This is a private website concerning the Härtsfeld-Museumsbahn. For the official website of the Härtsfeld-Museumsbahn follow the link to

www.hmb-ev.de

A disappeared track line is bourne again.

- or -

The impossible gets possible on 1000 mm.

The ancient Härtsfeldbahn leading from Aalen via Neresheim to Dillingen/Danube connected the Härtsfeld to the main lines and the industrial centres from 1901 thru 1972, then the service was stopped. She was not only a transportation vehicle for goods and the working people, but also a frequently used line for weekend trips in a beautiful landscape.

After the service of the so called Schättre was stopped, the tracks were completely dismounted and the vehicles were wrecked, sold to other lines or, like the 2 steam locomotives, placed as a monument resp. as a toy for children on a playing ground.
The trace was partially converted to bike lanes and hiking trails, egalized or disappeard under the vegetation. Normally this would have been the end of the story.

But then something happend which didn't happen before in the history of railway. In the year 1984 some people gathered to found the 'Freundeskreis Schättre' (friends of the 'Schättre'), which constituted the Härtsfeld-Museumsbahn e.V. the following year. From time to time the club bought some of the still existing original vehicles of the ancient line and also some similar to them, renovated them and placed them on the ancient railway station Neresheim.
Therefore they built some tracks and switches and arranged a museum in the old railway station building.

But the most exotic plan was to reconstruct a part of the track and to operate the historic vehicles as a museum railway.

"Impossible" was the mildest remark we received for this idea.

After long preparative work and a 5 years lasting project approval procedure the first step to reconstruct the first 3 kilometers was taken on Mai 16, 1996. Exactly to the 100th birtday of the Härtsfeldbahn, on October 20, 2001, the official service started on the line.
The impossible has been made possible. Today the trains run on the Härtsfeld like 50 or 100 years ago, but only some days in the year.

But this was not the final target! A second part of 2,6 km has been built in the years 2007 thru 2021, which has been officially inaugurated at 1.8.2021.

And this is still not the end, we plan to build a third part to Dischingen, where the association owns the ancient railway station building.
And there are much more vehicles in Neresheim which the HMB members would like to put on the line again.