European Railroad Discussion > Daily narrow gauge in Saxonia

Daily narrow gauge (750mm) operation in the middle of Saxonia. That is a 750mm (29.52756inch)operation. They ran few trains, most on schooldays for the kids between Oschatz and Muegeln. One train is heading for Glossen. Thats around 10 miles away from Oschatz, which is on the half way from Leipzig to Dresden where the first long distance railway in Germany began its operation for 175 yrs. ago in 1939.

#1)First train of the day ist arriving Oschatz on a former multigauge track. A branch for industry used the right of way one mi out of the Oschatz yard. The semaphores are out of order since the abandonment of the normal gauge branch.
#2)starting for Muegeln
#3)waiting in Muegeln for the next round trip

All pics are from June 07, 2011. For further information with timetables see: www.doellnitzbahn.de/

Have a nice weekend.

Phil from Berlin, Germany

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#4) on the way for Oschatz
#5) in the Oschatz backyards, where the multiple track ends with odd switches.
#6) Glossen, now the last station of a former great narrow gauge network. In the background is a former loading station from a stone quarry. It now a museum.

Phil

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#7) and at last a steam special in the 2007 before christmas time. The engine is a saxonian IVk with 4-4 (two-bogie) four cylinders all drivers arrangement.

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Thank you for the photos of a great line. I like multi gauge RR's, and the associated track work.

I was there on Easter Sunday and managed to catch the IK as well as a group of motorcyclists out for a spin.

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Those motorcycles look like a "vintage" group -- the one in the lead looks like a late-1920's British bike, although I can't distinguish the badge on the tank; also, it seems to have an acetylene (not electric) headlight. The second bike looks like a 1950's moped (note the skinny tires, and the position of the rider's feet -- they're not on regular footpegs, but on pedals like a bicycle's). Can't see much of the other two, but one looks as though it might be an early transverse four-cylinder (e.g., a Honda CB750).

Thank you, Phil from Berlin, for these fascinating photos; does the steam locomotive indeed have two bogies, or are the third and fourth axles in a rigid frame, with the two leading axles in a pivoting bogie? This would make the locomotive a small 0-4-4-0 Mallet, as were built in quite large quantities in the first half of the 20th. century for narrow-gauge railways throughout Europe.

Roger Lewis (airbrakegeezer)

Hi Roger,
thank you for the commendation. Yes indeed, thats really a two-bogie-engine.
We call it "Meyer-Lokomotive". It is an 0-4-4-0. In our dimension a B'B'.

The first was build in 1892(!). After many rebuilds, with new frames and boilers, some of these neat engines survived in regular freight service up to the 1990ies.
For more information see here (sorry in german only): http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%A4chsische_IV_K

My first pic, which i sent, is from the 1980ies. It's an scan of early b/w photographie of me.
And the second from 2010 in excursion-service in the Erzgebirge-Mountain(Saxonia). It is an 5mi rebuild excursions line between Steinbach and Joehstadt.
Third on the same line without snow, heading uphill for Joehstadt.

Thank you for your regards - Phil from Berlin, Germany

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Thanks for this great little photo-story. I think a tourist operation in Cripple Creek, Colorado, USA, in the 1970s had an 0-4-4-0 steam engine like that. I can't locate my image of it now. Gerry