Railway Schönberg – Schleiz

	from Leipzig Bayer Bf
-0.007	Schönberg (Vogtl)	514 m
	to Hof Hbf
	to Hirschberg (Saale)
2.945	Mühltroff (formerly Bf)	480 m
3.550	Wisentabrücke (16 m)
5.985	Zeitabrücke (13 m)
7.005	Langenbuch (formerly Bf)	470 m
9,961	Lössau (formerly Bf)
11.666	Desert Dittersdorf	439 m
14.450	Schleiz Awanst
	Connecting track to the Schleiz – Saalburg railway line
14,899	Schleiz	431 m

The Schönberg – Schleiz railway is a branch line in Saxony and Thuringia . It runs in the valley of the Wisenta from Schönberg to Schleiz in Thuringia and is also known as the Wisentatalbahn . The route opened in 1887 was originally designed by the Kgl. Saxon State Railways built and operated.

The passenger traffic was stopped in 2006; since then, the line leased from the Deutsche Regionalisenbahn has been used for special trips.

history

Prehistory and railway construction

Already at the end of the 1820s there was a project for a rail connection, which, like the management of the Leipzig – Hof railway line of the Saxon-Bavarian Railway Company via Schleiz, desired by the Schleizers , was not implemented in the 1840s. The former residence town of Schleiz of the Principality of Reuss Younger Line hoped in vain for a railway connection in the 1870s. The Thuringian Railway Company and the newly founded Erfurt-Hof-Eger Railway Company all had to cancel their plans in the planning or preparation phase due to financial difficulties. Since the Principality of Reuss Younger Line could not build its own railway lines due to a lack of financial means, it was dependent on the help of a private company or the Kingdom of Saxony . As before, not even interest guarantees could be given.

It was only in the 1880s that negotiations about building a railway took place. The Gera –Zeulenroda – Schleiz route required by Reuss's younger line , which would have connected their most important cities, was problematic. The plan to connect Schleiz with Schönberg on the Leipzig – Hof railway line was still vehemently hindered by both the city of Zeulenroda and the Principality in December 1883. The people of Plauen themselves were very interested in the connection between Schönberg and Schleiz, as it promised greater economic control of the area around Schleiz and Hirschberg. With the argument that a possible Prussian railway construction from Neustadt or Triptis on the Leipzig – Eichicht railway line would jeopardize these interests, the people of Plauen turned to the Saxon state in February 1884. A Mühltroffer railway committee supported the Plauen project, so that the Saxon state parliament approved the construction of the railway in May 1884. The negotiations with the Principality of Reuss Younger Line dragged on until January 1885. A state treaty was signed on February 11, 1885, thus creating the legal basis for railway construction.

In October 1885 negotiations began on the purchase of the required building land, and construction actually began on April 15, 1886. About six of the 15-kilometer stretches were on Saxon territory, the remaining roughly nine kilometers on Russian territory. The Saxon state paid a good 500,000 marks, while the Principality of Reuss Younger Line contributed around 590,000 marks for the so-called Reuss State Railroad . Almost 400 people were involved in the construction of the railway on average. A total of around 140,000 m³ of earth was moved and around 16 kilometers of track with 19 points were laid. On June 11, 1887 the police inspection of the 1.2 million mark expensive line took place, with the ministers Hans von Thümmel for Saxony and Emil von Beulwitz for Reuss younger line being present. The ceremonial opening of the route took place on June 18, 1887, and scheduled traffic began on June 20, 1887. The company was run by the K. Sächs. Sts. EB took over, who leased the section of the route on the Russian territory. When it opened, the line was given a common abbreviation for a railway line in Saxony; for S chönberg– S chlei z it was SSz .

Further development

Timetable 1914

In the first timetable there were four pairs of trains, five on Sundays, on the route. When Saxony built the railway line Schönberg – Hirschberg in 1891/92 at its own expense, which mostly ran across Reussian territory , it received the Reussian part of the line to Schleiz on January 1, 1892.

The passenger trains were soon replaced by passenger trains with goods transport (PmG), so that around 1900 there were five PmGs and one passenger train. In contrast to other routes in Vogtland, the volume of passenger transport on the Schönberg – Schleiz route stagnated. In 1913, for example, the result was roughly the same as in 1899, only in freight traffic there was greater growth. Nevertheless, the number of trains was increased to seven by the First World War , three of which were canceled in the post-war period. It was not until the mid-1930s that the pre-war train number was reached again.

In the middle of the 1890s, in connection with the Saale dam project, the first plans for an extension of the route were made; Both Ziegenrück (1893) and Moßbach (1894) were considered as destinations . At both locations there would have been a connection to the Triptis – Ziegenrück railway line opened in 1894 . The first preparatory work for the extension to Moßbach was approved in 1912/13, but due to the First World War and the circumstances in the post-war years, the project was not carried out. However, the construction of the Bleilochtalsperre was decided in 1925 ; Among other things, the Schleiz – Saalburg railway line with a branch to the dam was built for the transport of materials . In Schleiz, this had a connection to the Schönberg – Schleiz railway line. The line, built according to the Prussian Small Railway Act of 1892, was opened on June 28, 1930 by Schleizer Kleinbahn AG .

Course book range	Period
33	1892/93
93 f	1914
144 k	1938, 1939
173 d	1941, 1941/42, 1944
173 e	1952
474	1968
547	1991/92
545	1996
543	2006

The number of connections had increased to eight by 1938, some of which were connected to Plauen (Vogtl) upper station . During the Second World War , the routes were reduced to five (otherwise only four) trains a day on weekdays. Most of them only operated as a freight train with passenger transport (GmP).

After the end of the war, two pairs of trains ran daily during the American occupation, and from autumn 1945 three pairs of trains a day. In years after that there were more travel connections again, so in 1952 there were five and in 1955 seven (including two GmP) travel connections. Until 1989/90 the number remained at around eight pairs of trains a day, and the journey time was always around 24 minutes. Several trains also had a connection to Plauen.

Passenger train to Schönberg in Schleiz (1995)

With the cessation of passenger traffic on the Schleiz West - Saalburg section of the Schleiz – Saalburg railway line in 1996, passenger traffic to Schleiz station was discontinued and passenger traffic was carried over the connecting track to Schleiz West stop. Instead of the Schleiz station, the platform of the former Schleiz Kleinbahn was used, as the passenger trains ran to Schleiz West. This passenger service was discontinued when the timetable changed on December 8, 2006. Freight traffic between Schönberg and Schleiz ended completely in 1997; even before that, only commodity trains were running. On May 24, 1998 the Vogtlandbahn took over the traffic; In contrast to numerous branch lines in Vogtland, the Schönberg – Schleiz line has not been fundamentally renovated.

Passenger traffic ended on December 9, 2006 after traffic through Thuringia was canceled. On January 31, 2008, Deutsche Regionaleisenbahn GmbH leased the line from DB Netz AG . As early as June 30, 2007, the Wisentatalbahn development association resumed operations with special trains according to a special timetable. The last trip on the entire route for the time being took place on October 18, 2008. From November 1, 2008, the route was closed. On May 1, 2010, the three-kilometer section Schönberg – Mühltroff was put back into operation for occasional traffic, and in October of the same year the special trips of the friends' association were extended to Langenbuch. On December 3, 2011, the last section to Schleiz-West was included again. However, from May 2012 the trains were no longer allowed to stop at the platforms belonging to DB Station & Service between Mühltroff and Schleiz-West. Only after one and a half years did the DB subsidiary give its approval.

Since the entire route was put back into operation, the Wisentatalbahn development association has been organizing an increasing number of special services. The promotion of tourist traffic in the region is an important goal. The acquisition of your own vehicle and the reactivation of the Schleiz train station including the locomotive shed also serve this purpose. This means that trains with steam locomotives that have to transfer to the other end of the train can also run to Schleiz.

Route description

course

Schönberg Railway Station (2006)

The Schönberg (Vogtl) station is located at the Leipzig-Hof railway . The line leaves the station together with the Schönberg – Hirschberg railway line, which is no longer in operation, in a south-westerly direction. The first station, the Mühltroff stop, is still in the Vogtland . Then the line swings north to cross the state border between Saxony and Thuringia and to reach the Langenbuch stop through wooded sections. Past the western edge of the Lössau dam via Lössau and Wüstendittersdorf, the route swings back to the west and reaches Schleiz. Immediately in front of the train station, the connecting track to the Schleiz – Saalburg line branches off to the right.

Around half of the 14.906-kilometer route is on a downward gradient, as Schleiz Bahnhof is 81 meters lower than Schönberger. A little more than half lies in arches, the minimum radius is 300 meters.

Operating points

Schönberg (Vogtl) ⊙50.5285 11.9611

Until the Schleiz railway line was built, there was only one insignificant station on the Leipzig – Hof railway line in Schönberg. From 1886 a one-story station building, a boiler house and a coal shed were built. A goods shed had existed since 1875. With the construction of the Hirschberg line, the station was enlarged again at the beginning of the 20th century. The island train station was last significantly rebuilt in the 1990s.

Mühltroff ⊙50.5416 11.9344

Mühltroff station (2006)

After Schleiz, Mühltroff was second most important to traffic. When it opened, the station comprised three tracks, and the freight facilities had to be changed as early as 1902 due to the increasing transport results. The roughly 16-meter-long goods shed with two loading hatches was attached to the two-and-a-half-story entrance building. Furthermore, a simple farm building and a free pass were available. Two butt tracks branched off from the goods shed track, on which there were several private sheds and a loading ramp. The loading street was on the other side of the station. Initially only a stop, the station was elevated to a station in 1905.

The intersection with today's B 282 in the station area received a barrier system in the 1950s. The first dismantling took place at the end of the 1960s, when a stump track was expanded and the remaining tracks were secured with track closures. At the end of the 1990s, the track systems were dismantled except for the continuous track and the station was downgraded to an unoccupied stop.

Langenbuch ⊙50.5623 11.8952

Railcar 798 307 of the Wisentatalbahn reaches the Langenbuch stop

Initially, the station with two tracks was only used to load wood, for which a 110 meter long side loading ramp was available. Langenbuch was only approved for passenger and general freight traffic in 1898. At the track of the wooden loading ramp, a stump track joined the loading road, and there was also a short cattle loading ramp. Furthermore, a free pass, two car bodies and a waiting hall were set up. The station was elevated to the status of a train station in 1902, after the local sawmill received its own loading track on both sides of the main track.

As early as the 1960s, the freight facilities were no longer in use, from 1987 Langenbuch was only an unoccupied stop. The wooden waiting hall - a Saxon type building with a hipped roof - is still preserved today.

Railcar 798 307 of the Wisentatalbahn in Lössau

Lössau ⊙50.5804 11.8782

Apart from a wooden waiting hall, a platform and two car bodies, there were no other systems at the Lössau stop, which was initially quite far from the village. The wooden waiting hall is still there today, but no longer at its original location, because in the 1950s the former station restaurant was converted into a holiday property for the Deutsche Reichsbahn and the waiting hall was converted.

Desert Dittersdorf ⊙50.5769 11.8563

Wüstendittersdorf was equipped similarly to the Lössau stop. In 1902 the facilities were supplemented with a stump track and a side loading ramp, which have now been removed.

Schleiz ⊙50.5808 11.8177

Schleiz train station from the west (2020)

Entrance building of Schleiz train station (2006)

Schleiz Locomotive Shed (2006)

The station building of Schleiz station essentially corresponded to the Saxon type buildings. A two-and-a-half-story wing housed waiting and luggage rooms, the service rooms were in the one-story intermediate building to the other two-story wing. A goods shed, a farm building, a boiler house including locomotive treatment systems and several private storage sheds were built on other high-rise buildings. In 1890, the 22-meter-long goods shed with 3 hatches was expanded with a one-and-a-half-story expedition extension. A head and side ramp opposite the reception building as well as a loading lane were available at other facilities for freight traffic.

At the entrance to the station, a two-track, two-tier boiler house was built with the construction of the railway . Some of the locomotives used on the route were stationed here, although the locomotive treatment systems were no longer used regularly from the 1930s. After the Second World War, the locomotive depot initially belonged to the Greiz depot and was later incorporated into the Reichenbach depot . On December 31, 1981, the locomotive operations center was converted into a pure personnel operation center and closed on June 1, 1992 or June 1, 1996.

Vehicle use

Initially, there were two secondary railway locomotives of the class H VII TS built in 1887 . The SCHÖNBERG and SCHLEIZ locomotives hauled the opening train. With the opening of the Zeulenroda and Bf – Zeulenroda ob Bf railway , the locomotives were handed over to Zeulenroda in 1914. Instead, vehicles of the type V T (later series 89.2) were stationed in Schleiz , which in turn were replaced in 1936 by the series 94.19-21 . After the Second World War, the 94.19-21 series was replaced by the 75.5 series . From the first half of the 1960s, the class 86 standard locomotives came onto the line. From 1964 railcars of the class VT 2.09 (later class 771) were occasionally used, at the end of the 1960s all passenger trains were run with railcars. The remaining train services were covered with the V 100 series.

At the beginning of the 1990s, the railcars disappeared, all trains were pulled again with diesel locomotives, mostly of the 201 series. The class 132 was occasionally used in front of block trains and later in front of individual passenger trains. The 218 series also drove on the route in the 1990s. Passenger transport was carried out with class 628 railcars from 1996; the use did not last long, because soon locomotive-hauled trains were running again, primarily with the 202 series instead of the 201 series. Before the takeover by the Vogtlandbahn, class 771 railcars were running again . The Vogtlandbahn used RegioSprinter .

At the beginning of September 2014, the Wisentatalbahn development association acquired a DB class 798 multiple unit , which has been used for special trips on the route since then.

literature

Wilfried Rettig : The railways in Vogtland, Volume 2: secondary and narrow-gauge lines, accidents and anecdotes. EK-Verlag, Freiburg 2002, ISBN 3-88255-687-0 .

Web links

Commons : Schönberg – Schleiz railway line - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b Wilfried Rettig: Die Eisenbahnen im Vogtland, Volume 2: Secondary and narrow-gauge lines, accidents and anecdotes , p. 22.
↑ ^a ^b Wilfried Rettig: The railways in Vogtland, Volume 2: secondary and narrow-gauge lines, accidents and anecdotes , p. 22 f.
↑ Wilfried Rettig: Die Eisenbahnen im Vogtland, Volume 2: secondary and narrow-gauge lines, accidents and anecdotes , p. 28.
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Wilfried Rettig: Die Eisenbahnen im Vogtland, Volume 2: Secondary and narrow-gauge lines, accidents and anecdotes , p. 29.
↑ Wilfried Rettig: The railways in Vogtland, Volume 2: secondary and narrow-gauge lines, accidents and anecdotes , p. 214 f.
↑ ^a ^b Wilfried Rettig: Die Eisenbahnen im Vogtland, Volume 2: Secondary and narrow-gauge lines, accidents and anecdotes , p. 23.
↑ ^a ^b Wilfried Rettig: The railways in Vogtland, Volume 2: secondary and narrow-gauge lines, accidents and anecdotes , p. 29 f.
^ Railway Schönberg (V.) - Mühltroff-Schleiz / Schleiz West. (PDF; 38 kB) Förderverein Wisentatalbahn, November 2010, accessed on October 28, 2011 .
^ Clear the way between Schönberg and Schleiz-West. OTZ, December 5, 2010, accessed December 25, 2011 .
↑ Uli Drescher: The platforms between Mühltroff and Schleiz can be used again. OTZ, September 17, 2013, accessed on September 25, 2013 .
^ ^A ^b Uli Drescher: History of the rail bus of the Wisentatalbahn . In: Ostthüringer Zeitung . October 18, 2014 ( otz.de [accessed October 21, 2014]).
↑ New tasks for the Wisentatalbahn. Regular tourist train service on the Schönberg - Schleiz West railway line, project description. (PDF) Förderverein Wisentatalbahn e. V., December 20, 2011, accessed October 21, 2014 .
↑ Wilfried Rettig: The railways in Vogtland, Volume 1: Development, main lines, vehicles, depot and buildings. EK-Verlag, Freiburg 2001, ISBN 3-88255-686-2 , p. 38 f.
↑ Wilfried Rettig: The railways in Vogtland, Volume 2: secondary and narrow-gauge lines, accidents and anecdotes , p. 214 f. "
^ "Wilfried Rettig: Die Eisenbahnen im Vogtland, Volume 2: Secondary and narrow-gauge lines, accidents and anecdotes , p. 24 f.
↑ "Wilfried Rettig: The railways in Vogtland, Volume 2: secondary and narrow-gauge lines, accidents and anecdotes , p. 24 f."
↑ Wilfried Rettig: Die Eisenbahnen im Vogtland, Volume 2: secondary and narrow-gauge lines, accidents and anecdotes , p. 25.
↑ Wilfried Rettig: The railways in Vogtland, Volume 2: secondary and narrow-gauge lines, accidents and anecdotes , p. 25 f.
↑ Wilfried Rettig: The railways in Vogtland, Volume 2: secondary and narrow-gauge lines, accidents and anecdotes , p. 26 f.
↑ ^a ^b ^c Wilfried Rettig: The railways in Vogtland, Volume 1: Development, main lines, vehicles, depot and buildings. EK-Verlag, Freiburg 2001, ISBN 3-88255-686-2 , p. 223 f.
^ Klaus-Jürgen Kühne: Railway depot of the GDR - 1949-1993. transpress-Verlag, Stuttgart 2011, ISBN 978-3-613-71401-4 , p. 17.
^ Klaus-Jürgen Kühne: Railway depot of the GDR - 1949-1993. transpress-Verlag, Stuttgart 2011, ISBN 978-3-613-71401-4 , p. 56
↑ Wilfried Rettig: The railways in Vogtland, Volume 2: secondary and narrow-gauge lines, accidents and anecdotes , p. 28 f.
↑ Class 232. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on April 12, 2013 ; accessed on February 9, 2020 .
↑ Class 232. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on April 12, 2013 ; accessed on February 9, 2020 .
↑ Class 218. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on April 12, 2013 ; accessed on February 9, 2020 .
↑ Class 218. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on April 12, 2013 ; accessed on February 9, 2020 .

[Die_Eisenbahnen_im_Vogtland_–_Band_2,_S._22-1] Wilfried Rettig: Die Eisenbahnen im Vogtland, Volume 2: Secondary and narrow-gauge lines, accidents and anecdotes , p. 22.

[Die_Eisenbahnen_im_Vogtland_–_Band_2,_S._22_f.-2] Wilfried Rettig: The railways in Vogtland, Volume 2: secondary and narrow-gauge lines, accidents and anecdotes , p. 22 f.

[3] Wilfried Rettig: Die Eisenbahnen im Vogtland, Volume 2: secondary and narrow-gauge lines, accidents and anecdotes , p. 28.

[Die_Eisenbahnen_im_Vogtland_–_Band_2,_S._29-4] Wilfried Rettig: Die Eisenbahnen im Vogtland, Volume 2: Secondary and narrow-gauge lines, accidents and anecdotes , p. 29.

[Die_Eisenbahnen_im_Vogtland_–_Band_2,_S._214_f.-5] Wilfried Rettig: The railways in Vogtland, Volume 2: secondary and narrow-gauge lines, accidents and anecdotes , p. 214 f.

[Die_Eisenbahnen_im_Vogtland_–_Band_2,_S._23-6] Wilfried Rettig: Die Eisenbahnen im Vogtland, Volume 2: Secondary and narrow-gauge lines, accidents and anecdotes , p. 23.

[Die_Eisenbahnen_im_Vogtland –_Band 2,_S._29_f.-7] Wilfried Rettig: The railways in Vogtland, Volume 2: secondary and narrow-gauge lines, accidents and anecdotes , p. 29 f.

[FV_2010-8] Railway Schönberg (V.) - Mühltroff-Schleiz / Schleiz West. (PDF; 38 kB) Förderverein Wisentatalbahn, November 2010, accessed on October 28, 2011 .

[9] Clear the way between Schönberg and Schleiz-West. OTZ, December 5, 2010, accessed December 25, 2011 .

[10] Uli Drescher: The platforms between Mühltroff and Schleiz can be used again. OTZ, September 17, 2013, accessed on September 25, 2013 .

[Fahrzeug-11] A ^b Uli Drescher: History of the rail bus of the Wisentatalbahn . In: Ostthüringer Zeitung . October 18, 2014 ( otz.de [accessed October 21, 2014]).

[Tourismuskonzept-12] New tasks for the Wisentatalbahn. Regular tourist train service on the Schönberg - Schleiz West railway line, project description. (PDF) Förderverein Wisentatalbahn e. V., December 20, 2011, accessed October 21, 2014 .

[13] Wilfried Rettig: The railways in Vogtland, Volume 1: Development, main lines, vehicles, depot and buildings. EK-Verlag, Freiburg 2001, ISBN 3-88255-686-2 , p. 38 f.

[14] Wilfried Rettig: The railways in Vogtland, Volume 2: secondary and narrow-gauge lines, accidents and anecdotes , p. 214 f. "

[15] "Wilfried Rettig: Die Eisenbahnen im Vogtland, Volume 2: Secondary and narrow-gauge lines, accidents and anecdotes , p. 24 f.

[16] "Wilfried Rettig: The railways in Vogtland, Volume 2: secondary and narrow-gauge lines, accidents and anecdotes , p. 24 f."

[17] Wilfried Rettig: Die Eisenbahnen im Vogtland, Volume 2: secondary and narrow-gauge lines, accidents and anecdotes , p. 25.

[18] Wilfried Rettig: The railways in Vogtland, Volume 2: secondary and narrow-gauge lines, accidents and anecdotes , p. 25 f.

[19] Wilfried Rettig: The railways in Vogtland, Volume 2: secondary and narrow-gauge lines, accidents and anecdotes , p. 26 f.

[Die_Eisenbahnen_im_Vogtland_–_Band_1,_S._223_f.-20] Wilfried Rettig: The railways in Vogtland, Volume 1: Development, main lines, vehicles, depot and buildings. EK-Verlag, Freiburg 2001, ISBN 3-88255-686-2 , p. 223 f.

[21] Klaus-Jürgen Kühne: Railway depot of the GDR - 1949-1993. transpress-Verlag, Stuttgart 2011, ISBN 978-3-613-71401-4 , p. 17.

[22] Klaus-Jürgen Kühne: Railway depot of the GDR - 1949-1993. transpress-Verlag, Stuttgart 2011, ISBN 978-3-613-71401-4 , p. 56

[23] Wilfried Rettig: The railways in Vogtland, Volume 2: secondary and narrow-gauge lines, accidents and anecdotes , p. 28 f.

[24] Class 232. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on April 12, 2013 ; accessed on February 9, 2020 .

[25] Class 232. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on April 12, 2013 ; accessed on February 9, 2020 .

[26] Class 218. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on April 12, 2013 ; accessed on February 9, 2020 .

[27] Class 218. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on April 12, 2013 ; accessed on February 9, 2020 .