Friedrichroda Railway

Fröttstädt–Georgenthal
Overview
Locale Thuringia, Germany
Line number 6702
Technical
Line length 18.8 km (11.7 mi)
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Operating speed 50km/h (max)
Route number 606
Route map

Legend
 Operating points and lines[1] 
 from Eisenach
 0.00 Fröttstädt(Keilbahnhof)
 to Erfurt
 1.00 Hörselgau
 3.57 Waltershausen
 Thuringian Forest Railway
 6.13 Waltershausen Schnepfenthal
 8.77 Reinhardsbrunn-Friedrichroda
 Friedrichrodaer Tunnel (279 m)
 9.85 Friedrichroda
 10.51 current end of line
 12.50 Schweizerhof
 14.24 Schönau-Ernstroda
 from Gotha
 18.84 Georgenthal (Thür.)
 to Tambach-Dietharz / to Gräfenroda

The Friedrichroda railway, known as well as Waldsaumbahn, is a single-track non-electrified railway line in the German state of Thuringia. It is now only used for regional passenger transport, using Class 641 (Alstom Coradia A TER) diesel multiple units. The line was opened in 1848 and is the oldest branch line in Thuringia and one of the oldest lines in Germany.

History

The line was opened on 28 May 1848 as a spur of the Thuringian Railway (German: Thüringer Bahn) from Fröttstädt to Waltershausen. It is the oldest branch line in Thuringia. An extension to Friedrichroda was opened on 2 July 1876. On 1 November 1896 the line from Friedrichroda to Georgenthal was opened to connect with the Ohra Valley Railway, but on 2 November 1947 the extension was closed and dismantled as reparations to the Soviet Union.

Current situation

After the loss of freight traffic the terminus at Friedrichroda is now very run-down. The abandoned and overgrown rail tracks and the now oversized station building with its very large goods shed testify to the former importance of the line and the Friedrichroda station. While a youth club is located in part of the entrance building, the rest of the building along with the entire entrance building at Reinhardsbrunn-Friedrichroda is now disused and subject to decay and vandalism.

Notes

  1. ↑ Eisenbahnatlas Deutschland (German railway atlas). Schweers + Wall. 2009. ISBN 978-3-89494-139-0.

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 1/14/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.