Drei-Ähren Railway
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| Electric Tramway from Türkheim to Drei-Ähren | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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_-_Trois_Épis_(Alsace)_-_690_m_(G._Schmitt,_Schirmeck)_(cropped).jpg) Electric Tramway Türkheim – Drei Ähren | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Line length | 8.7 km (5.4 mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Track gauge | 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Drei-Ähren Railway (German for Three Ears of Corn Railway, French Voie Ferrée Trois Épis) consisted of the 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) track gauge Electric Tramway from Türkheim to Drei-Ähren and the 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in) track gauge Military Light Railway from Drei-Ähren to Uhlhorst at Drei-Ähren near Colmar in Alsace.
History
From 5 June 1899, the Electric Tramway from Türkheim to Drei-Ähren connected the small town of Türkheim, located 6 km (4 mi) west of Colmar, with the pilgrimage church at Drei Ähren (French Trois Épis). The construction of the railway went back to an initiative of the electricity company Schuckert & Co. from Nuremberg, while the Alsace was an Imperial Territory of Germany.
At times there were plans to extend the route from Türkheim to Winzenheim and thereby connect it to Colmar's secondary railway and tram network.[1] The plans were, however, not implemented. After an interruption of operations in the First World War since 1919 under the name Société d’Electricité de Turckheim et Tramways de Turckheim aux Trois Epis (TTE), the railway was shut down on 1 April 1937.
Route
Drei-Ähren (now Trois Épis) lays good 400 meters higher than Türkheim, which gave the railway the character of a mountain railway - albeit without cogwheel operation. It had a total length of 8.7 km (5.4 mi) and the maximum gradient was 1 in 10.2 (9.8%).
The electrical plant for the power supply was 1.2 km (0.75 mi) of the terminus and had a siding which branched off into four tracks to coal bunker, a repair shop and the car shed with 2 stands for 3 cars each.
Operation
In addition to a freight car and a baggage car, seven tram cars were available for operation. The average speed was 12.5 kilometres per hour (7.8 mph) on the ascent and 11 kilometres per hour (6.8 mph) on the descent. The lower sixth of the railway line could be driven uphill at 18 kilometres per hour (11 mph).[2]
