Selke Valley Railway

Last updated
Quedlinburg–Hasselfelde railway
Karte Harzer Schmalspurbahnen.png
The Selke Valley Railway in red as part of the HSB network
Overview
Line number333
Locale Saxony-Anhalt, Germany
Service
Route number9703
Technical
Line length43.3 km (26.9 mi)
Track gauge 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in) metre gauge
Minimum radius 60 m (197 ft)
Operating speed50 km/h (31.1 mph) (maximum)
Maximum incline 4.0%
Route map

Contents

BSicon STR.svg
BSicon BHF.svg
0.26
Quedlinburg
(start of metre gauge)
122 m
BSicon eABZgr.svg
BSicon ABZgr.svg
BSicon HST.svg
4.88
Quedlinburg-Quarmbeck
152 m
BSicon HST.svg
7.39
Bad Suderode
187 m
BSicon eABZgl.svg
BSicon BHF.svg
8.95
0.00
Gernrode
204 m
BSicon HST.svg
1.46
Osterteich
BSicon WBRUCKE1.svg
Heiliger Teich, Wellbach
BSicon HST.svg
5.71
Sternhaus-Haferfeld
BSicon WBRUCKE1.svg
Wellbach
BSicon BHF.svg
6.91
Sternhaus-Ramberg
BSicon BUE.svg
BSicon BUE.svg
BSicon BHF.svg
10.17
Mägdesprung
295 m
BSicon WBRUCKE1.svg
BSicon HST.svg
11.61
Drahtzug
BSicon WBRUCKE1.svg
BSicon eHST.svg
13.50
Klostermühle
(1888–1892)
327 m
BSicon BUE.svg
BSicon BHF.svg
14.55
Alexisbad
325 m
BSicon ABZgl.svg
BSicon WBRUCKE1.svg
BSicon BUE.svg
BSicon eABZg+nr.svg
Rinkemühle II siding
BSicon BHF.svg
17.70
Silberhütte/Anhalt
335 m
BSicon ABZgnl.svg
heating plant siding
BSicon WBRUCKE1.svg
BSicon eABZgnl.svg
18.41
Rinkemühle siding
BSicon HST.svg
21.30
Straßberg (Harz)-Glasebach
363 m
BSicon BHF.svg
21.81
Straßberg (Harz)
363 m
BSicon eABZg+nr.svg
Herzogschacht siding
BSicon KMW.svg
end of line 1946–1983
BSicon WBRUCKE1.svg
BSicon HST.svg
27.03
Güntersberge
420 m
BSicon BHF.svg
30.52
Friedrichshöhe
BSicon HST.svg
31.32
Albrechtshaus
BSicon ABZg+l.svg
from Eisfelder Talmühle
BSicon BHF.svg
35.71
Stiege
485 m
BSicon WSLgr.svg
BSicon WBRUCKE1.svg
BSicon KBHFxe.svg
40.38
Hasselfelde
452 m
BSicon exSTRr.svg
sawmill siding
Source: German railway atlas [1]

The Selke Valley Railway (Selketalbahn), Gernrode-Harzgerode Railway (Gernroder-Harzgeroder Eisenbahn) and the Anhalt Harz Railway (Anhaltische Harzbahn) were different names for the metre gauge railway in the Lower Harz, Germany, originally owned by the Gernrode-Harzgerode Railway Company (Gernrode-Harzgeroder Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft, GHE).

It is now only known as the Selke Valley Railway. This has included the QuedlinburgGernrode line since 2006. It continues through Alexisbad to Hasselfelde and includes the Alexisbad–Harzgerode branch and the Stiege–Eisfelder Talmühle connecting line. All of them are now owned by the Harz Narrow Gauge Railways (Harzer Schmalspurbahnen). The line follows the Selke river between Mägdesprung and Albrechtshaus.

History

Opening and early years

The Gernrode–Mägdesprung railway was opened by the Gernrode-Harzgerode Railway Company (Gernrode-Harzgeroder Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft, GHE) after a construction period of 316 days on 7 August 1887. The Selke Valley Railway is the oldest narrow gauge railway in the Harz Mountains. Because of the terrain conditions and for cost reasons, Localbahn-Bau und Betriebs-Gesellschaft Wilhelm Hostmann & Co. from Hanover was awarded the contract to build the 1000 mm gauge railway. Services were initially hauled by three powerful steam locomotives called Gernerode, Harzgerode and Selke. The line was extended in stages to Hasselfelde by 1892. After the opening of the Stiege–Eisfelder Talmühle railway by the Nordhausen-Wernigerode Railway Company (Nordhausen-Wernigeroder Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft, NWE) on 15 July 1905, a connection existed to the Harz Railway (Harzquerbahn). Because of the increased demand for both passenger and freight traffic, three more steam locomotives had been put into service by the turn of the century, the Güntersberge, the Alexisbad and the Hasselfelde.

Developments after the Second World War

Locomotive 99 6001 in Hasselfelde before running from Stieg to Strassberg on 3 June 1984 99 6001 Hasselfelde 03.06.84.jpg
Locomotive 99 6001 in Hasselfelde before running from Stieg to Straßberg on 3 June 1984
Alexisbad–Harzgerode railway
Overview
Line number333
Service
Route number9704
Technical
Line length2.9 km (1.8 mi)
Track gauge 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in) metre gauge
Operating speed20 km/h (12.4 mph) (maximum)
Route map

BSicon STR.svg
von Gernrode
BSicon BHF.svg
0.00
Alexisbad
325 m
BSicon ABZgr.svg
to Straßberg (Harz)
BSicon WBRUCKE1.svg
BSicon eABZg+nl.svg
2.60
brickyard siding
BSicon KBHFe.svg
2.93
Harzgerode
400 m
Source: German railway atlas [1]
Stiege–Eisfelder Talmühle railway
Overview
Line number333
Service
Route number9702
Technical
Line length8.6 km (5.3 mi)
Track gauge 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in) metre gauge
Operating speed25 km/h (15.5 mph) (maximum)
Route map

BSicon STR.svg
from Hasselfelde
BSicon BHF.svg
0.00
Stiege
486 m
BSicon ABZgl.svg
to Gernrode
BSicon HST.svg
2.90
Birkenmoor
532 m
BSicon WBRUCKE1.svg
Mosebach
BSicon DST.svg
6.83
Unterberg feight yard
(Pauer quarry)
385 m
BSicon eHST.svg
7.30
Unterberg
(until 1978)
382 m
BSicon hKRZWae+GRZq.svg
BSicon ABZg+r.svg
Harz Railway from Wernigerode
BSicon BHF.svg
8.55
Eisfelder Talmühle
352 m
BSicon STR.svg
Harz Railway to Nordhausen
Source: German railway atlas [1]

In the spring of 1946, the Eisfelder Talmühle–Hasselfelde and Herzogschacht–Lindenberg sections of the Selke Valley Railway were dismantled and almost all the rolling stock and track material was sent as reparations to the former Soviet Union. The operational management between Efelder Talmühle and Hasselfelde was transferred to the NWE from 15 April 1946.

Because of its importance for the transport of fluorite, reconstruction began in the autumn of 1946 between Gernrode and Lindenberg (now Straßberg), which dragged on because of lack of material until 1950. The Lindenberg–Stiege section was not initially rebuilt. The GHE was nationalised in 1946 and it was absorbed by Deutsche Reichsbahn (DR) on 1 April 1949.

In 1983, the reconstruction of the Straßberg–Stiege section was approved, especially to ensure the supply of lignite from Nordhausen to the new cogeneration plant of Silberhütte. Scheduled passenger services between Hasselfelde and Gernrode were resumed on 3 June 1984. Since then, the three Harz narrow gauge lines (Selke Valley Railway, Harz Railway and Brocken Railway—Brockenbahn) have again been connected as one network, now 140 kilometres-long. On 1 February 1993, the Harz Narrow Gauge Railways (Harzer Schmalspurbahnen GmbH, HSB) took over the Harz Railway, the Brocken Railway and the Selke Valley Railway from DR.

The extension to Quedlinburg

Rail traffic on the standard gauge Quedlinburg–Gernrode–Ballenstedt–Frose railway ended in Gernrode after a signal box fire in Ballenstedt. Deutsche Bahn saw itself as no longer able to operate the line economically and the Gernrode–Frose section was closed. The Harz Narrow Gauge Railways took over the Quedlinburg–Gernrode section and began the conversion of the around 8.5 kilometres-long section of the Selke Valley Railway to Quedlinburg to metre gauge on 18 April 2005. The railway supervisory authority of Saxony-Anhalt approved operations over the line on 17 February 2006 and it was opened on 4 March with festivities and special trains. Since various remaining works had to be carried out, only a few special trains operated until the start of scheduled passenger traffic on 26 June 2006. The 2017 timetable shows six pairs of trains a day between Gernrode and Quedlinburg, two of which are hauled by locomotives. [2]

Route

Alexisbad station with new railcar Triebwagen in Alexisbad.jpg
Alexisbad station with new railcar
Steam train in Harzgerode station Harzgerode mit 99 7240 17.08.12 w.JPG
Steam train in Harzgerode station
Historical Hasselfelde locomotive shed with old rolling stock Hasselfelde Bahnhof 17.08.12 w.JPG
Historical Hasselfelde locomotive shed with old rolling stock

From Quedlinburg, the Selke Valley Railway runs for a few kilometres parallel with the standard gauge line to Thale until the newly-laid narrow gauge track turns to the south. This is followed by the stations of Quedlinburg-Quarmbeck and Bad Suderode (both reopened in 2006), before Gernrode station is reached. Now the old route of the Magdeburg–Halberstadt Railway Company branched off towards Frose and the line continues along the original Selke Valley Railway. The line runs past the halt (Haltepunkt) of Osterteich, next to the artificial pond of the same name, and through the Ostergrund. Past the Heiliger Teich ("holy pond", an artificial pond, which was built on the site of a pond that was believed in the Middle Ages to have health-giving properties) the line climbs through Sternhaus-Haferfeld station and continues to Sternhaus-Ramberg station. Like the previous one, this is located in the middle of a forest. After Sternhaus-Ramberg station, the line descends into the valley of the Selke. This section is the steepest in the entire network of Harz narrow gauge railways. The narrow valley of the Selke is reached by Mägdesprung station. The line now follows the course of the river to Alexisbad. The numerous rock cuttings that the railway must pass through demonstrate the difficulty of engineering the line. After passing the small halt of Drahtzug, the line reaches the village of Alexisbad. Alexisbad station, which is also the starting point of the branch to Harzgerode, lies at the end of the small town. Subsequently, the branch line climbs out of the narrow valley of the Selke onto the plateau of Harzgerode. The first section of the Selke Valley Railway ended at Harzgerode station.

From Alexisbad station, which is known for its simultaneous departures of two steam locomotives, the second line of the Selke Valley Railway continues through the Selke Valley towards Stiege, firstly to Silberhütte. Passing small factories, the line continues its journey via Straßberg, which has a halt as well as its main station, and continues to Güntersberge. After Güntersberge, the railway continues to climb, passing through Friedrichshöhe and Albrechtshaus stations to Stiege station. Since 1905, the connection to the Harz Railway has branched off here. This short line, the second section of the GHE, ends in Hasselfelde, also on a high plateau.

The connecting line to the Harz Railway runs from Stiege station up to the highest point at 523 metres above sea level near the halt of Birkenmoor and then downhill through the Bere valley. In the Bere valley, which is surrounded by high ranges, the railway crosses two side valleys on two large bridges, before reaching the Harz Railway and Eisfelder Talmühle station.

Rail operations

Passenger services

The route is used daily by steam trains and railcars. According to the summer and winter timetable, there are five daily services in both directions over the whole route, some with changes in Alexisbad and Stiege, as well as on the side branches to Harzgerode and Hasselfelde (2016/2017 timetable). Other trains run between Quedlinburg or Gernrode and Alexisbad. The number of pairs of trains operated by steam trains or diesel railcars is approximately the same in the summer timetable, with railcars predominating in the winter half-year. Although the Selke Valley Railway has some importance for regional traffic on the Quedlinburg–Gernrode section, the passengers on the other sections of the line are mostly tourists, people on excursions and hikers.

Since April 2010, steam trains have also run regularly on the connecting line (Stiege–Eisfelder Talmühle); before 1996 it was exclusively served by diesel multiple units. Depending on the timetable, there may be simultaneous departures from Eisfelder Talmühle, Stiege and Alexisbad.

Freight

Today, scheduled freight trains operate on the Selke Valley Railway only on the short section from the Hartsteinwerk Unterberg to Eisfelder Talmühle station: the Hartsteinwerk Unterberg regularly transports standard gauge gravel wagons on Rollbocks to the transfer yard in Nordhausen (Harz Railway). There are two converted diesel locomotives of class 199.8 available and equipment for transporting standard gauge freight cars.

Rolling stock

In Gernrode and Nordhausen Nord are the locomotive depots for the Selke Valley Railway. The diesel railcars of the Selke Valley Railway are based in Nordhausen Nord. Both locomotives and motor coaches are serviced and the steam locomotives are fueled and cleaned.

The rolling stock of the Selke Valley Railway, like all HSB rolling stock, are maintained in Wernigerode-Westerntor. This is the location of the HSB's central rolling stock depot, where all examinations and repair work are performed on all rolling stock. For the main examinations, however, the locomotives are taken to special maintenance facilities.

Peculiarities

Compared to the Harz Railway and the Brocken Railway, the Selke Valley Railway has some special features:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gernrode</span> Stadtteil of Quedlinburg in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany

Gernrode is a historic town and former municipality in the Harz District, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2014, it has been part of Quedlinburg. It was the seat of the former Verwaltungsgemeinschaft of Gernrode/Harz.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Güntersberge</span> Ortsteil of Harzgerode in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany

Güntersberge is a village and a former town in Harz District, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It has held the status of an officially recognized resort town since 2001. Güntersberge, together with the other municipalities of the former Verwaltungsgemeinschaft Unterharz, merged into the town of Harzgerode as of 1 August 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harzgerode</span> Town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany

Harzgerode is a town in the district of Harz in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harz Narrow Gauge Railways</span> German railway company

The Harz Narrow Gauge Railways is a railway company that operates a 1,000 mmmetre gauge network in the Harz mountains, in central Germany. The company was formed after the Second World War as a merger of two earlier companies. It owns about 140 kilometres of track, connecting the principal towns of Wernigerode, Nordhausen and Quedlinburg and several smaller settlements in the area. Much of the network is steeply graded and picturesque, but its most popular destination is the Brocken, the highest mountain in the region. The company runs a significant number of its trains with steam haulage, mostly employing 1950s vintage 2-10-2 tank locomotives, hauling traditional open-platform bogie carriages. The company is mainly owned by the various local authorities whose territories it serves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexisbad</span> Borough of Harzgerode in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany

Alexisbad is a small spa town, part of Harzgerode in the district of Harz, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hasselfelde</span> Stadtteil of Oberharz am Brocken in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany

Hasselfelde is a town in the district of Harz, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is in the eastern Harz, approximately 17 km south of Wernigerode. Since 1 January 2010 it has been part of the town of Oberharz am Brocken. Its population is 1,941 (2021).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harz Railway</span> Railway line in Germany

The Harz Railway or Trans-Harz Railway was formerly the main line of the Harz Narrow Gauge Railways and runs north to south right across the Harz Mountains from Wernigerode to Nordhausen. However, the tourist attraction of the Brocken, the highest mountain in the Harz, is so great that the Brocken Railway is effectively the main line today. The Trans-Harz Railway joins up with the Selke Valley Railway to Quedlinburg at Eisfelder Talmühle where all trains are organised to make good connections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brocken Railway</span> Tourist metre gauge railway in the Harz mountain range of Germany

The Brocken Railway is one of three tourist metre gauge railways which together with the Harz Railway and Selke Valley Railway form the Harz Narrow Gauge Railways railway network in the Harz mountain range of Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DRG Class 99.22</span>

The three engines of DRG Class 99.22 were standard, narrow gauge locomotives (Einheitsloks) in service with the German Reichsbahn. They had operating numbers 99 221 to 99 223.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GHE T 1</span>

In 1933 the Gernrode-Harzgerode Railway Company (GHE) bought this twin-axled, narrow gauge railbus from Waggonfabrik Dessau and classified it as GHE T 1 within its vehicle fleet. The vehicle remained a one-off; bus services were more important to the GHE. After the Second World War the railbus remained at Eisfelder Talmühle station and as a result evaded Russian reparation measures. In the time that followed, it was redesignated as VT 133 522, and took over the traffic on the remaining section of the Selke Valley Railway between Eisfelder Talmühle and Hasselfelde. Later it returned to duties on its home line between Gernrode and Straßberg (Harz), but was only used as a tool wagon. With its 34 seats and 10 standing places it was just too small. In 1972 it was given its present-day computerised number of 187 001 by the Deutsche Reichsbahn (GDR) in East Germany. Today the Harz Narrow Gauge Railways uses it exclusively for railway specials.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nordhausen-Wernigerode Railway Company</span>

The Nordhausen-Wernigerode Railway Company or NWE was the second railway company to be founded in the Harz mountains in Germany, after the Gernrode-Harzgerode Railway Company. On 15 June 1896 the NWE was formed by the Vereinigten Eisenbahnbau- und Betriebs-Gesellschaft in Berlin, who also ran its operations. As early as 1896 the first section of this narrow gauge Harz Railway ('Harzquerbahn') was opened, followed in 1898 by the Brocken Railway (Brockenbahn), which was also narrow gauge. On 1 April 1908, the NWE took over operations from the Vereinigten Eisenbahnbau- und Betriebsgesellschaft.

The Selke Valley Trail is a 67 km long footpath in the Harz mountains of Germany. It begins at the Selke Valley Railway station in Stiege and follows the River Selke in places. Along the route lie the villages of Güntersberge, Straßberg, Silberhütte, Alexisbad, Mägdesprung, Meisdorf, Ballenstedt, Gernrode, Bad Suderode and Quarmbeck. The end of the Selketalstieg is in Carl-Ritter-Straße in Quedlinburg. In 2006 the footpath was established by the Harz Tourist Association.

Silberhütte is a village in the town of Harzgerode in the district of Harz in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. Its name means "silver works", a place where silver ore is smelted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mägdesprung</span> Ortsteil of Harzgerode in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany

Mägdesprung is a village in the municipality of Harzgerode in the district of Harz. It nestles in the Harz Mountains at a height of 295 m.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NWE Nos. 6 and 7</span>

NWE Nos. 6 and 7, later Class 99.610, are narrow gauge tank locomotives with a C axle arrangement that belonged to the Nordhausen-Wernigerode Railway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gernrode-Harzgerode Railway Company</span> German transport company

The Gernrode-Harzgerode Railway Company or GHE was a private railway company in Germany that operated the Selke Valley Railway. It had a junction with the network of the Nordhausen-Wernigerode Railway Company (NWE) at Eisfelder Talmühle station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frose–Quedlinburg railway</span> Railway line in Germany

The Frose–Quedlinburg railway, also called the Balkan ("Balkans") locally, was a standard gauge branch line on the northern rim of the Harz Mountains in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. The line runs from Frose via Gernrode to Quedlinburg. It was closed in 2004. The Gernrode–Quedlinburg section was subsequently converted by the Harz Narrow Gauge Railway Company to metre gauge. Since 26 June 2006 the line has been re-opened as part of the Selke Valley Railway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NWE No. 21</span>

The NWE No. 21II, later DR 99 6001 is a narrow gauge steam locomotive that was built in 1939 for a track gauge of one metre and is still on duty with the Harz Narrow Gauge Railways (HSB) today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quedlinburg station</span> Railway station in Quedlinburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany

Quedlinburg station is a station on the Magdeburg–Thale railway in Quedlinburg in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It was built in 1862 as a through station on the southern edge of the town. The Gothic Revival entrance building of 1862, together with the other parts of the nearly complete Gründerzeit ensemble, is heritage-protected.

References

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 3 Eisenbahnatlas Deutschland (German railway atlas). Schweers + Wall. 2009. pp. 44, 56. ISBN   978-3-89494-139-0.
  2. "Summer timetable" (PDF) (in German). Harzer Schmalspurbahnen GmbH. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 November 2017. Retrieved 26 November 2017.

Sources

(in German)

51°37′32″N11°01′54″E / 51.6256°N 11.0318°E / 51.6256; 11.0318