The Lüttmoorsiel-Nordstrandischmoor island railway (), also called the Loren Railway (''Lorenbahn'' even though Lorenbahn is a general term for this type of railroad), is a German,

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum railw ...

island railway through the

North Frisia North Frisia (; ; ; ; ) is the northernmost portion of Frisia, located in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, between the rivers Eider River, Eider and Vidå, Wiedau. It also includes the North Frisian Islands and Heligoland. The region is traditionally ...

Wadden Sea The Wadden Sea ( ; ; or ; ; ; ) is an intertidal zone in the southeastern part of the North Sea. It lies between the coast of northwestern continental Europe and the range of low-lying Frisian Islands, forming a shallow body of water with tida ...

from Beltringharder Koog on the mainland to the ''

Hallig The ''Halligen'' (German, singular ''Hallig'', ) or the ''halliger'' (Danish, singular ''hallig'') are small islands without protective dikes. They are variously pluralized in English as the Halligen, Halligs, Hallig islands, or Halligen islands ...

'' of

Nordstrandischmoor Nordstrandischmoor (; , North Frisian: ''Lätj Möör''; also known locally as ''Lüttmoor'') is a ''Hallig'' (undyked islet) off the North Frisian coast in Germany and lies within the Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park. Geography Admi ...

Legal status

The line is a piece of non-public railway infrastructure owned by the state of

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; ; ; ; ; occasionally in English ''Sleswick-Holsatia'') is the Northern Germany, northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical Duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of S ...

and operated by the State Department for Coastal Defence, National Parks and Marine Conservation (''Landesbetrieb für Küstenschutz, Nationalpark und Meeresschutz'') or LKN-SH – formerly the Office for Rural Regions (''Amt für ländliche Räume'').

History

The narrow gauge railway was built in 1933/1934 from Cecilienkoog over a pile-supported embankment to Nordstrandischmoor in order to transport construction material for the sea defences of the ''

hallig The ''Halligen'' (German, singular ''Hallig'', ) or the ''halliger'' (Danish, singular ''hallig'') are small islands without protective dikes. They are variously pluralized in English as the Halligen, Halligs, Hallig islands, or Halligen islands ...

''. Its length was . On 1 March 1956 the line was destroyed by

ice floe An ice floe () is a segment of floating ice defined as a flat piece at least across at its widest point, and up to more than across. Drift ice is a floating field of sea ice composed of several ice floes. They may cause ice jams on freshwate ...

s, but later rebuilt. In 1977 the pile dam was filled with rubble to make the line more stable. When the new outer dyke around the Beltringharder Koog was completed, the section of track between the Cecilien Koog and the new outer dyke was abandoned. The annual figures given for this are 1985 and 1988. The rest of the line is still in operation and now has a route length of . In 2000, a new, paved ''Lorendamm'' embankment was built, which can now be worked largely independently of the

tide table Tide tables, sometimes called tide charts, are used for tidal prediction and show the daily times and levels of high and low tides, usually for a particular location. Tide heights at intermediate times (between high and low water) can be approxi ...

and is only impassable when there is a

storm surge A storm surge, storm flood, tidal surge, or storm tide is a coastal flood or tsunami-like phenomenon of rising water commonly associated with low-pressure weather systems, such as cyclones. It is measured as the rise in water level above the ...

Infrastructure

The main storage depot for the railway is behind the new outer dyke. This is crossed by a switchback and has a siding on the outer side. It follows the embankment for about 3 km of its length. In the middle there is another siding. On the island, the route branches to Nordstrandischmoor

station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

and Neuwarft, which is the only one of the four warfs on the island of Nordstrandischmoor with its own railway link.

Rolling stock

Some of the stock belongs to the State Department for Coastal Defence and National Parks. There are two

locomotive A locomotive is a rail transport, rail vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. Traditionally, locomotives pulled trains from the front. However, Push–pull train, push–pull operation has become common, and in the pursuit for ...

goods wagon Goods wagons or freight wagons (North America: freight cars), also known as goods carriages, goods trucks, freight carriages or freight trucks, are unpowered railway vehicles that are used for the transportation of cargo. A variety of wagon types ...

s for construction work and two construction wagons (''Bauwagen''), which provide shelter for the workers during construction work. The other vehicles belong to the residents of Nordstrandischmoor. Each household has its own wagon. These are

draisine A draisine () is a light auxiliary rail vehicle, driven by service personnel, equipped to transport crew and material necessary for the maintenance of railway infrastructure. The eponymous term is derived from the German inventor Baron Karl D ...

s powered by

internal combustion engine An internal combustion engine (ICE or IC engine) is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal comb ...

, some with a trailer. Initially, the trucks had sails and were powered by wind. These vehicles are for the personal use of the islanders and their guests. There is no commercial traffic. Drivers must be at least 15 years old and hold a

moped A moped ( ) is a type of small motorcycle, generally having a less stringent licensing requirement than full motorcycles or automobiles. Historically, the term exclusively meant a similar vehicle with both bicycle pedals and a motorcycle eng ...

licence A license (American English) or licence (Commonwealth English) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another part ...

. The locals refer to this railway as the ''Lorenbahn''. A ''Lore'' is one of the wagons – powered or not – that works the line. This differs from the usual use of the German railway term ''Lore'' or ''Güterlore'' which refers to a tipper wagon.

Gallery

File:01 Lüttmoorsiel.jpg, Vehicle park on the mainland File:Lorenbahn Nordstrandischmoor5.jpg, Shunting operations File:Lorenbahn Nordstrandischmoor25.jpg, Switchback on the crest of the dyke File:Lorenbahn Nordstrandischmoor34.jpg, Siding half-way along the embankment File:Lorendamm Lüttmoor mit der Neuwarft.jpg, The ''Lorendamm'' against the evening sky. Right: the Neuwarft. File:Lorenbahn Nordstrandischmoor39.jpg, A "passenger train" File:Lorenbahn Nordstrandischmoor44.jpg, Cattle wagons File:Lorenbahn Nordstrandischmoor42.jpg, Nordstrandischmoor island station File:Lorenbahn Nordstrandischmoor43.jpg,

TÜV TÜVs (; short for , ) are internationally active, independent service companies from Germany and Austria that test, inspect and certify technical systems, facilities and objects of all kinds in order to minimize hazards and prevent damages. T ...

certificate for a locomotive File:Lorenbahn Nordstrandischmoor70 Alter Bahndamm.jpg, Old track between Cecilien Koog and Lüttmoorsiel (the old embankment is right of the channel).

Sources

* Petersen, Marcus (1981). ''Die Halligen. Küstenschutz – Sanierung – Naturschutz''. Neumünster. * Rogl, Hans Wolfgang (1996). ''Die Nordsee-Inselbahnen''. 6. Auflage, alba, Düsseldorf,

External links

*
Nordstrandischmoor Island Railway
{{DEFAULTSORT:Luttmoorsiel-Nordstrandischmoor Island Railway Railway lines in Schleswig-Holstein Nordfriesland 600 mm gauge railways in Germany Railways with Zig Zags