As part of filming for a new episode, Eisenbahn-Romantik is visiting Härtsfeld, in the far east of the Swabian Alb. On Saturday, February 6, 2021, the last pair of rails was installed on the new section of the Härtsfeld Museum Railway. On four days in March, the rented ballast and straightening machine provided the "final meter gauge polish". This new section of the line is a milestone for the Härtsfeld Museum Railway. The line was extended by almost three kilometers in years of volunteer work and is now around six kilometers long. We accompany Werner Kuhn, who drives the T33 diesel railcar from Neresheim via the Sägmühle to Härtsfeldsee to Katzenstein. His cargo: two rails from the Frankfurt harbor railway. They bear the rolling mark from 1926 and today, 95 years later, are in the new terminus of the museum railway. However, the line is only supposed to end here temporarily. The extension to Dischingen, 2.3 kilometers away, is currently being planned. The members of the Härtsfeld Museum Railway Association have been working non-stop since 1985 to rebuild the line from Neresheim. In 2001, the first steam train ran on the museum railway line from Neresheim to Sägmühle - route length: 2.86 kilometers. The former Härtsfeld Railway was closed in 1972 and its tracks were completely torn up. The Härtsfeld Railway was once 55 kilometers long and ran from the Aalen railway junction to Dillingen in Bavaria. The narrow-gauge railway was important for commuters, for transporting wood, for transporting milk and for rail mail traffic - until the great decline of branch lines began in the 1960s and 1970s. For three and a half decades, the members of the association have been working tirelessly to rebuild and continue to build the line. It is also important to them to preserve the original carriages and steam locomotives that have been travelling on the Härtsfeld since the line opened in 1901. The path to tracking down and retrieving the original carriages by the association is also an adventure. One railcar was in use on the island of Langeoog. The Jumbo, the so-called "Härtsfeld crocodile", was to be sold to Brazil. Other carriages were in use on the Brünigbahn in Switzerland. Two steam locomotives served as playground locomotives for decades or were stored cold on the monument base. The museum railway has also put together an extremely rich archive of photos and documents. The former train station in Neresheim now houses its museum. In Dischingen, the former Härtsfeld train station, which is now a listed building, is also part of the association's original preservation and renovation. It is to serve as the museum railway's terminus in the future. We at Eisenbahn-Romantik wish the association a successful start into a new museum railway future! Author: Bettina Bansbach Camera: Eva Gensch Sound: Katharina Greiner, Till Pietsch Editing: Nicola Gündner This article by Bettina Bansbach was created in February and March 21 as part of filming for an episode about the Härtsfeld Museum Railway. The broadcast date on SWR television has not yet been set. #eisenbahn-romantik #swr All statements and facts correspond to the status at the time and have not been updated since then. Even more interested in railways? Then take a look! Here you can find everything about railway romance: Subscribe to the YouTube channel at http://www.bit.ly/eisenbahnromantik Become a fan on Facebook: /eisenbahnromantik. . Latest videos and information on our homepage: http://www.swr.de/eisenbahnromantik...