Route Network

Where is the mountain railway located?

Starting from Rottenbach in the south of Thuringia, close to Bad Blankenburg, the Schwarzatalbahn (Schwarza Valley railway) leaves the Rinne Valley and enters the Schwarza River valley. Alongside the Schwarza River, the railway passes Schwarzburg and ends in Katzhütte. In the middle of the route, the train stops at Obstfelderschmiede, the valley station of the Thüringer Bergbahn funicular railway. Obstfelderschmiede is a part of the town of Schwarzatal. The funicular connects the Schwarzatalbahn with the upland around the town of Oberweissbach. The summit station of the funicular is Lichtenhain. From there on an electrified route continues to Oberweissbach and Cursdorf.

Thüringer Bergbahn

The Thüringer Bergbahn, opened in 1923, is made up of two sections. The funicular railway section from Obstfelderschmiede valley station to Lichtenhain summit station is 1.4 km (0.9 miles) long and has a gradient of 25%. The upland route from Lichtenhain to Cursdorf is 2.5 km (1.5 miles) long. It is used by vintage electric railcars and a special oils carriage, the “Olitätenwagen”.

Schwarzatalbahn

The Schwarzatalbahn (Schwarza Valley railway) from Rottenbach to Katzhütte was first opened in 1900 and was fully modernised in 2002. It covers a 25 km (15.5 mile)-route and has a maximum gradient of 32%.