The Ammergau Railway or Ammergaubahn (sometimes called the Ammertalbahn or "Ammer Valley Railway", originally the Lokalbahn Murnau–Oberammergau) is a single-tracked, electrified railway line in Bavaria in southern Germany. It runs from Murnau to Oberammergau, its latter stages following the valley of the river Ammer from which it derives its name. This stub line to Oberammergau branches off at Murnau from the Munich–Garmisch-Partenkirchen main line.
A LAG railbus in early 1905 at Oberammergau stationOne of the iconic E 69 locomotives which served the Ammergaubahn from 1905 until the 1980s
This 23.671 km long route was completed on 1 May 1900 under a Bavarian concession granted on 24 January 1897 to the Lokalbahn AG (LAG).[1][page needed] On 1 January 1905 it was electrified, becoming the first railway in Germany to run on single-phase AC power. Originally the line was electrified with 5.5 kV, 16 Hz AC. With effect from 1 August 1938 the LAG was transferred to the Deutsche Reichsbahn. But it was not until 1954/55 that the power system was converted to the usual 15 kV, 162/3 Hz by the Deutsche Bundesbahn, and four of the five DRG Class E 69 electric locomotives modified accordingly.
With road traffic increasing in popularity, the Ammergau Railway was affected just as badly as other branch lines in the railway network. Goods traffic dwindled to virtually nothing and the number of passengers fell steadily to between 500 and 1,000 per day. As a result, a vast amount of infrastructure has been removed.
In 1999 there were negotiations with the passenger union Pro Bahn and DB Regio Bayern AG. Pro Bahn demanded inter alia a new crossing place at Altenau (Bay) and the retention of the second track at Oberammergau. That would have enabled journey times to be reduced by about 10 minutes. But the cost of about 4 million marks was too high and the project was put on ice.
Modernisationedit
In recent times the route has been extensively modernised. However all infrastructure no longer needed for scheduled services fell victim to this process, which resulted in major criticism of Deutsche Bahn by Pro Bahn and others. For example, since the renovation in autumn 2005 there has only been one track at the terminus in Oberammergau; the rest of the area has been built on to provide a bus station and other facilities. As a result, the terminus was downgraded from a station to a halt. The stations at Grafenaschau and Unterammergau were likewise downgraded to stops, since when trains cannot be caught from either location. As a direct result of these rationalisation measures, specials can no longer run during the day to Oberammergau, because there is no longer anywhere for them to cross. The only remaining crossing place—at Bad Kohlgrub—is needed for scheduled services. Here the regular trains cross hourly. Furthermore, locomotives can no longer run around at the terminus in Oberammergau; only push-pull trains or multiple units can use the single track there.
In the area of Bad Kohlgrub, 10 kilometres of 80-year-old track was replaced; the new rails were continuously welded. The route was also equipped in 2005 with the GSM-R digital train radio system. Since 28 November 2008 the line has also to be controlled from the electronic signal box at Garmisch-Partenkirchen. This means that the Fahrdienstleiter post at Bad Kohlgrub can be saved.
One curiosity is the request stop at Jägerhaus, where trains pass formerly through at night without stopping for safety reasons because the stop has no platform lighting. The station has since been closed.
Operational stockedit
Once the original Class 169 locomotives had retired in the early 1980s due to their advanced state of obsolescence, they were replaced by Class 141 locomotives. The rolling stock, however, remained the same: the so-called Silberlings being employed (two coaches per train). The locomotive-hauled trains were finally replaced by Class 425 and 426 multiples (two sets being required for scheduled services), the last Class 141-hauled push-pull trains working the line in autumn 2004. Since the summer of 2013, Bombardier Talent 2 (class 442) railcars have been used.
^Dumjahn, Horst-Werner (1984) [1935]. Handbuch der deutschen Eisenbahnstrecken; Eröffnungsdaten 1835-1935. Mainz: Dumjahn [Nachdruck nach Vorlage Reichsbahn]. ISBN3-921426-29-4.
Sourcesedit
Blath, Peter (2005). "Die Lokalbahn Murnau - Oberammergau". Schienenverkehr im Werdenfelser Land (in German). Erfurt: Sutton-Verlag. ISBN3-89702-886-7.
Mühlstraßer, Bernd (2005). Die Baureihe E 69: Die bayerischen Localbahn-Elloks und die Strecke Murnau–Oberammergau (in German). Freiburg: EK-Verlag GmbH. ISBN3-88255-169-0.
Rossberg, Ralf Roman (1970). Die Lokalbahn Murnau–Oberammergau (in German). Stuttgart: Frankh’sche Verlagshandlung. ISBN3-440-03731-2.
Rossberg, Ralf Roman (1990). "Die Lokalbahn Murnau–Oberammergau". Eisenbahn-Kurier (in German). 24 (215). EK-Verlag GmbH: 46–48. ISSN 0170-5288.
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ammergaubahn.
1944 timetable
May 08, 2024
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This article includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations March 2017 Learn how and when to remove this message The Ammergau Railway or Ammergaubahn sometimes called the Ammertalbahn or Ammer Valley Railway originally the Lokalbahn Murnau Oberammergau is a single tracked electrified railway line in Bavaria in southern Germany It runs from Murnau to Oberammergau its latter stages following the valley of the river Ammer from which it derives its name This stub line to Oberammergau branches off at Murnau from the Munich Garmisch Partenkirchen main line Ammergau RailwayET 425 in Oberammergau 2007 OverviewNative nameAmmergaubahnStatusOperationalOwnerDeutsche BahnLine number5451LocaleBavariaTerminiMurnauOberammergauStations11ServiceTypeHeavy rail Passenger railRegional railRoute number963Operator s DB RegioHistoryOpened5 April 1900TechnicalLine length23 7 km 14 7 mi Number of tracksSingle trackTrack gauge1 435 mm 4 ft 8 1 2 in standard gaugeElectrification5 kV 16 Hz Until 1954 15 kV 16 Hz AC overhead lineRoute mapLegend from Munich 0 0 Murnau Murnau Lokalbahnhof closed on 3 May 1960 0 4 Murnau Ort to Garmisch Partenkirchen 1 6 Ramsachleite 3 3 Seeleiten Berggeist request stop 5 6 Grafenaschau halt former station 9 4 Jagerhaus 11 7 Bad Kohlgrub 13 1 Bad Kohlgrub Kurhaus request stop 14 3 Saulgrub 16 6 Altenau Bay 18 9 Scherenau 20 4 Unterammergau halt former station Ammer 23 7 Oberammergau halt former station Contents 1 Operations and history 2 Modernisation 3 Operational stock 4 See also 5 References 5 1 Sources 6 External linksOperations and history edit nbsp A LAG railbus in early 1905 at Oberammergau station nbsp One of the iconic E 69 locomotives which served the Ammergaubahn from 1905 until the 1980s This 23 671 km long route was completed on 1 May 1900 under a Bavarian concession granted on 24 January 1897 to the Lokalbahn AG LAG 1 page needed On 1 January 1905 it was electrified becoming the first railway in Germany to run on single phase AC power Originally the line was electrified with 5 5 kV 16 Hz AC With effect from 1 August 1938 the LAG was transferred to the Deutsche Reichsbahn But it was not until 1954 55 that the power system was converted to the usual 15 kV 162 3 Hz by the Deutsche Bundesbahn and four of the five DRG Class E 69 electric locomotives modified accordingly With road traffic increasing in popularity the Ammergau Railway was affected just as badly as other branch lines in the railway network Goods traffic dwindled to virtually nothing and the number of passengers fell steadily to between 500 and 1 000 per day As a result a vast amount of infrastructure has been removed In 1999 there were negotiations with the passenger union Pro Bahn and DB Regio Bayern AG Pro Bahn demanded inter alia a new crossing place at Altenau Bay and the retention of the second track at Oberammergau That would have enabled journey times to be reduced by about 10 minutes But the cost of about 4 million marks was too high and the project was put on ice Modernisation editIn recent times the route has been extensively modernised However all infrastructure no longer needed for scheduled services fell victim to this process which resulted in major criticism of Deutsche Bahn by Pro Bahn and others For example since the renovation in autumn 2005 there has only been one track at the terminus in Oberammergau the rest of the area has been built on to provide a bus station and other facilities As a result the terminus was downgraded from a station to a halt The stations at Grafenaschau and Unterammergau were likewise downgraded to stops since when trains cannot be caught from either location As a direct result of these rationalisation measures specials can no longer run during the day to Oberammergau because there is no longer anywhere for them to cross The only remaining crossing place at Bad Kohlgrub is needed for scheduled services Here the regular trains cross hourly Furthermore locomotives can no longer run around at the terminus in Oberammergau only push pull trains or multiple units can use the single track there In the area of Bad Kohlgrub 10 kilometres of 80 year old track was replaced the new rails were continuously welded The route was also equipped in 2005 with the GSM R digital train radio system Since 28 November 2008 the line has also to be controlled from the electronic signal box at Garmisch Partenkirchen This means that the Fahrdienstleiter post at Bad Kohlgrub can be saved One curiosity is the request stop at Jagerhaus where trains pass formerly through at night without stopping for safety reasons because the stop has no platform lighting The station has since been closed Operational stock editOnce the original Class 169 locomotives had retired in the early 1980s due to their advanced state of obsolescence they were replaced by Class 141 locomotives The rolling stock however remained the same the so called Silberlings being employed two coaches per train The locomotive hauled trains were finally replaced by Class 425 and 426 multiples two sets being required for scheduled services the last Class 141 hauled push pull trains working the line in autumn 2004 Since the summer of 2013 Bombardier Talent 2 class 442 railcars have been used See also editRoyal Bavarian State Railways Bavarian branch lines List of closed railway lines in BavariaReferences edit Dumjahn Horst Werner 1984 1935 Handbuch der deutschen Eisenbahnstrecken Eroffnungsdaten 1835 1935 Mainz Dumjahn Nachdruck nach Vorlage Reichsbahn ISBN 3 921426 29 4 Sources edit Blath Peter 2005 Die Lokalbahn Murnau Oberammergau Schienenverkehr im Werdenfelser Land in German Erfurt Sutton Verlag ISBN 3 89702 886 7 Muhlstrasser Bernd 2005 Die Baureihe E 69 Die bayerischen Localbahn Elloks und die Strecke Murnau Oberammergau in German Freiburg EK Verlag GmbH ISBN 3 88255 169 0 Rossberg Ralf Roman 1970 Die Lokalbahn Murnau Oberammergau in German Stuttgart Frankh sche Verlagshandlung ISBN 3 440 03731 2 Rossberg Ralf Roman 1990 Die Lokalbahn Murnau Oberammergau Eisenbahn Kurier in German 24 215 EK Verlag GmbH 46 48 ISSN 0170 5288 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ammergaubahn KBS 963 Die Ammergaubahn 1944 timetable Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ammergau Railway amp oldid 1219665493, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
