Südharzstrecke

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Südharzstrecke

Route Number:

357

Line length:

69 km

Gauge:

1435 mm

Legend

Südbahn, Sollingbahn to Göttingen and Paderborn

88,6

Northeim

88,6

Südbahn to Hannover

93,8

Hammenstedt until 1988

97,3

Katlenburg

Rhume

Bahnstrecke Wulften–Leinefelde

103,5

Wulften

108,1

Hattorf

115,7

Bahnstrecke Herzberg–Seesen to Osterode

115,7

Herzberg

to Zwinge/Bleicherode

119,7

Scharzfeld-West until 1983

121,3

Scharzfeld Passenger traffic until 2005

Odertalbahn to Bad Lauterberg–Sankt Andreasberg

Oder

122,6

Bad Lauterberg-Barbis

128,8

Osterhagen until 1976

133,4

Tettenborn until 1975

135,7

Bad Sachsa

138,4

Südharz-Eisenbahn to Braunlage

138,4

Walkenried

Walkenrieder Tunnel (269 m)

Niedersachsen/Thüringen border, (former FRG/GDR border

Kleinbahn-AG Ellrich-Zorge

142,9

Ellrich

147,7

Woffleben

151,0

Niedersachswerfen

154,5

Nordhausen-Salza

Harzquerbahn

157,5

Halle-Kasseler Eisenbahn to Erfurt and Heiligenstadt

157,5

Nordhausen

Halle-Kasseler Eisenbahn to Halle (Saale)

The Südharzstrecke (also called Südharzbahn) is a railway route through Niedersachsen and Thuringen, Germany. It runs from Northeim to Nordhausen, via Herzberg am Harz, Bad Lauterberg-Barbis, Bad Sachsa, Walkenried and Ellrich. The line is 69 km long. The distance markers begin in Northeim at 88.6 km (measured from Hannover Hbf) and end in Nordhausen at 157.5 km.

The Südharzstrecke has a Regionalbahn passenger service provided by Deutsche Bahn. Since 10 December 2006 there has been hourly trains Göttingen–Nordhausen and back, with interchange at Herzberg for Osterode am Harz and Braunschweig.

The Südharzstrecke opened in 1868 from Northeim to Herzberg and 1869 to Nordhausen. Up to 1945, together with the Sollingbahn and the Halle-Kasseler Eisenbahn the line provided an important freight route between the Ruhr industrial area and Halle/Leipzig.

At Ellrich the line crossed the former Iron Curtain between West and East Germany, and freight traffic continued to cross here between the two German states. From 12 November 1989 passenger services resumed. However the line was in grave need of repair – with a speed limit of 30 km/h in sections – and for some time under threat of closure. After the redevelopment of the line and stations it is now possible to operate the greater part of the route at 100 km/h.

The branch to Bad Lauterberg, the former Odertalbahn, closed to passengers on 12 December 2004. Later the Scharzfeld station closed , replaced by a new halt Bad Lauterberg im Harz–Barbis on 11. December 2005. This halt is distinguished by its solar and geothermal heating, appreciated in winter.

From Herzberg to Niedersachswerfen the Südharzstrecke crosses the Südharzer Gipskarst gypsum karst. At Tettenborn, at Sachsenstein near Walkenried and at Woffleben there are problems with sinkage: the load-carrying capacity of the soil must be regularly controlled. During the building of the Walkenrieder Tunnel the miners discovered an unstable cave, which made construction difficult. Three workers died during the tunnel construction, when several meters collapsed.

In Walkenried from 1899 to 1963 there was interchange with the metre-gauge Südharz-Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft route to Braunlage. In Ellrich there was interchange with the Kleinbahn-AG Ellrich-Zorge narrow gauge route to Zorge.

In Zorge, near Walkenried, the Staatliche Maschinenfabrik in Zorge built wagons and locomotives from 1836 to 1879.

[edit] Literature

Manfred Dittman: Vor 150 Jahren – Lokomotiven aus dem Harz. Vom Lokomotiv- und Tenderbau in Zorge 1842–1851. Clausthal-Zellerfeld 1992
Joseph Högemann: Eisenbahn Altenbeken–Nordhausen. Geschichte eines Ost-West-Schienenstrangs. Verlag Kenning, Nordhorn 1991