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The Harz Narrow Gauge Railways (German: ''Harzer Schmalspurbahnen'') or HSB is a network of metre gauge railways in the Harz mountains, in central Germany (formerly East Germany). It connects the principal towns of Wernigerode, Nordhausen and Quedlinburg and several smaller towns in the area with about 140 kilometres of track, much of which is steeply graded and picturesque. The most popular destination on the network is the Brocken, an old Soviet listening post on top of the tallest peak in the Harz mountains, accessed by a spiral railway line, the Brocken Railway. The railway is notable for running a significant number of its trains with steam haulage, mostly employing 1950s vintage 2-10-2 tank locomotives, hauling traditional open-platform bogie carriages. The network is currently operated by the ''Harzer Schmalspurbahnen GmbH'', whose members are chiefly the various local authorities whose territories it serves. == Forerunners == The present day narrow gauge network emerged as a result of the merger of originally separate railway lines which belonged to two different railway companies: In 1887 the first narrow gauge line in the Harz, from Gernrode to Mägdesprung, was opened. It was owned by the Gernrode-Harzgerode Railway Company (''Gernrode-Harzgeroder Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft'') or GHE. In the years that followed the line was extended and the network enlarged. The GHE network included the railway lines from Gernrode to Harzgerode, Hasselfelde and Eisfelder Talmühle. Because the line followed a section of the valley of a small river, the Selke, it was also nicknamed the Selke Valley Railway (''Selketalbahn''); another pet name was the Anhalt Harz Railway (''Anhaltische Harzbahn''). In 1896 a second railway company was entered into the commercial register who wanted to build a narrow gauge railway through the Harz. On 22 December 1898 the Nordhausen-Wernigerode Railway Company (''Nordhausen-Wernigeroder Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft'') or NWE opened special services on the line from Wernigerode to the Brocken (Brocken Railway), the so-called Trans-Harz Railway (''Harzquerbahn'') from Wernigerode via Drei Annen Hohne to Nordhausen was fully opened to traffic on 27 March 1899. After the Second World War the entire network fell within the Soviet Zone of Occupation, later East Germany. The GHE and NWE were subordinated to the East German Deutsche Reichsbahn in on 1 April 1949. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Harz Narrow Gauge Railways」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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