Schiefe Ebene
Encyclopedia
Ludwig South-North Railway
The Ludwig South-North railway , built between 1843 and 1854, was the first railway line to be constructed by Royal Bavarian State Railways...
from Bamberg
Bamberg
Bamberg is a city in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in Upper Franconia on the river Regnitz, close to its confluence with the river Main. Bamberg is one of the few cities in Germany that was not destroyed by World War II bombings because of a nearby Artillery Factory that prevented planes from...
to Hof (Saale) in the region of Upper Franconia
Upper Franconia
Upper Franconia is a Regierungsbezirk of the state of Bavaria, southern Germany. It forms part of the historically significant region of Franconia , all now part of the German Federal State of Bayern .With more than 200 independent breweries which brew...
, in Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Location and Construction
The Schiefe Ebene is located in the Landkreis (country district) of KulmbachKulmbach
Kulmbach is the capital of the district of Kulmbach in Bavaria in Germany. The town is famous for Plassenburg Castle, which houses the largest tin soldier museum in the world, and for its famous sausages, or Bratwürste.-Location:...
, beginning east of Neuenmarkt
Neuenmarkt
Neuenmarkt is a municipality in the district of Kulmbach in Bavaria in Germany.-City arrangement:Neuenmarkt is arranged in the following boroughs:...
–Wirsberg
Wirsberg
Wirsberg is a municipality in the district of Kulmbach in Bavaria in Germany.-City arrangement:Wirsberg is arranged in the following boroughs:* Birkenhof* Cottenau* Einöde* Goldene Adlerhütte* Neufang* Osserich* Schlackenmühle* Sessenreuth...
station and ending at Marktschorgast
Marktschorgast
Marktschorgast is a municipality in the district of Kulmbach in Bavaria in Germany.-City arrangement:Marktschorgast is arranged in the following boroughs:...
. The route is not electrified, but has been widened to two tracks. On the adjacent incline between Marktschorgast and Stammbach
Stammbach
Stammbach is a municipality in the district of Hof in Bavaria in Germany....
, the second track has been subsequently dismantled. On its way into the Fichtelgebirge
Fichtelgebirge
The Fichtelgebirge is a mountain range in northeastern Bavaria, Germany. It extends from the valley of the Red Main River to the Czech border, a few foothills spilling over into the Czech Republic. It continues in a northeastern direction as the Ore Mountains, and in a southeastern direction as...
mountains the ramp climbs 157.7 metres over a distance of 6.8 kilometres and therefore has an average incline of 23‰. It was built between 1844 and 1848 as part of the Ludwig South-North line and was opened on 1 November 1848. With its numerous supporting walls, cuttings and stone embankments it was technically one of the great engineering feats of its time. The cost of construction was 917,318 Gulden
South German gulden
The Gulden was the currency of the states of southern Germany between 1754 and 1873. These states included Bavaria, Baden, Württemberg, Frankfurt and Hohenzollern....
.
Operation
In the era of steam, the ramp proved a real challenge for locomotives and crews. The majority of trains had to be reinforced by heavy pusher locomotives. These were stationed in the well-known locomotive depot at Neuenmarkt-Wirsberg. They included famous locomotives such as the DRG Class 95 (ex-Prussian T 20Prussian T 20
The German DRG Class 95 was a ten-coupled tank locomotive with a 2-10-2 wheel arrangement, which was procured by the Deutsche Reichsbahn in 1922 for hauling heavy goods trains on steep main lines...
) and DRG Class 96 (ex-Bavarian Gt 2x4/4
Bavarian Gt 2x4/4
The Bavarian Class Gt 2×4/4 engine of the Royal Bavarian State Railways , was a heavy goods train tank locomotive of the Mallet type...
), as well as DRG Classes 57 (ex-Prussian G 10
Prussian G 10
The Prussian G 10 was a German goods train, steam locomotive, whose design was based on a combination of the running and valve gear from the Prussian T 16 and the boiler from the Prussian P 8. In developing the G 10, however, the T 16 running gear with side play on the first and fifth axles was...
) and 50.
In the early 1970s, the route was one of the last stamping grounds of the Deutsche Bundesbahn
Deutsche Bundesbahn
The Deutsche Bundesbahn or DB was formed as the state railway of the newly established Federal Republic of Germany on September 7, 1949 as a successor of the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft '...
's Class 01
DRG Class 01
The Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft's BR 01 steam locomotives were the first standardised steam express passenger locomotives built by the unified German railway system. They were of 4-6-2 "Pacific" wheel arrangement in the Whyte notation, or 2′C1′ h2 in the UIC classification. The idea of...
express train
Express train
Express trains are a form of rail service. Express trains make only a small number of stops, instead of stopping at every single station...
steam locomotive. From 2001 to 2004 the Schiefe Ebene was also traversed by modern ICE-TD power cars (DBAG Class 605) with tilting technology. Today the line is worked by the tilting DMUs of DB Class 612, that serve the hourly RegionalExpress
RegionalExpress
The term Regional-Express denotes a type of regional train in Germany and Austria .It is best compared to a semi-fast train, as it calls at fewer stations than Regionalbahn or S-Bahn trains, but stops more often than InterCity services...
lines of Hof–Würzburg
Würzburg
Würzburg is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany. Located at the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. The regional dialect is Franconian....
and Hof–Lichtenfels as well as the Interregio-Express line Nürnberg-Hof-Dresden.
At the foot of the ramp in the former locomotive depot at Neuenmarkt-Wirsberg station – located in Neuenmarkt – is the German Steam Locomotive Museum
German Steam Locomotive Museum
The German Steam Locomotive Museum or DDM is located at the foot of the famous Schiefe Ebene ramp on the Ludwig South-North Railway in Neuenmarkt, Upper Franconia. This region is in northern Bavaria, Germany...
(Deutsches Dampflokomotiv-Museum) or DDM. In the upper station, in the former waiting room of Marktschorgast station, there is a small museum and information centre on the history of the Schiefe Ebene. Entrance is free.
Marktschorgast station is also the start of a railway history trail that runs along the Schiefe Ebene and recounts the history of the line on display boards. The walk ends at Neuenmarkt-Wirsberg station. The trail should be walked with stout footwear and can be completed in a few hours (length 7–8 km, hilly terrain). On the road side of Marktschorgast station is an overview board of the trail; the first display board is on the road side of the former goods shed, about 20 m northeast (in the direction of Hof) next to the railway yard.
Accident in 1944
On 27 December 1944 a military train derailed in NeuenmarktNeuenmarkt
Neuenmarkt is a municipality in the district of Kulmbach in Bavaria in Germany.-City arrangement:Neuenmarkt is arranged in the following boroughs:...
station, after its brakes had been unable to reduce the speed of the train sufficiently coming down the Schiefe Ebene. The exact cause remains unknown; the train was operating with two locomotives (one at the head and one at the tail of the train).
One person was killed and an unknown number of people were injured. Reports of the accident are very sketchy.
Literature
- Steffen Lüdecke: Die Schiefe Ebene. Eine legendäre Eisenbahnstrecke. EK-Verlag. Freiburg im Breisgau 1993 ISBN 3-88255-833-4
See also
- History of rail transport in GermanyHistory of rail transport in GermanyGerman Railway history began with the opening of the steam-hauled Bavarian Ludwig Railway between Nuremberg and Fürth on 7 December 1835. This had been preceded by the opening of the horse-hauled Prince William Railway on 20 September 1831...
- Royal Bavarian State RailwaysRoyal Bavarian State RailwaysAs a nation-state, Germany did not come into being until the creation of the German Empire in 1871 from the various German-speaking states such as Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony, Baden and Württemberg. By then each of the major states had formed its own state railway and these continued to remain...
- German Steam Locomotive MuseumGerman Steam Locomotive MuseumThe German Steam Locomotive Museum or DDM is located at the foot of the famous Schiefe Ebene ramp on the Ludwig South-North Railway in Neuenmarkt, Upper Franconia. This region is in northern Bavaria, Germany...
- Other famous south-German ramps: the Geislinger SteigeGeislinger SteigeThe Geislinger Steige is an old trade route over the low mountain range of the Swabian Jura in southern Germany. It links Geislingen an der Steige with Amstetten and is one of the most famous ascents in the Jura...
and the Spessart RampSpessart RampThe Spessart Ramp is a 5.4 km long incline on the Main-Spessart Railway in southern Germany between Laufach at one end and the Schwarzkopf tunnel and Heigenbrücken at the other, with an average incline of 20 ‰...
External links
- Description of the Schiefe Ebene by the German Steam Locomotive Museum in Neuenmarkt-Wirsberg* www.lokomotive-online.com/bayern.htm
- There is an English-language discussion forum at Railways of Germany