Harzer Schmalspurbahnen - Steam Museum

The smell is characteristic, small particles of coal swirl through the air, clouds of steam curl into the sky, a shrill whistle sounds - the Harz narrow-gauge railways exert an almost magical fascination. The historic steam locomotives curve through the Harz mountains like a rolling museum of technology. The oldest of the 25 steam locomotives, a Mallet articulated locomotive, has more than 120 years on its boiler. It's been even longer since the first tracks were laid in the Harz. Actually, horse-drawn carriages were enough back then. But the railway was on the advance, and a railway connection for the Harz was intended not only to boost the economy but also tourism. After all, comfort on journeys was important even back then. The idea: Wernigerode was to be connected to the railway line from Nordhausen to Erfurt. But this was not so easy because of the difficult terrain in the Harz Mountains. A track gauge of 1,000 mm was chosen because it was easier to lay the rails through the Harz forests and it was also cheaper. After three years of construction, the line was finished in 1899: around 80 kilometres of track across the Harz Mountains to the Brocken with one of Germany's highest stations at 1125 metres.