The Saxon Railway Museum (''Sächsisches Eisenbahnmuseum'' or ''SEM'', today "Schauplatz Eisenbahn") is located in
Chemnitz
Chemnitz (; from 1953 to 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt (); ; ) is the third-largest city in the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Saxony after Leipzig and Dresden, and the fourth-largest city in the area of former East Germany after (East Be ...
, in the state of
Saxony
Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...
,
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
. It is situated on the site of the former locomotive depot (''
Bahnbetriebswerk'' or ''Bw'') for
goods train locomotives in the district Hilbersdorf.
After the locomotive depot was closed in 1992, the society moved into the buildings which were protected as historical monuments. As a result, the museum has two
roundhouses with
turntables
A phonograph, later called a gramophone, and since the 1940s a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogue reproduction of sound. The sound vibration Waveform, waveforms are recorded as correspond ...
. In addition there are coaling and sanding facilities, water cranes, a working jack for inspection pits and a range of other equipment found in an operational depot.
The exhibition area describes and portrays the evolution of the railway in Saxony and especially in the area of Chemnitz. In addition to an extensive range of steam, diesel and electric locomotives, the museum also has a large collection of operational, narrow-gauge, ''
Feldbahn'' engines.
Many of the locomotives on show are loaned from private individuals, from the
Dresden Transport Museum or the
Nuremberg Transport Museum. As a result, the museum's collection includes the following:
* Ex-
Saxon XII H2 steam locomotive, no. 38 205
*
DRG Class 43 steam locomotive, no. 43 001
* Ex-
Saxon XIV HT steam locomotive, no. 75 515
*
DRG Class 86 steam locomotive, no. 86 001
*
DR Class V 180 diesel locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover (locomotive), power source is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is con ...
, no. 180 141
*
DR Class 119 diesel locomotive, no. 219 003
*
DR Class V 60 diesel locomotive, no. V 60 1001
*
DRB Class E 94 electric locomotive
An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or on-board energy storage such as a Battery (electricity), battery or a supercapacitor. Locomotives with on-board fuelled prime mover (locomotive), ...
, no. 254 059
*
DRG Class E 44 electric locomotive, no. E 44 045.
Special vehicles in the museum's fleet include a
Tatra T141 tractor with a
Culemeyer heavy trailer.
There is also a working
DRG Class 50 steam locomotive, no. 50 3648, that is regularly used for special trips. At the end of August each year there is a large festival (''Heizhausfest'') with a parade of historic locomotives.
1929 was a rope shunting system built in Hilbersdorf. This unique system of the marshalling yard was restored in 2014. Main components are the rope shunting system, the signal boxes and the historic machine station (with three rope-tensioning machines built by
Siemens-Schuckert).
[Denkmale der Industrie und Technik, Bäßler-Verlag, Berlin, 2016]
The SEM, together with the Museum of Technology Rope Shunting System, are also known as "Schauplatz Eisenbahn Chemnitz Hilbersdorf" (both located in Hilbersdorf). This new technical museum area is the largest one historic railway complex in Germany.
References
Literature
Egon Kretzschmar: ''Die Bahnbetriebswerke in Chemnitz/Karl-Marx-Stadt'' Bildverlag Böttger, Witzschdorf 2003 ''(German)''
External links
*
Website of the Saxon Railway Museum
{{authority control
Railway museums in Germany
Transport in Chemnitz
Museums in Chemnitz