| association activities | association address | donation account | |
| model railway group | loco 99 6102-0 "Fiffi" | association museum | association railway vehicles |
Cordially welcome
dear railway enthusiasts, tourists and other prospective customers on the Internet pages of the Freundeskreis Selketalbahn e. V. (FKS) (association "friends of Selketalbahn")
We would like to present our association, inform about dates of the special travels which organized by us, report on the railway line and its history and give tips for tourists.
In the centre of Germany lies the montains "Harz" (Harz = resin) - northernmost mountain of Germany.
The Gernroder-Harzgeroder-Eisenbahngesellschaft (GHE) (Gernrode-Harzgerode railway company) opened the first narrow-gauge railway (1000 millimeters) in the Harz mountains in 1887. Because the track runs some kilometers along the valley of the little river "Selke", the railway received the surname "Selketalbahn" ("Selke-valley-railway"). Today the "Selketalbahn" is a part of the railway network of the "Harzer Schmalspurbahnen GmbH (HSB) (Harzer Narrow-Gauge railway Ltd.)", on which steam trains operate daily after time-table. Most tourists go by trains of the HSB from/to the mountain "Brocken" (highest mountain of the Harz mountains). However the "Selketalbahn" is considered as the most beautiful narrow-gauge railway in the "Harz". If you are looking for peace and relaxation, then you will find this certain in the east of the "Harz". But form your own judgment after a stay in the region or better after a travel with the "Selketalbahn".
Our railway enthusiasts association with seat in Alexisbad was created in May 1991. The approximately 300 members come from different sections of Germany and from some European countries. Since April 1st in 1999 our association is a member of the "Bundesverband Deutscher Eisenbahn-Freunde e.V. (BDEF)" (Federal association of German railway friends).
We placed ourselves the target to contribute to the receipt of the trains with steam operation and the historical staff of the "Selketalbahn".
To our activities belong:
On the LGB-model railway loco 99 6102 ("Fiffi") and the railcar GHE T1 operates, which are reproductions of the GHE. The steam locomotives 99 6102 and 99 6001 are to be heard with original digitized sound.
The H0m-model railway, on which the members of the group mainly are working, is predominantly equipped with Weinert®-vehicles.
For specific occasions (e.g. special travels) the model railway exhibition for visitors is open. As special attractions one finds here also nice layouts e.g. model railways in the violin box, in the television or on a roasting crucible.
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view of the H0m-model railway (under construction) with reproduction of the station "Alexisbad". In the foreground the line to Stiege, right the line to Harzgerode. Photo: Heiko Zeckai, Dresden Zoom 65,6 KB |
view of the station on the LGB-railway model Foto: Heiko Zeckai, Dresden Zoom 79,3 KB |
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office + souvenir sales | events + special travel | |
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Jörn Mingram 1th chairman Kahlenbergstraße 28 06507 Rieder/Harz Germany |
Heiko Fricke Ballenstedter Straße 22 06507 Rieder/Harz Germany |
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Phone/Fax: (+49 3 94 85) 6 25 82 | Phone/Fax: (+49 3 94 85) 6 16 61 | |
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editorship | model railway | |
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Jens Breitenbach Albertine 510 06507 Güntersberge/Harz Germany |
Lutz Barthel Vor dem Gröperntor 8 06484 Quedlinburg Germany |
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Phone (+49 3 94 88) 7 12 28 Fax (+49 3 94 88) 7 12 30 |
Phone (+49 3 94 6) 27 61 | |
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e-Mail: jens@breitenbach.net | ||
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With a small donation you can help us, that we can finance the in the year 2001 forthcoming maininvestigation of the locomotive "Fiffi"!
| account: | 354 402 08 | |
| bank: | 800 535 02 (Kreissparkasse Quedlinburg) | |
| keyword: | "Fiffi" |
If you are interested in the activities of our association and you will help us as a member, you can fill out the ordering form of membership in the "Freundeskreis Selketalbahn e. V." and send it per mail.
The Abonement of the publication "Selketal-Dampf" is allredy included in the membership dues.
account for membership dues:
| account: | 349 766 33 | |
| bank: | 800 535 02 (Kreissparkasse Quedlinburg) |
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Loco 99 6102-0 "Fiffi" few days before putting into operation in the station Gernrode photo: Heiko Fricke, Rieder 1997 Zoom 68 KB (to zoom click on the picture!) |
In order to be able to compare usefulness, the German Military Railway (Heeresfeldbahn) let build two steam locomotives of the lokomotiv-factory Henschel in Kassel. One locomotive was delivered as superheated steam machine and the other one - our "Fiffi" - than saturated steam machine. Outwardly both locomotives differ only by the shorter water space of the superheated steam locomotive. Only for the test trips the "Wuerttembergisches Eisenbahnregiment" (railway-regiment) built up a track near Drei Annen Hohne (in the upper Harz mountains) in the year 1915, where the machines were tested.
Because the attempts on the 40% steep distance ran quite successfully, the "Nordhausen-Wernigeroder-Eisenbahngesellschaft (NWE)" (Nordhausen-Wernigerode railway company) strove for the purchase of the tested locomotives. The NWE received the superheated steamlocomotive (locomotive NWE 6), during "Fiffi" first was sold to the "Nassauische Kleinbahn" and came to the NWE as locomotive NWE 7 in 1920.
The NWE used the two military-railway-locomotives predominantly for shunting and operation with wagon carrier tracks.
After the nationalization of the NWE and transfer to the "Deutsche Reichsbahn (DR)" in 1949 "Fiffi" got the number 99 6102.
On the "Selketalbahn" - dismantled due to reparations - after the reconstruction in the year 1949 locomotives were used. Therefore one brought locomotive 99 6102 to this railway.
The neglected maintenance of the tracks led at the beginning of the 1980's to the fact that "Fiffi" derailed frequently. Therefore the DR (Deutsche Reichsbahn - German State Railway) ordered prohibition of use of this locomotive.
In the year 1986 was a lack for locomotive because of the rebuilding of large locomotives from heating with coal to heating with oil and changing brakes of the cars from vacuum to compressed air brake. Equipped with compressed air brake in the workshop in Wernigerode "Fiffi" was allowed to pull passenger trains - starting from September 1986 for short time - again through the "Selketal". On january 31th 1987 the certificate of the boiler ended. Short time ago, on January 7th 1987 the former military-railway-locomotive was pushed on an rail siding in Wernigerode. On the occasion of the 100 year celebration of the "Gernroder-Harzgeroder-Eisenbahn" (railway company GHE) in August 1987 locomotive 99 6102 stayed a few days on a vehicle-exhibition in Gernrode.
In the year 1990 the DR gave "Fiffi" in care of the club "AG Selketalbahn". From this club our association "Freundeskreis Selketalbahn e. V." came out.
Therefore the locomotive came back to Gernrode. In the summer of 1996 our association executive committee decided to begin with the work for the restarting operation of the locomotive. In addition the locomotive had to be divided into parts. With taking apart the working group "Arbeitsgruppe 99 6102" began at the October 31th 1996.
Thanks to the association "IG Harzer Schmalspurbahnen e. V." the chassis and the boiler of "Fiffi" could be transported to Wernigerode on November 24th. The strange cart-load pulled the sister-locomotive 99 6101.
In the locomotive-workshop of Wernigerode the boiler was seperated from the chassis to transfer the boiler in the repair workshop in Meiningen. Many work inputs of our association friends were necessary to refurbish the pieces and to reassemble the locomotive "Fiffi". The reward of the efforts were the solemn putting into operation on August 7th 1997. That event was the high point of the ceremonies on the occasion of 110 years "Gernroder-Harzgeroder Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft".
Since then locomotive "Fiffi" is used to pull special trains and trains for duringcharter travels. Some special travels even led from Gernrode up to the mountain "Brocken" and back to Gernrode.
A steam locomotive ready for operation has to be checked every four years. Such a check costs a lot of money.
Due going by a special train, buying of souvenirs or donating money you can help to keep locomotive 99 6102 staying in operation also after the year 2001.
Alexander Mai has collected more information about history of loco "Fiffi".
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The agriculture equipment and a view to the station Gernrode. photo: Heiko Zeckai, Dresden Zoom 65,1 KB |
The agriculture equipment and in the background the museum. photo: Heiko Zeckai, Dresden Zoom 76,6 KB |
Off the platform within the rear area of the station Gernrode the visitor finds a small half-timbered house, which is particularly noticeable by its windows on the roof. That is the old field-forge, in which until 1995 the wagon-cleaning-team had its domicile. The building was established approximately in the 1920's from sections of the former service building "Sternhaus Haferfeld". Since 1997 a fundamental repair and the preparation of its inside for museale purposes take place. In the near future objects from the passed days of the railway are exhibited in this building.
Before the field-forge another section of our museum is to be seen, the collection of agriculture equipment. They were left to our association by farmers from the catchment area of the railway "Selketalbahn". Because of its dourable construction it was simple to transfer the equipment into a representative exhibit. Usually it was sufficient to clean and to paint the pieces.
Actually are a part of the exhibition:
| pellet mill | forke-hayrotator | "Sausterbe" |
| "Trommelheuwender" (hayrotator) | "Scheibenegge" | Mähbinder |
| Schwadmäher | "Drillmaschine" (sowing-mshine) | "Kartoffelschleuder" |
| field-rake | horse-drawn cart | "Kultivator" |
| "Schwadmäher" (reap-mashine) | "Zweischaarpflug" (twoshare-plough) |
| steam locomotive 99 6102 | ready for operation | |
| steam locomotive 99 7247 | not ready for operation | Gernrode |
| diesel locomotive 199 010 | not ready for operation | repairing is planed |
| GG 99-71-05 | box car with 4 axles | ex GHE 91 |
| Ow 99-03-66 | open car with 2 axles | ex NWE 446 |
| SSm 99-04-76 | flat car with 4 axles | ex Eisfeld 636 |
| RRm 99-04-51 | car with stanchions and 4 axles | ex NWE 231 |
| KDi 905-152 | baggage car with 2 axles | ex NWE 155 |
| Ow 99-03-16 | open car with 2 axles and seat for brakeman | ex NWE 416 |
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