The Dampfbahn Fränkische Schweiz e. V. (''Franconian Switzerland Steam Railway Co. Ltd.'') or DFS is a German museum railway operated by a registered society (''

eingetragener Verein An (; "registered association" or "incorporated association"), abbreviated (), is a legal status for a civil registration, registered voluntary association in Germany. While any group may be called a , registration as confers many legal bene ...

'') in

Ebermannstadt Ebermannstadt (; East Franconian German, East Franconian: ''Ärmaschdood'') is a town in the Forchheim (district), district of Forchheim, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 10 km northeast of Forchheim (Oberfranken), Forchheim and 25 km ...

, in a region of northern

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, known as

Franconian Switzerland Franconian Switzerland (, ) is an upland in Upper Franconia, Bavaria, Germany and a popular tourist retreat. Located between the River Pegnitz in the east and the south, the River Regnitz in the west and the River Main in the north, its relief ...

.It is a charitable society registered with the

Forchheim Forchheim () is a Town#Germany, town in Upper Franconia () in northern Bavaria, and also the seat of the administrative Forchheim (district), district of Forchheim. Forchheim is a former royal city, and is sometimes called the Gateway to the Fr ...

district court, that was founded on 16 April 1974.

Goals

The society's goals are the: * establishment, operation, and preservation of a

museum railway A heritage railway or heritage railroad (U.S. 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) ...

on the former federal railway line from Ebermannstadt to Behringersmühle in the Wiesent Valley; * acquisition and preservation of historic railway vehicles, especially those traditionally associated with the Ebermannstadt–Behringersmühle branch line; * organisation of presentations, tours, trips, and exhibitions.

Operations

Since 1980, the society has had a permit to operate a railway and is an authorised railway service and railway infrastructure operator. The Franconian Switzerland Steam Railway is the oldest museum railway in

Franconia Franconia ( ; ; ) is a geographical region of Germany, characterised by its culture and East Franconian dialect (). Franconia is made up of the three (governmental districts) of Lower Franconia, Lower, Middle Franconia, Middle and Upper Franco ...

, northern Bavaria. Between 1 May and 31 October, the museum railway runs scheduled trains on Sundays. For the operation of the museum, the DFS has a fleet comprising three

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, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...

s, an accumulator railcar, four

diesel locomotive A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover (locomotive), power source is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is con ...

s, and a diesel

railbus A railbus is a lightweight passenger railcar with an automotive engine. It shares many aspects of its construction with a bus, typically having a bus (original or modified) body and four wheels (2 axles) on a fixed base instead of on bogies. O ...

as well as a number of historic

passenger coaches A passenger railroad car or passenger car (American English), also called a passenger carriage, passenger coach (British English and International Union of Railways), or passenger bogie (Indian English) is a railroad car that is designed to ca ...

. Image:V 60 114 a.jpg, V 60 114 Image:V 60 114 b.jpg, V 60 114 Image:V 36 123.jpg, V 36 123 Image:Franken Pictures 2005 022 Talbot hopper.jpg, Talbot

hopper Hopper or hoppers may refer to: Places * Hopper, Illinois * Hopper, West Virginia * Hopper, a mountain and valley in the Hunza–Nagar District of Pakistan * Hopper (crater), a crater on Mercury People * Hopper (surname) Insects * Hopper, the ...

at Ebermannstadt

References

Literature

* ''Die Museumsbahn Ebermannstadt-Behringersmühle''. Hans Falkenberg Verlag, Haßfurt. .

External links

Official Homepage of the Franconian Switzerland Steam Railway Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dampfbahn Frankische Schweiz Railway museums in Germany Heritage railways in Germany Railway museums in Bavaria Franconian Switzerland Standard-gauge railways in Germany Ebermannstadt

Goals

Operations

See also

References

Literature

External links