Last But Not Least

 

On our last day, we visited the other narrow gauge line close to Dresden. A short train ride to Freital-Hainsberg station in the outskirts of Dresden found us at the Weißeritztalbahn. The Weißeritztalbahn connects Freital with the spa town of Kipsdorf in the Ore Mountains.

99 762 at the head of our train awaits departure from Freital, the standard gauge mainline is on an embankment to the right, with connection made through a short subway.

99 790 sits spare in the extensive yard at Freital. Where we also found this handy self propelled snow plough, a standard design we saw on several lines.

With a length of 26.3 km / 16.3 m long, this was the longest railway we visited and with the line spending several miles following the valley of the Red Weißeritz, scenically the most stunning.

Heading out of Freital.

These carriages are tailor made for gricing.

The Trabant waiting to cross. Once a common sight, we only saw three on the roads in our visit, with a couple more in 'barn find' condition in back yards we passed.

The Red Weißeritz section is akin to the Aberglaslyn in North Wales, but many times longer with the lines following the river for several miles crossing it many times. This section was badly damaged by flooding in 2002 and took fifteen years to re-open.

Heading in to the very scenic Red Weißeritz section.

The loco took water at Dippoldiswalde and the top section of the line closely follows the main road before reaching the grand terminus of Kurort Kipsdorf. The top portion of the line has some steep gradients, making the loco work hard in places. Our train was chased by some German gricers who were in a restored Trabbant, once the mainstay of East German motoring, which was good fun and lent an authentic retro touch.

Taking water at Dippoldiswalde

Onwards to Kipsdorf.

The Trabant again.

99 762 rests at the terminus of Kipsdorf. 

There wasn’t time to explore much beyond the station at Kipsdorf before it was time to head back to Freital and Dresden. An afternoon for one final look round Dresden, which included the State Museum and the Transport Museum, both highly recommended, before we headed for the station, stocked up on bakery items from the adjacent Lidl store one last time and boarded the sleeper train back west.

Trundling back across the Scmiedeberg viaduct.

Back through the stunning Red Weißeritz.

Back on the standard gauge platform, there was one last glance at Saxony steam before our train arrived to start the long journey home.

We were quite weary after a few excellent days. Great fun, with a group of mates having indulged our interest in narrow gauge steam with a large helping of German cuisine and beer. We found some decent restaurants, though not great for the Vegetarian we reckon as the dinner options mostly involved (some delicious) pork based meals. The Crispy Ham Hock being a favourite, but one for a hearty appetite! We also found a decent selection of bars, if you look hard enough, especially in the new town, you can find some decent local beers  rather than just your mainstream ones.

After departing Dresden, twenty one hours and three changes of train (at Brussels, London St Pancras and Derby) later I was back home. Dresden isn’t the easiest place to get to from Britain with no direct flights. You have to change flights at Frankfurt. Though I also suspect that flying to Prague and catching a train from there is another option for those who don’t wish to endure the night sleeper.

Dresden is a fine city with a rich history to explore. The old town is stunning and could easily take a couple of days to explore. For those wanting to sample locally brewed beers, head into the new town with its brutalist Soviet era architecture. There are paddle steamers to enjoy on the River Elbe too.

Sadly, we didn’t get to enjoy the Saxon Meyer locos, but we did visit in the low season with only a single train out on each of the lines and we only saw the class 99.73-76 2-10-2 locos in service. Though they were mightily impressive and masters of the trains they were pulling. All railways used the traditional balcony ended carriages, we enjoyed travelling on the balconies and on most lines, drop light windows to soak up the atmosphere.

Despite these similarities, each of the four lines we visited had their own unique character.

The Loßnitzgrundbahn was a great introduction to narrow gauge railways in Saxony. The extensive running through the town alongside the streets was impressive. We enjoyed the whole line and the Schloss at Moritzburg is well worth breaking your journey for.

I really enjoyed the adventure that getting to the Fichtelbergbahn gave us, travelling through a large chunk of the countryside. The contrast of stepping off a modern diesel unit, stepping across the platform and boarding the narrow gauge steam service on the other side was not lost on me.

Zittau Schmalspurbahn entailed another adventure. For us, it was the line with the friendliest atmosphere. The ‘Y’ shape and junction station at Bertsdorf were suitably different to the norm and enjoying lunch in the Spesiawagen as we ambled along with a highlight.

If I were visiting Dresden and was only able to travel on one line, then the Weißeritztalbahn would win. Handily close to Dresden being reached within 20 minutes. It was the longest line with the most spectacular scenery. For those used to the Aberglaslyn Pass on the Welsh Highland Railway, this was as impressive and about a dozen times longer.

Currently, the railways run throughout the year with the aid of state subsidies. How long that carries on for is anyone’s guess. If you get chance to visit, do. You will not be disappointed.