Borkumer Kleinbahn
German narrow-gauge railway line
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Borkumer Kleinbahn is a 900 mm (2 ft 11+7⁄16 in) narrow gauge railway on the German island of Borkum in the North Sea. It is the oldest island railway (German: Inselbahn) in Germany, beginning operation in 1888.[1]
| Borkumer Kleinbahn Borkum narrow-gauge railway | |
|---|---|
A diesel locomotive hauled train in May 2012 | |
| Technical | |
| Line length | 7.4 km (5 mi) |
| Number of tracks | 2 |
| Track gauge | 900 mm (2 ft 11+7⁄16 in) |
Line
The 7.5 km (5 mi) long line connects the port with the town of Borkum.[1] It is double tracked since the early 20th century.[2]
A map of the island showing the railway line
History
In 1879, tracks for a horse-drawn railway line were laid for the construction of a new lighthouse. The tracks were converted for locomotive-hauled trains about 10 years later,[2] and the line opened in 1888 as a successor of the horsedrawn line.[3] The network reached its peak length in 1938,[2] with a track length of about 45 km (28 mi).[1] The line celebrated its 125th anniversary on June 15, 2013.[4]
Rolling stock
The fleet consists of multiple passenger cars, diesel locomotives, steam locomotives and a Wismar railbus, which was built in 1940.[1] A steam locomotive from the Bäderbahn Molli is scheduled to run on the line in summer 2019.[5] Both Bäderbahn Molli and the Borkumer Kleinbahn have the same 900 mm (2 ft 11+7⁄16 in) track gauge.[6]
The Wismar railbus in June 2009
Steam engine Borkum in August 2015
