The Saxon Railway Museum (''Sächsisches Eisenbahnmuseum'' or ''SEM'', today "Schauplatz Eisenbahn") is located in
Chemnitz
Chemnitz (; from 1953 to 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt , ) is the third-largest city in the German state of Saxony after Leipzig and Dresden. It is the 28th largest city of Germany as well as the fourth largest city in the area of former East Germany a ...
, in the state of
Saxony, eastern
Germany. It is situated on the site of the former locomotive depot (''
Bahnbetriebswerk'' or ''Bw'') for
goods train locomotives in the district Hilbersdorf.
After the locomotive depot was closed in 1992, the society moved into the buildings which were protected as historical monuments. As a result, the museum has two
roundhouses with
turntables. In addition there are coaling and sanding facilities, water cranes, a working jack for inspection pits and a range of other equipment found in an operational depot.
The exhibition area describes and portrays the evolution of the railway in Saxony and especially in the area of Chemnitz. In addition to an extensive range of steam, diesel and electric locomotives, the museum also has a large collection of operational, narrow-gauge, ''
Feldbahn'' engines.
Many of the locomotives on show are loaned from private individuals, from the
Dresden Transport Museum
The Dresden Transport Museum ( German: Verkehrsmuseum Dresden) displays
vehicles of all modes of transport, such as railway, shipping, road and air traffic, under one roof.
The museum is housed in the Johanneum at the Neumarkt in Dresden. The ...
or the
Nuremberg Transport Museum. As a result, the museum's collection includes the following:
* Ex-
Saxon XII H2 steam locomotive, no. 38 205
*
DRG Class 43 steam locomotive, no. 43 001
* Ex-
Saxon XIV HT
The Saxon Class XIV \textstyle \mathfrakT locomotives were six-coupled tank engines operated by the Royal Saxon State Railways for mixed duties on main and branch lines. In 1925, the Deutsche Reichsbahn grouped them into their DRG Class 75.5.
Hi ...
steam locomotive, no. 75 515
*
DRG Class 86 steam locomotive, no. 86 001
*
DR Class V 180 diesel locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving whee ...
, no. 180 141
*
DR Class 119 diesel locomotive, no. 219 003
*
DR Class V 60
The DR Class V 60 was a class of 0-8-0 diesel-hydraulic locomotives of the Deutsche Reichsbahn (East Germany), Deutsche Reichsbahn intended for medium to heavy Shunting (rail), shunting service.
In addition to being used by the DR, the locom ...
diesel locomotive, no. V 60 1001
*
DRB Class E 94 electric locomotive, no. 254 059
*
DRG Class E 44 electric locomotive, no. E 44 045.
Special vehicles in the museum's fleet include a
Tatra T141 tractor with a
Culemeyer heavy trailer
Johann Culemeyer (16 October 1883 - 20 January 1951) was a German engineer.
Culemeyer was born in Hanover in 1883 and, in 1936, he became a director of the Deutsche Reichsbahn and in that capacity was responsible for the construction, procuremen ...
.
There is also a working
DRG Class 50 steam locomotive, no. 50 3648, that is regularly used for special trips. At the end of August each year there is a large festival (''Heizhausfest'') with a parade of locomotives.
1929 was a cable running system built in Hilbersdorf. This unique system of the marshalling yard was restored in 2014. Main components are the rope-tensioning system, the signal boxes and the historic machine station
[Denkmale der Industrie und Technik, Bäßler-Verlag, Berlin, 2016]
The SEM, together with the Museum of Technology Cable Running System, are also known as "Schauplatz Eisenbahn" (both located in Hilbersdorf). This new technical museum area is the largest one historic railway complex in Germany.
References
Literature
Egon Kretzschmar: ''Die Bahnbetriebswerke in Chemnitz/Karl-Marx-Stadt'' Bildverlag Böttger, Witzschdorf 2003 ''(German)''
External links
*
Website of the Saxon Railway Museum
{{authority control
Railway museums in Germany
Transport in Chemnitz
Museums in Chemnitz