Magdeburg/Leipzig/Dresden area - any interesting routes or haulage?

[BRX]

I will have a day and a half in this area (with a Deutschland Ticket) this week - ending up in Bad Schandau to get the European Sleeper back to Brussels. Any recommendations for anything interesting/unusual along the way, to work into my schedule? My holy grail of loco-hauled with non aircon stock is pretty much all gone on the main German network now I think, but correct me if I'm wrong.
Also, if there are any particularly good spots for freight watching, would be interested to hear.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Looks like all the Elbe steam paddlers will be operating this week from Dresden to Bad Schandau.
I was lucky enough once to overtake PS Leipzig on a Prague-Dresden train, as for much of the route railway and river run together south of Pirna.
The berths in the city centre are a great place to watch movements, reachable on tram 9 from Hbf.
The S-bahn from Dresden will take you to Kurort Rathen (ferry across the Elbe) for a short hike up to the scenic Bastei.

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[43096]

I will have a day and a half in this area (with a Deutschland Ticket) this week - ending up in Bad Schandau to get the European Sleeper back to Brussels. Any recommendations for anything interesting/unusual along the way, to work into my schedule? My holy grail of loco-hauled with non aircon stock is pretty much all gone on the main German network now I think, but correct me if I'm wrong.
Also, if there are any particularly good spots for freight watching, would be interested to hear.

There’s still a number of the ever-decreasing East German Class 143s in use on the Dresden S-Bahn.

 

[dutchflyer]

Was there-went about the other way, also on DE-ticket subscription, last week. There are a fair lot of loco pushed/pulled common DB sets-with 5 double deck AC coaches.
BUT-slightly off the direct way, but DE-ticket accepted, is that famous STEAM loco hauled line linking Wernigerode to Nordhausen, the HarzQuerbahn, check its website, so if liking that, use it! Only the sideline to the Brocken mountain is not in-and charges Swiss-style sky-high prices. North of it lies also Halberstadt-tiny tramway and its early gothic domchurch has early medieval items, quite famous, and the southern end Nordhausen also has a tiny tramway. Then going on to Leipzig, add in Naumbug-the tiniest of urban trams in all of Germany.
IF wanting UK-style rooms and brekkie: PREMIER Inn is now also in DE and has hotels in Leipzig and Dresden, often attractive prices.
Sorry, about freight I dont know much nor am interested much in it-leave that for others. Did not see much of it in that Harz area.

 

[30907]

Magdeburg lies on a major freight route IIRC.
Dessau-Woerlitz is worth investigating, the latter being a popular tourist destination.
Otherwise, I second the Harzquerbahn/Selketalbahn and Halberstadt trams (and Cathedral); from a tourist POV Quedlinburg as well.

 

[BRX]

In fact I'm starting out from Dessau.
It's useful (and surprising) to know that the Harz steam lines are included in the De ticket, but they are slightly in the wrong direction and I've actually done them before.
Thanks for suggestions so far though.

 

[route101]

Was there-went about the other way, also on DE-ticket subscription, last week. There are a fair lot of loco pushed/pulled common DB sets-with 5 double deck AC coaches.
BUT-slightly off the direct way, but DE-ticket accepted, is that famous STEAM loco hauled line linking Wernigerode to Nordhausen, the HarzQuerbahn, check its website, so if liking that, use it! Only the sideline to the Brocken mountain is not in-and charges Swiss-style sky-high prices. North of it lies also Halberstadt-tiny tramway and its early gothic domchurch has early medieval items, quite famous, and the southern end Nordhausen also has a tiny tramway. Then going on to Leipzig, add in Naumbug-the tiniest of urban trams in all of Germany.
IF wanting UK-style rooms and brekkie: PREMIER Inn is now also in DE and has hotels in Leipzig and Dresden, often attractive prices.
Sorry, about freight I dont know much nor am interested much in it-leave that for others. Did not see much of it in that Harz area.

Great to see Premier Inn in Germany, still not many yet. The breakfast is not the same as UK one.

 

[BRX]

After doing a bit of research I spent some time around Halle.

Just north of Halle(Saale) Hbf is what seems to be the main hump shunting yard in the region. Relatively recently modernised. A road bridge spans right across it, near the hump end, with good views in both directions. It's easily accessible by tram or s-bahn from the Hbf. There's also a railway museum at one end of the bridge. I was there on Easter Monday and unsurprisingly not much was happening but I imagine you'd see quite a bit of activity on a weekday.

A little south of Halle is an enormous chemical complex, the Luenawerke, with many many internal sidings. There are two s-bahn stops within the complex, but it didn't look like you'd get out of them unless you had official business there (google maps tried to tell me I could walk from one of them to my hotel but I didn't trust it). South of the Leunawerk complex there is a railway junction and a station called Grosskorbetha. Here is an excellent location to see a lot of freight because it seems to be a staging point for trains coming in and out of the chemical works. There is a fan of sidings adjacent to the platforms, mainly full of rakes of tank wagons going to or from the works. They are arriving & leaving continuously. There's also a regular shuttle of hopper type wagons (coal?) coming and going behind centre-cab diesel locos. And various electric locos stabled, with associated light engine moves.
In addition to all that there are quite a few intermodals and wagonload trains passing through on the main lines. I also saw some infrastructure trains. It was busy even on Easter monday evening when most of Germany was closed.

So, definitely recommended if you like seeing freight action, the type we can only dream of in the UK.

 

[The exile]

After doing a bit of research I spent some time around Halle.

A little south of Halle is an enormous chemical complex, the Luenawerke, with many many internal sidings. There are two s-bahn stops within the complex, but it didn't look like you'd get out of them unless you had official business there. South of the Leunawerk complex there is a railway junction and a station called Grosskorbetha.

It certainly used to be the case that security was tight and there was no access from the stations concerned into the works complex except for those with official passes. I had to visit the site on several occasions in the late 1990s and the complications around getting me in (for legitimate business) were enormous - to the extent that I used to have to be picked up at Merseburg by someone sufficiently high up the food chain that their car wasn't subject to searches on entering the site.... Coming in by train was a definite "no-no".

 

[BRX]

It certainly used to be the case that security was tight and there was no access from the stations concerned into the works complex except for those with official passes. I had to visit the site on several occasions in the late 1990s and the complications around getting me in (for legitimate business) were enormous - to the extent that I used to have to be picked up at Merseburg by someone sufficiently high up the food chain that their car wasn't subject to searches on entering the site.... Coming in by train was a definite "no-no".

I could see there were turnstiles of some kind to exit the stations. I was a little surprised there were no announcements or signs telling people not to get off at the stations unless on business - they are simply presented as request stops.

It must have been very interesting to see in there in the 1990s. Around the time it was being privatised, I imagine.

 

[The exile]

I could see there were turnstiles of some kind to exit the stations. I was a little surprised there were no announcements or signs telling people not to get off at the stations unless on business - they are simply presented as request stops.

It must have been very interesting to see in there in the 1990s. Around the time it was being privatised, I imagine.

Post privatisation - my involvement was with one of the smaller companies using part of the site right at the opposite end from the main entrance - so a very interesting drive through a near-prehistoric industry-scape (never experienced it on a cold winter's night - but I bet that was impressive).

 

[BRX]

By the way at Grosskorbetha, you can walk down a lane going southwards along the east side of the tracks. This leads to some houses and a road that goes under the railway. Then you can follow another lane further along the east side of the tracks which rises back up to the level of the rail embankment. There were a couple of people watching trains from here. The tracks aren't fenced off, network rail style, so there's a clear view. Here you can see everything that emerges from the south of the station/sidings - stuff at the back of the sidings isn't fully visible from the platforms.

There’s still a number of the ever-decreasing East German Class 143s in use on the Dresden S-Bahn.

Saw a few of these around, on freight duty - here, a pair taking some tanks out of Grosskorbetha.