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The Nordhausen-Wernigerode Railway Company (''Nordhausen-Wernigeroder Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft'') or ''NWE'' was the second railway company to be founded in the
The Nordhausen-Wernigerode Railway Company (''Nordhausen-Wernigeroder Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft'') or ''NWE'' was the second railway company to be founded in the Harz
The Harz () is a highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The name ''Harz'' derives from the Middle High German ...
mountains in Germany, after the Gernrode-Harzgerode Railway Company
The Gernrode-Harzgerode Railway Company (german: Gernrode-Harzgeroder Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft) or GHE was a private railway company in Germany that operated the Selke Valley Railway (the line from Gernrode via Hasselfelde and Alexisbad to Harzge ...
(''Gernroder-Harzgeroder Eisenbahn''). On 15 June 1896 the ''NWE'' was formed by the ''Vereinigten Eisenbahnbau- und Betriebs-Gesellschaft'' in Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
, who also ran its operations. As early as 1896 the first section of this 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 ...
Harz Railway
The Harz Railway or Trans-Harz Railway (german: Harzquerbahn) was formerly the main line of the Harz Narrow Gauge Railways (''Harzer Schmalspurbahnen'' or ''HSB'') and runs north to south right across the Harz Mountains from Wernigerode to Nordhau ...
('Harzquerbahn') was opened, followed in 1898 by the Brocken Railway
The Brocken Railway (german: Brockenbahn) is one of three tourist metre gauge railways which together with the Harz Railway and Selke Valley Railway form the Harz Narrow Gauge Railways railway network in the Harz mountain range of Germany.
It r ...
(''Brockenbahn''), which was also narrow gauge. On 1 April 1908, the ''NWE'' took over operations from the ''Vereinigten Eisenbahnbau- und Betriebsgesellschaft''.
The junction with the Gernroder-Harzgerode railway (the Selke Valley Railway or ''Selketalbahn'') was in Eisfelder Talmühle and that with the South Harz Railway
The South Harz Railway (german: Südharzstrecke or ''Südharzbahn'') is a railway line through the German states of Lower Saxony and Thuringia. It runs from Northeim to Nordhausen, via Herzberg am Harz, Bad Lauterberg-Barbis, Bad Sachsa, Walkenr ...
(''Südharzeisenbahn'') was in Sorge. At Nordhausen and Wernigerode
Wernigerode () is a town in the district of Harz, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Until 2007, it was the capital of the district of Wernigerode. Its population was 35,041 in 2012.
Wernigerode is located southwest of Halberstadt, and is picturesquely s ...
stations there were junctions with the standard gauge trains of the Prussian state railways
The term Prussian state railways (German: ''Preußische Staatseisenbahnen'') encompasses those railway organisations that were owned or managed by the State of Prussia. The words "state railways" are not capitalized because Prussia did not have a ...
, later the Deutsche Reichsbahn
The ''Deutsche Reichsbahn'', also known as the German National Railway, the German State Railway, German Reich Railway, and the German Imperial Railway, was the German national railway system created after the end of World War I from the regiona ...
. At Drei-Annen-Hohne was a connexion with the Halberstadt-Blankenburg railway.
Around 1925 the ''NWE'' had about 250 employees and about 100 seasonal workers. From 1926 the NWE also ran bus routes (known as the ''Harzer Roller'' or 'Harz rollers'). Its workshop and management was located in Wernigerode.
The NWE was expropriated by a 'people's decision' and went into the Saxony-Anhalt state railways in 1948. The two routes were run by the DR from 1949. Since 1993 the Harz Narrow Gauge Railways (''Harzer Schmalspurbahnen'') has been the owner and operator of the Harz Railway, Brocken Railway and Selke Valley Railway.
Motive power
Only on paper were the two Reichsbahn engines 99 5631 and 5632 given the designation ''NWE Nos. 71 and 72''.See also
* Harz Narrow Gauge RailwaysFurther reading
* Gerhard Zieglgänsberger, Hans Röper: ''Die Harzer Schmalspurbahnen: Die Selketalbahn; Die Harzquer- und Brockenbahn; Die Südharzeisenbahn.'' transpress Verlag, Stuttgart 1999, * Jörg Bauer: ''100 Jahre Harzquer- und Brockenbahn.'' EK-Verlag GmbH, Freiburg 1999,External links
* {{Coord missing, Germany Private railway companies of Germany Private locomotives of Germany Metre gauge railways in Germany Transport in the Harz