Jindřichohradecké místní dráhy (''Jindřichův Hradec Local Railways'') is the company which operates the
narrow gauge
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and .
Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...
railway lines from
Jindřichův Hradec
Jindřichův Hradec (; german: Neuhaus) is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 21,000 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument rese ...
to
Nová Bystřice and
Obrataň in the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
. Both lines are gauge.
History
The line to Nová Bystřice was opened on 1 November 1897 and the line to Obrataň followed on 24 December 1906.
Both lines were originally operated with
steam locomotives and there were engine sheds at Jindřichův Hradec, Kamenice nad Lipou, Nova Bystřice und Obrataň. Soon after opening a goods service with
roll-blocks was established.
Following the founding of
Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
the railway became part of
ČSD
Czechoslovak State Railways (''Československé státní dráhy'' in Czech or ''Československé štátne dráhy'' in Slovak, often abbreviated to ČSD) was the state-owned railway company of Czechoslovakia.
The company was founded in 1918 a ...
in 1924
and during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
they came under the control of the
Deutsche Reichsbahn
The ''Deutsche Reichsbahn'', also known as the German National Railway, the German State Railway, German Reich Railway, and the German Imperial Railway, was the German national railway system created after the end of World War I from the regiona ...
In 1998 both lines were
privatised
Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...
and they are now owned and operated by JHMD.
Route
Near Jindřichův Hradec there is a section of
dual gauge track on the
České dráhy
České dráhy (English: ''Czech Railways''), often shortened to ČD, is the major railway operator in the Czech Republic providing regional and long-distance services.
Overview
The company was established in 1993, after the dissolution of Czec ...
line between
Veselí nad Lužnicí
Veselí nad Lužnicí (; german: Wesseli an der Lainsitz) is a town in Tábor District in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 6,300 inhabitants. It lies at the confluence of the Lužnice and Nežárka rivers.
Administra ...
and
Jihlava
Jihlava (; german: Iglau) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 50,000 inhabitants. Jihlava is the capital of the Vysočina Region, situated on the Jihlava River on the historical border between Moravia and Bohemia.
Historically, Jihlava ...
.
The maximum permitted speed today is and the steepest gradient is 2.6
% near
Kamenice nad Lipou
Kamenice nad Lipou () (german: Kamnitz an der Linde) is a town in Pelhřimov District in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 3,600 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban m ...
.
Current operations
Most trains consist of a diesel locomotive and one
carriage. During the summer steam trains with historic carriages are operated for tourists.
Rolling stock
Locomotives
![Jindrichuv Hradec depot JHMD](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Jindrichuv_Hradec_depot_JHMD.jpg)
For the opening of the line to Nova Bystřice there were three
0-6-2
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and two trailing wheels on one axle. The type is sometimes kno ...
steam locomotives, like those used on the
Murtalbahn
The ''Murtalbahn'' (literally translated, the Mur Valley Railway) is a narrow-gauge railway largely located in the state of Styria in Austria. The line runs along the valley of the River Mur from the market town of Unzmarkt through Murau to T ...
. These were classified as class U (after
Unzmarkt on the Murtalbahn) by the kkStB and were numbered U.1 – U.3. After the opening of the line to Obrataň in 1906 two more class U locomotives were acquired and numbered U.33 and U.34. In 1908 another locomotive, numbered U.41, was also acquired. After
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
only U.1, U.34 and U.41 remained in Jindřichův Hradec and in 1924 when
ČSD
Czechoslovak State Railways (''Československé státní dráhy'' in Czech or ''Československé štátne dráhy'' in Slovak, often abbreviated to ČSD) was the state-owned railway company of Czechoslovakia.
The company was founded in 1918 a ...
took over the railway they were reclassified as U 37 and renumbered U 37.001, U 37.005 and U 37.006. ČSD bought three class U 47
Mallet locomotive
The Mallet locomotive is a type of articulated steam railway locomotive, invented by the Swiss engineer Anatole Mallet (1837–1919).
The front of the locomotive articulated on a bogie. The compound steam system fed steam at boiler pressur ...
s and rented a further two identical locomotives for use on the lines.
A U 37 and a U 47 are used on the railway today for tourist trains. In addition to these a Romanian
Reșița
Reșița (; german: link=no, Reschitz; hu, Resicabánya; hr, Ričica; cz, Rešice; sr, Решица/Rešica; tr, Reşçe) is a city in western Romania and the capital of Caraș-Severin County. It is located in the Banat region. The city had ...
locomotive, numbered U 46.001 by JHMD, and a Polish Px48, now numbered U46.101, have been bought by JHMD for tourist trains.
Since 1955 traffic has mainly been handled by ČSD class T 47.0 diesel locomotives . In the 1970s more of these locomotives were transferred to Jindřichův Hradec when the
Frýdlant–Heřmanice and Ružomberok–Korytnica narrow gauge railways were closed.
A
PKP class Lxd2
The Lxd2 is a B′B′ narrow gauge diesel-hydraulic locomotive of the Polish state railway Polskie Koleje Państwowe
(''PKP S.A.''; en, Polish State Railways, Inc.) is the dominant railway operator in Poland.
The company was founded when ...
locomotive, now numbered T 48.001, and a
PKP class MBxd2, now numbered M 27.001, are also in use by JHMD.
Railcars
From 1929 two ČSD class M 11.0 railcars, which were narrow gauge versions ČSD Class M 120.4, were introduced. In 1939 two further railcars, this time ČSD class M 21.0 were acquired. Railcar services continued until shortly after World War II. Railcar M 21.004 is currently at
Čierny Balog
Čierny Balog (until 1927 also Balog, or Čierny Hronec; hu, Feketebalog) is a municipality in Brezno District, in the Banská Bystrica Region of central Slovakia.
History
The village arose after 1882 (1888 mentioned as ''Feketebalog'') by a mer ...
on the
Čierny Hron Railway
The Čierny Hron Railway (in Slovak: ''Čiernohronská železnica'' or ''ČHŽ'') is a narrow gauge railway in the Slovak Ore Mountains, built as a forest railway for logging operations.
History
Planning for the railway began in 1898 and bui ...
.
Four modernised 805.9 railcars have been obtained to run services.
Carriages
At first two-axled carriages manufactured by Ringhoffer in
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...
were used. In the 1960s several four-axled carriages originally from
Saxony
Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
were brought to Jindřichův Hradec from the
Frýdlant-Heřmanice Railway, where they had been used since 1945. These carriages remained in use until the end of the 1970s.
The class Balm/u carriages in use today were manufactured by
ČKD
ČKD (Českomoravská Kolben-Daněk) () was one of the largest engineering companies in the former Czechoslovakia and today's Czech Republic. It is famous for the Tatra T3, a tramcar that sold 13,991 units worldwide.
History
ČKD was formed i ...
in the 1960s. When they were built these were modern carriages with wooden benches, oil heating, fluorescent lights and toilets.
In the 1980s the last remaining two-axled carriages were used to form a museum train, which is used in summer for the tourist steam trains.
Goods wagons
Goods traffic was originally carried in two-axled goods wagons, most of which were built by the Grazer Wagen- und Waggonfabrik AG (Graz Wagon Factory). Roll-blocks were introduced in 1906 and are still used today. The newest roll-blocks were built by
Poprad
Poprad (; hu, Poprád; german: Deutschendorf) is a city in northern Slovakia at the foot of the High Tatra Mountains, famous for its picturesque historic centre and as a holiday resort. It is the biggest town of the Spiš region and the t ...
Wagon Factory in the 1980s.
See also
*
Narrow gauge railways in the Czech Republic
The Czech Republic formerly had a large number of narrow-gauge railways. Apart from the public lines listed below, there were many non-public industrial, forest and agricultural narrow-gauge systems; only a few of these are still running.
Curren ...
References
External links
Official Website of JHMD(Czech and English)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jindrichohradecke Mistni Drahy
Railway companies of the Czech Republic
Railway lines opened in 1897
Railway lines opened in 1906
760 mm gauge railways in the Czech Republic
1906 establishments in Austria-Hungary