Steam in Southwestern Germany?

I am a UK ex-pat living in the USA, but I work for a German company. I have just found out that I am being sent to our German headquarters for two weeks at the end of May. This means I will be there the weekend of May 21st and 22nd and I wondered if there is any steam action nearby? I will be in or around the town of Bruchsal in the state of Baden-Württemberg. I do not know if I will have access to a car or not so it would help if anything interesting could be reached by public transport. Any information anyone may have would be most appreciated.

Many thanks, Marcus.

 

Wikipedia's listing and what appears to be the German HRA both show lots of heritage lines, but many of them seem to be occasional steam trains over track shared with ordinary services, so check first whether they are open that week.

 

Hi Marcus,

that request is a bit difficult. As you will be aware there is nothing like the "14 miles, four engines in steam and hourly service daily April to October" railway so common in the UK in Germany. It is more a matter of "10 kilometres, one small engine with two or three round trips every other Sunday from May to September".

I did some research and can offer:

The Kuckucksbähnel with the small railway museum at Neustadt (Weinstraße): http://www.eisenbahnmuseum-neustadt.de/k_preis.html This is the closest to Bruchsal operating on that weekend with about 90 minutes by train from Bruchsal.
The Kandertalbahn near the swiss border: http://www.kandertalbahn.de/html/fahrplan/fahrzeiten.htm
Those two are romantic secondary lines with a bit of Colonel Stevens added.
If you like something bigger the closest is the museum and line at Nördlingen, I'm afraid: http://www.bayerisches-eisenbahnmuseum.de/Museumsbahn/Noe-Dink-Feuchtw/noe-dink-feuchtw.html. Here you can expect a 4-6-2, a 2-8-2 or 2-10-0 at the front. The museum is worth a visit but you'll spent about 3 1/2 hours on the train to get there.
Finally, there is a steam tour from Frankfurt with a connecting new diesel railcoach from Wiesbaden to Koblenz on 22 May, out via the Lahn valley, back via the Rhine valley with a shuttle further down the Rhine valley to Linz and a chance to see the railway museum at Koblenz-Lützel (electric + diesel) which is holding its 10th anniversary event that weekend: http://www.frankfurt-historischeeisenbahn.de/Bilder/BUGA.pdf (That's where I'll be as a volunteer that weekend, the museum not the tour)

All but the Kuckuckbähnel require quite an early start, however.

Hope that helps.

Kind regards

Christoph

 

Thanks Laplace and Christoph, this info is very useful. I have a few options to think about.

 

Don't forget this one on the Swiss border. http://www.sauschwaenzlebahn.de/ceasy/modules/cms/main.php5?cPageId=1
They're operating on the 21 & 22 May. The trains are unusual for German lines is that they are often 9-10 coaches long. Have a look at the route map. It is easily possible to chase the train on foot as it climbs around the bowl north of Futzen (where the shed is, requiring empty stock moves either end of the day). Yes that is a spiral tunnel! It's uphill all the way from the southern end to just before Blumberg where it crosses the watershed between the Rhine and the Danube in a Tunnel. I've not been since the late eighties. Looking at the site it looks as if there its running pm on the saturday (one round trip) and two (AM & PM) on the Sunday.

 

Hi,

yes, I ignored the Sauschwänzlebahn since I was not aware that it can be reached by public transport so easily. I've never been because of the distance but it must we worth the effort. There is one train at 14:05 from Blumberg Zollhaus on the Saturday. If you take the 10:36 Intercity from Bruchsal changing at Karlsruhe an Immendingen you should be there right on time with the added bonus of a journey along the scenic Schwarzwaldbahn (Black Forest Railway). If you don't mind an early start or late finish leave Bruchsal on the 7:33 to get to Blumberg Zollhaus by 11:32. From there it is 5.5 km by road to Fützen so a taxi or a stiff walk might take you there in time for the 12:50 positioning move to Blumberg Zollhaus. According to the website they are no longer empty stock moves but they do carry passengers. (Sorry, no bus connection at that time.) Or ride back to Fützen arriving there at 17:46. You will then need a taxi, however to catch the last train home at 18:19 from Blumberg Zollhaus.

(I have to add, however, that the Sauschwänzlebahn is more of a tourist line than a heritage line. The train consists mainly of Swiss coaches with at present two DB coaches one of which has a non-authentic interior with slatted wooden seats. Nothing for purists!. Also try www.wutachtalbahn.de for more information.)

What I forgot to mention is, that all my other suggestings were for Sunday only whereas this is for Saturday!

Kind regards

Christoph