four-axle hinged lid wagons were also put into service.

Even before 1900, standard-gauge freight wagons were transported on trestles . The Royal Saxon State Railways broke new technical territory with the development of the trolleys from 1901. From then on, the trolleys were procured in several series and with different travel platform lengths from 5.5 to 9.0 meters until the 1950s.

There were only a few exotic goods wagons. Particularly noteworthy here are the private cars of the Dresden fertilizer export company , with which the faeces were removed from the city of Dresden before the sewer system was built. After 1990, some bulk goods self-unloading wagons from the former Mansfeld mining railway came to the Döllnitzbahn, which were mainly used for kaolin transport from Kemmlitz .

Railway company car

Gradually, a whole series of railway company cars were developed and put into service for the Saxon narrow-gauge lines . The most notable representative of this type is the contour and profile measuring car , which was put into service in 1897, to check the prescribed clearance profile on the track. The vehicle is now part of the Radebeul Narrow-Gauge Railway Museum.

Snow plows were procured for the narrow-gauge railways in the Ore Mountains at a rather late stage, and these vehicles were mostly also made from decommissioned two-axle wagons. In the years 1988/1989 the Meiningen Reichsbahn repair shop built four new two-axle snow plows for the narrow-gauge railways in Saxony, which were located in Kurort Oberwiesenthal, Radebeul Ost, Freital-Hainsberg and Mügeln (near Oschatz).

A two-axle weight equipment wagon ( calibration wagon) was procured in 1898 to test the narrow-gauge track scales . Another vehicle of this type entered service in 1929. This six-axle car alone weighed exactly 30 tons; The normal weight of 40 t could then be set by means of additional weights carried in an equipment cart. The two-axle car was still there in 1963 and was retired shortly afterwards. The six-axle vehicle fell from the Garsebach bridge in an accident in 1949 and was scrapped on site.

Two weed sprinklers were purchased in the 1930s to control weeds on the track , one of which is preserved in the Rittersgrün narrow-gauge railway museum.

One of the most curious railway service vehicles of the Saxon narrow-gauge railways was the salt gritter of the Klingenthal narrow-gauge railway. Its purpose was to keep the rails laid there in the subgrade free of snow and ice. The car body was preserved and is now in the care of the traditional Rollbockbahn eV association in Oberheinsdorf .

IK train

After the Sächsische IK was completed in 2009 , the idea arose to produce a suitable train for the locomotive from the early days of the Saxon narrow-gauge railways. In-house work by various associations, supported by companies in the Saxon metal and wood processing industry and numerous donors, a total of six cars were built by 2016, which allow journeys on the narrow-gauge routes that have been preserved around 1900 to be reproduced. The entire IK train is primarily stationed at the Saxon-Upper Lusatian Railway Company , but it can also be moved to other routes or exhibitions without any problems. It consists of the following vehicles:

Like the locomotive, the wagons are equipped with suction air brakes and have the guide rollers and brake lines for the jack brake on the roof .

Technical features

Couplings

For their first narrow-gauge railway, the Royal Saxon State Railways introduced a funnel coupling design in 1881 , which, as a special feature, had different shapes at both ends of the vehicle. One of the two coupling heads was made longer to accommodate the coupling iron in the uncoupled state. The long buffer was fixed rigidly in the head piece, the short one was sprung. There was an additional drill hole in the long buffer for recessed locking in the uncoupled state, as well as two side handles on the coupling iron when the vehicles to be coupled were ready for coupling. For coupling, the vehicles were driven against each other, then the coupling iron was released, inserted into the short buffer and locked in both with the bolts.

Coupling two vehicles was associated with a certain risk of accidents, however, as a bolt might have to be used depending on the state of wear while the vehicles were moving. Even before the turn of the century, the first semi-automatic clutch, the Wendt clutch, was introduced. Instead of the short funnel, there was now an automatic coupling mechanism that locked the coupling iron automatically when it was immersed. From 1895 onwards, Wendt couplings of this kind were mainly found on vehicles on the Cranzahl – Oberwiesenthal line, but they did not become generally accepted.

The funnel coupling was later simplified, the difference between long and short coupling was eliminated. The opening was made smaller, making the connection between two vehicles more rigid. To compensate for this, the mounting on bogie vehicles and long locomotives was made movable. In the case of bogie cars, the shaft is elastically guided to the side of the bogie frame via springs. The dome head itself has been connected to the shaft with two bolts since then. When coupling rolling vehicles with coupling rods, the lateral mobility of the shaft is prevented by means of limiting bolts to avoid kinking when pushing or braking.

In 1922, two wagons on the Hainsberg – Kipsdorf route were fitted with a simple design of the newly developed Scharfenberg coupling, and this was then tested in service. In July 1925, the cars were presented together with the 99 597, which had also been converted, at the transport exhibition in Munich . The new coupling, however, only established a mechanical connection; air and control lines were not connected.

Around 1927 a first test train with the Scharfenberg coupling probably ran on the Hainsberg – Kipsdorf line. As the new system proved itself, some of the standard cars delivered from 1928 onwards were delivered with the new coupling. From 1930 onwards, a large-scale program began to convert the vehicles on most of the routes. Ultimately, the changeover could never be fully completed, the funnel coupling is still used on the Oschatz – Mügeln line today. Due to the standard mounting on most vehicles, the funnel and Scharfenberg coupling heads are interchangeable, and there are also transition couplings that are also used for operation with trolleys.

Brakes

On the Saxon narrow-gauge railways in 1881 the lever brake, which had already proven itself in the normal-gauge secondary railways, was introduced as an automatic train brake . This was mainly due to the possible savings in personnel, the higher operational reliability was of secondary importance. For comparison: In the standard gauge network, the automatic and multi-release compressed air brake was only introduced comprehensively on freight wagons after 1920, until then most freight wagons were hand-braked or without a train brake, while passenger cars operated with single-release brakes. An additional reason for using the lever brake was operation with a trolley . Due to their design, these cannot be equipped with hand brakes that can be used while driving. The lever brake uses the kinetic energy of the train in motion to brake, so it is not possible to brake the train when it is at a standstill or to test the brakes while it is stationary . A special feature of the lever brake is the brake cable running over all car roofs, which is tensioned while driving. In the case of trolleys, it runs through the frame and thus under the rolled-up standard gauge wagons. The rope is released to brake. There is a reel on the locomotive for this purpose, with which the rope can be released or tensioned in stages. When the braking process is initiated, friction rollers are applied to the axles by means of weight, which wind a chain and apply the brakes. Emergency braking can be triggered in the luggage trolley using a special device (“emergency brake slide”) or by cutting the brake cable at any point. The train crew carried sharp knives for this purpose.

Especially in winter, the Heberleinbremse proved to be prone to failure and not operationally safe on the steep slopes of the Ore Mountains due to icing. For the conversion of the vehicles, therefore the decision was made in 1908 to the time modern, mehrlösige Körting - vacuum brake . The large, vertically suspended brake cylinders were typical of this braking system. A vacuum is used as the working medium in this type of brake. In autumn 1913, the conversion of the vehicles on the Hainsberg – Kipsdorf line began after the first train set with the new brake had been tested there as early as 1912. From 1914, the vehicles on other routes followed, but the conversion of all narrow-gauge railways could never be achieved. Up until 1987, trains with brakes operated between Oschatz and Kemmlitz. The vehicles were converted in parts. During the changeover period, trains with Heberlein and suction air brakes were operated mixed. The wagons were additionally equipped with jack guide rollers or a main air duct, the engine drivers operated both brakes on such trains.

In 1982 all wagons were converted to KE air brakes, as there were hardly any spare parts for the Körting brakes at the time. This changeover was essentially completed in the early 1990s. Today only the locomotives and cars used in museum traffic still have the old braking systems.

Heating and lighting

The development of heating and lighting in the wagons took essentially the same path as with standard-gauge vehicles.

The first wagons procured in 1881 did not offer heating. Only because of increasing complaints from passengers, iron ovens were retrofitted in the car from 1883, for which a single seat was omitted. Outside of the heating season, however, they were expanded again in favor of the seat. Only after the turn of the century were the ovens left in the car all year round.

It was not until 1928, when the modern standard locomotives were put into service, that a suitably powerful locomotive was available that steam heating was also introduced on the narrow-gauge railways. The standard cars delivered from 1928 already received the low-pressure circulation heating ex works; all other cars were retrofitted later. Until recently, however, some cars with stove heating were kept available, as the connection of the passenger cars to the continuous steam heating line from the locomotive was not always possible in mixed trains.

Rüböl lamps were initially used for lighting, which were later replaced by more modern gas lighting. Gas-lit wagons were used in passenger train traffic between Oschatz and Mügeln until 1975.

With the commissioning of the new standard cars in 1928, electrical lighting was also introduced. In contrast to the standard-gauge railway, where an axle generator was common for every car , the power supply here came from the locomotive. The standard locomotives already received the 85-volt turbo-generators in the delivery condition, most of the other locomotives were retrofitted later. As an experiment, each car was initially given its own backup battery, but this did not work. Therefore, later only the baggage cars were equipped with powerful batteries in order to ensure the lighting of the car trains even when the locomotive was disconnected. For this reason, a baggage car is still generally included in all narrow-gauge trains in Saxony.

Buildings

All of the high-rise buildings for the Saxon narrow-gauge railways were also designed according to uniform, standardized building principles. The station buildings on different routes are sometimes similar in every detail. A typical example of this is the station building in Jöhstadt , which was also found in an identical design in the stations Mohorn , Bernstadt (Oberlausitz) , Hohnstein , Schönheide Mitte, Oppach and Strehla .

Just such standard constructions were the locomotive sheds, known as the boiler house , which differed from each other only in the number of locomotive stands and in length. These half- timbered buildings were usually located at the terminus of the lines.

The breakpoints and stops were equipped with buildings very sparingly . As a rule, a wooden waiting hall , a free pass and an old car body as storage space for the railway maintenance depots had to suffice.

Civil engineering

bridges

Despite the plan to build the narrow-gauge railways at the lowest possible cost, there was no avoiding the construction of larger bridges. Even with the first Saxon narrow-gauge railway Wilkau-Haßlau-Carlsfeld , two larger viaducts were necessary to cross two small side valleys of the Zwickau Mulde near Stützengrün. The largest bridge of all Saxon narrow-gauge railways was built with the Greifenbach Viaduct as part of the Schönfeld-Wiesa-Meinersdorf narrow-gauge railway . In terms of construction, the large bridges were all scaffold pier viaducts , i.e. H. Trestle bridges , in which, in addition to the superstructures, the pillars were also made of steel. Only the Hüttengrund Viaduct in Oberwiesenthal has been preserved to this day ; all other major bridges were demolished around 1980 to extract scrap.

Smaller bridges consisted almost entirely of simple sheet metal girders on brick pillars. In some cases, however, such bridges also reached larger dimensions. The longest bridge of this type existed in the course of the narrow-gauge railway Wilsdruff-Gärtitz in the Triebischtal near Robschütz and Garsebach . Only in the beginning - for example with the Weißeritztalbahn - brick arch bridges were built. From the turn of the century, new bridges were built with the then new material concrete . In some cases, such bridges were faced with natural stone for visual reasons.

tunnel

Former
Weißeritztalbahn tunnel

There were only a few tunnels on the Saxon narrow-gauge railways. When the Weißeritztalbahn was built in 1883, a tunnel only 17 meters long was created, but it was removed as early as 1906 in connection with the introduction of roller carriage traffic. Today there is a rather inconspicuous incision at this point. Two more tunnels were built in the course of the construction of the narrow-gauge railway Goßdorf-Kohlmühle – Hohnstein (Schwarzbachbahn) in Saxon Switzerland .

Superstructure

When the first narrow-gauge routes were built, a very light superstructure was used , depending on the vehicles used. The rail profile Ia with 15.6 kg / m was initially installed. With the introduction of the roller-block and roller carriage traffic, the tracks had to be reinforced for the first time, mostly using used material from the standard-gauge lines.

A turning point was the commissioning of the class VI K locomotives, regarded as "track eater", after the First World War. The entire superstructure had to be sown onto the rail profile on the planned deployment routes within a very short time. Va / S 33 can be converted with 33 kg / m. For cost reasons, steel sleepers were now also used, which were obtained from shortened and recessed old standard track sleepers. The rail fastenings corresponded to the usual ones on standard gauge lines at the same time, however, due to the tiered management, superstructures that were no longer common in the rest of the network were used. Saxon and Prussian hook plate superstructures were the standard construction for a long time, along with Saxon guardrails in tight curves.

When, after 1960, a fundamental renewal of the superstructure was inevitable on some routes, concrete sleepers with the S 33 rail profile were also installed. At the time, this profile was only manufactured by Maxhütte in Unterwellenborn for the needs of the narrow-gauge routes in the GDR. With the concrete sleepers, the K type of superstructure was installed on a larger scale for the first time

From the 1970s on, old, usable track material from standard gauge lines was used again. The 49 kg / m heavy rail profile S 49 with wooden sleepers was primarily used for installation. In 1973 the Brandenburg turnout factory received the order to develop a new, simple turnout based on the construction principles of the Reichsbahn turnouts from 1931, which was available from 1976. The new switch could be completely welded and, like the standard gauge types, now had spring rail instead of articulated tongues with connections for clip-point locks and setting devices of the standard design, which considerably reduced maintenance costs. The junction radius increased from 65 to 100 meters, however, necessitated a correction of the position of entire routes. The construction of new double crossings was not possible with the S 49 rail profile for geometric reasons. A new production based on the old S 33 profile failed due to the discontinuation of production in 1984. The design changes when the parabolic switches were introduced, in particular the elastic stock rail bracing, the adjustable support wheel guide and the waiver of coupling sleepers, were also implemented.

Today the rail profile S 49 with wooden sleepers and superstructure K and Ks is standard for track renewals on the Saxon narrow-gauge railways. Concrete or steel sleepers are no longer used for cost reasons. One innovation is the use of thresholds made from recycled plastic. They were first installed in 2016 during the reconstruction of the Weißeritztalbahn between Dippoldiswalde and the health resort of Kipsdorf.

See also

literature

  • Dirk Lenhard, Marko Rost, Dietmar Schlegel: The 99.64-71 and 99.19 series . EK-Verlag Freiburg 2012, ISBN 3-88255-197-6
  • Dieter Bäzold: The Thumer Narrow Gauge Network . Bufe, Egglham 1993, ISBN 3-922138-51-9 .
  • Rainer Fischer, Sven Hoyer, Joachim Schulz: The wagons of the Saxon secondary railways . EK, Freiburg im Breisgau 1998, ISBN 3-88255-682-X .
  • Stephan Häupel, Eberhard Schramm: Narrow gauge railways around Thum . Kenning, Nordhorn 2011, ISBN 978-3-933613-39-4 (= branch line documentation , volume 71).
  • Rainer Heinrich, Gordon Parzyk: The narrow-gauge railway Wilkau-Haßlau - Carlsfeld . EK, Freiburg im Breisgau 1995, ISBN 3-88255-418-5 .
  • Rainer Heinrich: The Klingenthal narrow-gauge railway and the history of the Klingenthal standard-gauge station . 2nd edition, Kenning, Nordhorn 2000, ISBN 3-933613-27-2 (= branch line documentation , volume 67).
  • Ludger Kenning: Narrow-gauge railways around Mügeln and Wilsdruff . Kenning, Nordhorn 2000, ISBN 3-933613-29-9 .
  • Bernd Kramer, Rainer Heinrich: The narrow-gauge railway Grünstädtel-Oberrittersgrün . Kenning, Nordhorn 2002, ISBN 3-933613-30-2 .
  • Gustav W. Ledig: The narrow-gauge state railways in the Kingdom of Saxony . Leipzig 1895. Reprint: Zentralantiquariat der DDR, Leipzig 1987, ISBN 3-7463-0070-3 ( digitized at www.archive.org ) ( digitized SLUB ).
  • Andre Marks (Ed.): Saxon Narrow Gauge Railways . Eisenbahn-Bildarchiv, EK, Freiburg im Breisgau 2006, ISBN 978-3-88255-367-3 .
  • Andreas Petrak: The narrow-gauge railway Wolkenstein-Jöhstadt . Kenning, Nordhorn 2000, ISBN 3-933613-28-0 .
  • Erich Preuss , Reiner Preuss : Narrow gauge railways in Saxony . Transpress, Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-613-71079-X .
  • Erich Preuß: The Zittau-Oybin-Jonsdorfer Railway . Transpress, Stuttgart 1999, ISBN 3-613-71107-9 .
  • Hans-Christoph Thiel: The Weißeritztalbahn - narrow-gauge railway Freital-Hainsberg-Kurort Kipsdorf , Kenning, Nordhorn 1994, ISBN 3-927587-21-4 .
  • Wolfram Wagner: The rail mail on the Saxon narrow-gauge railways . Regional traffic history, EK, Freiburg im Breisgau 1998, ISBN 3-88255-436-3 .

Web links

Commons : Schmalspurbahnen Sachsen  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Fischer, Hoyer, Schulz, 1998, p. 21
  2. IG Verkehrsgeschichte Wilsdruff: With the narrow-gauge railway from Mulda to Sayda. 1990, p. 36
  3. ^ Rolf Steinicke: Maintenance of tradition at the Deutsche Reichsbahn . modelleisenbahner 9/1985, p. 11/12
  4. Narrow-gauge railways with record results. In: Saxon newspaper. February 28, 2018, accessed June 4, 2018 .
  5. Stephan Häupel, Eberhard Schramm: Narrow gauge railways around Thum . Kenning Verlag, Nordhorn 2002, ISBN 3-933613-39-6 ; Pp. 56-60
  6. Erich Preuß, Reiner Preuß: Narrow gauge railways in Saxony . Transpress-Verlag, Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-613-71079-X ; P. 157
  7. SDG vehicle list at www.privat-bahn.de
  8. SOEG vehicle list at www.privat-bahn.de
  9. Döllnitzbahn in future with railcars in school traffic. Döllnitzbahn GmbH, January 2, 2018, accessed on June 4, 2018 .
  10. Fischer, Hoyer, Schulz 1998, p. 85
  11. Fischer, Hoyer, Schulz 1998, p. 143
  12. Fischer, Hoyer, Schulz 1998, pp. 21, 135, 138
  13. ^ Author collective: Der Ik-Zug , SOEG Medien, Zittau 2016, URL = www.soeg-zittau.de
  14. Fischer, Hoyer, Schulz 1998, p. 150f.
  15. Fischer, Hoyer, Schulz 1998, pp. 154–158
  16. Fischer, Hoyer, Schulz 1998, pp. 158–160
  17. Hans-Christoph Thiel: The Weißeritztalbahn - narrow-gauge railway Freital-Hainsberg-Kurort Kipsdorf. Kenning Verlag, Nordhorn 1994, ISBN 3-927587-21-4 , pp. 88ff.
This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on June 8, 2007 .