From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Narrow gauge railways in Saxony
Narrow gauge railways in Saxony
as the primary means to save costs. However, to con-
nect the small towns and villages in the deep and nar-
row Erzgebirge valleys with their diverse industry, stan-
dard gauge tracks were only feasible with an enormous
amount of technical and financial investment. Therefore,
the directorate of the Royal Saxon State Railways, given
the example of the existing Bröltal Railway and Upper
Silesian Railway, decided in favor of narrow gauge rail-
ways.
The first narrow gauge railway in Saxony opened in
1881 between Wilkau-Haßlau and Kirchberg. In addition,
the Weißeritztalbahn and the Mügeln railway network
Narrow gauge railways in Saxony were already under construction. Many additional nar-
row gauge railways, such as the Thumer Netz were built
The narrow gauge railways in Saxony was once the in short order, almost all of them using a standardized
largest single-operator narrow gauge railway network in
750 mm (2 ft 5 1⁄2 in) track gauge. In the meantime, stan-
Germany. At its peak shortly after World War I the net-
dard gauge projects in Saxony were scaled back to tracks
work had more than 500 km (311 mi) of tracks. At first, it
that connected already existing standard gauge railways,
was primarily created to connect the small towns and vil-
or where the transfer of goods between the standard and
lages in Saxony – which had formed a viable industry in
narrow tracks was not feasible or profitable.
the 19th century – to already established standard gauge
railways. But even shortly after 1900, some of the rail-
Expansion before World War I
ways would become important for tourism in the area.
Within 20 years, the Saxon narrow gauge railway net-
work had almost reached its final size. After 1900, only
History few additional railways were added. Most were just ad-
ditions to existing lines that brought operational advan-
Beginnings tages.
Although the narrow gauge network made very little
profit, it was very important for the industrial develop-
ment of Saxony. Without the narrow gauge tracks – that
permitted industrial sidings to small companies in nar-
row and steep valleys – an industrial development in the
poor Erzgebirge area of Saxony would have hardly been
possible.
However, it was soon evident that the narrow gauge
railways were not always up to task for all cargo de-
mands. Mainly the transloading of freight between the
breaks of gauge was time consuming and expensive. To
avoid additional cargo handling on the Dresden-
The Dohna station of the Müglitz Valley Railway Klotzsche – Königsbrück line, a container system was
tested ("Umsetzkästen") in which the whole cargo box of
Around 1875 the Royal Saxon State railway network, un- a freight car was transferred between standard and nar-
like other states in Germany, had already expanded to row gauge frames. Since this railway was converted to
cover most of the territory of Saxony. Due to the moun- standard gauge shortly after, the tests were abandoned.
tainous terrain, any further expansion was met with a Instead, roll-block traffic was now favored. However, it
disproportional cost increase. In order to keep costs was soon evident that piggy-backing standard gauge
down, most new track projects were now planned and ex- freight cars onto the narrow gauge tracks did not meet
ecuted as branch lines, with smaller radii for curves, sim- the initial goals of operating the narrow gauge railways
pler operating rules and unsupervised stations and yards on a very small budget: The railways needed large in-
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Narrow gauge railways in Saxony
Starting in 1928, there were a large number of tech-
nical and equipment upgrades. The rail network acquired
higher capacity, four-axle bogie passenger cars with
steam heating and electrical lighting, which brought pas-
senger comfort up to par with standard gauge. Vacuum
brakes and Scharfenberg couplers were introduced
across the board, and superheated locomotives like the
Saxon VI K were brought into service.
Flood damage in Glashütte
A severe flood in July 1927 affected many of the rail-
ways in Saxony, especially the Müglitz Valley Railway
tracks were destroyed to a large degree. They were re-
built soon afterwards.
In the 1930s, more improvements were made to the
Switch tower in Zittau railways. Modern signal towers were built for the Zit-
tau–Oybin–Jonsdorf railway and the Weißeritztalbahn.
The Kipsdorf and Oberwiesenthal stations were rebuild
vestments to reinforce the tracks, increase the structure
and extended, the Weißeritztalbahn and the Fichtelberg
gauge to accommodate a larger loading gauge and to ac-
Railway could now accommodate over-length trains with
quire stronger steam locomotives.
up to 56 axles.
Technical development stagnated during World War
Between world wars II. More and more personnel was drafted into the
Rail network expansion came to a halt on the outbreak Wehrmacht, and the railways were maintained less and
of World War I; only projects on which work had already less. At the same time, the cargo volume rose in support
begun, such as the extension of Müglitz Valley Railway of the war effort. The railways were not directly affected
and the Klingenberg-Colmnitz–Oberdittmannsdorf Rail- by military action, but with the fronts drawing near in
way, were completed. The Pöbel Valley Railway was April and May 1945, the railways ceased operations.
stopped, and later abandoned altogether.
In the 1920s, most Saxon narrow-gauge railways ex- After World War II
perienced a first crisis. Even though cargo and passenger
After the unconditional surrender of Germany on May
traffic was up, the cost exceeded the operational income.
8, 1945, operations of the Saxon narrow gauge railways
Reason was foremost the 1920s German inflation as well
started back up in relative short time. Problems were pri-
as higher cost for the personnel. In addition, the Re-
marily caused by the relative desolate condition of the
ichspost had started a bus service, which for marginally
rolling stock, which was compounded by the fact that
higher cost was faster and hence was drawing passengers
the largely destroyed Ausbesserungswerk in Chemnitz
away from the railway. The Deutsche Reichsbahn tried
was no longer in a position to repair narrow gauge lo-
to counter that trend with more modern passenger cars,
comotives. As example, this caused service of the Sch-
higher-powered locomotives and more trains. Some rail-
warzbach Railway to be interrupted whenever the only
ways were planned to be converted to standard gauge,
operational locomotive was in need of repair. This situ-
but only the Müglitz Valley Railway was converted in
ation grew worse as part of the more modern and pow-
1938. In the 1930s, a few of the railways were scheduled
erful rolling stock had to be surrendered to the Soviet
to end their service, but this did not happen until much
Union as war reparations. Two railways in Upper Lusatia,
later.
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Narrow gauge railways in Saxony
rat decided that all narrow gauge railways of East Ger-
many were to cease operations by 1975. This shut-down
program first started relatively slowly, since neither bus-
es nor trucks were available in the required quantities.
The first railways were shut down in 1966 and 1967,
with some of the last train runs having country fair char-
acter. By 1970, protests started against the shut down of
the Bimmelbahn railways, with the result that no or on-
ly very short official notice was given when a rail sec-
tion was shut down and there were no more celebrations.
Partly due to the protests, in 1974 a decision was made to
keep a total of seven narrow gauge railways in East Ger-
many as tourist and heritage railways. For Saxony, they
Steam locomotive 99 561 of the Pressnitz Valley Railway in
Niederschmiedeberg were:
• : Cranzahl – Oberwiesenthal
• : Radebeul-East – Moritzburg – Radeburg
the Herrnhut–Bernstadt Railway and the Tauben-
• : Freital-Hainsberg – Kipsdorf
heim–Dürrhennersdorf Railway were completely dis-
• : Zittau – Oybin / Jonsdorf
mantled in 1945 and – as war reparations – shipped east.
In addition, traffic increased enormously for some rail-
ways in the Erzgebirge when the SDAG Wismut started
Development since 1975
mining uranium and thousands of miners required trans-
portation on shift change.
Overall the transport volume was still way below the
levels of the 1930s, because of the lack of locomotives. In
May 1947, 467 out of a total of 521 passenger cars were
parked and not needed. This only changed after the new
Neubaulokomotive DR Class 99.77-79 was put into service
in 1953, and the transport volume reached the 1930s lev-
els again. It would not last long, as history repeated itself
when newly created bus services again drew passengers
from the railway. Trucks did the same for the cargo vol-
ume.
Service termination in the 1960s
With the beginning of the 1960s, the situation for the
narrow gauge railways grew worse. Due to lack of main-
tenance since World War II, most tracks were in a dire
state of repair, as only small sections of the tracks had
been rebuild on the more important railways. In addi-
tion, a part of the rolling stock, especially the Saxon IV K
locomotives were now at the end of their service life. Due
to a lack of alternatives, the Ausbesserungswerk in Gör-
litz started the reconstruction (literally) of the Saxon IV
K and Saxon VI K locomotives.
However, a fundamental decision of the faith of the
narrow gauge railways had to be made. In 1963 and 1964, Transporter wagon train of the Mügeln railway network near
the Government of East Germany conducted an efficien- Oschatz
cy study. This study found that only if a complete over-
haul of the tracks and rolling stock were to take place By the beginning of 1975 – the year of the planned shut
would it make sense to keep the narrow gauge railways down – there were still six narrow gauge railways in op-
operational. It concluded that due to a lack of resources eration in Saxony. The Thum – Meinersdorf section of
to rebuild the tracks and lack of capacity to construct the Thumer Netz still had cargo service, and a part of
and build new diesel locomotives, the closing of the nar- the Wilkau-Haßlau–Carlsfeld Railway was still operation-
row gauge railways was not just a technical, but primarily al. Two small tracks were used as industrial siding for pa-
an economical requirement. On May 14, 1964, the Minister- per mills. The condition of the rolling stock was good,
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Narrow gauge railways in Saxony
since the shut down of other railways freed up addition-
al rolling stock. However, the tracks were in disrepair
and required many slow zones. The remaining operations
at the Thumer Netz ceased at the end of 1975, and also
passenger service was terminated between Oschatz and
Mügeln.
At the four railways that were to be kept, the neces-
sary repairs and renewal of tracks and rolling stock made
only slow progress. By 1977 the first modernized passen-
ger car – the so called REKO car – was put into service.
The reconstruction of the remaining cars was progress-
ing slowly, by the end of the 1980s only half of the exist-
ing passenger cars were updated.
a train of the Pressnitz Valley Railway heritage railway in 2008
A complete change in direction came in 1981, when
the Soviet Union cut their oil exports to East Germany.
which was privatized as Döllnitzbahn. For all other nar-
With oil (and hence diesel) in high demand, the direction
row gauge railways, freight service was terminated.
was changed to move all freight and passenger trans-
In the mid-1990s, the government of Saxony started
ports back to rail service. In addition, any planned rail-
to discuss concepts for the conservation of the narrow
way service terminations of the DR were scrutinized, and
gauge railways in the state. At first, the idea was to have
– as a first reaction – it was decided to keep the railway
an organization owned by the state of Saxony operating
between Oschatz and Mügeln of the Mügeln railway net-
the railways; this concept was shelved. Instead, a priva-
work. The tracks of this segment were rebuild by 1984.
tization led by municipalities and their districts was the
However, the Pressnitz Valley Railway was still to be dis-
preferred solution. This was first put into practice in the
mantled, and in 1986 operations cease.
district of Zittau, which at the end of 1996 together with
Until 1989, about one-half of the still existing tracks
track-side municipalities took over operations of the Zit-
had been rebuild. By 1987, the last of the rolling stock
tau–Oybin–Jonsdorf railway. For the 100 year anniver-
with Heberlein brakes was retired – after more than 100
sary of the Fichtelberg Railway in 1997, a fest week was or-
years in service – since the shut-down of the Pressnitz
ganized, which was unlike any other event involving nar-
Valley Railway freed enough rolling stock with vacuum
row gauge railways in Germany. With the success of that
brakes. By 1989 almost all Saxon rolling stock was con-
celebration, local politicians and Deutsche Bahn manager
verted to air brakes. By the end of the 1980s, the first Ein-
started to think in a new direction, and the local district
heitslokomotiven and Neubaulokomotiven were retired
and communities took over operations of this railway as
due to frame and boiler damage. As a replacement of
well. In addition, the Deutsche Bahn decided to keep the
the aging fleet of steam locomotives, the DR in 1989 an-
two narrow gauge railways near Dresden operational.
nounced plans to import diesel locomotives from Roma-
The current railway companies for the remaining
nia by 1995.
narrow gauge railways in Saxony are the Saxon Steam
Railway Company, the Saxon Oberlausitz Railway Compa-
New beginnings after 1990
ny and the Döllnitzbahn GmbH. As of January 1, 2009, the
The German reunification in 1990 placed the narrow following railways remain operational:
gauge railways in Saxony, which were at that point still • Saxon Steam Railway Company (Sächsiche
operated by the Deutsche Reichsbahn, into a new situa- Damppfbahn Gesselschaft; SDG)
tion. A working group was tasked to find answers on how • Cranzahl – Oberwiesenthal (Fichtelberg Railway)
to operate the railways under the new conditions. • Radebeul-East – Moritzburg – Radeburg
Without government regulations holding them back, (Radebeul–Radeburg railway)
a group of enthusiasts formed in 1990, with the goal of • Freital-Hainsberg – Kipsdorf (Weisseritz Valley
rebuilding the upper part of the Pressnitz Valley Railway Railway), no service between Dippoldiswalde and
as fast as possible. Smiled upon at first, the group indeed Kipsdorf due to flood damage
managed to get segments of the railway operational, and • Saxon Oberlausitz Railway Company
within a few years, a recognized heritage railway had • Zittau–Oybin–Jonsdorf railway
been created. • Döllnitzbahn GmbH
By 1992, the direction was to either privatize or aban- • Oschatz – Mügeln – Kemmlitz (Döllnitzbahn)
don the narrow gauge railways. A first victim was the • Heritage railway
Oschatz – Kemmlitz railway. Only the intervention of cit- • Jöhstadt – Steinbach (Pressnitz Valley Railway)
izen groups and local government saved the railway, • Schönheide – Stützengrün (Wilkau-
Haßlau–Carlsfeld Railway)
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Narrow gauge railways in Saxony
Current lines • Herrnhut- Bernstadt; 1893–1945
• Zittau – Heřmanice (Hermsdorf); 1884–1945
(connected to Heřmanice – Frýdlant line)
• Mulda/Sa. – Sayda; 1897–1966
• Hetzdorf – Großwaltersdorf; 1893–1968
• Mülsengrund Railway(Mülsengrundbahn); Mosel –
Ortmannsdorf; 1885–1951
• Pöhla Valley Railway(Pöhlatalbahn or
Pöhlwassertalbahn); Grünstädtel – Oberrittersgrün;
1889–1971;[7]
Mügeln railway network "Wilder Robert":[8]
• Mügeln – Döbeln; 1884-1964/68
• (Mügeln) – Nebitzschen – Neichen; 1888–1972
• (Nebitzschen) – Kemmlitz – Kroptewitz; 1903–1967
• Oschatz – Strehla; 1891–1972
• Döbeln – Lommatzsch; 1911–1970
Cranzahl, Fichtelbergbahn • Lommatzsch – Meißen-Triebischtal; 1909-1966/72
Thumer Netz:
750 mm (2 ft 5 1⁄2 in) gauge lines • Wilischthal-Thum; 1886–1972
• Fichtelberg Railway; Cranzahl – Oberwiesenthal • Schönfeld-Wiesa – Thum; 1888–1967
• Lößnitzgrundbahn; Radebeul-Ost – Moritzburg – • Thum – Meinersdorf; 1911–1974
Radeburg Wilsdruffer Netz:[9]
• Weißeritztalbahn; Freital-Hainsberg – Kurort • Freital-Potschappel – Wilsdruff – Nossen; 1886–1972/
Kipsdorf (due to floods in August 2002 only limited 73
service) • Meißen-Triebischtal – Wilsdruff; 1909-1966/69
• Zittauer Schmalspurbahn; Zittau – Kurort Oybin / • Klingenberg-Colmnitz – Frauenstein; 1898–1972
Kurort Jonsdorf (Sächsisch-Oberlausitzer Eisenbahn- • Klingenberg-Colmnitz – Oberdittmannsdorf;
GmbH) 1923–1971
• Wilder Robert; Oschatz – Mügeln – Kemmlitz
(Döllnitzbahn GmbH) 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) gauge lines
• Rollbockbahn; Reichenbach im Vogtland –
Heritage railway Oberheinsdorf; 1902–1962;[10]
• Klingenthal – Sachsenberg-Georgenthal; electrified
Main article: Heritage railway narrow gauge line; 1916–1964
• Museumsbahn Schönheide 750 mm (2 ft 5 1⁄2 in)
gauge [1] 600 mm (1 ft 11 5⁄8 in) gauge lines
• Museumsbahn Jöhstadt – Steinbach
• Waldeisenbahn Muskau
750 mm (2 ft 5 1⁄2 in) gauge;[2]
• Waldeisenbahn Muskau 600 mm (1 ft 11 5⁄8 in)
gauge;[3] Lines since converted to stan-
• Bahnhof Oberrittersgrün 750 mm (2 ft 5 1⁄2 in) gauge
[4]
dard gauge
• Bahnhof Carlsfeld 750 mm (2 ft 5 1⁄2 in) gauge;[5] Main article: gauge conversion
• Müglitz Valley Railway; Heidenau – Altenberg/Ore
Mts.; 1890 – 1935/38; 750 mm (2 ft 5 1⁄2 in) gauge,[11]
Abolished lines • Klotzsche – Königsbrück; 1884–1897;
750 mm (2 ft 5 1⁄2 in) gauge
750 mm (2 ft 5 1⁄2 in) gauge lines
• Wilkau-Haßlau–Carlsfeld Railway; (Wilkau-Haßlau –
Kirchberg – Schönheide – Carlsfeld); 1881–1977
References
• Pressnitz Valley Railway (Preßnitztalbahn); [1] Museumsbahn Schönheide
Wolkenstein – Jöhstadt; 1897–1986 [2] Pressnitztalbahn
• Schwarzbach Railway (Schwarzbachbahn); Kohlmühle [3] Waldeisenbahn
– Hohnstein; 1897–1951;[6] [4] Schmalspurmuseum
• Taubenheim (Spree)- Dürrhennersdorf; 1892–1945 [5] [1]
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Narrow gauge railways in Saxony
[6] Schwarzbachbahn [9] Wilsdruffer-Schmalspurnetz
[7] Poehlwassertalbahn [10] Rollbock locomotive
[8] Wilder-Robert [11] Mueglitztalbahn
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Categories: Railway lines in Saxony, Narrow gauge railways in Germany, 600 mm gauge railways, 760 mm gauge rail-
ways, Metre gauge railways
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