Mine railway
For mine train includes railway equipment, which are used in the mining industry about how underground for transportation of ore, coal and overburden, as well as to transport the mate ( miners ). Today mining trains are usually electrically operated, served in earlier times, especially ponies such as Shetland ponies as draft animals. At very close quarters and children were used.
General
From the mine train is usually made yet because of the usually small gauge no direct connection to the mine connection path or the public rail network. In Central Germany existed in Leipzig- Altenburg coal mining area until 1995, the largest contiguous narrow-gauge mining and coal transportation rail network for days in Europe. It included the time of the greatest extension 726 kilometers in 900 mm gauge. Of these, about 215 km rückbares track within the pits and 511 km stationary track the coal connection tracks available.
By 1999, the last 900 mm - mine train operating in Saxony was maintained in the open pit Zwenkau near Leipzig. From the formerly existing rail network were last yet traveled: 70 km movable track systems and 90 km stationary rail tracks in 900 mm gauge within the open pit operation Zwenkau and about 20 km standard gauge railway connecting coal to power plants ( 1995-1999). With the closure of this open pit ended the story of the 900 mm - pit tracks in the lignite mining in Saxony. In December 1999, the last resort German mines and coal railway operation was shut down at 900 mm gauge in Lusatia.
Electrical operation
The electric drive systems used before 1900 with direct current of a few hundred volts and direct motor supply from the catenary enabled the construction of efficient, small and robust tractors with simple means. This came to meet the needs of mining trains mainly for underground operations much and so the electrical equipment used early and extensively in mine train.
Electric locomotives from the SSW at ARBED Burbach 1897
Locomotive type LEW EL 3
Modernized LEW EL 2 at Vattenfall in the Lusatian mining area
Underground mining locomotive for RAG, Schalke ironworks
The first mine electric railway in the world was provided by Siemens & Halske for coal mining in the Saxon Zauckerode in Dresden ( today Freital ) developed and operated in 1882 at the 5th main cross passage of Oppel shaft of the Royal Saxon coal plants.
1894, the mine railway huts of the Aachen - Rothe Erde shares Association was operated electrically and in consequence numerous other mining trains in the Rhineland, Saarland, Lorraine, Luxembourg and Belgium's Walloon region. To a large extent carried out deliveries of electric locomotives for this mainly of the General Electricitäts -Gesellschaft ( AEG), Siemens & Halske, Siemens - Schuckert (SSW ) and the Union Electricitäts Society ( LEL) in these countries. In all mines of the Ruhr coal AG (now German Coal Ltd, DSK ) explosion-proof mining locomotives Schalke ironworks are used.
Cars a mine train
2 -ton mine locomotive, USA, 1895
Compressed air mine locomotive
Pneumatic operating
The drive of the compressed air via compressed air stored locomotives, which carries the locomotive in pressure vessels. This drive has advantages for the Mine Safety and disadvantage as high operating costs.
Fuel operation
Modern mine train locomotives are operated for safety ( flammability of the fuel ) exclusively with diesel fuel. In the 19th and early 20th century, however, the vehicles were operated with gasoline, benzene and Spiritus-/Benzolgemisch. Although such drives were probably preferably used in ore mining, firedamp safety was achieved by particular types of engines and special exhaust system with afterwards cooling water injection and screen, chip or disk protection from the exhaust openings. These filters greatly contributed to the reduction of nuisance odors.
Coal train as a museum and heritage railway
A remnant present in the Leipzig- Altenburg coal mining area carbon sheet can be visited as a museum or a museum train and driven. On the route of Meuselwitz takes over Haselbach after Wyke Regis regularly operating a museum instead.