Wachtlbahn

	0.0	Kiefersfelden (cement works)
	0.5	Settlers Way
	0.9	Rosenheimer Strasse
	1.3	Kohlstatt
	2.5	Hechtsee / Schöffau
	3.5	Breitenau
	3.7	Kieferbach
	3.9	Giessenbachklamm
	4.6	Kieferbach
	4.9	Germany-Austria border
	5.0	Wachtl / Tyrol
	6.1	Quarry

The Wachtlbahn is an electrically operated narrow-gauge railway between Kiefersfelden in Germany and Wachtl in the Thiersee municipality in Austria , the gauge is 900 millimeters. It was put into operation around 1880 and only transported goods until 1991. The most important cargo was limestone , which was mined in Thiersee in Tyrol and processed into cement in the Heidelberger Zement plant in Kiefersfelden in Bavaria . From 1991 onwards, passenger traffic was offered on the Wachtlbahn . This was created by the Museum-Eisenbahn-Gemeinschaft Wachtl e. V. and marketed as Wachtl-Express or Kieferer Grenz-Bahn (KGB) . In 2017 the operation was stopped.

history

Freight transport

Until the temporary suspension of freight traffic in 2003, around 4,000 tonnes were transported daily. These were distributed over eight to ten trains a day. The two electric locomotives of the type EL 4, "Krokodil" (built in 1927 and 1928), both come from Rheinbraun AG, were used . One or two freight trains are currently running on the route every working day (as of early 2009). At the Hechtsee-Schöffau and Breitenau stops, the overhead lines for sidings that have already been dismantled are still available. A loading track is directly at the state border, this cannot be used for through traffic due to the low technical facilities of the ballast filling system.

Tourist passenger traffic

Exit from the Wachtl / Tirol terminus on May 10, 2003

The Museums-Eisenbahn-Gemeinschaft Wachtl e. V. was founded in 1990 with the approval and support of HeidelbergCement AG and initially remained part of this company.

On July 6, 1991, the Museums-Eisenbahn-Gemeinschaft Wachtl e. V. first offered a passenger after these early 1991 by the Wendelsteinbahn acquired two cars, mm from 1000 to 900 umgespurt and had converted to their needs. She was supported financially by HeidelbergCement AG.

In 1993, another car was purchased from the Wendelsteinbahn and, after the gauge change, it was converted into a bar car.

The help of many people, including in the Bavarian Ministry of Transport , the government of Upper Bavaria , the Deutsche Bundesbahn and the municipality of Kiefersfelden ultimately contributed to the fact that the Wachtl-Express could be spun off as an independent railway company from HeidelbergCement AG in 1994 ; the route infrastructure, locomotives and the electrical energy for propulsion will continue to be provided free of charge. In addition to the municipality of Kiefersfelden, the listed building materials group is one of the main sponsors .

In the 2016 timetable, three trains from Kiefersfelden to Wachtl and back were run every fortnight (weekly from mid-August to early September) on Saturdays and Sundays from the end of June to the end of September. The fare for an adult was five euros for a single trip and eight euros for a return trip.

The Wachtlbahn systems are now owned by HeidelbergCement AG. There are both technically secured level crossings with traffic lights as well as non-technically secured ones where the approaching train gives off whistling signals. Due to damage to the infrastructure, the Wachtlbahn did not receive a permit for operation from the responsible supervisory authority in 2017. The entire railway line will be renovated in 2019, and the work is expected to be completed by the end of summer 2019.

vehicles

Locomotives 4 and 5 of the Wachtlbahn

Numbering:	Locomotive 4 / Locomotive 5
Number:	2
Manufacturer:	BBC
Year of construction (s):	1927/1928
Axis formula :	Bo´Bo´ g4t
Gauge :	900 mm
Service mass:	60 t
Top speed:	35 km / h
Installed capacity:	four 111 kW electric motors
Power system :	1200 V =

In 1928 Brown, Boveri & Cie. under the serial numbers 5082 and 5084 today's locomotives 4 and 5 of the type "crocodile" to the Kraftanlagen-AG, Heidelberg, trade union Gustav, Dettingen. Later they came to the brown coal & briquette factory, Brühl and finally in 1960 to the Rheinische brown coal works, Cologne. The locomotives have been in Kiefersfelden since 1967.

Locomotive 6 of the Wachtlbahn

Numbering:	Locomotive 6 (temporarily locomotive 1)
Number:	1
Manufacturer:	Gmeinder
Year of construction (s):	1947
Axis formula :	C.
Gauge :	900 mm
Length over coupling:	5325 mm
Height:	2,600 mm
Width:	1,650 mm
Total wheelbase:	1800 mm
Service mass:	16.5 t
Top speed:	20 km / h
Starting tractive effort:	49 kN
Driving wheel diameter:	700 mm
Motor type:	6-cylinder in-line engine
Rated speed:	1000-1500 rpm
Power transmission:	hydrodynamic

In 1947 Gmeinder delivered today's locomotive 6, type HF130C, to the Hamburg machine dealer Harms & Marcus under the serial number 4247 . Exact locations of the locomotive in the next few years are not documented, in 1963 the locomotive was converted from 600 to 820 mm gauge for the G. Hasse company in Hamburg.

After another change of gauge in 1970, the locomotive came to Kiefersfelden. On the works railway, which operates mainly with two electric locomotives in overhead line operation, the locomotive under road number 1 was mainly used to move stations and is now used to move passenger trains at Wachtl station.

Web links

Commons : Wachtlbahn - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ wachtl-bahn.de
^ Event website of the Museum Eisenbahn Gesellschaft Wachtl e. V. Accessed August 12, 2019 .

[1] wachtl-bahn.de

[2] Event website of the Museum Eisenbahn Gesellschaft Wachtl e. V. Accessed August 12, 2019 .