| In the summer of 1978 we spent a few days of our summer holiday in the Harz Mountains near Wernigerode. This gave an opportunity to visit the two, at that time, separate narrow gauge lines, both steam operated, in the area. The area itself is quite delightful, and includes the world heritage site at Quedlinburg, which had been beautifully and sympathetically restored in DDR times. Other towns in the area such as Wernigerode itself and Halberstadt have well preserved historical centres with many old half-timbered houses.
It was a popular tourist area, but its proximity to the then western border made some parts of the area out of bounds to western visitors. For example the branch of the Nordhausen to Wernigerode Harzquerbahn line which ran to Schierke lay entirely within the Grenzzone, and could only be visited by those with special permits. The Grenzpolizei were much in evidence, and I watched the procedure at Drei Annen Hohne as permit checks were made on all the passengers, the technique used being to place the very large German Shepherd dog (what else?) at the far end of the car while the armed officer checked everyone's papers. Those days are thankfully in the past, and the two narrow gauge lines are also linked and in private ownership. At the south end of the line a further link has been made with the Nordhausen urban tramway, and dual mode trams now run a regular interval service as far as Ilfeld. There was also some standard gauge steam activity in the area as well, and some examples can be found in this collection as well. |
Although the Harz area is best known for narrow gauge steam, in the mid-1970s there was still plenty of steam around on the standard gauge as well. This is rebuilt light 2-10-0 50-3586-0 seen at Wernigerode on 15 August 1978 900x608 DR_50-3586-0_15-8-78.jpg |
Halberstadt to the north of the area was a centre of some steam activity in the 1970s, mostly rebuilt class 50 light 2-10-0s. 50-3662-9 was spotted in the immediate aftermath of a thunderstorm on 16 August 1978 900x588 DR_50-3662-9_16-8-78.jpg |
A very smart 50-3707-2 waits departure time from Halberstadt om 16 August 1978 with a Personenzug formed of typical DR rebuilt coaches 900x578 DR_50-3707-2a_16-8-78.jpg |
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This is another view of 50-3707-2 at Halberstadt on 16 August 1978. The Reichsbahn offered a security of employment and some status within the community and there was an obvious pride in the job in spite of the difficulties and shortages which seemed to be endemic under the planned economy. Turnouts like this were not uncommon even to the very end of steam operation 900x578 DR_50-3707-2b_16-8-78.jpg |
We took a trip on the Harzquerbahn from Wernigerode as far as Drei-Annen-Hohne where the branch to Schierke and Brocken branches off to the west. We had just left the train pulled by 99-0235-4 on the left as 99-0245-3 entered the passing loop from the opposite direction at Drei-Annen-Hohne on 15 August 1978 900x576 DR_99-0235-4a_15-8-78.jpg |
The train which had brought us up to Drei-Annen-Hohne was in fact bound for Schierke in what was then the barrier zone, an area five kilometres back from the western frontier into which you could only travel with special permission. This line was off-limits to western visitors at that time. The train had a long wait at this point while the frontier police carried out detailed checks on all passengers travelling beyond this point. 2-10-2T 99-0235-4 again at the head of the train. 900x573 DR_99-0235-4b_15-8-78.jpg |
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With inspection completed by the Grenzpolizei, 99-0235-4 departs Drei-Annen-Hohne on the final leg of its journey to Schierke in the frontier zone on 15 August 1978 900x577 DR_99-0235-4c_15-8-78.jpg |
We returned to Wernigerode later that afternoon on the same train, with 99-0235-4 this time bunker first, entering Drei-Annen-Hohne on 15 August 1978. I rode all the way back to Wernigerode on the open platform of the front coach on the train, an unforgettable experience on my 32nd birthday! 900x577 DR_99-0235-4d_15-8-78.jpg |
Back at Wernigerode the mighty 2-10-2T has been uncoupled and is running round its train. This group of locomotives were a new build under DR in the 1950s based on an pre-war design. There is very little similarity between these metre gauge giants and the typical image of the narrow gauge line 900x578 DR_99-0235-4e_15-8-78.jpg |
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I spotted 99-0245-3 later in the day on the outskirts of Wernigerode pulling the next train up into the mountains. This picture was taken from the front platform of our own train heading in the opposite direction 900x578 DR_99-0245-3_15-8-78.jpg |
A little further east but in the same general area, is the Selketalbahn linking Gernrode with Harzgerode and Strassberg, which in 1978 at least was physically separate from the Harzquerbahn, a former link having fallen into disuse. The loco stock was very different from the main system, consisting in the main of Mallett type engines from the original line. The oldest was 99-5901-6 which carried a green livery, seen here approaching Alexisbad on 16 August 1978 with a train bound for Strassberg 900x577 DR_99-5901-6a_16-8-78.jpg |
The newest and largest of the Malletts was 99-5906-5 which was painted in normal DR black, seen taking water at Alexisbad on 16 August 1978 900x581 DR_99-5906-5a_16-8-78.jpg |
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A knowledge of the timetable was repaid at Alexisbad by the appearance of three trains within a short space of time, followed by some remarkable re-marshalling which would do justice to any model railway layout. 99-5906-5 has arrived with a train for Harzgerode on 16 August 1978. Coaches off both this and the Strassberg train will be detached and added to another train which arrived a few mintes later heading back to Gernrode 900x567 DR_99-5906-5b_16-8-78.jpg |
Mallett 99-5906-5 has been detached from its train and will assist in the juggling of rolloing stock before being recoupled to the remainder of its train bound for Harzgerode on 16 August 1978 900x577 DR_99-5906-5c_16-8-78.jpg |
Perhaps the most interesting locomotive on the Selketalbahn was this superheated 2-6-2T which had been built by Krupp in 1939 as a prototype aimed at modernising the motive power on many metre guage lines. It resembled contemporary standard gauge DR locomotives of its era, but the outbreak of war brought an end to any further production. After operating on the Harzquerbahn from 1949 to 1971 it was transferred to Gernrode, and was seen here as 99-6001-4 at Alexisbad on 16 August 1978 900x577 DR_99-6001-4a_16-8-78.jpg |
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99-6001-4 again this time also occupied in reshuffling some of the coaches at Alexisbad on 16 August 1978 900x577 DR_99-6001-4b_16-8-78.jpg |
99-6001-4 eventually took a combined train down to Harzgerode and a car chase ensued enabling me to get this shot of the train crossing the road at Magdesprueng on 16 August 1978 900x577 DR_99-6001-4c_16-8-78.jpg |
Approaching the end of its journey, 99-6001-4 drifts into Gernrode on 16 August 1978 900x577 DR_99-6001-4d_16-8-78.jpg |
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Jouney's end, and the chunky 2-6-2T simmers on a muggy summers day with a thunder storm brewing ahead. The Harzer Schmalspurbahn who are the current operators of this line have proposed an extension of the metre gauge line from here to the historic city of Quedlinburg to replace the current standard gauge line 900x576 DR_99-6001-4e_16-8-78.jpg |
Most of the mighty 2-10-2T locos on the Harzquerbahn had been converted to oil firing, but in the 1970's oil price rises had an impact on the GDR as well as all the western economies, and a start was made to reconvert the locos back to coal firing. This is not a particularly good image but it shows newly converted loco 99-7242-3 at Wernigerode Westentor on 15 August 1978. Oil fired locos were indicated by a "0" at the start of the four digit fleet number and this engine has reverted to its original fleet number 900x609 DR_99-7242-3_15-8-78.jpg |
Alexisbad station was the junction of the two branches with the shorter line to Harzgerode and the longer branch to Strassberg. The latter line has now been reconnected to the main system further west. The station was and is a delightful throwback to a more gentle age, and back in 1978 presented an image not always associated with the east, but proving that all was not grey and uninteresting in the old DDR 900x577 DR_Alexisbad_16-8-78.jpg |
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Alexisbad became a hive of activity for a short period every few hours as up and down trains met and were remarshalled. After departure the place would go back to sleep for another few hours. This view includes the two Malletts, 99-5901-6 and 99-5906-5 on 16 August 1978 900x577 DR_Alexisbad_b_16-8-78.jpg |
