Plaue–Themar railway

The Plaue–Themar railway is a 62 kilometre-long, single-track, non-electrified, standard-gauge branch-line in the Thuringian Forest (Thüringer Wald) in Germany. The Stützerbach–Schleusingerneundorf section was built as the first Prussian rack railway between 1879 and 1904 and connects the Erfurt–Schweinfurt railway in the north via the towns of Plaue, Ilmenau, Schleusingen and Themar with the Eisenach–Lichtenfels railway in the south.

Plaue–Themar railway
Overview
Line number
  • 6694 (Plaue–Rennsteig)
  • 6708 (Rennsteig–Themar)
LocaleThuringia, Germany
Service
Route number566
Technical
Line length62 km (39 mi)
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification15 kV/16.7 Hz AC catenary
Maximum incline6.12%
Route map
from Erfurt
0.00
 Plaue (Thür)
331 m
to Schweinfurt
Angelroda Viaduct (100 m)
7.35
 Martinroda
430 m
A 71 (Reichenbach Viaduct)
10.32
 Geraberg
473 m
12.06
 Elgersburg
495 m
15.00
 Ilmenau-Roda
513 m
16.75
 Ilmenau Pörlitzer Höhe
(since 1995)
492 m
Porcelain factory siding (2 km; 1973–1991)
19.18
 Ilmenau
478 m
to Großbreitenbach
20.45
 Ilmenau Bad
485.8 m
23.83
 Manebach
520.1 m
 Meyersgrund
(until 1920)
28.98
 Stützerbach
591.9 m
30.81
Start of rack section (until 1927)
32.93
End of rack section (until 1927)
33.38
 Rennsteig
to Frauenwald
747.7 m
33.93
Start of rack section (until 1927)
35.13
End of rack section (until 1927)
35.27
 Schmiedefeld am Rennsteig
681.6 m
35.76
Start of rack section (until 1927)
36.94
End of rack section (until 1927)
37.88
Start of rack section (until 1927)
38.93
End of rack section (until 1927)
39.00
 Thomasmühle
551.6 m
42.92
 Schleusinger Neundorf
467.2 m
47.25
 Hinternah
411.5 m
A 73
49.00
 Schleusingen Ost
418.2 m
49.24
Start of rack section (until 1927)
49.99
End of rack section (until 1927)
from Suhl
50.98
 Schleusingen
371.6 m
53.08
 Rappelsdorf
57.26
 Zollbrück (Thür)
59.17
 Kloster Veßra
from Eisfeld
61.97
 Themar
to Meiningen
Source: German railway atlas

It is divided into three sections: the northern section from Plaue to Ilmenau is currently operated once an hour by Erfurter Bahn, the steep section in the middle from Ilmenau to Schleusingen, which originally contained stretches of rack, and the southern section from Schleusingen to Themar. There is occasional freight traffic on the southern section.

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