The Pressnitz Valley Railway (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

: ''Preßnitztalbahn'') was a

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller struc ...

railway line in

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

, Germany. It used to climb from

Wolkenstein Wolkenstein is a town in the district Erzgebirgskreis, in Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the Ore Mountains, on the river Zschopau, 22 km southeast of Chemnitz. The town is situated on a rocky spur near the confluence of Zschopau a ...

on the standard gauge

Annaberg-Buchholz–Flöha railway The Annaberg-Buchholz–Flöha railway (german: Bahnstrecke Annaberg-Buchholz unt Bf–Flöha), also called the Zschopau Valley Railway (''Zschopautalbahn'') is a branch line in the German state of Saxony. It links Annaberg-Buchholz lower station ...

through the valley of river

Preßnitz The Preßnitz ( cs, Přísečnice or ''Přísečný potok'') is a right-hand tributary of the River Zschopau in the state of Saxony in eastern Germany and in the Czech Republic. It rises in the Bohemian Ore Mountains near Horní Halže, north ...

( Czech: ''Přísečnice'') to Jöhstadt on the border with Bohemia. It was dismantled in the second half of the 1980s, however the Steinbach - Jöhstadt section was rebuilt as a

museum railway A heritage railway or heritage railroad (US 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) i ...

after the fall of communism in

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

History

Construction started in 1891 and the railway was opened on 1 June 1892. In May 1893 the line was extended to the border with Bohemia. There were several projects to connect the line to Bohemian standard gauge lines, with the aim of enabling the importation of lignite from the Most Basin. However, the proposed link with border station at

Reitzenhain Reitzenhain is a municipality in the district of Rhein-Lahn, in Rhineland-Palatinate, in western Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country ...

on the Chomutov–Reitzenhain and Reitzenhain–Flöha railway lines was rejected, as well as a plans to build an extension to the

Chomutov–Vejprty/Reitzenhain railway The Chomutov–Reitzenhain railway and its branch to Vejprty is a branch line (Czech: ''regionální dráha'') in the Czech Republic, that was originally built and operated by the Buschtěhrad Railway Company (BEB). It begins in Chomutov (''Komo ...

. From 1911 freight was carried using transporter trailers. The Pressnitz Valley Railway was the last Saxon narrow gauge railway to be closed by the East German government. Passenger services were terminated in 1984; the transportation of freight for the refrigerator factory in Niederschmiedeberg ceased in 1986. The process of gradually dismantling the line took several years, from January 1984 until the summer 1989. Locomotives and wagons were transferred to other Saxon narrow gauge railways or decommissioned.

Preservation

As early as 1988, a society for the preservation of the railway, the ''Interessengemeinschaft Preßnitztalbahn'', was formed in Großrückerswalde. Its aim was to preserve the remaining fragments that were left after dismantling. After the fall of communism in Eastern Europe, the club turned into a legal entity and presented a bold plan to rebuild at least part of the former narrow gauge line. Reconstruction began as soon as 1990, with the restoration of the

locomotive shed The motive power depot (MPD) or locomotive depot, or traction maintenance depot (TMD), is the place where locomotives are usually housed, repaired and maintained when not being used. They were originally known as "running sheds", "engine she ...

in Jöhstadt. In the following years, the track from Jöhstadt station to Steinbach station was gradually laid and a week-long celebration took place in 2000. The museum railway operates every weekend from May to October, as well as on public holidays (

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

May Day May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the spring equinox and summer solstice. Festivities may also be held the night before, known as May Eve. Tr ...

, Ascension, Pentecost,

German Unity Day German Unity Day (german: Tag der Deutschen Einheit) is the National Day of Germany, celebrated on 3 October as a public holiday. It commemorates German reunification in 1990 when the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) joined the Federal R ...

) and around Christmas and New Year's Day.

Rügen operations

Since 2008, the operating company ''Eisenbahn-Bau- und Betriebsgesellschaft Pressnitztalbahn'' operates the Rügen narrow-gauge railway (which uses the same 750 mm gauge) and also the standard-gauge

Bergen auf Rügen–Lauterbach Mole railway The Bergen auf Rügen–Lauterbach Mole railway is a single-track branch line on the German island of Rügen in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Route description The line branches off at Bergen auf Rügen station from the Stralsund–Sas ...

References

External links

pressnitztalbahn.de

at stillgelegt.de (German) {{Authority control Railway lines in Saxony Heritage railways in Germany 750 mm gauge railways in Germany Museums in Saxony Transport in the Ore Mountains Wolkenstein