The best running trails around Englischer Wald Dischingen

The 1,000 mm gauge Härtsfeld Railway from Neresheim to Dillingen/Donau served the Härtsfeld on the eastern Swabian Jura in Baden-Württemberg from 1901 until its closure in 1972. After the closure of the "Schättere", the track facilities were completely dismantled and the vehicles scrapped. In 1984, the "Freundeskreis Schättere" was formed, which emerged a year later as the Härtsfeld-Museumsbahn e.V. (HMB). Original vehicles and some identically constructed vehicles were purchased and restored, tracks and switches were laid, and a museum was established in the former Neresheim station building. On May 16, 1996, the first groundbreaking ceremony for the reconstruction of the first, 3 km long section took place, which was then officially opened on October 20, 2001, on the hundredth birthday of the railway. A second section of approx. 2.6 km to the Härtsfeldsee was built between 2007 and 2021 and officially opened on August 1, 2021. The third section to Dischingen is yet to be built. From June 20 - 21, 2026, the 1,000 mm gauge tank locomotive "RUR"🚂 from the Selfkantbahn narrow-gauge railway museum in Gangelt-Schierwaldenrath was a guest. It was built in 1899 by the Henschel & Sohn locomotive factory in Kassel for the Dürener Dampfstraßenbahn (Düren Steam Tramway). It is one of the few surviving tank steam locomotives developed for inner-city tram operation. After its later conversion to a steam storage locomotive, it served as a works locomotive in the Schoeller paper mill in Birkesdorf before coming to the Selfkantbahn in 1972 as a non-operational exhibit. Its handover to the partner company KLEINBAAN Service of the Dutch narrow-gauge enthusiast Wim Pater in 2013 enabled its complete restoration to its original condition as a fired wet steam locomotive. The RUR is the only surviving steam locomotive of the formerly eight 1,000 mm gauge narrow-gauge railways in the Rhenish Bay and, at 126 years old, is the oldest operational steam locomotive in the Rhineland. It is based at the Selfkantbahn and runs on selected operating days and makes guest appearances at other 1,000 mm gauge museum railways.

This is no longer just a kiosk, but a proper restaurant that deserves praise and recognition.

Sägmühle is a station on the Härtsfeld Museum Railway in Neresheim, serving as the terminus of the museum railway line to Härtsfeldsee. The line runs from Neresheim via Sägmühle to Katzenstein, with Sägmühle being the temporary terminus until 2021. The station is located at the former timber loading point and is situated on the edge of the Egau Valley. On certain days, Sägmühle station offers connections to historic buses that travel to Dischingen and Katzenstein Castle. The Härtsfeld Museum Railway operates every first Sunday of the month from May to October, with the 2025 season ending on October 5. There are also service days on public holidays such as Ascension Day, Whitsun, Corpus Christi, the Neresheim Town Festival, and the Bahnhofshocketse (Station Hocketse). The journey time from Neresheim to Sägmühle is approximately 25 minutes. The line is 5.6 kilometers long and has a narrow gauge of 1,000 mm. The railway is operated with historic rolling stock, including a steam locomotive from 1913 and a railcar from the 1930s. The Sägmühle station is part of the Härtsfeldbahn theme trail, which offers a roughly 10-kilometer cycling or hiking route along the former railway line.

The temporary terminus of the Schättere line is a great success. The association members are doing a tremendous job. A member of the association explained to me during a conversation that the railway will be extended to the former station in Dischingen. The station in Dischingen is also owned by the museum association.

The association has done a great job. A fantastic heritage railway.

A truly unique highlight of the association's more than 40-year history: the Katzenstein terminus of the "Schättere" (Schättere Railway), which entered into operation in 2021. Twenty-nine years after its closure in 1972 and complete dismantling, the first 3 km section of the Härtsfeld Railway, which formerly ran from Nerresheim to Dillingen, was put into operation with great enthusiasm and commitment in 2001. The second, 2.6 km section to Härtsfeldsee followed in 2021. Steam operations now take place on this idyllic narrow-gauge railway on selected weekends (see https://www.hmb-ev.de). Now that this success, which was deemed impossible and a crazy idea by some crazy people in 1984, has been achieved, Dischingen is now to become the future terminus of the railway – the old station building there is already owned by the association. The only downside: the railway line cycle path to Dischingen, which is beautifully shaded for large parts, is likely to get lost in the process…

A beautiful cycle path leads past the rock terraces

Beautiful museum railway.