The Stumpfwald Railway (german: Stumpfwaldbahn) is 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 ...

heritage 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 ...

that has operated since 1996 in the

Stumpfwald The Stumpfwald is part of the northern Palatine Forest and is located in the south of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It covers an area of about 150 km², most of which is part of North Palatinate and runs from west to east on the t ...

, a woodland area in the north of the Palatine Forest in the municipality of Ramsen.

Course

The western end of the Stumpfwald Railway starts at Eiswoog

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

, next to the eponymous lake. Some years after the line opened, a

railway halt A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a Rail transport, railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passenger train, passengers, freight rail transport, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one r ...

was built on the nearby (

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 ...

)

Eis Valley Railway The Eis Valley Railway (german: Eistalbahn) is a branch line in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, that runs through the Palatine Forest. It runs from Grünstadt in a southwesterly direction through the valley of the Eisbach (or "Eis") to ...

, which also bears the name ''Eiswoog''. This halt is served by most of the trains on the Eis Valley Railway on Sundays and holidays. On weekdays, however, services on the Eis Valley line ends in Ramsen. The original eastern operating point of the Stumpfwald Railway was ''Bockbachtal'' station, but this was moved further to the east as part of the extension of the line in 2007 and has been converted to a

passing loop A passing loop (UK usage) or passing siding (North America) (also called a crossing loop, crossing place, refuge loop or, colloquially, a hole) is a place on a single line railway or tramway, often located at or near a station, where trains or ...

, which is now the halfway point on the way to Ramsen. Just before Ramsen are ''Kleehof'' station and the ''Schützenhaus'' halt. At the terminus of ''Ramsen West'' there is also a small

engine 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 ...

and depot for the Stumpfwald Railway. About halfway between Bockbachtal station and the terminal stop at Eiswoog is the old passing loop for multiple train operations. On the new section of line towards Ramsen West there is another loop at Kleehof station, which however, like the old loop, is only used when there are high levels of traffic or for slow moving guest vehicles.

History

In the late 1980s the ''Stumpfwaldbahn Ramsen e. V.'' society was established with the aim of building and operating a museum ''

Feldbahn A , or , is the German term for a narrow-gauge field railway, usually not open to the public, which in its simplest form provides for the transportation of agricultural, forestry () and industrial raw materials such as wood, peat, stone, earth an ...

'' railway in the Stumpfwald. For this purpose a

timber-framed Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden ...

station building was erected by the car park below the

Eiswoog The Eiswoog is a reservoir, roughly six hectares in area, on the Eisbach stream, locally also called ''die Eis'', in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It is oriented from south to north in the water meadows near the source of the stream i ...

reservoir as the starting point for the line, and the Kleehof marshalling yard constructed in the direction of Ramsen. There, at Bockbachtal station, was the terminus of the Stumpfwald Railway. On 9 September 1996 the line was inaugurated. In spring 2005 work began on extending the line to the edge of the village of Ramsen. The gap between the old and new sections of line was finally closed on 20 May 2007. The new section to Ramsen was opened on 1 September 2007. In October 2008 the Stumpfwald Railway was selected to host the International Feldbahn Gathering. In addition to the aforementioned construction of the depot and associated trackage on the edge of Ramsen, the focus of activity is now in operating, maintaining and renovating additional running and rolling stock.

Operations

The majority of the internal transportation and runs along the Stumpfwald Railway is carried out on the railway itself, both in terms of the transport of material and also maintenance work, which is mainly carried out on Saturdays or on weekends outside the main operating season. Regular public services take place using covered passenger wagons built by the society specifically for the purpose on the entire length of the line between Ramsen and the Eiswoog. Passengers normally travel in three large carriages that can carry a total of 50 passengers; at peak times they are supplemented by an additional two smaller wagons in a separate train. In addition additional passenger carriages are sometimes available which, e.g. are used for steam services or at big events. All the passenger carriages have twin-axle bogies. From the end of May to the beginning of October eight pairs of trains runs every Sunday and public holiday. More are laid on for steam services or at peak times. The actual journey time for the whole line is just under 20 minutes. Motive power is provided by several working locomotives, including, at regular intervals, a steam locomotive. The society has a total of three steam and about twelve diesel locomotives, of which however several have to be renovated and/or for which there is no room until the new engine shed is built. The locomotives come mainly from old ''

'' lines at mines,

gravel works A gravel pit is an open-pit mine for the extraction of gravel. Gravel pits often lie in river valleys where the water table is high, so they may naturally fill with water to form ponds or lakes. Old, abandoned gravel pits are normally used either ...

quarries A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their environ ...

and

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

s. Since 1998 the Stumpfwald Railway has held a night-time "torch ride" (''Fackelfahrt'') in the second half of January. Initially the torch ride took place annually, since 2009 it has been conducted every two years.

References

External links

* {{authority control Heritage railways in Germany Railway lines in Rhineland-Palatinate 600 mm gauge railways in Germany Palatinate Forest Railway museums in Germany Transport museums in Germany North Palatinate