A family holiday in Cochem in the summer of 1994 made it possible - it was exactly at that time that one of the railbus days was running from Trier-Ruwer DB to Hermeskeil, and the family was sent 'shopping and feasting'.. 😉 But it was a strenuous day - it was supposed to be 37°C, hardly a breeze.. But what can you not do..? And it was a good thing! But we'll come to that later. The video has a longer 'credits', because in 1999 there was an IBSE special trip in the Trier area, which gave the opportunity to close the still gaping gap between Trier main station and Trier-Ruwer DB, and at the same time to travel a few meters on the facilities of the former Moselle Valley Railway ('Saufbähnle'). The author naturally took advantage of this too. The Hochwald Railway was opened on the Trier - Hermeskeil section, which is the subject here, on August 15, 1889. Later, in 1897, it was extended to Türkismühle on the Mainz-Saarbrücken line, but that will be the subject of another video later. In 1903, it got 'siblings', because from then on the Hunsrückquerbahn from Langenlonsheim joined in Hermeskeil, and the Moselle Valley Railway, the 'Saufbähnle', was opened in Trier. The latter was not directly connected to our route, but there was a transfer point for exchanging goods in Trier-Ruwer DB. This still exists at the time the video was recorded and we travel there. With the opening of the Hochwaldbahn, the remote villages on the heights of the Hochwald and Hunsrück finally got the long-awaited connection to the world. This region in particular was one of the poorest in Germany and urgently needed mobility. Where few people live, the military has space to set up its bases and training grounds. That was - and still is - the case, and the military had a say from the very beginning when it came to the premises of the railway construction. Long crossing tracks, infrastructure for loading and unloading, connecting lines where necessary. Nowadays the railway in the Hunsrück apparently no longer plays a role in military considerations, otherwise the generals would have intervened against closure plans, which did not happen. Things were different at the beginning of the 20th century, and a lot of freight traffic rolled through Hermeskeil, because including the Primstalbahn branching off in Nonnweiler to Wadern and Dillingen, there were four directions, all of which led to main lines and served as relief routes, but were also and above all heavily used by the military during two world wars. This is how a large, efficient railway depot was built in Hermeskeil. At the time of the tour it had long since ceased to operate, but can be visited as a well-known museum. The railway in the Hochwald and Hunsrück never rose to the status of long-distance travel, it always met local requirements and, especially with the Hochwaldbahn, was always aimed at the major centre of Trier. Here, as on the other side in Türkismühle, there was also a connection to the wider world. The motorisation that began in the old Federal Republic in the 1950s, the start of the 'economic miracle', soon made travel on the Hochwaldbahn and throughout the Hunsrück difficult. Rail buses came and replaced locomotive-hauled trains. This helped 'extend life', but could not 'save lives' in the long term. In 1969, travel between Hermeskeil and Türkismühle was first discontinued, followed by the Hunsrückquerbahn in 1976. The Hochwaldbahn continued to run to Hermeskeil until May 31, 1981, when travel from Pluwig was discontinued. But the remaining service to Pluwig only lasted another 3 years, until June 1, 1984. The 'Saufbähnle' had already stopped operating in 1968. On June 2, 1991, freight traffic between Trier-Ruwer DB and Hermeskeil also ended. Hermeskeil itself was still connected via Türkismühle, but that also ended in November 2000. The line was now idle, but there were people who did not want to accept that. So an association was formed that offered a railbus excursion between Trier-Ruwer DB and Hermeskeil every other weekend. The line was thus in use. But the conditions for maintaining something like that - especially on a 50 km long (!) line - became increasingly disgusting, the author knows this from his own work. The obstructive infrastructural conditions, the constant turning of the barriers on site, the unguarded railway crossings that had to be secured, etc. were not conducive to this. That's 'great' for fans, but this kind of traffic is not dependent on 'fans', but on the general public. And that was evidently not in abundance. From 1998 onwards, the trips no longer took place. The line was closed in 1998 and later completely dismantled. Today it is a cycle path. Freight traffic continues to operate up to Trier-Ruwer DB to serve connections on the Moselle Valley Railway track. Have a nice trip! As always, data from Wikipedia.