The Radebeul–Radeburg railway, also known as the ''Lößnitzgrundbahn'' ("Lössnitz Valley Railway") and locally nicknamed the ''Lößnitzdackel'' (Lößnitz Dachshund), is a gauge

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 ...

steam-hauled railway in the outskirts of

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. It should not be confused with the

Lößnitz Tramway Bergstadt Lößnitz (“Mining Town of Lößnitz”, also spelt Lössnitz), sometimes also called ''Muhme'' (“Aunt”) for its age, is a town in the district of Erzgebirgskreis, Saxony, Germany, and belongs to the Town League of Silberberg (''St ...

, known in German as the ''Lößnitzbahn'' or the ''Lößnitzschaukel'', which was a

metre gauge Metre-gauge railways are narrow-gauge railways with track gauge of or 1 metre. The metre gauge is used in around of tracks around the world. It was used by European colonial powers, such as the French, British and German Empires. In Europe, la ...

interurban tramway that connected Dresden with

Radebeul Radebeul ( hsb, Radobyle) is a town (''große Kreisstadt'') in the Elbe valley in the district of Meißen (district), Meißen in Saxony, Germany, a suburb of Dresden. It is well known for its viticulture, a museum dedicated to writer Karl May ...

. Primarily a tourist attraction, the Radebeul–Radeburg railway maintains a year-round timetable and runs between Radebeul East station on the main

Deutsche Bahn The (; abbreviated as DB or DB AG) is the national railway company of Germany. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG). The Federal Republic of Germany is its single shareholder. describes itself as the se ...

line between Dresden and

Meissen Meissen (in German orthography: ''Meißen'', ) is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, the Albrecht ...

and the small towns of Moritzburg and

Radeburg Radeburg is a town in the district of Meißen, in Saxony, Germany. It is situated 19 km east of Meißen, and 18 km north of Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital c ...

north of Dresden. Scheduled traffic on the line is maintained by Sächsische Dampfeisenbahngesellschaft mbH (former BVO Bahn), using

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

s built in the 1950s. Older trains, using engines and cars built in the late 19th and early 20th century, are maintained by the non-profit Traditionsbahn Radebeul. The older trains operate on the line for special events.

History

On 12 September 2009, two steam-hauled passenger trains were involved in a

head-on collision A head-on collision is a traffic collision where the front ends of two vehicles such as cars, trains, ships or planes hit each other when travelling in opposite directions, as opposed to a side collision or rear-end collision. Rail transport ...

between Friedewald Bad and Friedewald stations. A total of 121 people were injured, four seriously. In early 2011, it was reported that proposed budgetary cuts on the Saxon narrow gauge lines may involve the closure of the section of this line from Moritzburg to Radeburg. The section between Radebeul and Moritzburg carries a significant number of tourists visiting

Schloss Moritzburg Moritzburg Castle (german: Schloss Moritzburg) or Moritzburg Palace is a Baroque palace in Moritzburg, in the German state of Saxony, about northwest of the Saxon capital, Dresden. The castle has four round towers and lies on a symmetrical ar ...

, but the remaining onward to Radeburg is less used. An alternative proposal was to serve this section with a

railcar A railcar (not to be confused with a railway car) is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a train consisting of a single coach (carriage, car), with a drive ...

, allowing a more frequent service as far as Moritzburg without needing additional steam trains. As of June 2020, service is provided along the full route. Lößnitzgrundbahn 991777-4

List Of Locomotives

References

External links

Official website

Radebeul-Radeburg railway
(in German)
The Heritage Railway Club
(in German) {{DEFAULTSORT:Radebeul-Radeburg railway Heritage railways in Germany Railway lines in Saxony Transport in Saxony 750 mm gauge railways in Germany