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Text in Deutsch

The passenger building of the station Dresden-Gittersee which was reconstructed by the "Windbergbahn"-club. There is a little museum in it. (Photo: Gottschling, Dresden 1997/08/31)

The "Windbergbahn" is a railway line with normal gauge on the outskirts of the cities Dresden and Freital (Central Europe, Germany, Saxony).
The private railway, opened in 1856, was built to transport the hard coal from the pits in the southern of Dresden away. There was also a siding to the pits on the mountain "Windberg". Thus the railway was named for this mountain.
Because the railway line has many tight bends (minimal radius of 85 m !) and an upward gradient of 1:46.7 it is the first mountain railway in Germany. After the "Semmeringbahn" in Austria the "Windbergbahn" is the second mountain railway in Europe. Therefore it got the nickname "Sächsische Semmeringbahn" (Saxon Semmeringbahn).
In 1868 the "Königlich Sächsische Staatseisenbahn (K. Sächs. Sts. EB.) (Royally Saxon State Railway) bought the private railway line. After closure of many pits at the end of the 19th century the state railway rebuilt the line for public transportation and for transportation goods. In 1908 the first passenger train has gone from Dresden central station to the new terminus in the village Possendorf. After that the population nicknamed the railway "Possendorfer Heddel".

A train like it was to be seen at the "Windbergbahn" with "Windberg"-locomotive 98 001, Prussian baggage car, "Windberg"-observation car and a flat roof car at the "4th Dresden steam engine meeting" (Foto: Gottschling, Dresden 1995/04/30)

Between 1910 and 1914 the Saxon State Railway obtained articulated locomotives (according to the patent of Meyer), which where right for the curves and gradients at the line. Only one steam engine of the class 98.0 was preserved (not in working condition; belongs to the "Verkehrsmuseum Dresden" - traffic museum Dresden).
At the weekends many trippers went by the trains of the "Windbergbahn". Therefore in 1912 four special observation cars (the so-called "Windbergbahnaussichtswagen" - "Windbergbahn"-observation cars) were put into use. These cars had particularly large windows to have a good view outwards. The last preserved observation car was reconstructed by the railway friends and is now in working condition.
In 1951 the "Deutsche Reichsbahn (DR)" (State railway in East Germany) closed the section between the villages Kleinnaundorf and Possendorf and track was dismantled. Public transportation at the "Windbergbahn" was stoped by DR in 1957. Than only freight trains went to Dresden-Gittersee. 34 years after that the railway enthusiasts organized special trips on the "Windbergbahn" line which took place for the first time at May 19^th, 1991.
At December 31^th, 1993 goods service was stoped. The private railway company "Deutsche Regionalbahn" wants to buy the tracks, buildings etc. of the line to take up goods service again.

If you want to get more information about the railway line "Windbergbahn" please visit the page of the Sächsischen Museumseisenbahn Verein Windbergbahn e. V. under http://www.freital.de/windbergbahn/ or contact the club:   Sächsischer Museumseisenbahn Verein Windbergbahn e. V. Geschäftssitz: Bahnhof Gittersee Hermann-Michel-Straße 5   D 01189 Dresden Germany   Phone / Fax: (+49 3 51) 4 01 34 63   e-Mail: to Klaus Gottschling (public work + advertising) Klaus.Gottschling@t-online.de

The little diesel engine and the "Windbergbahn"-observation car on the way down to Freital-Birkigt above the roofs of the city Freital (Foto: Gottschling, Dresden 1998/09/12)