Brockenbahn

Metre-gauge steam still storms year-round to the 1,141 m Brocken. Goethe’s witches’ mountain, sealed off as a Soviet listening post until 1989.

The 700-horsepower tank engines, built new for these lines in the 1950s, take water at Drei Annen Hohne before attacking the mountain in a near-continuous climbing curve through Harz National Park spruce. Higher up, the Brocken makes its own weather, fog on some 300 days a year, which only sharpens the moment the panorama across northern Germany snaps open. On Walpurgis Night, 30 April, the carriages fill with costumed witches bound for the summit revels.

Along the way

• Wernigerode’s half-timbered old town
• Drei Annen Hohne junction
• Schierke village
• Harz National Park spruce forest
• Brocken summit — station at 1,125 m

How this line was checked

• Line drawn from OpenStreetMap relation 54455 — the same nodes OpenStreetMap holds for this railway, thinned to within under 25 m of them
• Checked against OpenStreetMap: the whole line lies on real track, a median 4 m from it
• Checked against the running timetable via ÖBB Scotty: our line sits 0.2 km from the shape of HSB
• Wikipedia has an article for this line
• See for yourself: open this line on the map with OpenStreetMap's own railway drawn underneath it

Questions and answers

How long is the Brockenbahn?

The Brockenbahn runs 34 km from Wernigerode to Brocken.

How long does the Brockenbahn take?

The fastest scheduled journey is ≈ 1 h 45 min for the 34 km. That is an average of 19 km/h end to end. The line's top service speed is 40 km/h.

Who runs the Brockenbahn?

Harzer Schmalspurbahnen, with Class 99 2-10-2T steam.

How old is the Brockenbahn?

The line has been in service since 1899. That is the year the atlas dates it from: for a modern brand running over an older railway, it is the railway's date, not the brand's.

How high does the Brockenbahn climb?

1,125 m above sea level at its highest point.

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