Worth seeing railways in Germany - Sehenswerte Eisenbahnen in Deutschland

Franconian Switzerland: Steam locomotive on the route from Ebermannstadt to Beringersmühle

Here is a list of railroads worth seeing in Germany. This does not claim to be complete.

Baden-Wuerttemberg

Black Forest Railway: Hornberg Viaduct
  • Black Forest Railway: The Black Forest Railway is a double-track railway line that runs from Offenburg to To sing leads. Of the 150 km long route, the 40 km long ascent of Hausach to Sankt Georgen scenic and technically impressive. Here, the train overcomes 600 meters of altitude, including several hairpin bends, some in the tunnel, which artificially lengthen the route in favor of a lower gradient. The complicated route was also due to the border between Baden and Württemberg - the route was to run solely on Baden territory. The route crosses the main European watershed between the catchment areas of the Rhine and the Danube twice. It passes a total of 39 tunnels. Regional express trains with double-decker coaches and occasional intercity trains run every hour. Steam-powered museum trains also run out of schedule. The Eisenbahnfreunde Zollernbahn from Rottweil, in cooperation with the city of Triberg, run the Black Forest Railway on approx. 15 times a year with historical steam-hauled special trains.
  • Murg Valley Railway: The Murgtalbahn is a 60-kilometer single-track branch line from Rastatt to Freudenstadt. The railway runs in large parts of the very original course of the Murg, which had created a narrow, deeply cut valley. Overall, the railway overcomes a difference in altitude between Rastatt and its highest point, the Freudenstadt city station, almost 600 m in altitude. For railway construction, this meant numerous engineering structures, tunnels and bridges. The most scenic and technically demanding section is between Weisenbach and Schönmünzach. Then the steep stretch towards Freudenstadt begins, which was initially driven in cogwheel operation and was only converted to adhesion operation in the 1920s. Today, trains of the Karlsruhe Stadtbahn run every hour on the route to the Karlsruhe Downtown. Occasionally, too Steam locomotive rides hosted.
Wutachtalbahn: Viaduct near puddles
  • Sauschwänzlebahn: The Wutach Valley Railway, popularly known as the Sauschwänzlebahn, is a single-track connecting railway between Leek rings at Waldshut with connection to the Hochrheinbahn and Hintschingen at the Black Forest Railway. The complicated course of the border with Switzerland in the Schaffhausen area meant that all east-west railway lines along the Swiss border also ran through Swiss territory. The Wutachtalbahn was built as a military strategic railway exclusively on German territory, especially in the area Blumberg Overcoming enormous differences in altitude, but at the same time must not be too steep. The extension of the route through bends, loops and a ring tunnel, which was necessary, gave the railway its nickname. The Wutachtalbahn is one of the "Historic Landmarks of Civil Engineering in Germany".
Continuous use of the Wutach Valley Railway is no longer possible today. Drive in the central and technically most demanding part between Zollhaus-Blumberg and Weizen Museum trains according to schedule. Regional trains run regularly from Zollhaus-Blumberg to Immendingen. The southern part between Weizen and Luchringen is without business.
  • Höllentalbahn: The Höllentalbahn is a mostly single-track main line that runs from Freiburg in Breisgau above Titisee-Neustadt to Donaueschingen leads. On its way from the level of the Rhine Valley near Freiburg over the main ridge of the Black Forest, it overcomes a difference in altitude of almost 600 meters. Between Kirchzarten and Hinterzarten (At 893 m above sea level, the highest point on the route), with a gradient of more than 5%, it is the steepest main line in Germany. The section east of Kirchzarten up the Höllental is spectacular, where the railway follows an old Roman military road (today's B 31) and divides the narrow valley with it.
S-Bahn trains have been running on the Höllentalbahn as scheduled since the end of 2019.
Train of the museum railway Schwäbische Waldbahn with the locomotive 41018 from Schorndorf to Welzheim
  • Filstalbahn, earlier too Württemberg Eastern Railway, leads from Stuttgart to Ulm. The main line, which has four tracks in the Neckar Valley and then two-track, runs from Stuttgart via Canstatt, Esslingen and Plochingen initially through the densely populated and heavily industrialized Neckar valley with its steep, wooded or vineyard slopes. From Plochingen the railway follows the Fils valley Goeppingen to Geislingen at the foot of the Swabian Alb. The steep, narrow and winding section of the begins in Geislingen Geislinger Steigewhich climbs 110 meters in altitude over 5.6 km - even today, freight trains still need a second locomotive to push and even the high-speed ICE and TGV trains are only allowed to travel at 70 km / h. In Amstetten the route reaches its highest point and then continues over the Swabian Alb to Ulm.
The route is used by ICE and TGV trains (with no intermediate stop between Stuttgart and Ulm), at least until the new line in connection with Stuttgart 21. IC trains stop in Plochingen and Göppingen and regional trains with numerous stops on the way
  • Badische Odenwaldbahn

Bavaria

Ausserfernbahn: Lech bridge with Gehrenspitze in the background
  • Ausserfernbahn: It is a little cheated, the Ausserfernbahn from Kempten above Pfronten, Reutte to Garmisch-Partenkirchen It is one of the most interesting railways in Germany, as around a third of the 95 km long route runs through Austria. However, the Ausserfernbahn has no connection with the Austrian rail network and is operated in island mode by Deutsche Bahn. There are offers of the DB tariff such as Schöne-Wochenend-Ticket, Bayernticket etc. But the route leads through a dream of foothills and alpine panoramas and winds up from Kempten and Garmisch by 400 meters each to the highest point of the route near Lähn up and down the watershed between the Lech and Loisach valleys. Regional trains run every hour (on weekends also every two hours) on the single-track, non-electrified route.
  • Mittenwaldbahn
Zugspitzbahn, in the background the Alpspitze
  • Zugspitzbahn: The Zugspitzbahn of Garmisch-Partenkirchen on the Zugspitze is one of the few still operating cog railways in Germany. The meter-gauge railway initially leads from Garmisch-Partenkirchen station as an adhesion railway Grainau. This is where the steep section begins, which overcomes a height difference of almost 1,800 m over a length of 11.5 km. The last 5 kilometers of the route, on which 950 meters of altitude are overcome, run in the tunnel before the train ends at the Zugspitzplatt station. From there a cable car leads to the summit. The Zugspitzbahn is one of the "Historic Landmarks of Civil Engineering in Germany". There is regular train service on the route. The journey takes just under an hour.
  • Wiesent Valley Railway: The Wiesenttalbahn is a single-track branch line from Forchheim above Ebermannstadt to Behringersmühle and runs in the valley of the Wiesent. Especially the section off Streitberg to the end of the route in Behringersmühle leads through the sandstone rock landscape typical of Franconian Switzerland and is worth seeing. Today, the Forchheim to Ebermannstadt section is used by regional trains. The section Ebermannstadt - Behringersmühle is from the Franconian Switzerland steam train regularly used as a museum railroad with steam and diesel-hauled trains.
  • Regentalbahn
  • Frankenwaldbahn
With full steam up the inclined plane
  • The Inclined plane between stations Neuenmarkt and Marktschorgast on the route Bamberg - court was a technical masterpiece from the early days of the railroad, the difference in height between the Main Valley and the plateau in front of the Fichtelgebirge had to be overcome. The route was built with a gradient of 1:40 with numerous engineering structures and tight curves in order to make the 157 m difference in altitude between the two stations accessible over a 7 km route. The most powerful steam locomotives of the time just managed to do this (the line was inaugurated in 1848) and the track systems in Neuenmarkt and Marktschorgast were abundant in order to be able to harness additional locomotives. It was the first steep route in Europe.

The route is now used by regional trains. Parallel to the route introduces Educational trail with numerous explanations. There is a steam locomotive museum in Neuenmarkt.

Berlin

  • Light rail: The Berlin Stadtbahn is a connecting line that was once supposed to connect some of Berlin's terminal stations with one another. It runs from the Charlottenburg train station in the west to the Ostbahnhof in the east for about 11 kilometers and thus crosses the center of Berlin in an east-west direction. Almost all of it is built on brick viaducts ("Stadtbahnbögen") and therefore offers a unique panorama of many Berlin sights. From the tram you have a view of the Memorial Church, the Zoo, Tiergarten, Victory Column, Hansaviertel, Bellevue Palace, Congress Hall, Chancellery, Reichstag, Potsdamer Platz, Friedrichstraße train station with the Palace of Tears, Museum Island, Berlin Cathedral, Alexanderplatz with TV tower, the Spree and the former course of the wall. The tram also runs right through the center of power in the Federal Republic of Germany and passes the residence and official seat of constitutional bodies # 1 (Federal President) and # 3 (Federal Chancellor) as well as the Federal Ministries of the Interior, Economy and Research, the Federal Press Office, ARD Capital Studio, the headquarters of the Chinese Embassy as well as the parking lot of the Bundestag's driving force.
The light rail has been expanded to four tracks and is used by long-distance, regional trains and S-Bahn trains at frequent intervals. If you want to use the Stadtbahn exactly from Charlottenburg to Ostbahnhof, you can take regional trains or the S-Bahn, as long-distance trains do not stop in Charlottenburg.
Ringbahn in Prenzlauer Berg
  • Ringbahn: The Ringbahn has been connecting the lines running radially towards Berlin since the 1880s and was intended to reduce passenger traffic between the terminal stations. Circumnavigating Berlin once on the Ringbahn takes exactly 60 minutes, the route crosses the Spree twice and the former Berlin Wall. The route runs in a radius of 8 to 10 km from the center and over long stretches presents a Berlin that has not yet been affected by gentrification.
The Ringbahn is still one of the most frequently used routes in Berlin and is used at short intervals. The S 41 runs clockwise, the S 42 counterclockwise. Sections of the route are also used by other lines.

Brandenburg

  • Szczecin Railway Eberswalde - Prenzlau

Hamburg

Hesse

Driving days are around once a month. More on the Operator's website.

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania

  • Rügen Bäderbahn: The narrow-gauge railway from Goehren to Putbus on to reprimand, in traditional language Raging Roland called, leads from the coast and the seaside resorts of Göhren, Binz and Sellin into the interior of the island to Putbus. Prince Malte zu Putbus built a comfortable journey to his Granitz hunting lodge in the 19th century and combined this with the connection to the growing seaside resorts and some country estates for the quick transport of the harvests. The result was a winding route through forests and fields in the graceful, undulating landscape of Rügen. Today the route is driven every hour during the day, Puffing Roland would be a more appropriate nickname given a top speed of 30 km / h.

Lower Saxony

North Rhine-Westphalia

  • Glückauf-Bahn
  • Erndtebrück – Bad Berleburg route
  • Lennetalbahn
  • Victory route Cologne - Siegen

Rhineland-Palatinate

Double-deck bridge with road and train between Alf and Bullay
  • Moselle route: The Moselle route Koblenz - trier was part of the strategically important Cannon train Berlin - Metz and was built with considerable technical effort in the narrow, steep and, above all, winding Moselle valley. Accordingly, the route has several tunnels that shorten the loops of the river. The longest of them, the Kaiser Wilhelm Tunnel at Cochem, was the longest railway tunnel in Germany for over a hundred years until the high-speed lines were built in the 1980s. Two thirds of the route run parallel to the river and offer a varied scenery with vineyards, castles and villages. In the direction of Koblenz-Trier view mostly left.
The route is operated in regular intervals with intercity reins as well as regional trains.
  • Middle Rhine Railway: Pure railway romance, for many the most beautiful railway line in Germany: The railway through the Middle Rhine Valley, past castles, vineyards, daring on or under rocks and always with a panorama of the river with its busy shipping traffic. Left of the Rhine between Bingen and Koblenz, on the right bank of the Rhine between Rudesheim and Bonn The traveler can expect an unforgettable train ride. Can be combined with a round trip, a trip by ship - if the weather is halfway along, it's an unforgettable day. The Rhine has been an important traffic route in north-south direction since Roman times, and it has remained so to this day. In addition to shipping, two federal highways and two railway lines accompany the deeply cut valley of the Rhine and share the barely available space, which forced a winding route, a few tunnels and narrow local passages (the residents along the route share less of the romantic feelings about the railway).
According to the schedule, the left Rhine route is used by IC trains and regional trains, the right Rhine route, which has more goods traffic, is used by regional trains alone. If you want to forego long-distance comfort: the Rhineland-Palatinate ticket is also valid on local trains on the right bank of the Rhine in the Hessian route areas.

Saarland

Saxony

  • Elbe Valley Railway
  • Zschopautalbahn
  • Sebnitztalbahn: The single-track line from Bad Schandau to Sebnitz most of the time follows the valley of the Sebnitzbach through the typical rocky landscape of Saxon Switzerland. Since the route between Rathmannsdorf on the right bank of the Elbe and Sebnitz has to gain a height of around 15 kilometers over 200 m, numerous engineering structures, a total of 7 tunnels and 27 bridges, are required. This gave the line the nickname "Sächsische Semmeringbahn" in phases, even if the term itself was not applied to this line (today as National Park Railway marketed). Larger bridges are two longer viaducts on the slope above Sebnitz and the "Carolabrücke", a tied arch bridge to cross the Elbe in order to reach the Bad Schandau train station on the left bank of the Elbe. The trains don't go too fast, so you can enjoy the wooded valley and the lively bubbling brook, past stops that are hardly or not at all accessible via public roads.
The route is every two hours by regional trains of the line U 28 drive on that of Tetschen via Bad Schandau-Sebnitz Rumburg drive. The DB or VVO tariff applies on the German section of the route. If you want to continue, you can buy tickets for the Czech section on the train.
  • Chemnitz - Aue

Saxony-Anhalt

Brocken Railway
  • Harzquerbahn and Brockenbahn: The Harzquerbahn is a meter-gauge narrow-gauge railway from Nordhausen over the Harz Mountains Wernigerode. In the initially flat section from Nordhausen, the railway also takes on commuter traffic and is also served by hybrid trains of the Nordhausen tram. From Ilfeld, approx. 10 km after Nordhausen the railway follows the valley of the stream Bere in the Harz Mountains and reaches in Benneckenstein at 530 m above sea level its provisional apex. In the valley of the Warm Bode leads the route up Concern, from where they are then near the train station misery reached their apex at 556 m. The Brocken Railway branches off in Drei-Annen-Hohne. The railway then winds its way down the steeper northern slope of the Harz Mountains in partly tight curves and a tunnel to Wernigerode. The Harzquerbahn is used by four pairs of trains every day over its entire length, some with diesel and some with steam traction. There are also trains from Wernigerode that go up to the Brocken.
The Brockenbahn branches off the Harzquerbahn in Drei-Annen-Hohne and runs through the valley of the Cold Bode at Schierke and then winds in a spiral with one and a half turns up to the Brocken. The train is operated for tourist reasons and mostly moved with steam traction.

Schleswig-Holstein

  • Marching track: wide land, high sky, sea, the marching track of Hamburg-Altona after Westerland on Sylt (officially the Hamburg - Elmshorn section is not yet included) leads over 200 kilometers through the flat landscape of Schleswig. Anything but straight lines and the not quite fresh track substructure lead to a comfortable journey, it takes three and a half hours. Significant engineering structures are the bridge over the Kiel Canal, with the ramps over 2 km long and 40 meters high with a wide view. The island Sylt is reached on the journey over the 8 kilometer long Hindenburg dam through the Wadden Sea.
Regional express trains and some intercity trains run every hour on the route. Car trains run from Niebüll to Westerland, where you stay in your car and have a wider view of the Wadden Sea than from a railroad car.
  • Rendsburg loop
  • Plön - Ascheberg

Thuringia

  • Gera – Weida – Mehltheuer railway line
  • Erfurt - Meiningen
  • Hildburghausen - Neuhaus
Upper Greiz Castle and the tunnel portal
  • Elstertalbahn: A wooded, narrow valley, a lively river, rocks and then a railway line - not much can go wrong with the mix. It doesn't work either and so the Elstertalbahn is one of the most beautiful routes in the country. Of Gera The route leads out in the initially wide, but then increasingly narrowly cut valley of the Elster, sometimes on one bank, sometimes on the other, often accompanied without a parallel road. A few tunnels later is the former royal seat Greiz reached and the tunnel under the Greizer Schlossberg is Trainspotters favorite. From Greiz the route continues cheerfully in the Elster valley until, on the way to Plauen, the Elstertal viaduct is crossed, which carries the Chemnitz - Hof route. Both routes lead to Plauen, but do not touch there. The Elstertalbahn runs in the valley floor through the city and even if the Plauen Unterer Bahnhof station has meanwhile been abandoned in favor of a more centrally located stop, the other route remains up on the slope and stops in Plauen Oberer Bahnhof.
Regional trains run the entire route every two hours. Further regional express trains run between Gera and Greiz, so that there is an hourly service.

Trams and other railways

Organizer / special trains

literature

  • Museum railways. 250 historic railway lines in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Munich: Random House GmbH publishing group (Bassermann Verlag), 2012, ISBN 978-3-8094-2995-1 .

Web links

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