Harz Mountain Railway

[LittleRedTrain]

For anyone travelling on the Harz network this summer, it's worth noting some significant changes to the timetables.

Harzer Schmalspurbahnen | Sommerfahrplan 2026

Fahrpläne - Sommerfahrplan 2026. Harzer Schmalspurbahnen

www.hsb-wr.de

From my understanding:
- No trains at all between Ilfeld and Eisfelder Talmühle due to viaduct repairs, so no steam (or any loco hauled services at all) out of Nordhausen.
- The daily end-to-end steam train on the Selketalbahn runs only as far as Straßberg Mon-Sat, with a bus onwards to Eisfelder Talmühle
It does run through on Sundays, so this is the only day you'll be able to do the balloon loop at Stiege and exeperience the double-departure at Eisfelder Talmühle.
- The compensation does seem to be an extra steam run Straßberg - Quedlinburg - Alexisbad Mon-Sat (with a bus on Sundays).

Either way, I'm glad I did almost all the network last year, though even then, could only do Nordhausen on a railcar.

 

[30907]

The compensation does seem to be an extra steam run Straßberg - Quedlinburg - Alexisbad Mon-Sat (with a bus on Sundays).

Railcar

When I first visited there were 2 Selketal steam workings at weekends - but the trains I've used have never been busy

 

[LittleRedTrain]

Railcar

Are you sure? These trains are marked as D in the timetable:

https://www.hsb-wr.de/out/pictures/ddmedia/Sommerfahrplan_Selketalbahn_2026.pdf

The note for D states:
Zug verkehrt sonntags als Schienenersatzverkehr

Translating as "The train runs on Sundays as a rail replacement service."

All the other "Schienenersatzverkehr' (SEV) entries are shown as buses.

 

[worldsteam]

C = Zug verkehrt sonntags als Dampfzug

Note C ought to be read?

 

[LittleRedTrain]

Basically:
C = Mon-Sat it's a bus, Sunday is steam train.
D = Mon-Sat it's a train, Sunday is a bus.

Would be a lot simpler if they just published separate timetables for Mon-Sat and Sun. The Harz timetables aren't the easiest to parse at the best of times.

 

[30907]

Are you sure? These trains are marked as D in the timetable:

https://www.hsb-wr.de/out/pictures/ddmedia/Sommerfahrplan_Selketalbahn_2026.pdf

The note for D states:
Zug verkehrt sonntags als Schienenersatzverkehr

Translating as "The train runs on Sundays as a rail replacement service."

Just clicked and the link says "als Triebwagen."
This is logical because one is available at Strausberg and resumes its diagram at Alexisbad - and neither place has a bus depot anyway

 

[LittleRedTrain]

Just clicked and the link says "als Triebwagen."
This is logical because one is available at Strausberg and resumes its diagram at Alexisbad - and neither place has a bus depot anyway

Very odd that we seem to be seeing different things in the same link.
This is what I see below:


Oh well... either way, still glad I was able to do the full line behind steam last year!

 

[worldsteam]

I've lost the plot on what is being questioned here. The timetable is tricky to read as suggested above, but operations seem straightforward, with distinct differences between Sunday and not Sunday.