Harzer Schmalspurbahnen
Encyclopedia : H : HA : HAR : Harzer Schmalspurbahnen
Narrow gauge (1 m) group of railway lines running in the Harz Mountains of Germany. Consists of the interconnected Brockenbahn, Selketalbahn and Harzquerbahn lines.
The mainline runs from Wernigerode to Nordhausen but the Brockenbahn is now by far the busiest line with about hourly trains going from Wernigerode to the summit of the Brocken. There are some fantastic walks from the railway and of course you can do them in downhill only mode by using the railway.
The Selketalbahn has now (2006) been extended to the World Heritage city of Quedlinburg by regauging a recently closed standard gauge DB branch, which should now make the eastern part of the railway much more accessible to tourists than when it started at the smaller less accessible city of Gernrode.
The Selketalbahn joins the main line at Eisfelde Talmüle and further along the mainline towards Nordhausen the track is shared by the dual power Nordhausen diesel-electric trams. The roll-block siding at Nordhausen is still used to convey standard gauge wagons on narrow gauge transporters to and from a limestone quarry near to Stiege.
If you take a journey on the HSB you will not be fast. A journey from Wernigerode to Nordhausen might take 3 hours but it allows you access to views and walks in the Harz which are unique to this form of transport. It provides disabled access to the summit of the legendary Brocken mountain all year round.
Further reading
- Fleur and Colin Speakman: Walking in the Harz Mountains - Including Walks from the Harz Narrow Gauge Railway, Cicerone Press, Milnthorpe, Cumbria, 1994, ISBN 1-85284-149-4.
- Website, in German only, [link]
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