Heritage railway
Heritage railways are railways, which are operated with historic rail vehicles for the purpose of operational preservation of historic art and as a tourist attraction of railway enthusiasts. In contrast to static museum exhibits, so the audience is offered to experience traffic history objects such as steam locomotives in active use the opportunity.
Definition
The Association of German museum and tourist railways, which includes most of the German museum railway clubs, defined as: a museum or tourist railway is a railway company pursuant to § 2 ( 1) AEG, which is operated by a railway ( infrastructure ), as in the past get to restore or recreate, or to demonstrate historical or special forms of drive technology or rolling stock or operate solely or mainly for the purpose of tourism, leisure or educational purposes is used.
Most often, the preservation and operation of these tracks from club members in their spare time to volunteer performed in railway clubs. There are also heritage railways, the municipal responsibility or the responsibility for operating the railway operation by company ( GmbH, AG) ( operating companies ) are performed. The operation of private individuals or groups of people (in the sense of a general partnership ) is rare due to the associated risks of liability and responsibility. Nearly 300 original steam engines are still used regularly in Germany alone.
Depending on the equipment used and the route one can also distinguish between heritage railway and museum tramway.
History
As the world's first preserved railway narrow gauge Talyllyn Railway in Wales applies. After cessation of operation, the line was taken over in 1950 by a group of railway enthusiasts and operated as the first railway line of volunteer amateurs in place of professional railroaders.
The first museum railway in Germany was established in 1966 by the German Railway Club eV (DEV ) on a meter-gauge track in Bruchhausen- Vilsen. In 1971, the German Society for Railway History took on at that time still in control mode trains running Jagsttal web between Moeckmuehl and Dörzbach on a steam train operation, which was the idea of the museum railway also to southern Germany. In the former German Democratic Republic - GDR - emerged under the umbrella of the DMV ( German Model Railway Association of the GDR ) working groups ( WGs ) that the germ cells of the tradition Railways ( Radebeul, Erfurt West) were in cooperation with the Deutsche Reichsbahn, as the heritage railways were called in the GDR.
The first museum railway in Switzerland is located in western Switzerland exploiting dividend Blonay -Chamby (BC ). She took on 1 May 1968 of 1966 by the Chemins de fer électriques Veveysans (CEV ) set, but not abandoned railway line Blonay -Chamby the museum operation.
The first museum railway in Austria was founded in 1974 on a 3 km long remnant of Gurktalbahn in Carinthia.
Associations were established in the meantime, many regions of Europe that maintain the railway vehicles and routes, thus preserved for posterity.
Not all clubs and car collections have their own routes, railway lines are often public route networks, sometimes without scheduled passenger services, or used Industrial Railways for special trips. Trips are in several tram networks, partly at scheduled times, performed with historic rolling stock. From Berlin and Hamburg also occasional driving with historical underground railways is known.
Operation
The first museum railways, particularly in the form of a legal person " club " was - and still is - together to overcome numerous bureaucratic and administrative hurdles. As before, it is important to refute the view that amateurs could not guarantee a safe railway operations. The operation of the museum railways is subject to the applicable relevant provisions and regulations concerning operational safety of fleet and route, crew training and other legal liabilities of the railway operations to the same extent as in commercial railway operations.
Many museum railways have therefore founded approved by the Eisenbahn-Bundesamt own railway companies. This put their vehicles not only to the museum routes, but also special trains in Germany. As a railway transport companies they have access to and are entitled to appoint at DB Netz train paths. Many also offer other services, such as use on work trains. Operating company of the Bavarian Railway Museum is the BayernBahn mbH.
For some heritage railways, which have no independent approval as RUs that the Federal Railway Authority, which the Railroad Museum in Darmstadt- Kranichstein connected German Museum Railway takes over the routes orders for the purpose of special trips.
As Plandampf refers to the replacement of regular trains in the normal timetable used by steam trains and locomotives, for example, a heritage railway and its operating company. While the normal train tickets are valid for passengers.