A , or , is the German term for a

narrow-gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curv ...

field railway, usually not open to the public, which in its simplest form provides for the transportation of agricultural,

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

() and industrial raw materials such as wood, peat, stone, earth and sand. Such goods are often transported in tipper wagons, known in German as , hence such a railway is also referred to as a .

Military use

During the First World War, the enormous logistical demands of

trench warfare Trench warfare is a type of land warfare using occupied lines largely comprising Trench#Military engineering, military trenches, in which combatants are well-protected from the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from a ...

led to the development of military narrow-gauge railway or networks, also referred to as

trench railways A trench railway was a type of railway that represented military adaptation of early 20th-century railway technology to the problem of keeping soldiers supplied during the static trench warfare phase of World War I. The large concentrations of so ...

. Throughout World War I, the British and French also used trench railways, called

War Department Light Railways The War Department Light Railways were a system of narrow gauge trench railways run by the British War Department in World War I. Light railways made an important contribution to the Allied war effort in the First World War, and were used for t ...

and Decauville railways respectively. However, the German approach was less improvised and more permanent. With each successful advance, the British and French forces faced ever lengthening supply lines, while the Germans retreated deeper towards their homeland. As a result, the was an organic growth of existing agricultural, industrial and mining railways. After the war, much remaining trackage and rolling stock was put to use in more conventional narrow-gauge applications throughout Europe.

General use

In the processing industry, these narrow-gauge railways once held an important role. As a result, ''Feldbahnen'' were frequently associated with refractory clay factories, brickyards, sugar factories and iron and steel mills. They were also used for pulling

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface ...

barge A barge is typically a flat-bottomed boat, flat-bottomed vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. Original use was on inland waterways, while modern use is on both inland and ocean, marine water environments. The firs ...

s, transporting military materiel and personnel and removing materials from large-scale building sites and the rubble from ruined cities after the Second World War.

Rail gauge In rail transport, track gauge is the distance between the two rails of a railway track. All vehicles on a rail network must have wheelsets that are compatible with the track gauge. Since many different track gauges exist worldwide, gauge dif ...

s were between and . The track (

rails Rail or rails may refer to: Rail transport *Rail transport and related matters * Railway track or railway lines, the running surface of a railway Arts and media Film * ''Rails'' (film), a 1929 Italian film by Mario Camerini * ''Rail'' (1967 fi ...

and sleepers) utilised, ranged from light, rail frames that could be carried and laid by two men and were often laid directly on the ground with no trackbed, to properly laid, ballasted lines for heavy loads and extended use. Tight curves enabled lines to be more easily routed, largely without structures being required, even in difficult terrain. Provisional track laid along the edges of ditches as they were being extended forward, often on soft ground, led occasionally to derailments. As a result, on many , wooden planks and other lifting gear were carried.

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 ...

were usually operated by hand. Simple and robust vehicles characterised everyday operations.

Locomotives A locomotive is a rail vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. Traditionally, locomotives pulled trains from the front. However, push–pull operation has become common, and in the pursuit for longer and heavier freight train ...

were not always available, so it was quite common for individual wagons - even when loaded - to be moved with horses or by human muscle power alone. In tight spaces or where access was difficult, the help of children and youngsters was enlisted to haul tipper wagons. Frequently rolling stock was hand-built or was manufactured to order in small batches. Usually no

signals A signal is both the process and the result of Signal transmission, transmission of data over some transmission media, media accomplished by embedding some variation. Signals are important in multiple subject fields including signal processin ...

were installed, the low speeds enabling trains to be driven by sight. At level crossings on larger roads, temporary bells or light signals were installed, that enabled trains to cross safely. In the munitions depots of the German Federal Navy (), narrow-gauge railways with a rail gauge of were used to move ammunition and materiel. In the depot at Laboe type S 14 () rail profiles were laid and later changed to new S 20 () rails . One type DS 60 locomotive and 18 DIEMA DS 90 locomotives were used. The railway stock there also included a fire fighting train, a

snow blower A snow blower or snowblower or snow thrower is a machine for removing snow from an area where it is problematic, such as a driveway, sidewalk, roadway, railroad track, ice rink, or runway. The commonly used term "snow blower" is a misnomer, a ...

and even a rotary snow plough. Three seated coaches were available for the transport of personnel. The line at Aurich depot was closed in 1982 and last operations in Laboe took place in 1993. Finally, in December 1996, the Laboe railway was closed. Its total track length was . A DS 90 locomotive, no. 9, is still in the depot at Laboe as a memorial.

Today's situation

The use of declined dramatically in the late 20th century, as their tasks have been taken on by lorries and electrically driven conveyor belts. They are now used only where the ground conditions (e.g. moorland or peat bogs) or lack of space (mining) render the routine use of other means impractical. The is still widely used in Germany in industrial peat extraction, especially in

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...

and

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; ; ; ; ; occasionally in English ''Sleswick-Holsatia'') is the Northern Germany, northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical Duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of S ...

. In addition they are still used occasionally in brickworks and other industrial premises. As a result, increasing numbers of museums and societies dedicate themselves to the protection of historical railways. This includes efforts in many places to restore closed again and to give them new life as

museum railway A heritage railway or heritage railroad (U.S. usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) ...

''Feldbahn'' museums and working lines

Germany

Baden-Württemberg

Bad Wurzach Bad Wurzach (; until 1950 Wurzach) is a spa town in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is a well known health-resort destination, and home to the oldest bog spa (in German: ''Moorheilbad'') in Baden-Württemberg, as well as o ...

Buchen Buchen (; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Buche'') is a town in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is situated in the Odenwald low mountain range, 23 km northeast of the regional center Mosbach. Geography Buchen is situa ...

* Mannheim

Technoseum The Technoseum (former name State Museum of Technology and Work, German: ''Landesmuseum für Technik und Arbeit'') is a technology museum in Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, with displays covering the industrialisation of the south-western ...

* Neckarbischofsheim *

Spiegelberg Spiegelberg is a municipality in the Rems-Murr district of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. History Spiegelberg's name originates from a glassworking manufactory built in 1699-1700 that produced mirrors from 1705 to 1794. The municipality started w ...

* Wiesloch Feldbahn and Industrial Museum

Bavaria

Fürstenfeldbruck Fürstenfeldbruck () is a town in Bavaria, Germany, 32 kilometres west of Munich. It is the capital of the district of Fürstenfeldbruck. it had a population of 35,494. Since the 1930s Fürstenfeldbruck has had an air force base. Geography F ...

: Fürstenfeldbruck Model Railway Club *

Hengersberg Hengersberg is a municipality in Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, ...

Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...

: ''Feldbahn-Museum 500'' * Rottau am Chiemsee: Bavarian Moor and Peat Museum *

Sankt Oswald-Riedlhütte Sankt Oswald-Riedlhütte is a municipality in the district of Freyung-Grafenau in Bavaria in 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 ...

: Riedlhütte ''Feldbahn'' and ''Waldbahn'', , Length: * Petersaurach/

Rügland Rügland is a municipality in the district of Ansbach in Bavaria in Germany. Culture and Sights Rügland Castle Rügland Castle is one of the few moated castles in Middle Franconia. The north wing dates from the 17th century; the rest was then b ...

( Ansbach district): Franconian Feldbahn Museum

Berlin

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

– FEZ Wuhlheide: ''Feldbahn'' project at FEZ Wuhlheide *

–

Britzer Garten The Britzer Garten (English: Britzer Garden) is a large park in Berlin, named after Britz, a neighborhood of the borough of Neukölln. It was constructed for the Bundesgartenschau 1985, in order to provide a new landscape park to the citizens in ...

: museum railway (built from ''Feldbahn'' components on the former BUGA site, several vehicles are replicas of historic prototypes)

Brandenburg

* Mildenberg: Mildenberg Brickworks Park, 2 clay tipper railways, and

Hesse

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

: Frankfurt Feldbahn Museum * Eichenberg: Eichenberger Waldbahn * Bad Schwalbacher Kurbahn *

Solms Solms () is a town west of Wetzlar in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis, Hessen, Germany with around 13,500 inhabitants. In the constituent community of Burgsolms once stood the ancestral castle of the Counts and Princes of House of Solms, Solms. Geography Lo ...

–Oberbiel: Feldbahn and Fortuna Pit Railway Museum * Bad Orber Light Railway: reactivated in 2002 with a ''Feldbahn'' track

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

* Alt Schwerin: Historical Agriculture Museum * Bad Sülze: salt museum, peat railway

Lower Saxony

Baltrum Baltrum (; ) is a barrier island off the coast of East Frisia (), in Germany, and is a municipality in the district of Aurich, Lower Saxony. It is located in-between the chain of the seven inhabited East Frisian Islands. Baltrum is the smallest ...

: island railway for luggage transportation, 1949–1985 * Burgsittensen: Burgsittensen Moor Railway *

Deinste Deinste (; ) is a municipality in the district of Stade, Lower Saxony, Germany. It belonged to the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen. In 1648 the Prince-Archbishopric was transformed into the Duchy of Bremen, which was first ruled in personal unio ...

: German Feldbahn and Kleinbahn Museum * Diepenau: Uchter Moor Railway *

Drochtersen Drochtersen () is a municipality in the district of Stade, in Lower Saxony (Germany). It is located 45 km Northwest of Hamburg. It belonged to the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen. In 1648 the Prince-Archbishopric was transformed into the Duchy ...

– Aschhorn: Moorkieker Moor Railway * Essern: Essern Moor Railway *

Fredenbeck Fredenbeck is a municipality northwest of Hamburg, Germany, in the district of Stade in Lower Saxony. It belonged to the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen. In 1648 the Prince-Archbishopric was transformed into the Duchy of Bremen, which was first ru ...

Wedel Wedel () is a town in the Pinneberg (district), district of Pinneberg, in Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany. It is situated on the right bank of the Elbe, approximately south of Elmshorn, and west of Hamburg. History Foundation and Mi ...

: Wedel Feldbahn * Freistatt–Heimstatt: deaconry *

Flögeln Flögeln is a village and a former municipality in the district of Cuxhaven, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Since 1 January 2015 it is part of the town Geestland. History Flögeln belonged to the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen, established in 1180. T ...

: Ahlenmoor Moor Railway * Goldenstedt-Arkeburg: Nature information centre * Groß-Hesepe: Emsland Moor Museum *

Hildesheim Hildesheim (; or ; ) is a city in Lower Saxony, in north-central Germany with 101,693 inhabitants. It is in the district of Hildesheim (district), Hildesheim, about southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River, a small tributary of t ...

: Hildesheim Feldbahn Museum *

Minsener Oog Minsener Oog (), also Minser Oog or Minsener Oldeoog, is an uninhabited East Frisian island that belongs to the parish of Wangerooge in the north German district of Friesland in the state of Lower Saxony. It has been artificially enlarged throu ...

– Minsener Oog Coastal Defence Railway (''Lorenbahn'' for light goods traffic) *

Neustadt am Rübenberge Neustadt am Rübenberge (; ) is a town in the Hanover (district), district of Hannover, in Lower Saxony, Germany. At , it is the 9th largest settlement in Germany by area (following Berlin, Hamburg and Cologne), though only about 45,000 inhabita ...

Ostercappeln Ostercappeln is a municipality in the district of Osnabrück, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the Wiehengebirge, approx. 15 km northeast of Osnabrück. The municipality is made up of three villages, Ostercappeln, Venne and Schw ...

-Hitzhausen: museum for narrow-gauge industrial railways *

Sassenburg Sassenburg is a municipality in the district of Gifhorn, Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 7 km northeast of Gifhorn, and 15 km northwest of Wolfsburg Wolfsburg (; Eastphalian language, Eastphalian: ''Wulfsborg ...

-Westerbeck: moor railway and Euflor Peat Works (part of the moor nature trail at www.moorlehrpfad.de) *

Saterland Saterland (; Saterland Frisian: , ) is a municipality in the district of Cloppenburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated between the cities of Leer, Cloppenburg, and Oldenburg. It is home to Saterland Frisians, who speak Frisian in addi ...

–Ramsloh: moor railway services, Koch Peat Works *

Wiesmoor Wiesmoor is a town in the Aurich (district), district of Aurich in the northwest of Lower Saxony. It lies on the Nordgeorgsfehnkanal and is the youngest town in the East Frisia area having been bestowed town rights on 16 March 2006, two days lat ...

: Peat and Settlers Museum

North Rhine-Westphalia

* Lengerich Lengerich Railway Society * Lage: Feldbahn in the WIM »Lage Brickworks« * Oekoven: Feldbahn museum * Witten-Bommern: Theresia Mine Pit and Feldbahn Museum * Bochum-Dahlhausen Railway Museum * Schermbeck-Gahlen Feldbahn * Eslohe Mechanical and Local History Museum

Rhineland-Palatinate

Bad Ems Bad Ems () is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Rhein-Lahn rural district and is well known as a spa on the river Lahn. Bad Ems was the seat of Bad Ems collective municipality, which has been merged i ...

: Pit railway in the Ems Mining Museum * Guldental * Ramsen (Pfalz): Waldbahn stub line * Serrig: estate * Sondernheim: brickyard museum (Ziegeleimuseum Sondernheim)

Saxony

Herrenleite - Blick auf das Areal des Feldbahnmuseums - geograph

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 ...

: ''Feldbahn'' in the Saxon Railway Museum * Glossen bei Oschatz: ''Feldbahn'' viewing point * Leipzig-Lindenau: Museum Feldbahn'', * Lindenau (Radebeul): Radebeul-Lindenau sawmill ''Feldbahn'' *

Löbau Löbau (; , ) is a city in the east of Saxony, Germany, in the traditional region of Upper Lusatia. It is situated between the slopes of the Löbauer Berg and the fertile hilly area of the Upper Lusatian Mountains. It is the gateway to this volca ...

: Werner‘s Garden Railway *

Lohmen Lohmen is a municipality in the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge district, in Saxony, Germany. History Lohmen was first officially recognized as a village in 1292. The village name comes from the Slovak term ''lom'' or "fissure". There were ...

: Herrenleite Feldbahn Museum, Dresden Historic Feldbahn * Niederwürschnitz (bei Chemnitz): "Old Brickworks" Feldbahn

Saxony-Anhalt

Elbingerode Elbingerode is an ''Ortsteil'' of Oberharz am Brocken in the Harz district, in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. The former town was incorporated into the newly established municipality on 1 January 2010. Its population is 3,101 (2021). Geogra ...

: pit railway * Bennstedt: ''Feldbahn'' under construction * Schlanstedt: Schlanstedt Historic Feldbahn *

Bad Dürrenberg Bad Dürrenberg is a spa town in the Saalekreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the river Saale, approx. 8 km southeast of Merseburg. It is known for its historic graduation tower (for extracting salt from brine), the ...

: 1836 opening of the Tollwitz–Dürrenberger Feldbahn () with the first German railway tunnel ()

Schleswig-Holstein

Aumühle Aumühle () is a municipality in Schleswig-Holstein in northern Germany, about 21 km (14 mi) east of Hamburg. Its Friedrichsruh district is home to the family estate and mausoleum of Otto von Bismarck. Geography Aumühle lies on the ...

near Hamburg: ''Feldbahn'' on the terrain of the '' Verein Verkehrsamateure und Museumsbahn'' :de: *

Bad Bramstedt Bad Bramstedt () is a municipality in the district of Segeberg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated approximately 40 km north of Hamburg. It is famous for its statue of Roland and its rheumatism clinic. Geography and transport Bad ...

* Bad

Malente Malente is a municipality in the district of Ostholstein, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is about 5 km northwest of Eutin and 35 km north of Lübeck. The cities belonging to this municipality are Timmdorf, KreuzfeldNeukirchen Siev ...

Gremsmühlen *

Neritz Neritz is a municipality in the district of Stormarn, in Schleswig-Holstein, 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 th ...

-Flogensee, chicken farm, , length * Tolk-Schau in Tolk near Schleswig (Stadt) * Nordstrandischmoor island:

Lüttmoorsiel-Nordstrandischmoor island railway The Lüttmoorsiel-Nordstrandischmoor island railway (), also called the Loren Railway (''Lorenbahn'' even though Lorenbahn is a general term for this type of railroad), is a German, Narrow gauge railway, narrow gauge island railway through th ...

* The line to the '' halligs'' of Oland and Langeneß are built to a gauge which is uncommon amongst ''Feldbahnen''. (however the definition of a ''Feldbahn'' is not a question of gauge, but rather of purpose and operation.) * Buchhorster Waldbahn, as museum railway operated remaining line of the former brickworks and matchworks near Lauenburg an der Elbe.

Thuringia

Ilfeld Ilfeld is a village and a former municipality in the district of Nordhausen, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated at the south foot of the Harz, at the entrance to the Bährethal, north from Nordhausen by the railway to Wernigerode. Since 1 ...

– Netzkater: pit railway *

Ilmenau Ilmenau () is a town in Thuringia, central Germany. It is the largest town within the Ilm district with a population of 38,600, while the district capital is Arnstadt. Ilmenau is located approximately south of Erfurt and north of Nuremberg w ...

: in the Volle Rose Show Mine * Lichtenhain: Waldeisenbahn *

Trusetal Trusetal is a former municipality in the district Schmalkalden-Meiningen, in Thuringia, 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 no ...

: Hühn Pit – pit railway

Austria

* Lower Austria: Freiland in

Türnitz Türnitz is a town in the district of Lilienfeld in the Austrian state of Lower Austria Lower Austria ( , , abbreviated LA or NÖ) is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Major cities are Amstet ...

, ''Feldbahn'' and industrial railway museum * Lower Austria:

Schwarzau im Gebirge Schwarzau im Gebirge is a village in the district of Neunkirchen (Austrian district), Neunkirchen in the Austrian state of Lower Austria. Population References External links Pictures of Schwarzau
Cities and towns in Neunkirchen D ...

, Rotte Naßwald: Naßwald Waldbahn (closed in 2008) * Lower Austria:

Schwechat Schwechat () is a city southeast of Vienna known for the Vienna International Airport and Schwechater beer. The city is home to the Oil refinery, refineries of the Austrian national oil company OMV. Geography Schwechat is named after the river S ...

, Schwechat Railway Museum * Upper Austria: Wels, Scholz Feldbah

* Vienna: Geriatriezentrum Am Wienerwald Feldbahn (closed 2011) * Salzburg: Diabasbahn Saalfelden (closed in 2008 and replaced by a standard-gauge line) * Salzburg: Großgmain Museum Feldbahn (rebuilt in 2009)

Austria/Switzerland

Lustenau Lustenau (; ) is a town in the westernmost Austrian States of Austria, state of Vorarlberg in the district of Dornbirn (district), Dornbirn. It lies on the river Rhine, which forms the border with Switzerland. Lustenau is Vorarlberg's fourth larg ...

: International Rhine Control Railway (''Bahn der internationalen Rheinregulierung'')

Switzerland

Schinznach-Dorf Schinznach-Dorf is a former municipality in the district of Brugg in canton of Aargau in Switzerland. On 1 January 2014 the former municipalities of Schinznach-Dorf and Oberflachs merged into the new municipality of Schinznach.

: Schinznach Nursery Railway (www.schbb.ch) * Otelfingen: Swiss Feldbahn and Werkbahn Society

Belgium

Pairi Daiza Pairi Daiza (; formerly Paradisio) is a privately owned zoo and botanical garden located in Brugelette, Hainaut, Belgium. The large animal theme park is located on the site of the former Cistercian Cambron Abbey, and is home to over 7,000 an ...

zoo passenger steam train.

Czech Republic

* Kolínská řepařská drážka: sugar beet line (''Rübenbahn'')

Hungary

Balatonfenyves narrow-gauge railway The Balatonfenyves narrow-gauge railway runs from Balatonfenyves on the South shore of Lake Balaton to Somogyszentpál over a distance of 13 km. It is the last remaining MÁV-operated narrow-gauge railroad of Hungary as of 2017. History The ...

, museum railway * Fishery Railway Hortobágy, museum railway * Kecskemét Little Railway, museum railway only with

draisine A draisine () is a light auxiliary rail vehicle, driven by service personnel, equipped to transport crew and material necessary for the maintenance of railway infrastructure. The eponymous term is derived from the German inventor Baron Karl D ...

* Nyírvidék Little Railway, closed in 2009 * Fishery Railway

Szeged Szeged ( , ; see also #Etymology, other alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat ...

, active fishery railway * Fishery Railway Tömörkény, closed in 2021

Norway

* Kristiansand Kanonmuseum. Former ammunition railroad to ''Marinenküstenbatterie 6./502 "Vara"'' (Norwegian name: Mövik fort). Built around 1941-1942, partially decommissioned around 1960. Restored back to running order in June 2016.