During our 2015 visit to the Harz, Gemany, I travelled all three constituent lines of the Harzer Schmalspurbahnen. This album covers our journey on the Brockenbahn. Centrepiece of the story is of course our journey on the railway itself om Monday 28 September. I made photos of the same line on various other days and I added them to this album.
1 The Brockenbahn, indicated in green on this map, is the stretch of railway that is most popular among tourists as it takes you up its namesake mountain, with 1141 meters the tallest of North Germany. On clear days the view is several dozens of kilometres over surrounding countryside. The line starts at Drei Annen Hohne where it connects to the Harzquerbahn. Most trains however start at Wernigerode and run over the first stretch of the Harzquerbahn to Drei Annen Hohne and then switch to the Brockenbahn offering at total ride of 33 kilometres with a climb from 184 m in Wernigerode to 1125 m on the Brocken.
2 We had a holiday home, "Luise", in Wernigerode, not by coincidence only a ten minutes walk away from the station. Ideal for real steam addicts. Passing the footbridge over the railway lines you get this first glimpse of the depot.
3 The day started with a glorious autumn sunshine. We first bought our tickets of course.
If you travel to the Brocken consider this offer A normal return ticket to the Brocken costst €37 pp (2015). If you buy the Brocken Card however, it will cost you €47 pp (2015) and it will allow you one return to the Brocken and another return trip of your choice on another day and on any other section of the HSB than the Brocken railway. I bought this Brocken Card, because I also wanted to ride the steam hauled return trip from Nordhausen to Drei Annen Hohne, of which I have a separate album.
4 We had the first train of the day, 08:55, which meant: rise early.
5 Even the loco's seemed to be yawning in the crisp morning light
6 Getting some attention
7 Cranking some fresh grease into the air pump before starting her up after a night's rest
8 Checking the sand supply
9 The sun playing on the first three wheels sets
10 and almost on both rear wheel sets
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15 Meanwhile our engine for the day (as it turned out later) was being readied
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25 241 taking her first drink of the day
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27 236 backing up to her train
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29 Pulling out of Wernigerode
30 Passing Wernigerode Workshops
31 Two standard gauge cars on narrow gauge "conversion cars".
32 Wernigerode Wester or (West Gate)
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34 After Western Tor the train passes through Hasserode, an idyllic part of the town
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36 On our way through Hasserode there were frequent stops. This one at a high school
37 The train meanders its way through twon, frequently using its low melancholically howling whistle to warn taffic on the overpasses.
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39 The first station outside Wernigerode is Steinerne Renne
40 We visited the station a few days earllier while on a walk and chanced upaon a passing train toe the Brocken which incidentally was hauled by the very same locomotive we had in front of our train today. So if had been on the platform our entrance into the station could have looked like this.
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44 O wow.
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48 After Wernigerode-Hasserode station the train bends away nort towards the valley of the Holtemme
49 Running between Steinerne Renne and Drei Annen Hohne
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51 Drei Annen Hohne
52 and gets some refreshments
53 Waiting for the "go"
54 Go!
55 Belching a huge cloud the engine braces itself for the steep climb to Schierke
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57 Left the track of the Harzquerbahn in the direction of Nordhausen, right the track of the Brockenbahn towards, errrm well, the Brocken ;-)
58 Schierke is not much of a station. It was originally envisaged as important impulse to the upswing of tourism for the town put this never really materialised. The station now mainly serves as a passing loop to cross the down trains.
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60 And away we are into the woods
61 Sometimes the densely populated woods open up giving a glorious view
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65 The sun pierces through the steam clouds billowing through the trees
66 The valley in the distance are still shrouded in the morning mist
67 Gradually the train reaches the end of the tree zone which is at 900 metres. That is exceptionally low, the Alps' tree line lies at around 1600-1800 metres. But the climate in the Harz is harsh.
68 A first glimpse of the Brocken
69 The train now enters an impressive one and a half counter clockwise turn to reach the top.
70 Granting you an ever expanding view of the surrounding countryside
71 In the "big turn"
72 The summit in view
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74 View from the summit's station
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79 View to Wernigerode
80 A nearly 180 degrees view to the north
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85 The 241 with her down train exiting the one and a half turn (now clockwise of course)
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87 After having spent a few glorious hours we slowly returned to the summit station.
88 236 the same loco that brought is up is now entering the summit station after having brought up its second train this day.
89 So the same loco that brought us up is going to take is down.
90 Running round for the return trip. The train was loaded to full capacity so to keep a seat I had to sit on it. Consequently I was not out and about to make photos of 236
91 Back in Drei Annen Hohne, I found the loco of another up train being resupplied with water.
92 Personally I fancy the 222's front appearance more than the regular appeance of the class, due to the absence of the ugly square feedwater heater
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95 Off she goes to the Brocken
96 and we go down to Wernigerode, here in the horse shoe curve immediately below Steinerne Renne
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99 Passing through Wernigerode again
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101 The pedestrian seems to be completely oblivious of the train despite its clearly audible whistle (the "P" is for "Pfeiffen" = Whistle)
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103 Entering Wernogerode Westerntor
104 The final curve before Wernigerode Hauptbahnhof, passing under the footbridge
105 Slowing down, the last metres.
106 When we walked home and crossed the footbridge I could capture our loco at the coaling stage
107 To conclude this photo report a shot of 222 basking in the setting autumn sun on 30 September in Drei Annen Hohne
