Harz Narrow Gauge Railways
Line
- Matthias Wagener, manager
- Michael Ermrich, Chairman of the Board
The Harz narrow gauge railways GmbH (HSB ) in Wernigerode is a railway company, which operates a network of about 140 km of mostly steam-powered narrow-gauge lines in the resin. It is today at the longest continuous steam-powered railway network in Europe. This network with a track width of 1000 mm ( meter gauge ) consists of the routes Harzquerbahn, Selketalbahn and Brockenbahn. The initial letters of the lines give the abbreviation of the railway company.
Three of the six terminal stations ( Nordhausen, Quedlinburg and Wernigerode ) have a connection to the standard gauge network of the Deutsche Bahn AG. In addition to the Brohltalbahn and Wangerooger Inselbahn the Harz narrow gauge railways are now one of the three last narrow gauge railways with freight transport in Germany.
In passenger HSB is used today mostly by tourists and excursionists (eg migrants), the actual regional services within the meaning of work and school transport only plays in space Nordhausen / Ilfeld and on the stretch Quedlinburg Gernrode ( resin ) a more significant role.
Prehistory
Today's narrow-gauge railway network has been developed by the combination of originally separate railway lines, which belonged to two different railway companies:
In 1887 opened the first narrow gauge railway in the Harz with the track Gernrode - Mägdesprung. It belonged to Gernrode - Harzgerode Railway Company (GHE ). In subsequent years, the line was extended and enlarged the route network. To power the GHE included the railway lines of Gernrode to Harzgerode, Hasselfelde and ice fields Talmuhle. Since the railway line on a long section of the valley of the river Selke follows, was next to the nickname " Anhaltische resin sheet " later the epithet " Selketalbahn ".
In 1896, the second railway company was registered in the commercial register, which wanted to build a narrow gauge railway through the resin. On 22 December 1898, the Nordhausen - Wernigerode Railway Company ( NWE ) opened the special trains on the stretch Wernigerode Brocken ( Brocken Railway ), the so-called Harzquerbahn ( Wernigerode three- Annen- Hohne - Nordhausen ) adopted on 27 March 1899 total traffic on.
The GHE and the NWE were assumed on 1 April 1949, the Deutsche Reichsbahn.
The time of the HSB
On February 1, 1993, the non- state-owned railway company took over " Harz narrow gauge railways GmbH (HSB ) " of the Deutsche Reichsbahn (DR ) vehicles, tracks, personnel, etc. and since then acted as rail transport (utilities) and railway infrastructure companies (EIU ). Shareholders of HSB are the counties resin and Nordhausen, the municipalities lying along the route, the town of Quedlinburg, Tanne and Kurbetriebsgesellschaft Brown situation. Seat is Wernigerode, where also the workshops. The HSB today operates a narrow gauge railway network 140.4 km long with 44 stations and stops.
Trains run daily at scheduled times. It come here more than ten steam locomotives, seven DMUs and three trams ( from the tram Nordhausen ) is used. All sections are traversed by steam trains. Since April 2010 ride on the stretch stairs - Icefields Talmuhle the Selketalbahn back steam trains in normal operation. There, since 1996, drove only railcars.
The most popular route is the Brocken Railway. On her drive in daily traffic usually only hauled by steam locomotives trains the relation ( Wernigerode - ) Drei Annen Hohne - Brocken and back. The regional traffic between Nordhausen and Ilfeld was changed, however, except for a pair of steam completely on diesel railcars and (since 1 May 2004) also trams. In addition, the HSB still operates regular freight from Hartsteinwerk Unterberg ( Selketalbahn ) to Nordhausen transfer station ( Harzquerbahn ) with diesel locomotives of the series 199.8 and standard gauge freight cars.
On 1 May 2004, a connecting track between the tram Nordhausen and the Harzquerbahn was put into operation in Nordhausen. Since then, the above- mentioned trams between Nordhausen hospital and the HSB breakpoint Ilfeld - Neander clinic run (line 10) with electric and hybrid drive Combino duo. In the area of Harzquerbahn (without catenary ) of the drive is diesel -electric. By connecting track to the tram Nordhausen lost especially the Nordhausen station in importance. Except for the steam train a couple from Nordhausen and some HSB DMUs operate since all trains from the tram stop Nordhausen station forecourt.
On 18 April 2005, started work on the extension of Selketalbahn of Gernrode to Quedlinburg (length 8.5 km ) after the DB AG abandoned this standard gauge track section and the HSB had sold. First, the terminus Gernrode was converted to a through station. On 4 March 2006 the first narrow-gauge train of the HSB drove into the Quedlinburg station, and since June 26, 2006 there are scheduled traffic of the Harz narrow gauge railways to Quedlinburg with at least two steam train pairs a day. In Quedlinburg HSB holds on a platform with the features of HEX in Halberstadt.
In 2009, the standard gauge steam locomotive 95 1027 was worked up with the support of the State of Saxony -Anhalt in the Meiningen Steam Locomotive Works. This was set at the HSB and has since been used in the museum railway traffic on the Rübelandbahn. In the same year the state of Lower Saxony tried spiking the economic stimulus package II a port of the city Braun location on the network of HSB with finance (see also narrow gauge railway Walkenried-Braunlage/Tanne ). This project, however, was laid to rest on April 29, 2010 due to the expected high costs. With the construction of the new breakpoint leather apron was started on November 30, 2009 in Nordhausen, to improve the pick-up points for the Nordhäuser even further. The construction work lasted until just before Christmas 2009. They were mainly carried out in the night operation breaks so as not to obstruct traffic. The new breakpoint itself was put into operation by the beginning of the summer schedule 2010.
In 2012, nearly 1.2 million passengers used the trains of the HSB. With 725,000 passengers, the Brocken Railway was the most used connection with distance. On the Harzquerbahn in the area of suburban in Nordhausen 219,000 passengers were traveling. The Selketalbahn used 107,000 passengers. Revenue increased to about twelve million euros.
Capital equipment
The three Lokeinsatzstellen the HSB with roundhouse - in Wernigerode and Nordhausen with Turntable - coaling and the locomotive office located (responsible for Harzquerbahn ), Wernigerode ( for resin cross and Brockenbahn ) and Gernrode ( for Selketalbahn ) at stations Nordhausen. There the steam locomotives and diesel railcars will not be repaired, but only waited fueled the steam engines as well as purified and used by ibid.
The complete investigations and all repair work (except general inspections ) are performed in HSB Bahnbetriebswerk Wernigerode Westerntor. For the main tests, the locomotives and railcars are ( Meiningen Steam Locomotive Works, for example ) on the other hand, leads to special repair works. In addition, the HSB also offers tours of the Bw Wernigerode Westerntor, which still is a typical steam locomotive workshop in spite of some modern technology.
Water spouts to fill up with water during the journey are located in all major train stations.
Vehicle use
The car park of the HSB consists of reconstructed cars, new cars and refurbished historic cars. In addition, the HSB has two dining cars, which some trains, the relation chunks and the pair of trains Nordhausen - - Drei Annen Hohne - Brocken be set ( Wernigerode - ) Drei Annen Hohne. In the dining car resin typical food and drinks are served.
There are trolleys for the work train and newly acquired dollies for freight trains to Hartsteinwerk Unterberg.
The HSB are currently the only non- state-owned and the only narrow gauge railway, which has its own emergency train.
Philatelic Findings
On the occasion of the 125th anniversary of the opening of the first narrow gauge railway in the Harz - the Selketalbahn in 1887 - was the German Post AG, a special stamp to the value of 45 Euro cents out. Issue date was February 9, 2012. The design of the brand comes from the communication designer Horst F. Neumann and the industrial designer Gerda M. Neumann from Wuppertal.