Harzer Schmalspurbahnen

The railways of the Hartz Mountains in

eastern Germany

A DB - HSB simultaneous departure, south  from Quedlinburg

The station at Drei-Anne Hohne where three steam powered trains can been seen at one time at least twice a day.

I was fortunate to be allowed to ride the entire system in the cab.

The HSB does however allow casual riders in the cab for the fee of 2 euro per km Mondays to Friday. 

This is understandably very popular and a good revenue source for the railway. It has to be booked in advance.

Street cars from Nordhausen now use the HSB as far north as Ilfeld

There are a few of these Meter gauge carriers for Stevenson gauge wagons left. No freight is hauled, even the coal for the locos is delivered by road (from the Czech Republic)

H'mmmm I just may have to lay some LGB track round our flowerbeds....

The abandoned DB station at Gernrode. 

Since 2006 the HSB runs to Quedlinburg which allows the people of Gernrode easy access to the DB system.

Numerous special trains run every weekend

The timeless scene of a loco being turned

Workhorse of the railway are their fleet of 2-10-2 K57's. Most built in the 1950's

Heavy maintenance is contracted out to Bahnbetriebswerk, Meiningen  

One loco recently received new main frames.

The railway carries 1 million passengers a year

Older locos from Henschel and Jung are used on special trains

The HSB accommodates riders in a gondola next to the loco for an additional 1 euro fee.

Seems like another idea other tourist railways could utilize.

A special waiting to depart from Wernigerode

It is still possible to see a Trabant on the streets but few are in as good condition as this one seen outside the excellent Pension-Gellert in the preserved Altstadt area of Wernigerode within short walking distance of the DB/HSB station and HSB running shed.

A typical Altstadt street scene.

The DB station at Wernigerode with the HSB station to the left. 

The running shed is at the end of the HSB platform. A visit to the shed on a moonlit night is highly recommended. 

There is a viewing area off the main platform

This mining museum is beside the track north of Nordhausen

This wrecked O&K? is at the Dora prison camp museum just outside Nordhausen

Dora was the labour camp where the workers lived who built the V1 and V2 rockets during WW2 inside the mountain in the background. The tunnels inside the mountain can be viewed. The story is incredible from many perspectives.

On our way from Nordhausen to Berlin at the end of our visit, we had to change trains in Halle.

This three cylinder pacific 03-1010 had just arrived from Budapest in Hungary.

Many thanks to Deiter Sessler, DB locomotive engineer Nurnberg for his help and advice

Many thanks also to HSB locomotive engineer Jens Ehrhardt from Nordhausen depot and his HSB colleagues.