In addition to the well-known tram lines in Cottbus and Görlitz, there was once another tram in the town of Zittau in the Lausitz. This had a short but interesting story and was only operated for a limited period of time.
Early beginnings in 1902
The first Zittau tram was only temporarily used for a special event in 1902. A temporary railway line was built as part of a trade and industrial exhibition. It connected the exhibition grounds in the east of the city, the “Weinau Park”, with Haberkornplatz near the city center. This route was only set up for the duration of the exhibitionand dismantled again after graduation in September 1902. During this time, the railways showed a positive operating success.
The structure of regular line operations
A little later, the city of Zittau decided to build a permanent tram. On December 14, 1904, the company began on two lines. The “White Line” connected the Zittau station with the Äußere Grottauer Strasse and led through Bautzner Strasse, the market square, the Reichenberger Straße, Kaiser-Wilhelm-Platz and Königsplatz. The “Red Line” led from theGörlitzer Strasse to the Äußere Weberstraße, past Frauenstraße, the Frauentor and the market square. From 1909 this line was extended to Weinau. A third line was added later, which led from the train station to Olbersdorf. This route led over the Hospitalstrasse and the Outer Oybiner Strasse.
Technical characteristics of the railway
The Zittau tram was built on tracks with a gauge of 1450 millimeters. This unusual gauge was created because the tracks were borrowed by an entrepreneur named Hennig. He had previously used them for an exhibition on the federal shooting in Dresden in 1900, which was published by the Deutsche Bahn-Gesellschaft Dresden. The railway vehicles wereEquipped with large accumulators, weighing two tons. These could be charged at the terminus and made it possible to drive part of the route without overhead lines. This was initially practiced between the hotel “Reichshof” and Frauenthorstraße. However, due to the inclines on the track, this method was not very reliable, so in July 1902 acontinuous catenary has been installed. The accumulators were then removed.
power supply and operation
Power was supplied via a generator powered by a steam engine. Since these machines were part of the exhibition, it can be assumed that the line-up and operation were financed by the exhibiting companies.
Short-livedness and ending
The Zittau tram only existed for a comparatively short period of time. After the end of the exhibition and the technical adjustments, the line operation was probably stopped. The plans for reintroduction during the GDR era were ultimately prevented by the German reunification.
Screenshot twitter.com
