The Harz Railway or Trans-Harz Railway () was formerly the main line of the
Harz Narrow Gauge Railways
The Harz Narrow Gauge Railways (German: ''Harzer Schmalspurbahnen'' or HSB) is a railway company that operates a network in the Harz mountains, in central Germany (formerly East Germany – officially the German Democratic Republic). The compan ...
(''Harzer Schmalspurbahnen'' or ''HSB'') and runs north to south right across the
Harz Mountains
The Harz (), also called the Harz Mountains, is a Mittelgebirge, highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The nam ...
from
Wernigerode
Wernigerode () is a town in the Harz (district), district of Harz, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Until 2007, it was the capital of the Wernigerode (district), district of Wernigerode. Its population was 32,181 in 2020.
Wernigerode is located southwes ...
to
Nordhausen Nordhausen may refer to:
*Nordhausen (district), a district in Thuringia, Germany
** Nordhausen, Thuringia, a city in the district
** Nordhausen station, the railway station in the city
*Nordhouse, a commune in Alsace (German: Nordhausen)
* Narost, ...
. However, the tourist attraction of the
Brocken
The Brocken, also sometimes referred to as the Blocksberg, is a mountain near Schierke in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, between the rivers Weser River, Weser and Elbe. The highest peak in the Harz mountain range, and in Northern Germany, ...
, the highest mountain in the Harz, is so great that the
Brocken Railway
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.
It runs from the station ...
is effectively the main line today. The Trans-Harz Railway joins up with the
Selke Valley Railway
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, metre gauge railway in ...
to
Quedlinburg
Quedlinburg () is a town situated just north of the Harz mountains, in the Harz (district), district of Harz in the west of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. As an influential and prosperous trading centre during the early Middle Ages, Quedlinburg becam ...
at
Eisfelder Talmühle where all trains are organised to make good connections.
Route
The line begins at the HSB's narrow gauge
station
Station may refer to:
Agriculture
* Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production
* Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle
** Cattle statio ...
in Nordhausen (Nordhausen Nord). It lies in northwest of and parallel to the
standard gauge
A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...
railway station. After passing the link line to the Nordhausen Tramway that joins it from the right, the railway bends towards the north and runs for 7 km to the station of
Niedersachswerfen Ost almost parallel to the standard gauge line from Nordhausen to
Ellrich (the
South Harz Line). The Harz mountains begin beyond
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 ...
(km 10.7). Behind ''Netzkater'' (km 14.0) lies the station of ''
Eisfelder Talmühle'' (km 17.3), where the
Selke Valley Railway
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, metre gauge railway in ...
branches off in a curve to the right.
The Trans-Harz Railway continues to follow the
B 81 federal road as far as ''Tiefenbachmühle'' halt (km 19.5) before turning in a westerly direction in order to reach the request stop of ''
Sophienhof'' (km 21.0), the last stop in
Thuringia
Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area.
Er ...
. The line runs through spruce forests over the state border with Saxony-Anhalt. At
Benneckenstein
Benneckenstein () is a town in the district of Harz, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2010, it has been part of the town of Oberharz am Brocken. Benneckenstein is in the eastern Harz, 14 km southeast of Braunlage, and 24 km ...
station (km 29.8) the line crosses the ridge at , its highest point so far. It then runs downhill into the valley of the
Warme Bode
The Warme Bode is the right-hand headstream of the Bode (river), Bode in the High Harz mountains of central Germany in the states of Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt. It is long and is formed by the confluence of the Große Bode and Kleine Bode riv ...
, where the halt of
Sorge (km 33.4; ) is located. Next the route climbs to its next summit at 557 m. After
Elend Elend may refer to:
* Elend, Saxony-Anhalt
Elend is a district of the town of Oberharz am Brocken in the Harz (district), Harz District, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It lies in the Bode valley in the High Harz in central Germany, at a height of . T ...
(km 41.6) the line reaches the junction with the
Brocken Railway
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.
It runs from the station ...
at ''
Drei-Annen-Hohne station'' (km 46.4). In 2009 the construction of a new stub line from Elend to Braunlage was discussed (see ''
South Harz Railway Company'').
Behind Drei-Annen-Hohne the line runs steeply downhill and the railway reaches the 58 m long
tunnel
A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two portals common at each end, though there may be access and ve ...
below the ''Thumkuhlenkopf''. It is the only tunnel in the Harz Narrow Gauge Railway network. On emerging from the tunnel
Wernigerode Castle
Wernigerode Castle () is a schloss located in the Harz mountains above the town of Wernigerode in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. The present-day building, finished in the late 19th century, is similar in style to Neuschwanstein Castle, Schloss Neuschwanst ...
can soon be seen in the distance. In the vicinity of the station at ''
Steinerne Renne
The Steinerne Renne is a waterfall and natural monument near the town of Wernigerode in the Harz mountains of central Germany.
Location
The Steinerne Renne is east of the Harz National Park in the Harz/Saxony-Anhalt Nature Park. It lies sout ...
'' (km 54.5) the line enters one of the HSB's tightest curves with a 60-metre
radius
In classical geometry, a radius (: radii or radiuses) of a circle or sphere is any of the line segments from its Centre (geometry), center to its perimeter, and in more modern usage, it is also their length. The radius of a regular polygon is th ...
, before reaching the station of
Wernigerode-Hasserode (km 56.3). The next stations en route are ''Hochschule Harz'' halt (formerly ''Wernigerode-Kirchstraße'') and ''Westerntor'' station (where the Wernigerode-Westerntor
Bahnbetriebswerk
A ''Bahnbetriebswerk'' is the equivalent of a locomotive depot (or motive power depot) on the German and Austrian railways. It is an installation that carries out the maintenance, minor repairs, refuelling and cleaning of locomotives and other ...
is found) at Wernigerode. Its terminus is the station at Wernigerode (km 60.5).
History

The first section of the Trans-Harz Railway to go into service was the line from Nordhausen to Ilfeld on 12 July 1897. On 7 February 1898 it was extended as far as Netzkater and on 15 September that year to Benneckenstein. From the north the section Wernigerode to Drei-Annen-Hohne was completed on 20 June 1898. The remaining section between Drei-Annen-Hohne and Benneckenstein was finally opened on 27 March 1899 along with the line up to the
Brocken
The Brocken, also sometimes referred to as the Blocksberg, is a mountain near Schierke in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, between the rivers Weser River, Weser and Elbe. The highest peak in the Harz mountain range, and in Northern Germany, ...
, the highest peak in the Harz mountains. The original operating company was the
Nordhausen-Wernigerode Railway Company
The Nordhausen-Wernigerode Railway Company (''Nordhausen-Wernigeroder Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft'') or ''NWE'' was the second railway company to be founded in the Harz mountains in Germany, after the Gernrode-Harzgerode Railway Company (''Gernroder- ...
. After the compulsory acquisition of the line in 1949, the
East German Deutsche Reichsbahn ran it until 1993.
From 1899 the Trans-Harz Railway crossed another
metre gauge
Metre-gauge railways ( US: meter-gauge railways) are narrow-gauge railways with track gauge of or 1 metre.
Metre gauge is used in around of tracks around the world. It was used by several European colonial powers including France, Britain and ...
line at Sorge. This other line was operated by the
South Harz Railway Company (SHE) and ran from
Walkenried
Walkenried () is a municipality in the district of Göttingen, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the southern Harz, approx. 15 km south of Braunlage, and 15 km northwest of Nordhausen.
Walkenried was the seat of the ''Samtgem ...
via Brunnenbachsmühle and Sorge to
Tanne. A link line, initially just for passenger trains, was laid in 1913. In 1945 services between Sorge and Brunnenbachsmühle were closed, because this section crossed the
Inner German Border
The inner German border ( or ''deutsch–deutsche Grenze''; initially also , zonal boundary) was the frontier between the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany) and the West Germany, Federal Republic of Germany (FRG, West ...
. The section from Sorge to Tanne continued to be worked until 1958. The tracks were left on the border bridge until the
fall of the Berlin Wall
The fall of the Berlin Wall (, ) on 9 November in German history, 9 November 1989, during the Peaceful Revolution, marked the beginning of the destruction of the Berlin Wall and the figurative Iron Curtain, as East Berlin transit restrictions we ...
in 1989.
Operations
Railway traffic has sharply increased in recent years on the section between Nordhausen and Ilfeld. Since 2004
Nordhausen hybrid-trams have run directly from Ilfeld into the tram network at Nordhausen. Other trains run to Eisfelder Talmühle and continue onto the Selke Valley Railway. Apart from one pair of steam trains, all services are worked by diesel
railbus
A railbus is a lightweight passenger railcar with an automotive engine. It shares many aspects of its construction with a bus, typically having a bus (original or modified) body and four wheels (2 axles) on a fixed base instead of on bogies. O ...
es. The only remaining goods trains on the Harz Narrow Gauge Railways work the line between Nordhausen and Eisfelder Talmühle. These regularly transport standard gauge ballast wagons from the ''Hartsteinwerken Unterberg'' on
rollbock
''Rollbocks'', sometimes called transporter trailers, are narrow gauge railway trucks or bogies that allow a standard gauge wagon to 'piggyback' on a narrow-gauge line. The Vevey system enables a coupled train of standard gauge wagons to be autom ...
s to Nordhausen. A number of converted
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 ...
s are available for this, which have
couplers
Coupler may refer to:
Engineering Mechanical
* Railway coupler, a mechanism for connecting rolling stock on a train
** Janney coupler
** SA3 coupler
** Scharfenberg coupler for multiple unit passenger cars
* Quick coupler, used in construction m ...
and
buffers at the right height for handling standard gauge
goods wagons.
Veröffentlichung der Interessengemeinschaft Harzer Schmalspurbahnen
After 1993, daily services between Eisfelder Talmühle and Drei-Annen-Hohne were restricted to four pairs of trains.
Only two pairs were hauled by steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...
s.
In addition, between Drei Annen Hohne and Wernigerode through trains run on the Brocken–Wernigerode route, the majority being steam-hauled.
Gallery
File:Nordhausen Bahnhof HSB.JPG, The station building at Nordhausen Nord
File:199 872-3 am 16.08.2007 in Eisfelder Talmühle.jpg , No. 199 872-3 in Eisfelder Talmühle
File:Eisfelder Talmuehle 99 7245.jpg, No. 99 7245 in Eisfelder Talmühle
File:BenneckensteinBahnhof.jpg, Benneckenstein
Benneckenstein () is a town in the district of Harz, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2010, it has been part of the town of Oberharz am Brocken. Benneckenstein is in the eastern Harz, 14 km southeast of Braunlage, and 24 km ...
station
File:Haltepunkt Sorge.jpg, No. 99 7236 at Sorge halt
File:99 222 kurz vor Hp Sorge.jpg, 99 222 (''Einheitsdampflokomotive The Einheitsdampflokomotiven ("standard steam locomotives"), sometimes shortened to ''Einheitslokomotiven'', ''Einheitsloks'', ''Einheitsdampfloks'' or simply ''Dampflok'', were the standardized steam locomotives built in Germany after 1925 under th ...
'')
File:Bahnhof Elend.jpg, Elend station with a railbus
File:QuerbahnSteinerneRenne.jpg, Steinerne Renne station
File:Harz Train.jpg,
File:The Harz Train.jpg,
See also
* Rübeland Railway
The Rübeland Railway (, ) is a railway link from Blankenburg via Rübeland and Königshütte to Tanne in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It was built by the Halberstadt-Blankenburg railway (HBE) between 1880 and 1886. The route leng ...
* There is information on the rolling stock used on the line at Harz Narrow Gauge Railways
The Harz Narrow Gauge Railways (German: ''Harzer Schmalspurbahnen'' or HSB) is a railway company that operates a network in the Harz mountains, in central Germany (formerly East Germany – officially the German Democratic Republic). The compan ...
.
*
References
Sources
* ''Eisenbahnatlas Deutschland – Ausgabe 2005/2006''. Schweers + Wall, Aachen 2005,
*
Film
* SWR: ''Eisenbahn-Romantik
Eisenbahn-Romantik () is a German television programme, broadcast by Südwestrundfunk, SWR. It portrays railway-related reports, whose content covers modern railway systems, Heritage railway, museum railways and their facilities as well as items ...
– Die Harzquerbahn'' (Folge 327)
External links
Harzer Schmalspurbahnen GmbH
Interessengemeinschaft Harzer Schmalspurbahnen
{{Authority control
Railway lines in Saxony-Anhalt
Railway lines in Thuringia
Railway lines opened in 1897
1897 establishments in Germany
Transport in the Harz
Buildings and structures in Nordhausen (district)
Metre-gauge railways in Germany