The Pressnitz Valley Railway (
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
: ''Preßnitztalbahn'') was a
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 line in
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 ...
, Germany. It used to climb from
Wolkenstein
Wolkenstein is a town in the district Erzgebirgskreis, in Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the Ore Mountains, on the river Zschopau, 22 km southeast of Chemnitz.
The town is situated on a rocky spur near the confluence of Zschopau and ...
on the
standard gauge
A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...
Annaberg-Buchholz–Flöha railway
The Annaberg-Buchholz–Flöha railway (german: Bahnstrecke Annaberg-Buchholz unt Bf–Flöha), also called the Zschopau Valley Railway (''Zschopautalbahn'') is a branch line in the German state of Saxony. It links Annaberg-Buchholz lower station ...
through the valley of river
Preßnitz
The Preßnitz ( cs, Přísečnice or ''Přísečný potok'') is a right-hand tributary of the River Zschopau in the state of Saxony in eastern Germany and in the Czech Republic. It rises in the Bohemian Ore Mountains near Horní Halže, northwes ...
(
Czech
Czech may refer to:
* Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe
** Czech language
** Czechs, the people of the area
** Czech culture
** Czech cuisine
* One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus'
Places
*Czech, ...
: ''Přísečnice'') to
Jöhstadt
Jöhstadt () is a town in the district of Erzgebirgskreis, in Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the Ore Mountains, on the border with the Czech Republic, 10 km southeast of Annaberg-Buchholz, and 35 km northeast of Karlovy Vary.
His ...
on the border with
Bohemia
Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
. It was dismantled in the second half of the 1980s, however the Steinbach - Jöhstadt section was rebuilt as a
museum railway
A heritage railway or heritage railroad (US usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) i ...
after the fall of communism in
East Germany
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
.
History
Construction started in 1891 and the railway was opened on 1 June 1892. In May 1893 the line was extended to the border with Bohemia. There were several projects to connect the line to Bohemian standard gauge lines, with the aim of enabling the importation of
lignite
Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, combustible, sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35%, and is considered the lowest rank of coal due to its relatively low heat ...
from the Most Basin. However, the proposed link with border station at
Reitzenhain on the
Chomutov–Reitzenhain and
Reitzenhain–Flöha railway lines was rejected, as well as a plans to build an extension to the
Chomutov–Vejprty/Reitzenhain railway. From 1911 freight was carried using
transporter trailers.
The Pressnitz Valley Railway was the last Saxon narrow gauge railway to be closed by the East German government. Passenger services were terminated in 1984; the transportation of freight for the refrigerator factory in
Niederschmiedeberg ceased in 1986. The process of gradually dismantling the line took several years, from January 1984 until the summer 1989. Locomotives and wagons were transferred to other
Saxon narrow gauge railways
The narrow-gauge railways in Saxony were once the largest single-operator narrow-gauge railway network in Germany. In Saxony, the network peaked shortly after World War I with over of tracks. At first, it was primarily created to connect the smal ...
or decommissioned.
Preservation
As early as 1988, a society for the preservation of the railway, the ''Interessengemeinschaft Preßnitztalbahn'', was formed in Großrückerswalde. Its aim was to preserve the remaining fragments that were left after dismantling. After the fall of communism in Eastern Europe, the club turned into a legal entity and presented a bold plan to rebuild at least part of the former narrow gauge line. Reconstruction began as soon as 1990, with the restoration of the
locomotive shed
The motive power depot (MPD) or locomotive depot, or traction maintenance depot (TMD), is the place where locomotives are usually housed, repaired and maintained when not being used. They were originally known as "running sheds", "engine shed ...
in Jöhstadt. In the following years, the track from Jöhstadt station to Steinbach station was gradually laid and a week-long celebration took place in 2000.
The museum railway operates every weekend from May to October, as well as on public holidays (
Easter
Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...
,
May Day
May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the spring equinox and summer solstice. Festivities may also be held the night before, known as May Eve. T ...
, Ascension, Pentecost,
German Unity Day
German Unity Day (german: Tag der Deutschen Einheit) is the National Day of Germany, celebrated on 3 October as a public holiday. It commemorates German reunification in 1990 when the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) joined the Federal R ...
) and around Christmas and New Year's Day.
Rügen operations
Since 2008, the operating company ''Eisenbahn-Bau- und Betriebsgesellschaft Pressnitztalbahn'' operates the
Rügen narrow-gauge railway
The Rügen narrow-gauge railway (German: Rügensche Bäderbahn, formerly Rügensche Kleinbahn or RüKB) – nicknamed ''Rasender Roland'' ( "Raging Roland") – is a steam-powered narrow-gauge railway that runs from Putbus by way of Binz, Sellin, ...
(which uses the same 750 mm gauge) and also the standard-gauge
Bergen auf Rügen–Lauterbach Mole railway.
References
External links
pressnitztalbahn.deat stillgelegt.de (German)
{{Authority control
Railway lines in Saxony
Heritage railways in Germany
750 mm gauge railways in Germany
Museums in Saxony
Transport in the Ore Mountains
Wolkenstein