Harbachtalbahn

Sibiu – Cornățel – Agnita – Sighișoara Cornățel – Vurpăr
Course book route (CFR) :	41: Sibiu – Cornățel – Sighișoara (1957) 42: Cornățel – Vurpăr (1957) 204: Sibiu – Agnita (2000/2001)
Route length:	Sibiu – Sighișoara: 109 km; Cornățel – Vurpăr: 13 km
Gauge :	760 mm ( Bosnian gauge )
Legend Main line towards Copșa Mică or Vințu de Jos 109 Sibiu (Hermannstadt) 107 Atelier Zona Three- rail track 760/1435 mm 106 Sibiu Triaj 104 Șelimbăr (Schellenberg) Three- rail track 760/1435 mm Branch of the branch line (1435 mm) to Cisnădie A1 motorway , narrow-gauge track interrupted here 101 Mohu (Moichen) Underpass under the main line towards Avrig / Brașov 98 Canton Bolovani 92 Cașolț (box wood ) 86 0 Cornatel ( separation station ) (Harbach village) 4th Roșia (Rothberg) 13 Vurpăr (Castle Hill) 79 Hosman (quantities of wood) 76 Fofeldea (high field) 75 Țichindeal (Ziegenthal) 72 Nocrich (Leschkirch) 68 Alțâna (Alzen) 63 Vecerd (Bußthard) 61 Beneşti (Bägendorf) 54 Vărd (Werd) (last not served) 52 Coveș (Käbisch) (last not served) 51 Agnita (Agnetheln) (1969-2001) Distance from here to Sighișoara dismantled 48 Agnita Tîrg (Agnetheln Market) 47 Agnita (1898-1969) 43 Ruja (Roseln) 40 Stejărișu (Probstdorf) 37 Iacobeni (Jakobsdorf) 31 Netuș (Neithausen) 27 Brădeni (Henndorf) Border district ( Județ ) Sibiu and Mureș 17th Apold (Trappold) 10 Șaeș (Schaas) 9 3rd sz. őrház (Canton 2) 5 Sighișoara (Schäßburg "brick factory") 3 Sighișoara (Schäßburg "Institute") 2 Sighișoara Obor Main line towards Brașov 0 Sighișoara Main line towards Copșa Mică

Special trip in Cornățel (Harbachsdorf) . September 2015

Unused tracks of the narrow-gauge railway "Wusch" in the Harbachtal . June 2009

The Harbachtalbahn , popularly known as Wusch , is a narrow-gauge railway in Transylvania in today's Romania . In 2001, the last narrow-gauge trains of the Romanian State Railways ( Căile Ferate Române ; CFR) operated between Hermannstadt (Sibiu) and Agnita (Agnetheln ). The "Asociația Prietenii Mocăniței" (Association of Friends of the Narrow Gauge Railway) is trying to reactivate it and has been running special trips on a section near Cornățel (Harbachsdorf) since September 2015 .

The route network ( gauge 760 mm, so-called Bosnian gauge ) of this narrow-gauge railway once comprised the following routes in full:

• Sighișoara (Schäßburg) –Agnita: opening on November 16, 1898, length about 48 kilometers.
• Sibiu – Cornățel – Agnita: opening on September 26, 1910, about 61 kilometers.
• Cornățel– Vurpăr (Castle Hill) : opened on September 26, 1910, about 13 kilometers.

Regular operations on these routes were discontinued by the CFR between 1965 and 2001.

designation

The nickname Wusch mentioned at the beginning comes from the German-speaking Transylvanian Saxons , through whose settlement area the route runs. The Wusch is also mentioned several times under this name in the novels of the Transylvanian author Eginald Schlattner . Other nicknames handed down from the language of the Transylvanian Saxons are Wicka or coffee mill , whereby the latter is not a specific name for the narrow-gauge railway discussed here, but was also used on other routes or railway vehicles in the German-speaking area.

The name Harbachtalbahn , on the other hand, was not in use in the region for a long time and apparently only emerged in the 21st century. The name Harbachtalbahn probably appears for the first time in 2002 in connection with the planned reactivation.

The local because of the tendency of forest and landowners resulting branch line to Castle Hill was also hunters track (linia Vanatorilor) called. For the Schäßburg – Agnetheln section, which was initially opened, the name Schaaserbahn has also been handed down in German , as the narrow-gauge railway ran south of Schäßburg through the Schaas Valley .

In Romanian, narrow-gauge railways are often referred to by the nickname mocănița .

Route

Between Sibiu and Schäßburg, the route follows the course of the Harbach Valley (Valea Hârtibaciului) over a long section - from the mouth of the Harbach into the Zibin near Mohu (Moichen) to Brădeni (Henndorf) . From here the original route leads over into the Schaas Valley to reach the Târnava Mare (Great Kokel) valley in Schäßburg .

South of Sibiu, the narrow-gauge railway trains used the main line to Kronstadt in sections until 2001 using a three-rail track. The regular-gauge branch line to Cisnădie (Heltau) also branched off from the main line in this area.

In Agnetheln and Schäßburg there used to be longer through-roads where the narrow-gauge railway used the public street space.

Due to the historical development, the kilometering of the entire route begins in Schäßburg. The relevant information for the route diagram was essentially taken from the Romanian course book from the summer of 1957 and supplemented with information from the 2000/2001 edition. It should be noted that the spelling used in the course book at that time did not always correspond to today's Romanian place names such as B. "Nochrich" (instead of Nocrich ) or "Vird" (instead of Vărd ). Sometimes the stations were named based on the German place names, z. B. Brădeni (Henndorf) station was still called “Hendorf” in the 1957 timetable.

history

When the Harbachtalbahn routes were built, Transylvania was part of Hungary . The first section between Schäßburg and Agnetheln was built by the Segesvár – Szentágotai Vasút (S.Sz.V.), whereby the name of the local railway company is derived from the Hungarian name of the connected places. The construction of the railway began at the end of 1895, but adverse weather conditions repeatedly led to undermining of already completed sections. The line was not fully operational until 1898. The grand opening took place on November 16, 1898, freight traffic was already possible beforehand. Passenger traffic between Schäßburg and Agnetheln began normal operations one day later, on November 17, 1898. Initially, there were three tender locomotives built by the Wiener Neustädter Lokomotivfabrik (S.Sz.V. 1 to 3, later 388 001 to 003). The first train station in Agnetheln was built on the north-eastern outskirts of the city, but a track had also been laid up to the market square so that trains from Schäßburg could go beyond the station to the city center.

Until 1908 the local railway company S.Sz.V. operated independently before operations management was transferred to the Hungarian State Railways (MÁV) . During the same period, further construction in the direction of Sibiu began.

The "commissional inspection" and the maiden voyage of the 61 kilometer extension from Agnethler Marktplatz through the Harbachtal to Sibiu took place on September 26, 1910. Regular operations began one day after the celebrations. At the same time, the 13 km long “hunter route” from Harbachsdorf to Burgberg went into operation.

For the extension to Sibiu, an independent local railway company was initially founded. In 1911 both companies merged to form the new Hermannstadt-Schäßburger Vizinaleisenbahn-Aktiengesellschaft . From then on, the MÁV operated the entire narrow-gauge railway network.

After the First World War , Hungary had to cede Transylvania to Romania as a result of the Trianon Peace Treaty . The management of the narrow-gauge railway was then transferred to the Romanian state railway Căile Ferate Române (CFR). After the communist seizure of power in Romania, the infrastructure was nationalized in 1948 .

In 1965 the CFR closed the section from Schäßburg to Agnetheln. It is unclear when exactly the last passenger train ran on this route. Some sources report that passenger traffic ceased in the fall of 1964. The section was last published in the Romanian course book in 1963/1964. A new station for trains to and from Sibiu was built at the gates of Agnetheln by 1969. The city line through Agnetheln to the old station was last in operation on April 10, 1969. From then on, the route from Sibiu to Agnetheln was only 58 kilometers.

In 1993 the branch line to Burgberg lost its scheduled traffic. However, it was not dismantled, but grew completely in the following years. On the route from Sibiu to Agnetheln, at the end of the 1990s, CFR reduced the number of trains to just one daily pair of trains. After goods transport came to a standstill in the summer of 1998, only people were finally transported. With the failure of the last operational locomotive in September 2001, the remaining scheduled traffic was discontinued.

The original Schäßburg – Agnetheln line was dismantled after it was closed. The routes Hermannstadt – Harbachsdorf – Agnetheln (Sibiu – Cornățel – Agnita) and Harbachsdorf – Burgberg (Cornățel – Vurpăr), however, have largely been preserved. During the construction of the motorway around Sibiu, which opened in 2010, a bridge pillar was built exactly on the route of the narrow-gauge railway, so that the track is interrupted here.

Opening and recruitment dates

section	Official opening	Commissioning of goods traffic	Commissioning of passenger traffic	Setting by CFR	Dismantling	Route length (in km, approx.)
Schäßburg – Trappold Sighișoara – Apold	11/16/1898	05/28/1898	11/17/1898	June 1965; 1963/1964 for the last time in the course book	subsequently	17th
Trappold – Agnetheln – Agnetheln Market Apold – Agnita – Agnita Tîrg	11/16/1898	07/27/1898	11/17/1898	June 1965; 1963/1964 for the last time in the course book	subsequently	31
Agnetheln Markt – Harbachsdorf – Hermannstadt Agnita Tîrg – Cornățel – Sibiu	09/26/1910	09/27/1910	09/27/1910	see below	see below	61
Harbachsdorf – Castle Hill Cornățel – Vurpăr	09/26/1910	09/27/1910	09/27/1910	May 1993	no degradation	13
Agnetheln (old station) –Agnetheln (new station) Agnita (gară veche) –Agnita (gară nouă)	see above	see above	see above	04/10/1969	Spring 1969	4th
Hermannstadt – Agnetheln Sibiu – Agnita	see above	see above	see above	09/04/2001	no degradation	58

vehicles

The steam locomotive, built in Wiener Neustadt in 1896 and later designated as 388 002 by the CFR, is the only remaining locomotive from the original equipment of the narrow-gauge railway. Today she is in a desperate condition in Sibiu. September 2015

At first, steam locomotives (including locomotives of the 388 and 389 series ) carried people and freight on the Harbachtalbahn. They were succeeded in the sixties and seventies by more modern diesel locomotives (FAUR type L45H , later series 87 of the CFR). Steam locomotives were only used in winter to heat the passenger cars and for special trips. The last steam locomotive from the original equipment (CFR 388 002) of the Harbachtalbahn can be seen today in the steam locomotive museum in Sibiu, after it was previously exhibited as a memorial at the steam bath in Schäßburg. In front of the Schäßburg station, another steam locomotive (CFR 764 158) reminds of the time of the narrow-gauge railway.

reactivation

The station area of ​​Cornăel (Harbachsdorf) , June 2009

Overgrown tracks between Mohu (Moichen) and Cașolț (Kastenholz) , July 2011

Since the rest of the traffic between Sibiu and Agnetheln was stopped in 2001, there have been repeated efforts to reactivate operations on the narrow-gauge railway in the Harbachtal for tourism and excursions. Even the rehabilitation of the line to Schäßburg is part of such considerations.

The railway facilities are managed by SAAF, a subsidiary of the state railway company Căile Ferate Române; the rolling stock (locomotives, wagons, etc.) by the CFR subsidiary SFT, which is responsible for tourism. With a project submitted to the SFT and the Sibiu Association in 2007 , the Sibiu District Council endeavored to resume operations on the occasion of the events for the 2007 European Capital of Culture in Sibiu.

In February and March 2006, an engineering office from Cluj-Napoca (Klausenburg) carried out a feasibility study on behalf of the Mihai Eminescu Trust in order to make the project known to the general public.

After at the beginning of April 2006 by several interested parties a restart of the line - u. a. Mihai Eminescu Trust, Association Valea Hârtibaciului - the classification of the route as a monument had been applied for, the Sibiu District Monuments Commission finally announced on June 12, 2007 the positive response to this request. This became official with the official publication in the Official Gazette Monitorul Oficial on January 14th, 2008. The Harbachtalbahn is thus classified as a category B monument along the entire route.

In January 2008, the establishment of a special purpose association of the communities along the route was initiated, initially consisting of the town of Agnita (Agnetheln) , the communities Alțâna (Alzen) , Nocrich (Leschkirch) and Roșia (Rothberg) . He signed a multi-year concession agreement with SAAF in April 2008 in order to be able to repair and revitalize the line. The spokesman for the association is the Sibiu entrepreneur Lucian Dumitra .

A large part of the vehicle fleet was destroyed in August 2008 during a scrapping of the vehicle material that had remained in Sibiu. At least this action could be stopped before the historic steam locomotives were destroyed. Some vehicles were later brought to the narrow-gauge network of Târgu Mureș (Neumarkt) , including the steam locomotive 764 052.

In addition, four cars were saved from scrapping and preserved in the region. They were first placed in Agnita to prevent further material loss. In the following years, one of these wagons was processed by the Asociația Prietenii Mocăniței development association , but in September 2015 the vehicle was not yet ready for use again.

In the meantime, Asociația Prietenii Mocăniței is pushing ahead with efforts to maintain the route and has already carried out special trips on some sections of the route. However, due to administrative requirements, train operations initially had to be suspended from 2018. The reactivation project is also receiving support from abroad. a. from Switzerland. The Ostgleis association has provided wagons from the Waldenburgerbahn to the Asociația Prietenii Mocăniței to establish regular traffic on the narrow-gauge railway. In May 2019, the first three vehicles reached wood volumes.

In 2020, the formal obstacles between the association and the administration could finally be removed with the hope that the narrow-gauge trains in the Harbachtal could be resumed from September of that year.

Operation since 2010

• On 25/26 In September 2010, the association carried out the first special trips on about two kilometers of the route from Agnetheln towards Sibiu to the vicinity of the former Käbisch stop (Roman Coveș). The 764 243 steam locomotive borrowed from CFI Brad was used.
• In August 2012, a commercial with vehicles in the style of the early railways ( Puffing Billy ) was shot in the Harbachtal.
• On 26./27. September 2015 under the motto Days of the Narrow Gauge Railway (Zilele Mocăniței) from Cornățel, special trips towards Hosman (quantities of wood) were carried out. A 3.2 km long route was traveled. The steam locomotive 764 243 was used again. It ran with an MÁV type Bax passenger car from Hungary.
• On 14./15. May 2016, special trips were again carried out from Harbachsdorf. It was now possible to drive an approx. 4.2 km long stretch in the direction of Hosman, and thus a section about one kilometer longer than in September 2015. The steam locomotive 764 243 ran on these trips with a closed passenger car (Ca 04; originally from Austria) and an open observation car, both of which also belong to the CFI Brad.
• Between 24.-26. June 2016 special trips were carried out from Harbachsdorf under the motto Trenul CopilarIEI .
• On 17./18. September 2016, the second days of the narrow-gauge railway ( Roman . Zilele Mocăniței ) took place with special trips starting from Harbachsdorf.
• On August 7, 2017, on the occasion of the Saxon meeting, which was taking place in Sibiu at that time, trains drove on an approx. 6 km long section from Harbachsdorf to below the former stopping point of Holzzüge. Again 764 243 was used.
• On 16./17. September 2017, the approx. 7 km long route between Harbachsdorf and Holzhaben was completed again for the first time. 764 243 with an open, a half-open and a closed passenger car were used. Thanks to the repaired turnouts, the locomotive could be moved to both ends.
• On 12./13. May 2018, another 764,243 drove between Harbachsdorf and Holzwissenschaften, with two covered and one half-open passenger cars being used.

Occasionally, bicycle and motorized rail lines run between Harbachsdorf and Holzhaben.

See also

• Căile Ferate Române

literature

• Paul Engelbert: Narrow gauge through Hungary II: the former Hungarian areas . Stenvalls, Malmö 2011, ISBN 978-91-7266-177-6 .
• Konrad Klein: Greetings from Bear Country: Transylvania in old postcards . Südostdeutsches Kulturwerk, Munich 1998, ISBN 978-3-88356-127-1 .
• Șerban Lacriţeanu: East European narrow gauge . Ed .: Keith Chester. Channel View Publications, Clevedon 1995, ISBN 1-873150-04-0 , The Narrow Gauge Lines of the Romanian State Railway (CFR), pp. 82-94 (English).
• Andreas Mausolf: Kleinbahn in the Carpathian Arch. Schäßburg - Agnetheln - Sibiu . Railway-Media-Group, Vienna 2018, ISBN 978-3-902894-57-1 .
• Andreas Mausolf: Schäßburger Nachrichten No. 29 . Hometown community Schäßburg, Heilbronn 2008, 110 years since the opening: The narrow-gauge railway Schäßburg - Agnetheln - Hermannstadt, p. 20–23 ( hog-schaessburg.de [PDF]).
• Julian Nolte: LOK Report 12/15 . LOK Report-Verlag GmbH, Berlin 2015, News from the old railway. The narrow-gauge railway Sibiu - Agnita (- Sighișoara), S. 10–15 ( juliannolte.de [PDF]).
• Erich Phleps: The cantor's eleventh commandment. Anecdotes from Transylvania . Hans Meschendörfer, Munich 1964.

Web links

• Official website of the Asociația Prietenii Mocăniței (mostly Romanian and English)
• Public Facebook page of the Asociația Prietenii Mocăniței with numerous current photos and information (mostly in Romanian)
• Private website Die Wusch (in German)
• Narrow gauge railways operated by CFR Bilderbogen, the photos of the Sibiu - Agnetheln line were taken in 1989 and 1991
• Main line traffic point names (Hungarian, Romanian)
• Traffic point names of the wing line (Hungarian, Romanian)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Phleps 1964, p. 91.
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g} LOK Report 12/15, p. 13.
3. ↑ sibiuagnitarailway.com: News (Ştiri). Retrieved June 5, 2016 . 
4. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g} Mausolf 2008, p. 21.
5. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g} Klein 1998, p. 84.
6. ^ For example, in Schlattner's novel Das Klavier im Nebel , Chapter 12
7. ↑ Siebenbuerger.de: The "Wusch", a piece of Agnetheln. Retrieved October 28, 2015 . 
8. ^ For example, with the Austrian steam locomotives of the kkStB series 97
9. ↑ cf. see the talk page of this article
10. ↑ LOK Report 10/02, p. 51.
11. ↑ Engelbert 2011, p. 129.
12. ^ Eisenbahn magazin 9/95, pp. 36–37.
13. ↑ cf. Mersul Trenurilor 2.VI.1957-28.IX.1957
14. ↑ ^{a b c} Mausolf 2008, p. 20.
15. ↑ ^{a b c} Engelbert 2011, p. 127.
16. ↑ ^{a b c} cf. Mausolf 2018, p. 24.
17. ↑ Engelbert 2011, p. 128.
18. ↑ LOK Report 12/15, p. 10.
19. ↑ Mausolf 2018, p. 34.
20. ↑ ^{a b} LOK Report 12/15, p. 11.
21. ↑ This is referred to by Mausolf 2018 (p. 41) without specifying these sources.
22. ↑ ^{a b c} cf. Mersul Trenurilor 26.V.1963-30.V.1964 (with Schäßburg – Agnetheln) and 31.V.1964-29.V.1965 (without Schäßburg - Agnetheln); both available at Arhiva Mersul Trenurilor. Retrieved December 7, 2015 . 
23. ↑ ^{a b} Siebenbürgische Zeitung of July 31, 1998, p. 7.
24. ↑ ^{a b c} Engelbert 2011, p. 136.
25. ↑ Railway Amateur 11/99
26. ↑ LOK Report 10/02, p. 50.
27. ↑ ^{a b} LOK Report 12/15, p. 15.
28. ↑ Mausolf 2018, p. 50.
29. ↑ Mausolf 2018, p. 81.
30. ^ MÁV 388, locomotive statistics at pospichal.net
31. ^ MÁV 389, locomotive statistics at pospichal.net
32. ↑ Lacriţeanu 1995, p. 94.
33. ^ The Agnita Express, No. 6 (November 2012): SAR Rescued Coaches (p. 9). (PDF) Retrieved March 30, 2016 . 
34. ↑ Dieter Frisch: Is it over for "Days of Wush" in Harbachtal? Resettler Representative Bernd Fabritius intervenes with the Romanian authorities. sevenbuerger.de, September 4, 2018, accessed on July 25, 2020 . 
35. ↑ Julian Nolte: The first Swiss cars have arrived. die-wusch.de, May 25, 2019, accessed on June 22, 2019 . 
36. ↑ Julian Nolte: Good news in difficult times. die-wusch.de, July 23, 2020, accessed on July 25, 2020 . 
37. ↑ youtube.com: The Sibiu - Agnita Narrow Gauge Line 100 Years Old Anniversary. Retrieved October 28, 2015 . 
38. ↑ forum.lokomotiv.ro: Recmala (sic!) Whiskey pe linia ingusta Sibiu - Agnita (forum entry from April 18, 2013). Retrieved January 3, 2016 . 
39. ↑ Tribuna.ro: Lungul şi nesfârşitul drum al Mocăniţei hârtibăcenilor. Retrieved October 28, 2015 . 
40. ↑ sibiuagnitarailway.com: News (Știri) 2015. Retrieved June 5, 2016 . 
41. ↑ sibiuagnitarailway.com: News (Știri) 2016. Retrieved June 5, 2016 . 
42. ↑ Reservation on-line. Retrieved May 19, 2018 (Romanian). 
43. ↑ sibiuagnitarailway.com: Tourism offers on the Sibiu-Agnita Railway. Retrieved November 6, 2016 .