SEEING DOUBLE

German steam on the Zittau network

Bertsdorf’s signalman should be pretty happy with his workplace. Wedged between the lines to Oybin and Jonsdorf, his substantial perch allows him to peer over this junction station, warm even in the fiercest blizzard.

Every day during the railway’s peak timetable, the same spectacle. The engines gently brewing up, a quick ‘pip’ from their hooters, a clunk, then the steady beat from little 800mm (31½in) diameter wheels. Sometimes one goes just before the other; at other times the exhaust blows in the way… but this, on occasions all but unseen, can be one of the most delightful steam experiences still available. Whether the signalman thinks that, who knows?

The lamp above the door, the Gothic script nameboard, the steep slate roof. All these speak of a 1930s construction slightly out of place among Bertsdorf’s otherwise older red brick buildings.

We are in the furthermost reaches of Saxony. Even the state capital Dresden is close to 60 miles to the west – much further away than either Poland or the Czech Republic, both of which butt up close to this system.

This is the Zittau network, which in its only ten-mile length manages to offer two branches, unspoilt country and – almost as if this were somewhere completely different – industry among Victorian surroundings.

Its start point is in a town that even now seems only lightly brushed over by time. Zittau, with its chimneys and grey-brown villas, was home to ‘Kriegsloks’ well into the 1980s. While the 2-10-0s have gone, the part-roundhouse that housed them is still there, and tacked onto the back is a linear structure from which smaller relatives still hiss and bubble.

From their home, the 2-10-2Ts roll across the forecourt of the standard gauge station before arriving at their own platforms – in what is just one unusual aspect of this railway. Despite its 750mm (roughly 2ft 6in) gauge, for around 30 years from 1913, part of it was even double track.

THE ENGINES GENTLY BREWING UP, A QUICK ‘PIP’ FROM THEIR HOOTERS, A CLUNK, THEN THE STEADY BEAT FROM LITTLE 800mm (31½in) DIAMETER WHEELS

BROWN COAL, BLACK ENGINES

Maybe it’s the distance from the UK that makes Zittau less frequented by British visitors – of all eastern Germany’s narrow gauge lines offering regular steam services, it’s the furthest away. It has, however, much to offer.

While all these networks are quirky historical survivors, this one directly owes its existence to the fall of Communism. Brown coal powered much of East Germany and the planned expansion of a nearby quarry would have meant the end of a railway that had opened in 1890 as a private venture, before becoming part of the Royal Saxon State Railway in 1906. Like the others though, it subsequently became part of East Germany’s Deutsche Reichsbahn – and later, for a short while, Germany’s Deutsche Bahn.

Since 1996 the railway has been operated by the Saechsisch-Oberlausitzer Eisenbahn Gesellschaft, an organisation that also has a close partnership with another Saxon 750mm-gauge line, at Oschatz further west. At Zittau, most services are hauled by 2-10-2Ts. Although not all operational, there are seven on the books from the original version from 1928 – a design that has run here since 1929. A single engine (No. 99.1787, currently ‘out of ticket’) comes from the simplified variety built in the 1950s. Zittau was also the site of a late experiment in modernisation: oil firing was tried out in the early 1990s, but all engines now once again burn coal (though not brown coal).

However, while the week-round services are perhaps the biggest attraction, there is a bit more variety than this: one 2-10-2T,

No. 99.1731, has had cosmetic details altered to pre-war condition to haul a historic set. An even earlier generation is represented by 1908-built Saxon-Meyer 0-4-4-0T No. 99.1555, painted in green as Saxon No. 145 and put in charge of its own vintage coaches. In May-October these trains regularly run on alternate weekends.

Sadly, another engine – 1924-built 0-8-0T No. 99.4532 which shunted at Zittau from the 1960s – has not run since 1989 and rarely leaves its shed at Bertsdorf.

There’s also a 1938-built railcar, No. 137.222, which also runs on certain weekends, as do diesel-hauled trains propelled by a Romanian-built ‘L45H’.

The railway also has a number of special events, in particular the major ‘Historik Mobil’ that brings together various vintage transport; in 2019 this is to run from August 2-4.

You can even overnight without having to leave the system – there are rooms and a holiday flat at Kurort Jonsdorf, a holiday flat at Kurort Oybin, and seasonal camping coaches. A further holiday flat is in the station at Bertsdorf, just yards from those double departures…

●● The railway’s telephone number is +49 (0)3583 540540, and the website is at www.zittauer-schmalspurbahn.de

●● Note that ‘bustitution’ is due to take place from November 4-29.

ITS START POINT IS IN A TOWN THAT EVEN NOW SEEMS ONLY LIGHTLY BRUSHED OVER BY TIME. ZITTAU, WITH ITS CHIMNEYS AND GREY-BROWN VILLAS, WAS HOME TO ‘KRIEGSLOKS’ WELL INTO THE 1980s

ALL: TONY STREETER Snow, 1920s engines and a double departure. What’s not to like? February 2009 at Bertsdorf, withNo. 99.1735 heading for Kurort Jonsdorf and No. 99.1749 for Kurort Oybin.

Zittau’s system mixes rural and urban surroundings. In January 2017, No. 99.1758 rolls past an old factory at Olbersdorf Niederdorf.

The substantial station at Zittau Vorstadt on the edge of town was once the start of a double-track section. Engines work chimney-first out of Zittau – as here with No. 99.1787 in January 2017.

One of no fewer than four stops in Zittau itself, Zittau Haltepunkt is tight alongside the standard gauge line that looms above it here. Rolling in during February 2012 is 1929-built No. 99.1749. Shortly after leaving it will curve south under the ‘big railway’, which crosses the narrow gauge on a viaduct that has one end in Germany and the other in Poland.

With its 1930s styling, the signal box at Bertsdorf contrasts with the rest of the station. Behind the system’s only post-war 2-10-2T, No. 99.1787, is the brick-built engine shed that houses 0-8-0T No. 99.4532.