Everything has changed, but the steam train between Apeldoorn and Dieren has remained. Not as a daily means of transport, but as a special attraction. Experience the piercing sound of the steam whistle. Experience the pounding, the steam development and the pulling power of the mighty steam locomotives. The journey by steam train takes you along the more than one hundred-year-old railway King’s Line. A route that runs between the Veluwe and the IJsselvallei, with a varied forest and meadow landscape.
The original railway line was operated by Locaalspoorwegmaatschappij Hollands Noorderkwartier (1884 - 1935). The line was closed to passenger services from 1 January 1936 to 29 May 1940.On 5 January 1941 the line was permanently closed to passenger services; as was the railway station in Medemblik.
Today, the railway is operated as a tourist attraction. The centrepiece of its collection is the former Nederlandse Spoorwegen locomotive 7742 Bello, the only preserved light steam engine in the Netherlands. Other steam locomotives in running order include three tramway engines, two of which are enclosed tram engines (steam dummies). The remaining ones are: three industrial engines; a German engine which is rebuilt as a replica of a Dutch railway shunting engine (of a series of which several also served on steam tramways); and a locomotive of industrial type which served at a steam tram company in Zuid-Holland, still awaiting restoration. One of the industrial locomotives is on a long-term loan to Museum Buurtspoorweg [nl].
The Zuid-Limburgse Stoomtrein Maatschappij (South Limburg Steam Train Company) or ZLSM is a historic railway that runs from the main station Simpelveld to Schin op Geul and Kerkrade in the south of the Netherlands. It also runs across the border from Simpelveld to Aachen-Vetschau and has an extensive collection of rolling stock. The ZLSM is currently a partner of the Great Central Railway in England, as both have double-track lines, although one is disused.
It has 29 km of track and 8 stops.
The Dendermonde-Puurs Steam Railway (Stoomtrein Dendermonde-Puurs) is a historic railway located in the Belgian provinces of East Flanders (Oost-Vlaanderen) and Antwerp (Antwerp).
It runs from the town of Dendermonde to the town of Puurs on approximately 14 km of 1,435 mm standard gauge tracks. The non-profit historic railway company SDP takes care of the railway. SDP, which stands for Stoomtrein Dendermonde Puurs or Dendermonde Puurs Steam Train, has a depot at the station in Baasrode-Noord. Trains are pulled by both steam and motor locomotives.
The Chemin de fer à vapeur des Trois Vallées (English: Three Valleys Steam Railway) is a heritage railway in southern Belgium, created in 1973.
It is a non-profit society that operates a railway from the town of Mariembourg, near Couvin to Treignes, near Viroinval. The length of the railway runs about 14 km over standard gauge track. The society's name comes from the three rivers followed by the line; River Eau Blanche, River Eau Noire, and River Viroin. The heritage railway connects with the greater Belgian rail network in Mariembourg.
The society runs two main facilities. The society has constructed its own platforms near the old locomotive roundhouse and water tower in Mariembourg, and in Treignes, a former border station, a museum with a large workshop has been built. The last 3 kilometers from the line (partially established in France) are no longer usable, as its tunnel has been sold and turned in a mushroom growing plant.
Founded by former rail employees, the society purchased many steam engines from the largely nascent coal industry in its early years. Since then, it has also acquired representative rolling stocks from Belgium and neighbouring countries, France and Luxembourg, and from countries where steam locomotives were still in use, such as Poland and East Germany.
The Blonay–Chamby Museum Railway (French: Chemin de fer-musée Blonay-Chamby, BC) is a short 3-kilometre-long (1.9 mi) steep but adhesion worked metre gauge heritage railway operated as part of the Blonay–Chamby Railway Museum using vintage steam and electric locomotives and rolling stock. It uses the Blonay–Chamby railway line, originally built by the Chemins de fer électriques Veveysans. It is rail-connected at both ends, at its upper terminus, at Chamby Station on the Montreux–Lenk im Simmental line and at the lower end at Blonay station on the Vevey–Les Pléiades railway line operated by Transports Montreux–Vevey–Riviera.
The Dampfbahn-Verein Zürcher Oberland (DVZO), lit. 'steam train association of Zürcher Oberland', is a heritage railway association based in the Swiss canton of Zürich. It owns historic locomotives and coaches and operates railway services between the towns of Hinwil and Bauma most Sundays from May to October, in addition to charter services on the whole Swiss railway network.
The single-tracked route leads from Hinwil, the terminus of the Effretikon–Hinwil railway line, over the Uerikon–Bauma railway line to Bauma on the intersection with the Tösstal railway line, with intermediate stops at Ettenhausen-Emmetschloo, Bäretswil and Neuthal. Between, Neuthal and Bauma, the line exhibits its steepest grade of 29,2‰. The entire line is electrified with 15 kV 16,7 Hz.
The Furka Steam Railway (German: Dampfbahn Furka-Bergstrecke (DFB)) is a largely volunteer-operated heritage railway which operates a partially rack and pinion-operated line across the Furka Pass, between Realp in Uri and Oberwald in Valais. Culminating at 2,160 metres (7,087 ft), above sea level, it is an old mountainous section of the Furka Oberalp Bahn (FO) that was abandoned after the construction of the Furka Tunnel. It has been gradually brought back into service by the Verein Furka-Bergstrecke with the use of only steam locomotives, with the entire line completed in 2010. As a result, the nearly 18 kilometre-long Furka Railway is the longest operated unelectrified line in Switzerland. It is also the second highest rail crossing in Europe, after the Bernina Railway. The Uri side of the line also constitutes the highest railway in Central Switzerland.
The Jokioinen Museum Railway is located in Jokioinen, Finland. It is located on the last operating commercial narrow gauge railway in Finland, the 750 mm (2 ft 5+1⁄2 in) gauge Jokioinen Railway.
The museum was established on February 2, 1978, four years after the discontinued operation of the commercially-operated railway, when the new Jokioinen Museum Railway Limited joint stock company (Finnish: Jokioisten Museorautatie Oy) bought the rail line from Jokioinen to Minkiö railway station, with its land and associated buildings. Museum steam trains began running that same year. In 1994 the line was extended with an 8-kilometre (5 mi) stretch between Minkiö and Humppila.
The museum railway station at Humppila is beside the station of the Turku-Toijala VR line, providing a convenient access to the museum.
The Minkiö station has a narrow gauge museum with a collection of carriages and locomotives. There are a number other attractions in the vicinity of the railway.
The Historic Railway, Frankfurt (Historische Eisenbahn Frankfurt) or HEF is a German museum railway in Frankfurt am Main. The society was founded in 1978 and its aim is the preservation of historic, valuable railway materiel in working order, especially steam locomotives, as technical and cultural monuments.
Since 1979 there has been a regular museum service several weekends a year on the tracks of the Frankfurt Harbour Railway (Frankfurter Hafenbahn) between the halts of Mainkur, Eiserner Steg and Frankfurt-Griesheim. Since 1981 the society has organised the Königstein railway festival (Bahnhofsfest Königstein) every year at Whitsun, when the Königsteiner Bahn between Frankfurt-Höchst and Königstein im Taunus is operated. In addition vehicles of the Historic Railway, Frankfurt are used in special services throughout Germany.
The Dampfbahn Fränkische Schweiz e. V. (Franconian Switzerland Steam Railway Co. Ltd.) or DFS is a German museum railway operated by a registered society (eingetragener Verein) in Ebermannstadt, in a region of northern Bavaria, Germany, known as Franconian Switzerland.
Mellrichstadt–Fladungen railway
The Mellrichstadt–Fladungen railway, also called the Streu Valley Line (Streutalbahn), is a Bavarian branch line that connects Mellrichstadt in Lower Franconia (Unterfranken) with the town of Fladungen, which nestles in the Rhön mountains.
In 1996 the branch was opened again as far as Ostheim as a museum railway operating the so-called Little Rhön Train (Rhön-Zügle). In 2000, the entire route to Fladungen was opened again. The museum's jewel in the crown is its restored Bavarian GtL 4/4 steam engine, number 98 886, which is on loan from the town of Schweinfurt. The museum railway is part of the Franconian Open Air Museum (Fränkisches Freilandmuseum) and the railway is operated by the Lower Main Railway Friends (Eisenbahnfreunden Untermain).
The Bavarian Railway Museum (Bayerisches Eisenbahnmuseum or BEM) is a railway museum based in the old locomotive sheds at Nördlingen station in Bavaria, Germany. It is home to more than 100 original railway vehicles and has been located in the depot (Bahnbetriebswerk or Bw) at Nördlingen since 1985.
The Bavarian Railway Museum works the route to Gunzenhausen and the section from Nördlingen to Feuchtwangen[3] on the line to Dombühl with historical vehicles. Its daughter company, BayernBahn Betriebsgesellschaft mbH, is responsible for the maintenance of the line to Dombühl rented from the Deutsche Bahn as well as the operation of museum vehicles on special trains, but also for other services, for example in maintenance of way trains. In addition, for several years impressive goods trains have been hauled in the Nördlingen area e.g. for wood and timber products. For this Class V 100 und V 60 diesel locomotives are usually used, but sometimes the museum's steam engines are engaged as well.
The Eisenbahnmuseum Bochum-Dahlhausen is a railway museum situated south of the city of Bochum in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.[1] It was founded by DGEG, the German Railway History Company in 1977 and is based in a locomotive depot that was built between 1916 and 1918 and ceased operation in 1969. Then DGEG took over the whole area of 46,000 square metres and built up the biggest railway museum in Germany. In the middle of the museum, there is an engine shed with fourteen tracks. A preserved turntable, coaling, watering, and sanding facilities are still in operation. This museum is integrated into The Industrial Heritage Trail (Route der Industriekultur) a route of monuments from the history of the industry.
The Dieringhausen Railway Museum (Eisenbahnmuseum Dieringhausen) is a railway history museum in Dieringhausen in the district of Oberbergischer Kreis in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
It is located on the site of the former Deutsche Bundesbahn locomotive depot at Dieringhausen and is a protected historical monument with 2.7 acres (11,000 m2) of land. After railway operations had ceased on 1 May 1982, a society was founded with the aim of forming and running a museum. That same year the first museum festival was celebrated.
The site has a historical locomotive roundhouse with twelve roads and their associated turntable.
The museum has a fleet of eleven steam locomotives, eleven diesel locomotives, four electric locomotives and a collection of railway wagons.
The Prussian P 8 steam engine P8 2455 "Posen" from the firm of "Länderbahnreisen / Manuel Jußen", Marburg, is also stationed at Dieringhausen.
The Eisenbahnfreunde Zollernbahn (EFZ) (Zollernbahn Railway Society) is a German railway society dedicated to the preservation of historic railway vehicles, especially steam locomotives, where possible in working order. The society arranges day and shuttle trips, predominantly in Baden-Württemberg in southwestern Germany. It is based at Rottweil.
The operating company for the EFZ is the NeSA Eisenbahn-Betriebsgesellschaft Neckar-Schwarzwald-Alb-mbH ('Neckar-Black Forest-Alb Railway Operating Company').
In 1977 the specials no longer took place on Bundesbahn tracks due to their ban on steam traction, but on private railways, especially the Hohenzollerische Landesbahn (HzL) and Württembergische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft (WEG). In 1982 the EFZ began regular museum railway services on the HzL route from Kleinengstingen to Gammertingen and, in 1984, also between Hechingen and Eyach (a suburb of Eutingen im Gäu).
Since 1993 the EFZ locos have once again been allowed to run on Bundesbahn routes. Since then there have been trips all over southwestern Germany and beyond. A tradition since 1978 has been the so-called 'Three Kings Programme'[1] (Dreikönigsprogramm) annually on 6 January. Really sensational were several foreign and long-distance trips with steam locomotives, for example in 1993 and 1995 to Vienna, in 1995 to Austria, Italy and Slovenia to Laibach (Slovenian: Lubljana), in 1996 to Dresden and on to Berlin, and in 2007 to Nordhausen. In 1996 the society's vehicles covered 197,000 km, locomotive no. 01 519 sometimes clocked up over 20,000 km annually during the 1990s.
The Railway Vehicle Preservation Society (Gesellschaft zur Erhaltung von Schienenfahrzeugen e.V. or GES) is one of the oldest societies in Germany that runs a museum railway. The headquarters of the GES is in Stuttgart.
The society was founded on 8 December 1965 by a group of tramway fans within the so-called Verkehrsfreunde Stuttgart society, that had signed up for the preservation and care of the last remaining railcar, no. 126, from the former Filderbahn as well as other historically valuable trams. After the Stuttgart Tram Company (Stuttgarter Straßenbahnen or SSB) had shown no interest in building up a museum collection and the Filderbahn railcar 126 could only be preserved by keeping it at Ludwigsburg, the GES turned at the end of the 1960s to the more promising theme of opening a railway. The engagement of the GES for the preservation and subsequent restoration of the Filderbahn wagon laid the foundation stone for the present-day collection of the Stuttgarter Historische Straßenbahnen.
The GES runs regular museum railway operations using the historical train consists Feuriger Elias ('Fiery Elias') and Sofazügle (literally: 'Little Sofa Train'). Due to the ban on steam locomotives issued by the Deutsche Bundesbahn between 1977 and 1985 the operations were restricted to private railway lines on the Strohgäubahn from Korntal-Münchingen to Weissach or the Tälesbahn between Nürtingen and Neuffen. The trains continue to have this as their there today. To begin with, special trips were also run on the WEG routes from Enz Nord to Enzweihingen and, up to 1982, on the Filderbahn between Stuttgart-Möhringen, Stuttgart-Vaihingen, Leinfelden and Neuhausen auf den Fildern. From 1985 specials were also offered on other routes in the Stuttgart area.
The living railway museum, run by the Association de jeunes pour l'entretien et la conservation des trains d'autrefois (AJECTA), is located in the former Longueville locomotive depot, near the SNCF station, in the Seine-et-Marne département in the Île-de-France region.
The museum is open all year round to individuals and groups, from October to May, from 1pm to 5pm on Sundays and public holidays, and from June to September, from 10am to 6pm on weekends and public holidays. Guided tours are available during opening times and by appointment for groups during the week.
Celebration of the centenary of the Longueville rotunda on Commons
On 6, 7 and 8 May 2023, an impressive event called "Festival Vapeur 2023"6 took place. Ten steam locomotives, seven of which belonged to invited associations, were put through their paces and, over the long weekend, provided traction for several special trains open to the public, between the stations of Longueville, Villiers-Saint-Georges, Romilly-sur-Seine and Montereau. Four railcars with around ten historic electric and diesel locomotives, as well as TGV Sud-Est No. 16, were also invited to take part in the festival. At the end of each day, a steam locomotive train was organised for photographers and videographers between Longueville and Flamboin-Gouaix stations. The rotunda of the AJECTA depot-museum, which housed stands for associations and railway second-hand goods, was also open to the public.
The Froissy Dompierre Light Railway (French: Chemin de fer Froissy-Dompierre, CFCD) is a 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in) narrow gauge light railway running from Froissy (a hamlet of La Neuville-lès-Bray) to Dompierre-Becquincourt, through Cappy, in the Somme department, France. It is run as a heritage railway by APPEVA (Association Picarde pour la Préservation et l'Entretien des Véhicules Anciens) and is also known as P'tit Train de la Haute Somme. It is the last survivor of the 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in) narrow gauge trench railways of the World War I battlefields.
APPEVA owns or has in store 9 steam locomotives, of which three are operating and some are considered as a Monument historique, and 24 diesel engines. The Froissy Dompierre Railway operates from April till the end of September, on Sundays and holidays, and every day of the week (except Monday) in July and August. The journey between the Froissy museum and the Dompierre terminus takes one hour. The CFCD is twinned with the Leighton Buzzard Light Railway.
The Freiburg–Colmar railway was an international railway that formerly connected Freiburg im Breisgau, in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, with Colmar, in the French department of Haut-Rhin (région Alsace). The line crossed the river Rhine on a bridge between Breisach and Neuf-Brisach. Since that bridge was destroyed in 1945, the line from Freiburg has terminated at Breisach, and this stretch of line is now commonly called the Freiburg–Breisach railway, or the Breisacherbahn. The section from Freiburg to Breisach was completed in 1871 and the remainder in 1878.
Since the destruction of the Rhine bridge
Colmar–Volgelsheim line (French section)
The French railway company, SNCF, operated passenger services between Colmar and Volgelsheim after the Second World War, but closed them in 1969. Only two freight trains still run daily from Colmar to the Rhine port near Marckolsheim. In 1982, the Chemin de Fer Touristique du Rhin was founded, which operates a heritage railway service on the French part of the line. This is made possible, among other things, by the Colmar Chamber of Commerce leasing it the Volgelsheim–Marckolsheim line free of charge.
The Railway Museum of Catalonia (Catalan: Museu del Ferrocarril de Catalunya; Spanish: Museo del Ferrocarril de Cataluña is a museum in Vilanova i la Geltrú (Catalonia, Spain). The museum has a large collection of historic railway locomotives and other rolling stock in a former station and roundhouse. It is located close to the railway station in Vilanova i la Geltrú, 40 km south of Barcelona.
The museum's collection comprises more than sixty vehicles from all periods of history, diverse countries of origin and different technologies, including 28 steam locomotives from the late 19th century and a copy of the first steam locomotive used in the Iberian Peninsula, still used in demonstrations on the first Sunday of the month. The collection also includes diesel and electric locomotives, coaches, a Bogie type Harlan, a signal bridge, and an original interlocking lever frame table used in the Barcelona central railway station.
The Basque Railway Museum (Basque: Burdinbidearen Euskal Museoa, Spanish: Museo Vasco del Ferrocarril) is located in Azpeitia, Basque Country, Spain. It has a collection of steam locomotives and other rolling stock as well as other items, most of them related to the Basque narrow gauge railway network.The museum is located in the former railway station in Azpeitia.
The museum operates a heritage railway between Azpeitia and Lasao, on the former Urola railway line. The 4.5 km (2.8 mi) line is isolated from the Euskotren network.
The Wolsztyn locomotive depot is the only locomotive depot still in operation in Europe and probably in the world, from which steam locomotives are dispatched almost daily to run regular passenger trains, mostly on the route from Wolsztyn to Poznań, Lešno or Zbązynek. It is also the only place where you can see the still functional workshops, machinery and equipment, as well as other technical facilities used for maintenance and repair of steam locomotives. It is not an open-air museum or a museum created to present steam locomotives and their equipment, but a real engine house that has been in operation for more than 100 years. Only here can you see a steam locomotive warmed up almost every day.
The locomotive shed operates on the basis of a set of assets of the Steam Locomotive Maintenance and Repair Department in Wolsztyn of the PKP Cargo SA Western Plant, which were transferred to the Locomotive Depot by PKP Cargo SA on the basis of a donation agreement. The main objective of the Wolsztyn Locomotive Depot is to preserve the cultural heritage and disseminate knowledge of technical culture related to the history of railway transport, especially steam traction, by operating an active locomotive workshop and dispatching steam traction trains.
Narrow Gauge Railway Museum in Sochaczew (Polish: Muzeum Kolei Wąskotorowej w Sochaczewie) is a 750 mm (2 ft 5+1⁄2 in)-gauge heritage railway based at Sochaczew in Poland, about 50 kilometres (31 mi) west of Warsaw. The museum's headquarters are that of the former Sochaczew County Narrow Gauge Railway (Polish: Sochaczewska Kolej Powiatowa). It has a fleet of historic 750mm-gauge steam, diesel and electric locomotives, goods wagons, passenger cars and draisines. It has also a small number of standard gauge and other exhibits.
Part of the railway has been restored to service. Trains from the museum to Kampinos Forest run on Saturdays from the end of May until the mid-September and also on Wednesdays during the summer holidays.
The museum was established in 1984 and opened in 1986. It is a branch of the Railway Museum in Warsaw. Due to the uncertain status of land property and financial difficulties the future of both is uncertain.
Currently, the ČHŽ runs daily during the tourist season from 8 April to 16 September 2023, operation is provided on the section of the line from Šánské to Čierny Balog (only on request), to Vydrovská dolina and to Dobroče. In 2012, with the support of the European Union, the renewed line from Čierny Balog to the local part of Dobroč (4km) was opened. Extraordinary rides can be booked at any time. The rolling stock consists of four steam locomotives, five diesel locomotives and a refurbished M21 004 motor car. The locomotives are operated together with a set of historic passenger coaches. Some of them, including the restoration car, are in the design of summer sightseeing cars, which enhance the direct experience of the ride and the countryside. These wagons were acquired by ČHŽ by rebuilding the original freight wagons, in one case an original summer sightseeing wagon rescued from the cancelled line Ružomberok - Korytnica Kúpele. Another interesting feature is the manual method of braking the trains, common on forest railways.
The rack railway line Tisovec - Pohronská Polhora was built in 1896, mainly for the needs of the developing metallurgical industry. Since its original rack and pinion equipment happily survived the period of the decline of iron production in the second half of the 20th century, the railway was able to become a cultural monument in 2008. Following the unique acquisition of a cogwheel steam locomotive from the defunct Romanian cogwheel railway, this Slovak railway line has become the only place in Europe where the long-forgotten experience of riding a cogwheel steam train on a standard gauge railway can be fully enjoyed.
The forest railway leading through the Bystrica valley is now part of the Museum of the Kysuce Village in Nová Bystrica - Vychylovka.
In the past it was used for transporting timber.
Nowadays, the preserved part of the Kysuce section of this narrow-gauge railway is already connected with the forest railway of the neighbouring Orava region (together the former Kysuce-Orava forest railway).
The route is 5 km long and leads from Skanzen station to Chmúra station - 1st branch and back. Trains run from May to the end of October.