The Taurach Railway () is 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 ...

museum railway in the

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n state of

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

History

The Taurach Railway uses the section of the

Murtalbahn The ''Murtalbahn'' (literally translated, the Mur Valley Railway) is a narrow-gauge railway largely located in the Styria, state of Styria in Austria. The line runs along the valley of the River Mur, from the market town of Unzmarkt through Mura ...

from

Tamsweg Tamsweg () is a market town in the Austrian state of Salzburg near the border with Styria. It is the administrative centre of the eponymous Tamsweg District (''Bezirk'') and the largest town of the Salzburg Lungau region. Geography Tamsweg is loca ...

Mauterndorf Mauterndorf (Southern Bavarian: ''Mautndorf'') is a market town of the Tamsweg District in the Austrian state of Salzburg (state), Salzburg. The municipality also comprises the Katastralgemeinden ''Faningberg, Neuseß'' and ''Steindorf''. Geograph ...

, which was closed for economic reasons in 1981 after heavy damage to a bridge. The section was revived as a museum railway by Club 760, which is an association formed for that purpose. Club 760 leased the line on 1 April 1982 and from 1983 to 1987 volunteers and members worked on restoring it. The Taurachbahn was opened on 9 July 1988 and operates as a museum railway weekends every summer.

The route

The line begins at

station and runs along the through stop to

Mariapfarr Mariapfarr is a municipality in the district of Tamsweg in the state of Salzburg in Austria. Famous as the location of the Christmas carol Silent Night "Silent Night" () is a popular Christmas carol, composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber ...

station. From there the route goes through Lintsching stop to St. Andrä Andlwirt, which is the terminus for passenger traffic. The Taurachbahn continues a further two kilometers to meet the Murtalbahn at

. On this section is a branchline, which gives an easier grade. Tamsweg station is not used for regular tourist traffic because of the fees demanded by Steiermarkbahn und Bus for it; however special trains do go through to Mauterndorf through Tamsweg from the Murtalbahn on specific occasions. Also this section is used for the mutual change by vehicles.

Infrastructure

The major station on the railway is Mauterndorf, where there is a boiler house and workshop, and also a wagon-works constructed in 1999 with the assistance of a European Union grant. After passing through Mariapfarr the line crosses the Taurach, and Lignitzbach rivers, and then local highway L248. After St. Andrä-Andlwirt the railway crosses the Göriachbach river, local highway L222, and then finally the Lessachbach river. The railway crossings on the federal highway at Mariapfarr station and the local highway at Lintsching stop are secured by barriers, which must be closed and opened by the train crew by hand. There are many crossings at local dirt roads, which are secured by speed limits, St Andrews crosses and/or stop boards.

Rolling stock

Steam locomotives 298,56, 699,01, StLB 6 are used to operate the railway, and in 2004 locomotive 12 from a salt mine railway was obtained. Diesel locomotives 2091,03 and SKGLB D40 are also used, as well as three smaller diesel locomotives and a hand trolley for work trips. Several historic railway carriages are used for passenger traffic. In the goods yard are a number of goods wagons, several of which are used for maintenance on the railway.

Operation

The railway operates on Saturday and Sunday afternoons from the middle of June to in the middle of September, in the mornings in July and August and on Friday afternoons from middle of July to the middle of August. The railway is operated completely by those voluntary members from Club 760. File:Taurachbahn-teil1-hr-2008.ogg, part 1: H Mauterndorf-St.Andrä File:Taurachbahn-einfahrt-hr-2008.ogv , part 2 File:Taurachbahn-teil2-hr-2008.ogg, part 3: St.Andrä-Mauterndorf

References

* * * * * {{authority control 760 mm gauge railways in Austria Heritage railways in Austria Railway companies of Austria Museums in Salzburg (federal state) Railway museums in Austria Articles containing video clips