page_title: Heidenau–Kurort Altenberg railway
section_title: The narrow-gauge railway from 1890 to 1939
hierarchical_section_title: Heidenau–Kurort Altenberg railway / History / The narrow-gauge railway from 1890 to 1939
caption_attribution_description: English: water house in station Bärenstein, Müglitztalbahn, Saxony, Germany Deutsch: Wasserhaus Bärenstein, Müglitztalbahn
context_page_description: The Heidenau–Kurort Altenberg railway, also known in German as the Müglitztalbahn is a German railway in Saxony. Branching off the Elbe Valley Railway, it connects the town of Heidenau near Dresden with the towns of Glashütte and Altenberg in Erzgebirge, where it terminates. The total length is 38 km, with a total incline of 634 meters. The scenic track follows primarily the Müglitz river, passing the towns of Dohna, Glashütte and Geising.
  The railway was initially a narrow gauge railway, which was opened on November 17, 1890. Between 1935 and 1938, the tracks were graded and converted to standard gauge.
  Passenger transport services are operated on behalf of Verkehrsverbund Oberelbe by Städtebahn Sachsen since 12 December 2010 following a retendering of the transport services. The rail infrastructure is operated by DB Netz, the stations are run by DB Station&Service.
context_section_description: After two years of construction, with up to 1100 workers per month, the line was put into operation on 17 November 1890. It was 36.1 km long and overcame a difference in height of 470 m. The narrow and winding valley made considerable demands on the route selection. Of the total length, 86% was uphill (31 km) and 40% was in curvy sections (14.5 km). The Geising Viaduct was at 65 m long, the longest of the 57 bridges built. For the time being, Altenberg did not have a connection to the railway, as there was insufficient finance and no suitable locomotives available for the steep Geising–Altenberg section. Geising station was officially given the double name of "Geising-Altenberg", although the hill town hardly gained any benefit, since it was about 3 km away from and 160 metres in altitude above Geising. Despite this small "flaw", the railway was greeted by the valley inhabitants with festivals, fireworks and gun salutes. The first timetable provided for four daily train pairs; the travel time for the entire route was 150 minutes, a one-way trip in second class cost 2.30 Marks.
  The total of 3.6 million Marks spent on the  railway contributed significantly to the economic boom of the neighbouring communities. As early as 1895, 14 industrial plants were connected by branches. In addition to the finished products, lignite, wood pulp, straw, paper, wood and bricks have been transported. From the 1920s, ice blocks were carried in winter from the Große Galgenteich lake near Altenberg to the Dresden cold stores. Passenger traffic was also significant. Numerous hikers took advantage of the railway to travel from Dresden and the Dresden Basin into the Ore Mountain area, which developed into a summer resort. The snow safety of the upper levels has also given the railway significant winter sport traffic since the turn of the century]]. As a result, it developed into one of the most economic routes in the Saxonian narrow-gauge railway network. Because of the heavy freight traffic, there were even proposals in 1914 for the operational separation of goods and passenger traffic on the Mügeln–Weesenstein section by the construction of a second railway. However, these plans were not implemented due to the post-war economic crisis. Instead, the extension of the line to Altenberg became the focus of interest. The town repeatedly proposed an extension of the railway. Various plans would have seen a continuation from Geising via Altenberg to Moldava, Hermsdorf, Kipsdorf or Frauenstein.
  The government did not support these projects because of high construction costs and the low revenues expected. The 1914 proposal for an extension to Altenberg failed at the beginning of the First World War, but was then started as an emergency project in 1919. Within four years the 5.5 km-long roundabout line from Geising via the Geisingberg to Altenberg was opened on 10 November 1923. Large sections of the railway line were destroyed during a devastating flood on 8 July 1927.
caption: Water house in Bärenstein from 1890
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