History Narrow-gauge railways in Saxony

1 history

1.1 beginnings
1.2 expansion before world war i
1.3 between world wars
1.4 after world war ii
1.5 service termination in 1960s
1.6 development since 1975
1.7 new beginnings after 1990

history
beginnings

the dohna station of müglitz valley railway

around 1875, royal saxon state railway network, unlike other states in germany, had expanded cover of territory of saxony. due mountainous terrain, further expansion met disproportional cost increase. in order keep costs down, new track projects planned , executed branch lines, smaller radii curves, simpler operating rules , unsupervised stations , yards primary means save costs. however, connect small towns , villages in deep , narrow ore mountain valleys diverse industry, standard-gauge tracks feasible enormous amount of technical , financial investment. therefore, directorate of royal saxon state railways, given example of existing bröl valley railway , upper silesian railway, decided in favor of narrow-gauge railways.

the first narrow-gauge railway in saxony opened in 1881 between wilkau-haßlau , kirchberg. in addition, weißeritztalbahn , mügeln railway network under construction. many additional narrow-gauge railways, such thumer netz, built in short order, of them using standardized 750 mm (2 ft 5 ⁄2 in) track gauge. in meantime, standard-gauge projects in saxony scaled tracks connected existing standard-gauge railways, or transfer of goods between standard , narrow tracks not feasible or profitable.

expansion before world war i

switch tower in zittau

within 20 years, saxon narrow-gauge railway network had reached final size. after 1900, few additional railways added. additions existing lines brought operational advantages.

although narrow-gauge network made little profit, important industrial development of saxony. without narrow-gauge tracks – permitted industrial sidings small companies in narrow , steep valleys – industrial development in poor ore mountain area of saxony have hardly been possible.

however, evident narrow-gauge railways not task cargo demands. mainly, transloading of freight between breaks of gauge time consuming , expensive. avoid additional cargo handling on dresden-klotzsche–königsbrück line, container system tested ( umsetzkästen ) in whole cargo box of freight car transferred between standard , narrow-gauge frames. since railway converted standard gauge shortly after, tests abandoned. instead, roll-block traffic favored. however, evident piggy-backing standard-gauge freight cars onto narrow-gauge tracks did not meet initial goals of operating narrow-gauge railways on small budget: railways needed large investments reinforce tracks, increase structure gauge accommodate larger loading gauge , acquire stronger steam locomotives.

between world wars

rail network expansion came halt on outbreak of world war i; projects on work had begun, such extension of müglitz valley railway , klingenberg-colmnitz–oberdittmannsdorf railway, completed. pöbel valley railway stopped, , later abandoned altogether.

in 1920s, saxon narrow-gauge railways experienced first crisis. though cargo , passenger traffic up, cost exceeded operational income. reason foremost 1920s german inflation higher cost personnel. in addition, reichspost had started bus service, marginally higher cost faster , hence drawing passengers away railway. deutsche reichsbahn tried counter trend more modern passenger cars, higher-powered locomotives , more trains. railways planned converted standard gauge, müglitz valley railway converted in 1938. in 1930s, few of railways scheduled end service, did not happen until later.

starting in 1928, there large number of technical , equipment upgrades. rail network acquired higher capacity, four-axle bogie passenger cars steam heating , electrical lighting, brought passenger comfort par standard gauge. vacuum brakes , scharfenberg couplers introduced across board, , superheated locomotives saxon vi k brought service.

flood damage in glashütte

a severe flood in july 1927 affected many of railways in saxony, müglitz valley railway tracks, destroyed large degree. rebuilt afterwards.

in 1930s, more improvements made railways. modern signal towers built zittau–oybin–jonsdorf railway , weißeritztalbahn. kipsdorf , oberwiesenthal stations rebuilt , extended; weißeritztalbahn , fichtelberg railway accommodate over-length trains 56 axles.

technical development stagnated during world war ii. more , more personnel drafted wehrmacht, , railways maintained less , less. @ same time, cargo volume rose in support of war effort. railways not directly affected military action, fronts drawing near in april , may 1945, railways ceased operations.

after world war ii

steam locomotive 99 561 of pressnitz valley railway in niederschmiedeberg

after unconditional surrender of germany on may 8, 1945, operations of saxon narrow-gauge railways started in relative short time. problems caused relatively desolate condition of rolling stock, compounded largely destroyed ausbesserungswerk in chemnitz no longer being in position repair narrow-gauge locomotives. example, caused service of schwarzbach railway interrupted whenever operational locomotive in need of repair. situation grew worse part of more modern , powerful rolling stock had surrendered soviet union war reparations. 2 railways in upper lusatia, herrnhut–bernstadt railway , taubenheim–dürrhennersdorf railway, dismantled in 1945 , – war reparations – shipped east. in addition, traffic increased enormously railways in ore mountains when sdag wismut started mining uranium , thousands of miners required transportation on shift change.

overall, transport volume still below levels of 1930s, because of lack of locomotives. in may 1947, 467 out of total of 521 passenger cars parked , not needed. changed after new neubaulokomotive dr class 99.77-79 put service in 1953, , transport volume reached 1930s levels again. not last long, history repeated when newly created bus services again drew passengers railway. trucks did same cargo volume.

service termination in 1960s

with beginning of 1960s, situation narrow-gauge railways grew worse. due lack of maintenance since world war ii, tracks in dire state of repair, small sections of tracks had been rebuilt on more important railways. in addition, part of rolling stock, saxon iv k locomotives, @ end of service life. due lack of alternatives, ausbesserungswerk in görlitz started reconstruction (literally) of saxon iv k , saxon vi k locomotives.

however, fundamental decision of faith of narrow-gauge railways had made. in 1963 , 1964, government of east germany conducted efficiency study. study found if complete overhaul of tracks , rolling stock take place make sense keep narrow-gauge railways operational. concluded due lack of resources rebuild tracks , lack of capacity construct , build new diesel locomotives, closing of narrow-gauge railways not technical, economic requirement. on may 14, 1964, ministerrat decided narrow-gauge railways of east germany cease operations 1975. shutdown program first started relatively slowly, since neither buses nor trucks available in required quantities.

the first railways shut down in 1966 , 1967, of last train runs having country fair character. 1970, protests started against shutdown of bimmelbahn railways, result no or short official notice given when rail section shut down , there no more celebrations. partly due protests, in 1974 decision made keep total of 7 narrow-gauge railways in east germany tourist , heritage railways. saxony, were:

fichtelberg railway: cranzahl–oberwiesenthal
radebeul–radeburg railway: radebeul-east–moritzburg–radeburg
weißeritztalbahn: freital-hainsberg–kipsdorf
zittauer railway: zittau–oybin/jonsdorf

development since 1975

transporter wagon train of mügeln railway network near oschatz

by beginning of 1975 – year of planned shutdown – there still 6 narrow-gauge railways in operation in saxony. thum–meinersdorf section of thumer netz still had cargo service, , part of wilkau-haßlau–carlsfeld railway still operational. 2 small tracks used industrial siding paper mills. condition of rolling stock good, since shutdown of other railways freed additional rolling stock. however, tracks in disrepair , required many slow zones. remaining operations @ thumer netz ceased @ end of 1975, , passenger service terminated between oschatz , mügeln.

at 4 railways kept, necessary repairs , renewal of tracks , rolling stock made slow progress. 1977 first modernized passenger car – so-called reko car – put service. reconstruction of remaining cars progressing slowly, end of 1980s half of existing passenger cars updated.

a complete change in direction came in 1981, when soviet union cut oil exports east germany. oil (and hence diesel) in high demand, direction changed move freight , passenger transports rail service. in addition, planned railway service terminations of dr scrutinized, , – first reaction – decided keep railway between oschatz , mügeln of mügeln railway network. tracks of segment rebuilt 1984. however, pressnitz valley railway still dismantled, , in 1986 operations ceased.

until 1989, one-half of still existing tracks had been rebuilt. 1987, last of rolling stock heberlein brakes retired – after more 100 years in service – since shutdown of pressnitz valley railway freed enough rolling stock vacuum brakes. 1989, saxon rolling stock converted air brakes. end of 1980s, first einheitslokomotiven , neubaulokomotiven retired due frame , boiler damage. replacement of aging fleet of steam locomotives, dr in 1989 announced plans import diesel locomotives romania 1995.

new beginnings after 1990

the german reunification in 1990 placed narrow-gauge railways in saxony, @ point still operated deutsche reichsbahn, new situation. working group tasked find answers on how operate railways under new conditions.

a train of pressnitz valley railway heritage railway in 2008

without government regulations holding them back, group of enthusiasts formed in 1990, goal of rebuilding upper part of pressnitz valley railway fast possible. smiled upon @ first, group indeed managed segments of railway operational, , within few years, recognized heritage railway had been created.

by 1992, direction either privatize or abandon narrow-gauge railways. first victim oschatz–kemmlitz railway. intervention of citizen groups , local government saved railway, privatized döllnitzbahn. other narrow-gauge railways, freight service terminated.

in mid-1990s, government of saxony started discuss concepts conservation of narrow-gauge railways in state. @ first, idea have organization owned state of saxony operating railways; concept shelved. instead, privatization led municipalities , districts preferred solution. first put practice in district of zittau, @ end of 1996 track-side municipalities took on operations of zittau–oybin–jonsdorf railway. 100 year anniversary of fichtelberg railway in 1997, fest week organized, unlike other event involving narrow-gauge railways in germany. success of celebration, local politicians , deutsche bahn manager started think in new direction, , local district , communities took on operations of railway well. in addition, deutsche bahn decided keep 2 narrow-gauge railways near dresden operational.

the current railway companies remaining narrow-gauge railways in saxony saxon steam railway company, saxon oberlausitz railway company , döllnitzbahn gmbh. of january 1, 2009, following railways remain operational:

saxon steam railway company (sächsiche dampfbahn gesellschaft; sdg)

cranzahl–oberwiesenthal (fichtelberg railway)
radebeul-east–moritzburg–radeburg (radebeul–radeburg railway)
freital-hainsberg–kipsdorf (weisseritztal railway)


saxon oberlausitz railway company

zittau–oybin–jonsdorf railway


döllnitzbahn gmbh

oschatz–mügeln–kemmlitz (döllnitzbahn)


heritage railway

jöhstadt–steinbach (pressnitz valley railway)
schönheide–stützengrün (wilkau-haßlau–carlsfeld railway)