Railway Vehicle Preservation Company

Locomotive 50 3636 in operation in front of the Sofazügle train

The Railway Vehicle Preservation Society (Gesellschaft zur Erhaltung von Schienenfahrzeugen e.V. or GES) is one of the oldest societies in Germany that runs a museum railway. The headquarters of the GES is in Stuttgart.

Formation

The society was founded on 8 December 1965 by a group of tramway fans within the so-called Verkehrsfreunde Stuttgart society, that had signed up for the preservation and care of the last remaining railcar, no. 126, from the former Filderbahn as well as other historically valuable trams. After the Stuttgart Tram Company (Stuttgarter Straßenbahnen or SSB) had shown no interest in building up a museum collection and the Filderbahn railcar 126 could only be preserved by keeping it at Ludwigsburg, the GES turned at the end of the 1960s to the more promising theme of opening a railway. The engagement of the GES for the preservation and subsequent restoration of the Filderbahn wagon laid the foundation stone for the present-day collection of the Stuttgarter Historische Straßenbahnen.

Timetable

The GES runs regular museum railway operations using the historical train consists Feuriger Elias ('Fiery Elias') and Sofazügle (literally: 'Little Sofa Train'). Due to the ban on steam locomotives issued by the Deutsche Bundesbahn between 1977 and 1985 the operations were restricted to private railway lines on the Strohgäubahn from Korntal-Münchingen to Weissach or the Tälesbahn between Nürtingen and Neuffen. The trains continue to have this as their there today. To begin with, special trips were also run on the WEG routes from Enz Nord to Enzweihingen and, up to 1982, on the Filderbahn between Stuttgart-Möhringen, Stuttgart-Vaihingen, Leinfelden and Neuhausen auf den Fildern. From 1985 specials were also offered on other routes in the Stuttgart area.

Hohenzollern train

Locomotive 11 of the GES in Marbach (June 2004)
Locomotive GES no. 16, formerly KOE no. 11

The GES has a cultural monument to the state of Baden-Württemberg: the Hohenzollern train. It comprises vehicles that were operated by the Hohenzollern Branch Line Company (Hohenzollerischen Kleinbahn Gesellschaft, from 1907 the Hohenzollerische Landesbahn). The majority of these are deployed in museum railway services on the Tälesbahn as part of the Sofazügle.

List of vehicles

Vehicle: Manufacturer: Built: Status:
Steam locomotive 11 Maschinenfabrik Esslingen 1911 Operational
Steam locomotive 16
(formerly KOE no. 11, DRG 92 442)  		 AEG 1928 Operational
Passenger coach 3 Beuchelt & Co. 1900 Operational
Passenger coach 6 Beuchelt & Co. 1900 Operational
Passenger coach 7 Beuchelt & Co. 1900 Stored
Passenger coach 9 Beuchelt & Co. 1900 Being restored
Passenger coach 21 Waggonfabrik Rastatt 1908 Operational
Passenger coach 22 Waggonfabrik Rastatt 1908 Operational
Passenger coach 24 Waggonfabrik Rastatt 1908 Stored
Passenger coach 26 Waggonfabrik Rastatt 1908 Stored
Luggage van 73 Beuchelt & Co. 1900 Operational
Luggage van 74 Beuchelt & Co. 1900 Being restored
Luggage van 77 Beuchelt & Co. 1900 Operational

Tourist train vehicles

Number Type/Builder Built/class Status
50 3636 MBA, later O&K 1941 Operational
39 079 Stg Spantenwagen[1]/ÖBB 2nd class Operational
34 531 Stg Spantenwagen/ÖBB 2nd class Operational
39 692 Stg Spantenwagen/ÖBB Dining car Operational
39 439 Stg Spantenwagen/ÖBB 1st class Operational
39 433 Stg Spantenwagen/ÖBB 2nd class Operational
39 425 Stg Spantenwagen/ÖBB 2nd class Operational
114 535 Stg Spantenwagen/ÖBB Luggage van Operational
235 610 Oppeln G-Wagen Operational
V100 1357 Maschinenfabrik Esslingen 1962 Operational (with EMN Kornwestheim)

The GES is working on restoring a Württemberg T 3 (K.W.St.E no. 930 and DRG no. 89 363).

References and Footnotes

  1. ↑ Spantenwagen were Austrian rebuilds of older coaching stock that used steel ribs (Spanten) to support the wagon body
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