Beucha - Trebsen. A Saxon Branch Line

[Bernard Lamb]

First Brexit and then Covid seem to have made a lot people think about their identity. Or even just their mortality. I know several people who have been looking into family history in a wider context and have read a couple of fascinating biographies. My family has connections with this line going back at least 90 years. I thought it might be of interest to put together the local history in terms of the railway. For a very minor branch it has punched well above its weight and played a part in national and indeed world events. 

Bernard

Photo of the terminus with a special working. It was over 50 years ago that I first made a trip on the line in one of those.

 

Beucha – Brandis – Seelingstädt - Trebsen (Mulde)

In the late nineteenth century the area east of Leipzig had developed into an important area for the Saxon stone industry. However, both the Leipzig-Dresden Railway and the Borsdorf–Döbeln–Coswig connection to the south ran some distance away from the most important quarries. This gave rise to the desire for a railway line between Beucha and Seelingstädt, which would be primarily for freight traffic. This proposed line had the potential for a large volume of traffic and was approved by the Saxon state parliament. The inhabitants of Brandis requested that a station was to be provided to serve the town.

In April 1898, work began on the new railway. The quarry owners participated financially, in particular with the supply of building materials. On 10 December 1898, the line to Seelingstädt was opened. Passenger train services initially only operated between Beucha and Brandis. From 1 October 1899, passenger trains also ran to Seelingstädt. Brandis was originally the first station on the line but the residents of Kleinsteinberg campaigned for an intermediate station to be built. This station opened on1 May 1901. The name was changed to Beucha Ost on 10 May 1949.

Later, the line was extended to Trebsen. In September 1910, construction began on the extension, which was opened on 1 October 1911. In the following years, the route developed into the most profitable in Saxony. In 1938, 30 freight trains ran daily to cope with the enormous volume of freight. In addition, there was a good volume of passenger traffic. This high level of activity continued during the war period, with 11 passenger trains in each direction in 1944. The area between Beucha and Brandis had seen much development in the 1920s and 1930s with several new rural housing estates, including a large number of “weekend houses”. There was also an airfield which was provided with its own siding. The volume of passenger traffic in 1944 was partly a result of severe bombing in Leipzig which caused much destruction and families who were fortunate to own “weekend houses” moved out of the city and became permanent residents.

After the Second World War, train services resumed on 28 May 1945 with four passenger trains per day. Between 1947 and 1949 there was also the station Frisch Glück near Polenz, which served a lignite plant.

During the war the airfield was used as a base for the Me 163 Komet aircraft and in the Cold War period it became an important Soviet base. There were emergency plans to continue the line south east, to join up with the existing main line, in case of disruption caused by any outbreak of hostilities. This preparation included the construction of bridge sections that were held in reserve away from the area but could be swiftly employed if needed. Track panels were also fabricated and remained stored at Trebsen and were still present in 1994. Altenhain was the location of a major Soviet munitions store.

After the political changes in eastern Germany from 1989, the line lost its importance with passenger and freight traffic greatly reduced. It took some time but eventually the Russians left the airfield. Ryan Air at one time considered using it but chose Altenburg instead. The area is now a solar farm, when constructed it was the largest in Europe. Passenger traffic between Brandis and Trebsen was discontinued on 28 September 1997. Between Beucha and Brandis, the train service was reduced to an hourly service. From 6 August 2004, the regional trains ran a through service from Leipzig Hbf to Brandis. However, it was not possible to achieve the passenger numbers of 1,000 per day necessary for long-term continued operation.

On 10 December 2006 the passenger service ceased. Freight traffic between Seelingstädt and Trebsen has been suspended since 31 December 2006, after it was last served by the Mitteldeutsche Eisenbahn (MEG).

Since the beginning of January 2011, the line has again been operated by the Deutsche Regionaleisenbahn.  At the end of 2012, a special train consisting of a double “piglet taxi” ran over the entire route. Every week there are two freight trains serving the Getreide AG junction in Trebsen. Other special trains have also used the line, the most recent being on 19 September 2021 to commemorate the 110th anniversary.

On 17 August 2021, Saxony's Minister of Transport Martin Dulig announced that the Beucha–Trebsen connection is one of five routes in Saxony that the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labour and Transport intends to examine "intensively and in detail for an activation option" for local rail passenger transport. 500 to 700 passengers are forecast daily between Beucha and Brandis, and 300 on the rest of the route to Trebsen.

[David C]

Interesting piece of history. Are you planning on building a model of part of it?

 

David C

[Bernard Lamb]

On 29/12/2021 at 12:47, David C said:

Interesting piece of history. Are you planning on building a model of part of it?

 

David C

Either Brandis or Trebsen would make interesting models.

The period would be an interesting choice.

Probably  the more interesting the more controversial.

Photography was not encouraged from the early 1930s to the late 1980s. I drop the odd hint as to why in the text. I will try to post a few shots tomorrow.

My small GDR branch has certain similarities in respect of traffic but is named Rode. You would need a real in depth knowledge of the GDR to get that. It was the station in a children's cartoon The Little Sandman.

Bernard

 

[Bernard Lamb]

Gunter Meyer was an engine driver and a well known photographer. He made a trip along the line in 1964. He had to take care with the locations for some of his shots, as photography was prohibited near railway lines and particularly in this location due to the sensitive sites in the area. Some shots are not up to his usual standard but they do form a unique record of the line at that time.

Bernard

 

 

Beucha Ost.The small goods shed and the various old vans has gone soon after this date and were replaced with a bus shelter type of structure and a cycle rack. This station served the family house which is less than a 5 minute walk away.

 

 

Brandis. Quite a large station that even had a Klein Lok for shunting. The compartment stock had the nickname "1000 door train".

 

 

Altenhain. Site of the large Soviet ammo dump. Not a place to hang around. Especial not with a camera.

 

 

Trebsen. Note the variety of stock at this time, cobbled together from any thing that would run. The motive power however was very modern with a BR65 often used.

 

 

[David C]

Fascinating photos, particularly those with the old Prussian compartment stock. In the west, these vehicles seem to have disappeared by  the late 50s/early 60s, although I suppose most of their underframes survived for longer under umbau coaches. Presumably, those in the east went under Reko stock. 

 

Although I travelled through the GDR in the 70s, I never risked taking any photos. As you imply, it would have been a brave man who appeared with a camera, particularly in that area - I'm not! 

 

Incidentally, have you seen this? https://www.h0-modellbahnforum.de/t299884f54850-Saechsische-Nebenbahn.html

 

David C

 

 

[SimonBoulton]

I believe some of the compartment stock survived until the early seventies. A very interesting thread and pictures. 

Edited January 4, 2022 by SimonBoulton

[Bernard Lamb]

4 hours ago, SimonBoulton said:

I believe some of the compartment stock survived until the early seventies. A very interesting thread and pictures. 

Thank. I will continue with the photos as they seem to be of interest.

There was a big clear out of both passenger stock and locomotives around 1967/8 when much old stock was taken out of service. Some as you say did hang on for a good few years after that. 

I remember wooden seats in coaches still in use in 1972 but do not have a record of what type they were.

Bernard

 

 

 

[Bernard Lamb]

I mentioned about Klein Loks being used on the line. They were used at several locations and were in service for a period of over 50 years. Apologies again for the poor quality of the photos. Many were taken in very difficult circumstances.

In date order :-

 

 

4528 in Trebsen. A group of French POWs have arrived to help sort out a problem. This must be quite early in the war as the atmosphere soon changed. The other photo is the loco and a group of local railway men in Trebsen. On the far left is the driver Willy Hofmann. From the collection of Frank Platzsch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

4528 along with Willy Hoffmann headed East in March 1942 to be based at Gomel in Belarus. A trip of some 1250kms. Again from the collection of Frank Platzsch. 

 

 

 

 

 

5007 worked in the Soviet ammunition depot at Altenhain. Very few DR personnel were allowed into the site and incoming trains stopped at the exchange siding. The loco was damaged and out of use when this photo was taken by Gennady Pasthukov in 1975. The Russian soldiers couldn't resist  the unusual background. 

 

 

 

 

100 951-5 in 1991 at Trebsen. Note the track panels that were stored here as part of the strategic reserve. This loco also worked in the ammunition depot at one time and during the war was with the Luftwaffe Muna Hohenleipish.

Gerard van den Hoven, collection of Dirk Reinhardt.

 

 

Bernard

[jmh67]

Just in case anybody is interested:

 

http://geo-en.hlipp.de/photo/67518 - one of the last trains in Trebsen.

 

Most passenger trains from the 1970s to the 1990s consisted of railbuses and matching trailers, sometimes up to six vehicles in one train. At busy times, class 110/112 diesels ran with a rake of Bghw carriages.