Railway Vehicle Preservation Company

The Railway Vehicle Preservation Society (Gesellschaft zur Erhaltung von Schienenfahrzeugen e.V. or GES) is one of the oldest societies in Germany that runs a museum railway. The headquarters of the GES is in Stuttgart.

Locomotive 50 3636 in operation in front of the Sofazügle train

Formation

The society was founded on 8 December 1965 by a group of tramway fans within the so-called Verkehrsfreunde Stuttgart society, that had signed up for the preservation and care of the last remaining railcar, no. 126, from the former Filderbahn as well as other historically valuable trams. After the Stuttgart Tram Company (Stuttgarter Straßenbahnen or SSB) had shown no interest in building up a museum collection and the Filderbahn railcar 126 could only be preserved by keeping it at Ludwigsburg, the GES turned at the end of the 1960s to the more promising theme of opening a railway. The engagement of the GES for the preservation and subsequent restoration of the Filderbahn wagon laid the foundation stone for the present-day collection of the Stuttgarter Historische Straßenbahnen.

Timetable

The GES runs regular museum railway operations using the historical train consists Feuriger Elias ('Fiery Elias') and Sofazügle (literally: 'Little Sofa Train'). Due to the ban on steam locomotives issued by the Deutsche Bundesbahn between 1977 and 1985 the operations were restricted to private railway lines on the Strohgäubahn from Korntal-Münchingen to Weissach or the Tälesbahn between Nürtingen and Neuffen. The trains continue to have this as their there today. To begin with, special trips were also run on the WEG routes from Enz Nord to Enzweihingen and, up to 1982, on the Filderbahn between Stuttgart-Möhringen, Stuttgart-Vaihingen, Leinfelden and Neuhausen auf den Fildern. From 1985 specials were also offered on other routes in the Stuttgart area.

Hohenzollern train
Locomotive 11 of the GES in Marbach (June 2004)
Locomotive GES no. 16, formerly KOE no. 11

The GES has a cultural monument to the state of Baden-Württemberg: the Hohenzollern train. It comprises vehicles that were operated by the Hohenzollern Branch Line Company (Hohenzollerischen Kleinbahn Gesellschaft, from 1907 the Hohenzollerische Landesbahn). The majority of these are deployed in museum railway services on the Tälesbahn as part of the Sofazügle.

List of vehicles
Vehicle:Manufacturer:Built:Status:
Steam locomotive 11Maschinenfabrik Esslingen1911Operational
Steam locomotive 16
(formerly KOE no. 11, DRG 92 442)  		AEG1928Operational
Passenger coach 3Beuchelt & Co.1900Operational
Passenger coach 6Beuchelt & Co.1900Operational
Passenger coach 7Beuchelt & Co.1900Stored
Passenger coach 9Beuchelt & Co.1900Being restored
Passenger coach 21Waggonfabrik Rastatt1908Operational
Passenger coach 22Waggonfabrik Rastatt1908Operational
Passenger coach 24Waggonfabrik Rastatt1908Stored
Passenger coach 26Waggonfabrik Rastatt1908Stored
Luggage van 73Beuchelt & Co.1900Operational
Luggage van 74Beuchelt & Co.1900Being restored
Luggage van 77Beuchelt & Co.1900Operational

Tourist train vehicles
NumberType/BuilderBuilt/classStatus
50 3636MBA, later O&K1941Operational
39 079 StgSpantenwagen[1]/ÖBB2nd classOperational
34 531 StgSpantenwagen/ÖBB2nd classOperational
39 692 StgSpantenwagen/ÖBBDining carOperational
39 439 StgSpantenwagen/ÖBB1st classOperational
39 433 StgSpantenwagen/ÖBB2nd classOperational
39 425 StgSpantenwagen/ÖBB2nd classOperational
114 535 StgSpantenwagen/ÖBBLuggage vanOperational
235 610OppelnG-WagenOperational
V100 1357Maschinenfabrik Esslingen1962Operational (with EMN Kornwestheim)

The GES is working on restoring a Württemberg T 3 (K.W.St.E no. 930 and DRG no. 89 363).

  • Coaches of the GES
  • GES 12
  • Passenger coach 22 of the Hohenzollern train
  • Passenger coach 6 of the Hohenzollern train

References and Footnotes
  1. Spantenwagen were Austrian rebuilds of older coaching stock that used steel ribs (Spanten) to support the wagon body
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