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N.g.
map of Austria
All
2ft. 5¾
inch (76cm) lines including forestry and
industrial railways
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699.01
was one of the first engines for tourist trains
in Bregenz´s Forest
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Bregenz
Forest Railway
Bregenz Forest Railway
("Waelderbaehnle") is
situated in Vorarlberg near Bodensee. It was
opened in 1902 connecting Bregenz and Bezau.
After WW II diesels were introduced and soon
replaced all steam engines. In 1962 all trains
were hauled by class 2095, only a 2092 shunter
remained at Vorkloster. A steam train service was introduced in 1974 by
Eurovapor which used a Heeresfeldbahn steam
engine from Ziller Valley. In 1980 the line was hit by floodings
and traffic was reduced to the 5 km Bregenz–Kennelbach part. In 1984 the line was closed
completely, a heritage railway was established
from Bezau to Bersbuch. Bersbuch terminus had to
be closed in 2004 because of the construction of
a new road.
Nowadays heritage trains connect Bezau and
Schwarzenberg and are hauled by U, Uh and 2091
classes.
The
heritage railway in Bregenz Forest... |
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Ziller
Valley Railway
Ziller Valley Railway was
opened from 1900 to 1902 from Jenbach to Mayrhofen in Tyrol. It used steam locos of the
"U" class and passenger cars with eight
windows, which have been refurbished and are
still in use. The first diesels were
introduced after WW I but could not replace the
steam traction until the late 1960ies, when
newly built O&K diesels were put into
traffic. In the 1980ies DMUs took over passenger
traffic and almost hourly trains in both
directions were established. Today the railway operates regular
passenger service by DMU and low floor trains, tourist steam trains hauled by engines of the classes U,
Uv, Uh and
Bosnian
class 83 and freight traffic, especially wood
to the Fuegen-Hart saw mill.
Regular
passenger service...
Steam
trains in Ziller Valley...
Video
Ziller Valley Railway... |
Ziller Valley
Railway today: Modern diesel hauled passenger
train and
steam locos 3 and 5
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DMU 5090.008 in red livery heading a passenger
train to Zell am See
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Pinzgau
Local Railway
Opened in 1898 Pinzgau
Railway connected Zell am See and Krimml. First
engines were of the "Z" type which
were replaced by other classes in the following
years. Diesels were introduced after WW II,
freight traffic ended in 1998.
Trains were hauled by DMU class 5090 and 2095
diesels. Steam trains were introduced in the
early 1980ies hauled by classes 699, 298 and 399.
The line was hit
by floodings in 2005 and the Mittersill–Krimml
section was completely destroyed. Today the
line is operated by Salzbourg Local Railways (SLB)
which renumbered class 2095 to Vs 71-73, class
5090 to VTs 11-16, class 2092.002 to Vs 51 and
the newly built class 2096 to Vs 81-82. There are also
steam trains headed by Mh.3, ex 399.03, once a
week in summer. In November 2008 freight service
was reintroduced and from 2009 to 2010 the Mittersill–Krimml
section was rebuilt.
Pinzgau
Local Railway today...
The
railway before the floodings... |
Salzkammergut
Local Railway (SKGLB)
Salzkammergut Local Railway
was doubtlessly the most famous Austrian n.g.
which was opened in 1890 and connected Salzbourg
with Mondsee and Bad Ischl, where Austrian
emperors spent their summer. Following engines
were in service: Small 0-4-0 locos Nr. 1 and 2
mainly used on St. Lorenz–Mondsee branch,
3-5, similar to the Steyr Valley type, 6-12
and Heeresfeldbahn 19-22 and 30-33. DMU TCa
672 "Mondsee Cow" which was in service
on the Mondsee branch line had been originally
an emperor´s coach. The line was ceased
in 1957, some steam locos have luckily survived
and are exhibited at Mondsee´s SKGLB Museum. There
are also plans to rebuild a part of the line
near Mondsee as a heritage railway.
The
remains of SKGLB... |
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SKGLB´s emperors´ coach which
has been preserved by Club 760
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VL 16 hauling a
freight train near Tamsweg
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Mur
Valley Railway
Mur Valley Raiway was opened in
1894 connecting Unzmarkt and Mauterndorf. The
famous "U" class was used here first
(U stands for Unzmarkt). In the 60ies diesels
were introduced but steam engines have survived
until today hauling special trains
("Bummelzug") and can be driven by
enthusiasts ("Hobbyzug"). Today there
are DMUs in regular passenger trains but also
parts of the freight service have survived. In
the 70ies regular traffic ended on the Tamsweg–Mauterndorf
section which was reopened as a heritage railway ("Taurachbahn") by Club
760 in 1988.
Changing
times in Mur Valley...
Heritage
railway "Taurachbahn" Mauterndorf–St.
Andrae...
Video
Mur Valley Railway...
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Mixnitz–St. Erhard
Local Railway
Founded as an industrial railway
in 1913 Mixnitz–St. Erhard local railway
also introduced passenger service. There has
been only electric traction despite short periods
after WW I when a steam engine (U.52) hauled the
trains and after WW II when a 2091diesel was in
service. Two EMUs from the Ybbs tramway were put
into service in 1953 which were used for
shunting in Mixnitz until two electric
locos were bought. Regular passenger service
ended in 1966, since 2003 there have been
tourist trains on special days.
Photos
of the regular freight service...
Tourist
trains...
Video
Mixnitz–Breitenau... |
E I at Mixnitz
terminus
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Ex-YU diesel VL 22 at Kapfenberg Landesbahn
station
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Thoerl
Railway
Kapfenberg–Au-Seewiesen local railway was opened in 1893
and had huge freight traffic and a very poor
passenger service. The latter closed in 1959,
the Seebach-Turnau–Au-Seewiesen section was removed in 1964.
Heritage trains were
introduced in 1992 which ended in the late 90ies when
freight traffic which was effected by ex-YU
engines was ceased. The line was partly
converted into a bicycle trail in 2003/04.
Regular
train service in the 90ies...
Heritage
trains...
Industrial
lines in Thoerl Valley...
Video
Kapfenberg – Seebach-Turnau... |
Feistritz
Valley Railway
Feistritz
Valley Railway started traffic in 1910 from Weiz
to Birkfeld. There were plans to establish a
connection to the Ratten coal mine which was
effected by an industrial railway in 1920. This
part of the line was converted to a public
railway in 1930. Passenger traffic ended in 1969
between
Birkfeld and Ratten and in 1973 between Weiz and
Birkfeld. In 1981 the Birkfeld–Ratten section was converted into a bicycle trail, the
rest of the line is still in service. Steam trains hauled by Austrian class Kh or
Bosnian class 83 operate in summer while freight
traffic is effected to Oberfeistritz on working
days all year long.
Regular
and tourist trains in Feistritz Valley...
Video
Feistritz Valley Railway... |
Kh.101 heading a tourist train to Birkfeld at Weiz terminus.
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S.11 steam loco at
Stainz terminus.
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Stainz
Local Railway
Preding-Wieselsdorf–Stainz
local railway was opened in 1892. Trains were
hauled by small 0-4-0 engines in the beginning,
from which Nr. 2 "Stainz" has survived
and is preserved on Mur Valley Railway at Murau
shed. Before WW II the line was closed but
reopened in the war. In 1951 passenger service
ended again. Club 760 introduced heritage trains in 1971 which have become famous as "Flascherlzug".
Regular freight service was closed in 1980 and
the line was converted into a heritage railway. The once
abandoned connection from
Wohlsdorf to Preding terminus was reopened in
2000.
Stainz heritage railway... |
Steyr
Valley Railway
The oldest 76 cm line in Austria
is 1889-built Steyr Valley Railway which
once connected Gasten and Gruenburg, Molln and
Klaus. There was a branch line from Pergern via
Sierning to Bad Hall. Some parts were closed in
the 60ies and 70ies and in 1982 the last regular
train left Gruenburg for Garsten. A heritage railway
was established on the remaining
tracks between Steyr and Gruenburg in 1988 which is
still working on weekends in summer and some
special days in December. Trains are hauled by
steam engines of classes 298 and 699.
Regular
trains in Steyr Valley...
Steyr Valley heritage
railway...
Pergern–Bad Hall branch line...
Video
Steyr Valley Railway... |
298.53 hauling a heritage train at Steyr Lokalbahnhof
station
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Nr.
2 diesel near Ampflwang terminus
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Ampflwang´s
n.g.
This 760mm-line was opened by WTK
(Wolfsegg-Traunthaler
Kohlenwerksgesellschaft) in
1995 and has a length of 2 km. It
was in service only in 1995 and connected Brecher Buchleiten near OeGEG´s
Ampflwang railway museum and the mining museum
in Hinterschlagen. Today the tracks are still
there but in very bad condition. Traffic was
effected by the Stainz No. 2 diesel and a Polish
steam engine. There was only one passenger coach
which originated from Reichraming forestry
railway.
Pixx.... |
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Mariazell
Railway and "Krumpe"
Mariazell Railway and "Krumpe"
were opened from 1898 to 1907, the Wieselburg–Gresten
section after WW I. Because of the huge traffic
powerful steam engines were necessary which led to the
construction of the Mh-type, today known as
class 399. The Mariazell line was
electrified between St. Poelten and Gusswerk in 1911.
The electric engines which were introduced in
the same year are still in regular traffic.
Today Mariazell–Gusswerk and the Mank–Wieselburg branch line are closed, the
Wieselburg–Gresten part was regauged to
standard gauge in 1997. Nowadays the rest of the network
is operated by passenger trains only. In
December 2010 the rest of "Krumpe"
between Obergrafendorf and Mank was
closed and the Ruprechtshofen–Wieselburg
section was reactivated for rail-bike-tourism.
Train
service by NOeVOG...
Train
service by Austrian Federal Railways...
Historical
photographs...
Mariazell
Railway in winter...
"Krumpe" branch line...
Steam
traction on "Krumpe"...
Video
Mariazell Railway...
Video
St. Poelten depot... |
1099.10 and 08 at Mariazell
station
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2095.005 and 009 hauling
passenger trains on the Ybbs
Valley Railway at Lunz am See station
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Ybbs
Valley Railway
Ybbs
Valley Railway was opened in 1896 and connected
Waidhofen/Ybbs, Kienberg-Gaming and Ybbsitz. The
Yv type was designed for this line by Carl
Goelsdorf.
The first diesels were introduced in the late
30ies, steam traction ended in the 60ies. In
1988 the Lunz–Kienberg branch, which is a
heritage railway today, was closed. The rest of the
line provided train service until 2009, when the
region was hit by heavy floodings. Because of
the damages to the tracks trains were replaced
by buses, the 5.5 km-line connecting Waidhofen
and Gstadt is still in regular service.
Waidhofen´s
"Citybahn"...
The Kienberg–Lunz
heritage railway...
Regular
traffic in Ybbs valley...
The
Gstadt–Ybbsitz branch line...
Video... |
Waldviertel´s
n.g.
Lower
Austria´s Waldviertel railways started traffic
between Gmuend, Litschau and Heidenreichstein in
1900. Two years later the southern branch
established a connection to Gross Gerungs. Gmuend station had to be moved
in
1920 because the
original one was then situated in Czech Republic
(today České
Velenice). Also the Litschau branch had to be
rebuilt between Gmuend and Boehmzeil. Passenger
traffic was suspended on the northern lines in
1986, the southern branch received newly built
DMU class 5090. Altnagelberg–Heidenreichstein branch line was converted into a
heritage railway in 1992. Nowadays only tourist trains
operate the whole network on Wednesdays and
weekends in summer.
Regular
traffic in Waldviertel...
The
tourist trains today...
Video
Waldviertel´s n.g....
Waldviertel´s
n.g. modelling... |
2091.03 has arrived
at Heidenreichstein
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V2 diesel hauls a heritage train at Payerbach - Lokalbahn.
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Payerbach–Hirschwang
Local Railway
Payerbach–Hirschwang
Local Railway (LBP-H) was opened in 1917 as an industrial railway. Passenger
service was intoduced in 1926/27 and used mainly
by tourists as a connection from the Semmering
line to the Rax mountain cable car. In 1963
passenger traffic was suspended, freight trains
operated from Hirschwang paper mill to Payerbach
until 1983. The Austrian Society for Local
Railways (OeGLB) founded a heritage railway named
Hoellentalbahn which still exists. The Payerbach
to Reichenau section was damaged in the late
90ies but was reopened in 2000. Today the
railway is operated by a replica of a 1926 EMU
which has been in service since 2004, a 1903
engine which is considered to be the oldest
electric loco on 2ft.
5¾ inch
gauge in service worldwide and a Heeresfeldbahn
diesel. Also the original trailers which were
sold to Zillertalbahn in 1963 finally
returned to Payerbach and have been restored.
The
heritage
railway in the 80ies...
The
heritage
railway today...
Video...
LBP-H
modelling... |
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Gurk
Valley Railway
This 29 km line in Carithia was
opened in 1898 between Treibach-Althofen and Klein
Gloednitz. In 1968, when five (!) metres of the
track were damaged by flooodings, passenger
traffic was suspended and freight traffic was
reduced to the 12 km section from
Treibach-Althofen to Strassbourg. The last
regular train left Strassbourg in 1971. Some
railway enthusiasts founded the first Austrian
heritage railway in 1974 on the 3km section from
Treibach to Poeckstein-Zwischenwaessern which
has been using small locos bought from
industrial railways. Recently 699.101 and 898.01
which
are former engines of the Austrian Federal
Railways have been repaired and are used on
special steam days in summer.
Gurkthal heritage railway... |
"Uta" heading a heritage train to
Treibach-Althofen
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699.101, formerly used on the Vellachtal railway
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Vellach
Valley Railway
The Kuehnsdorf to Eisenkappel line in Southern Carithia was opened
in 1902 and had an important impact on the
industrial development of this region. It
connected the standard gauge line at
Voelkermarkt-Kuehnsdorf, the cellulose works at
Rechberg and its terminus Eisenkappel. In the
beginning only small engines of the T type
were in use, after WW II kkStB and Heeresfeldbahn
engines 199, 499, 699, 699.1, 298 and 399 hauled
the trains. In 1965 passenger service was
suspended, in 1971 the line was closed.
Photos... |
The
Ybbs Tramway
The
tramway of Ybbs in Lower Austria was opened in
1907 to connect the Western railway Vienna–Salzbourg at the Ybbs-Kemmelbach station and the
historic town centre. The tramway operated a 3km
line by two EMU which were sold to the
Mixnitz–St.Erhard railway in 1953, when the
line was replaced by buses. One of the EMU has
luckily survived and is now exhibited in the
Historama museum in Ferlach, Carinthia.
Pictures... |
Ybbs´
EMU
2 preserved at Historama/ Ferlach, Carinthia
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