Bayerisches Eisenbahnmuseum

Description

In Nördlingen the Bayerische Eisenbahnmuseum preserves an extensive collection of historic railway vehicles and operationally oriented facilities on the site of the former Bahnbetriebswerk Nördlingen. With over two hundred original vehicles, the museum is one of the largest private railway collections in southern Germany. Across roughly 3.5 hectares the buildings of the former depot have been largely preserved or rebuilt: a 15-bay roundhouse with turntable, the former railcar hall, a functioning water tower, the former administration building, workshops, locomotive servicing facilities and extensive storage tracks. In addition, numerous objects awaiting restoration are stored on site. The museum is run by an association of the same name; funding comes mainly from membership fees, admission charges, donations and income from train operations and events, supplemented by project-specific sponsorship funds.

The roots of the site go back to the construction of the Ludwig-Süd-Nord-Bahn in 1848/49, when a workshop for locomotives and wagons was established in Nördlingen. Structural elements dating from the mid-19th century are still visible, as are building fabric and layouts from the 1930s; heavier damage from air raids in 1944/45 led to extensive reconstruction and modernization through 1949. In the following decades the operational use changed: after 1966 the regular stabling of steam locomotives ended, the electrification of neighboring lines contributed to the closure of the depot as an independent facility in 1982, and the last remaining operational activity was discontinued in 1985.

The museum’s program presents a 1950s-era depot and places special emphasis on operable vehicles. On the Nördlingen–Gunzenhausen and Nördlingen–Feuchtwangen (terminus Dombühl) lines historic train formations are operated in regular service; some locomotives also run on sections of the Augsburg–Nördlingen line as far as Donauwörth (overhead line 15 kV, 16 2/3 Hz). Technically certified association members operate the deployed vehicles; the availability of operable express locomotives makes special and long-distance excursions possible. Operational procedures inevitably produce emissions such as soot and condensate on steam-operated vehicles. A youth group actively participates in the restoration of exhibits.

The operational base is BayernBahn GmbH, a subsidiary of the association, which operates historic transport services on its own and leased lines and additionally provides workshop services as well as freight and special train operations. The operable rolling stock includes numerous steam, diesel and electric locomotives; operational steam locomotives include, for example, 01 066, 01 180, 52 8168 and 50 4073. Diesel and rail vehicles include VT98 railbuses (9522/998 724) as well as V 100 and V 60 locomotives, and the electric locomotive fleet comprises, among others, E 63 02, E 94 192 and several members of classes 139, 140 and 151. Steam locomotive 64 520 (built 1941) is currently undergoing restoration.