The Saxon Steam Railway Company (''Sächsische Dampfeisenbahngesellschaft mbH'' or SDG), formerly the BVO Bahn, is a German railway company in
Saxony
Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...
, that operates several Saxon narrow gauge railways. The SDG is a subsidiary of the
BVO Verkehrsbetriebe Erzgebirge (''BVO'') and the
Verkehrsverbund Oberelbe
The Verkehrsverbund Oberelbe (Upper Elbe Transport Association or VVO) is a transport association run by public transport providers in the Saxon Elbeland area of the German state of Saxony. The VVO area comprises the city of Dresden, togeth ...
(''VVO'').
History
The ''BVO Bahn'' was founded in 1998 when the
Deutsche Bahn
(, ; abbreviated as DB or DB AG ) is the national railway company of Germany, and a state-owned enterprise under the control of the German government. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG).
DB was fou ...
wanted to get rid of the narrow gauge
Fichtelberg Railway (''Fichtelbergbahn'') from Cranzahl to the spa resort of
Oberwiesenthal
Oberwiesenthal (; officially Kurort Oberwiesenthal) is a town and a ski resort in the district of Erzgebirgskreis in Saxony in Germany. It is situated in the Ore Mountains, on the border with the Czech Republic, 19 km south of Annaberg-Buchho ...
. On 4 May 1998 they took over the route. In order to gain more customers for this hitherto unprofitable line, daily
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 ...
services were implemented particularly to attract tourists. Initially it was even intended to extend the line to nearby
Annaberg, but this plan could not be realised for financial reasons.
Since 2004 the SDG has also operated the
Lößnitzgrund Railway (''Lößnitzgrundbahn'') from
Radebeul
Radebeul (; ) 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 Karl May Museum, museum dedicated to writer Karl ...
to
Radeburg. This route is particularly well known for its heritage trains that have run on Sundays and public holidays since 1974 and for the tourist attractions along the line, including the Karl-May Museum at Radebeul, and the
hunting castle of
Moritzburg.
The third Saxon narrow gauge railway that was taken over by the then ''BVO Bahn'', is the
Weisseritz Valley Railway (''Weißeritztalbahn''). This line was however destroyed in several places by the floods of 2002. It was partially reopened in 2008, but full reopening was in doubt because of budgetary cuts.
Subsequently, funding was secured, and work on rebuilding the remainder of the line resumed in 2014; the remaining section from Dippoldiswalde to Kurort Kipsdorf reopened on 17 July 2017.
In accordance with the decisions of the ''VVO'' of 4 June 2007, Weißeritz district procured the route and the SDG took over the operation. At the same time the VVO took a 35% share in the SDG, because the Chemnitz city council insisted that the activities of companies formed by local communities should be restricted to a partnership role. The subsequent renaming of the ''BVO Bahn'' to the ''Saxon Steam Railway Company'' took place on 9 May 2007.
Routes
* ''
Fichtelbergbahn'' (Cranzahl–Oberwiesenthal)
* ''
Lößnitzgrundbahn'' (Radebeul Ost–Radeburg)
* ''
Weißeritztalbahn'' (Freital-Hainsberg–Kurort Kipsdorf).
References
External links
Company websitePress reports in the ''Sächsischen Zeitung'' about the ''VVO''
{{coord missing, Saxony
Heritage railways in Germany
Railway lines in Saxony
Transport in Saxony
Companies based in Saxony