Triptis–Marxgrün railway

Triptis–Unterlemnitz–Blankenstein–Marxgrün
Overview
Line number	6683
Service
Route number	556
Technical
Line length	68.76 km (42.73 mi)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Route map Legend from Leipzig 0,00 Triptis to Saalfeld 6,12 Auma 10,16 Krölpa (b. Auma) (former station) 14,0 A9 motorway 14,37 Moßbach (b. Neustadt/Orla) (former station) 20,09 Dreba 22,59 Knau 24,77 Posenmühle 28,0 Junction 1938-1945 29,18 Ziegenrück tunnel (105 m) 30,43 Ziegenrück Saale bridge 31,00 Hemmkoppen tunnel (181 m) 33,06 Schweinbach tunnel (89 m) 33,93 Liebschütz (Saale) 34,94 Zschachen-Mühlberg tunnel (72 m) 35,61 Ziemss tunnel (118 m) Ziemestal bridge (120 m) 37,5 Junction 1938-1945 41,30 Lückenmühle (former station) 42,8 Remptendorf transformer station siding 44,10 Remptendorf (former station) 47,42 Ebersdorf-Friesau from Hockeroda 51,75 Unterlemnitz (Keilbahnhof) 54,37 Lobenstein (Thür.) B 90 56,86 Lobenstein (Thür.) Süd formerly Lemnitzhammer Gbf 58,39 Harra Nord formerly Lemnitzhammer 59,01 Totenfels tunnel (221 m) 59,98 Harra 62,45 Blankenstein (Saale) 63,41 Thuringia–Bavaria state border 63,62 Lichtenberg (Ofr) 64,5 Kesselfels tunnel (160 m) 64,6 Selbitz bridge Höllental 64,7 Kanzel tunnel (35 m) 66,56 Hölle Issig bridge Wiede loading point Selbitz bridge Kleinschmieden 68,24 former Rbd Erfurt/Regensburg boundary von Bad Steben 68,76 Marxgrün (ehem. Bf) to Hof

The Triptis–Marxgrün railway is a branch line in Germany that runs through the states of Thuringia and Bavaria, and which was originally built and operated by the Prussian state railways. It ran from Triptis via Ziegenrück, Bad Lobenstein and Blankenstein to Marxgrün. The only section still in service today is the stretch of line between Ebersdorf-Friesau and Blankenstein. The Thuringian section is also called the Oberlandbahn ("Oberland railway"); the Bavarian section the Höllentalbahn ("Hell Valley Railway").

History

Planning and construction

The legal basis for the construction of the Höllental Railway was a state treaty between the German states of

.

Opening dates:

• Triptis–Ziegenrück: 17 December 1894
• Ziegenrück–Unterlemnitz–Lobenstein (Thür.): 16 September 1895
• Lobenstein (Thür.)–Lemnitzhammer Güterbahnhof (Gbf): 1 December 1896
• Lemnitzhammer Gbf–Blankenstein (Saale): 15 July 1897
• Blankenstein (Saale)–Marxgrün: 15 August 1901

The boundary between the jurisdiction of the

.

Second World War

During the

's special train regularly used this route on the way from Berlin to Berchtesgaden. During the day the train was stored in the Kesselfels tunnel to protect it from bombing, because for safety reasons the train only ran at night. During these times no other traffic moved on the line.

Division of Germany

After the occupation of

.

Triptis–Blankenstein in Thuringia

The northern section of the line continued to be important for passenger and goods services into the 1990s. In the timetable the route was listed as

534 Triptis–Lobenstein (Thür). The rest of the line to Blankenstein was part of route no. KBS 565 Saalfeld–Lobenstein (Thür)–Blankenstein.

There were hardly ever any through trains between Triptis or Saalfeld and Blankenstein in

in 1990.

On 24 May 1998 the state of Thuringia withdrew passenger services between Triptis and Unterlemnitz. Since then only the section from Unterlemnitz to Blankenstein has been worked; by Regionalbahn trains on the Saalfeld–Blankenstein route. At the end of that year, goods traffic between Triptis and Ebersdorf-Friesau also ceased. From that time on Ebersdorf-Friesau station, with its siding to a large sawmill, was served from Saalfeld. That meant the line between Triptis and Lobenstein was de facto empty of traffic. Shortly before its closure, however, several heavy load transporters passed through to the transformer station of Remptendorf. On 1 January 2005 this section was closed, however the tracks have yet to be lifted.

The

However the reactivation of the line will not be supported by the Thuringian state parliament, because "the Remptendorf–Triptis section … is not important for transportation".

In the current 2007/2008 Deutsche Bahn timetable the line from Triptis to Bad Lobenstein is number KBS 556.

Lichtenberg–Marxgrün in Bavaria

On the Bavarian side after the

the only significant use of the line between Lichtenberg and Marxgrün was for local goods traffic. Since 23 May 1971 even that was withdrawn and the line closed. Shortly before Hölle station the siding of Wiede was installed which for a long time was used to transport carbonic acid made at the Wiede acid works served by the siding.

The dismantling of the track in the Höllental began in September 1982. On 30 October 1987 services to the firm of Wiede ended and the rest of the line was lifted. The bridges in the Hölle Valley were not demolished, but the tunnel was walled up for safety reasons.

After its final closure in 1971 a

at Marxgrün. Here there was already a 1937 steam engine from the Regensburg sugar factory. The maintenance of the line exceeded the financial means of the LAG. The locomotive shed in Marxgrün has meanwhile been cleared. The building is in a very dilapidated state.

The timber-framed station building in Hölle was to have been preserved and used as a guest house for visitors to the spa town. These plans, produced in 1977, could not however been put into effect. The building was finally demolished and the station yard turned into a car park.

I the former station of

H0) scale, can be viewed. The layout is looked after by the MEC 01 Münchberger Eisenbahnfreunde e.V.. In front of Lichtenberg station, on a short piece of track, an old industrial locomotive (Lok 3; Cfl; Babelsberg 1969/219189; FLC - 92061) from the Rosenthal Cellulose and Paper Factory (ZPR) in Blankenstein

as well as several coaches and wagons recall the days of the train in the Hölle Valley.

Currently the Deutsche Regionaleisenbahn is striving to take over the Höllentalbahn (Blankenstein–Marxgrün).[5] (as at 06/2008)

Prospects

The Höllental Railway Network Initiative wants to reactivate the line through the Höllental in order to generate an effective railway link between Thuringia and Bavaria, especially for goods traffic.

The Rosenthal Cellulose and Paper Factory in Blankenstein has a major interest in closing the gap in the network in the direction of Bavaria. Because 63% of its production is already transported by rail, this proportion would be further increased if there were a direct railway link to the south. The firm has therefore organised a transport conference to develop the infrastructure in the southern Saale-Orla-Kreis on 9 December 2008.^[6]

On 16 December 2008, the town of Naila demanded that the reactivation of the route between Marxgrün and Blankenstein be included in the regional plan for Upper Franconia-East (Oberfranken-Ost). This was founded in order to improve rail traffic between Bavaria and Thuringia especially with regard to tourism and goods traffic for the logging industry.^[7] Counter-arguments include the fact that the Hölle valley was declared a nature reserve in 1997.

Locomotives

There were Prussian locomotives on the Hölle Valley railway in the early years:^[8]

• G 2 - goods train, tender locomotive
• G 3 (BR 53.70) - goods train, tender locomotive
• G 5.1 (BR 54.0) / G 5.1 (BR 54.2) / G 5.3 (BR 54.6) / G 5.4 (BR 54.8) / G 5.5 (BR 54.10) - goods train, tender locomotive
• G 8 (BR 55.16) - goods train, tender locomotive
• P 2 - passenger train, tender locomotive
• T 9.3 (BR 91.3) - goods train, tank locomotive
• T 11 (BR 74.0) - passenger train, tank locomotive
• T 12 (BR 74.4) - passenger train, tank locomotive
• T 13 (BR 92.5) - goods train, tank locomotive
• T 14 (BR 93.0) - goods train, tank locomotive

Later the following standard locomotives (Einheitslokomotiven) were employed:

• BR 64 - passenger train, tank locomotive (only Hof-Bad Steben)
• BR 86 - goods train, tank locomotive

Diesel locomotives

also found their way into the Hölle valley towards the end:

• BR V60 (260) - shunter
• BR V100 (211) – mixed locomotive
• BR Köf III (331-333) – station pilot

References

1. ^ "Betreibung der Oberlandbahn zwischen Unterlemnitz und Triptis, response by the Thuringian Ministry for Construction and Transport of 20 April 2008 to the minor question from MP Kalich (of the Left Party.PDS), Thuringian Landtag report 4/1885, p.1" (PDF).
2. ^ "News from March 27, 2008 - Oberlandbahn: Eisenbahnbrücke bei Moßbach bleibt stehen". collected and archived news of the year 2008 (in German). HOELLENNETZ e.V. January 25, 2009. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
3. ^ ""Betreibung der Oberlandbahn zwischen Unterlemnitz und Triptis", Thuringian Landtag report 4/1885, p.2" (PDF).
4. ^ "Press article from the Ostthüringer Zeitung" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-19. Retrieved 2009-03-22.
5. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-12-14. Retrieved 2008-10-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
6. ^ "Ostthüringer Zeitung (OTZ), Bad Lobenstein, December 29, 2008: "Bekenntnisse zur Höllentalbahn"".
7. ^ Kristina Künzel (2008-12-17). "Lücke nach Osten endlich schließen". Frankenpost, Ressort Naila. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
8. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-01-16. Retrieved 2009-03-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

Sources

• Horst W. Bauer, Vom Paradies in die Hölle, in Hp1 - Eisenbahnmodellbau heute Ausgabe Nr. 17/2001, Willy Kosak Verlag, Neuhaus (Pegnitz) 2001
• Stefan Winkler, Einmal Hölle und Zurück, Sonderausgabe des Eisenbahnjournals 1/93
• Siegfried Bufe, Eisenbahn in Oberfranken, Bufe-Fachbuch-Verlag, München 1982,
  ISBN 3-922138-13-6
• Ralf Roman Rossberg, Grenze über deutschen Schienen, Eisenbahn-Kurier Verlag, Freiburg im Breisgau 1980,
  ISBN 3-88255-828-8
• Deutsche Reichsbahn / Horst-Werner Dumjahn, Die deutschen Eisenbahnen in ihrer Entwicklung 1835 - 1935, Reichsdruckerei, Berlin 1935 / Nachdruck mit Vorwort von Horst-Werner Dumjahn: Dumjahn Verlag, Mainz 1984,
  ISBN 3-921426-29-4

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Triptis–Marxgrün railway.

• Fahrplan 189g Saalfeld–Marxgrün (1944)
• thüringer Oberlandbahn und Höllentalbahn
• www.hoellennetz.de Initiative zur Wiederbelebung der fränkischen Höllentalbahn
• www.sormitztalbahn.de Link Höllentalbahn
• Bilder der Tunnelportale

Model railway

• Spur 2 Modellbahnanlage und Dokumentation der Strecke
• Spur 1 Modellbahnanlage in Belgien
• H0-Modellbahnanlage MEC 01 Münchberg

50°23′04″N 11°41′27″E / 50.38444°N 11.69083°E / 50.38444; 11.69083