“Riethschleuder” someone whispered. That was the street name of the Kleinbahn Erfurt-Nottleben. Today nothing reminds us of this railway line. Yet it played a vital role in Erfurt’s history.
The Kleinbahn Erfurt-Nottleben was a narrow-gauge railway in Thuringia. It was originally built and operated by the private Kleinbahn-AG Erfurt-Nottleben. The line branched off from the Wolkramshausen-Erfurt railway line at Erfurt Nord station. It ran via Bindersleben to Nottleben.
The Kleinbahn-AG Erfurt-Nottleben was founded on October 15 1924. It was founded by the Province of Saxony, the city and district of Erfurt and ten other municipalities. The share capital was 1.216 million Reichsmark. In 1926 the German Reich and Prussia also invested.
In 1925 the Kleinbahn acquired the 6.6-kilometer-long connecting track to the former Royal Prussian Rifle Factory. In 1926 the entire 21.2-kilometer-long route to Nottleben was opened.
In 1934 a new 1.3-kilometer-long connecting track was built for the Erfurt-Bindersleben airfield. In 1939 another one followed near Erfurt-Marbach for the army catering office.
In 1939 passenger traffic between Erfurt Nord and Erfurt West was discontinued. A streetcar connection had existed to Westbahnhof since June 20 1934. This made the inner city and the main station much faster to reach for travelers.
After the Second World War the line was formally transferred to public ownership. The Kleinbahngesellschaft was dissolved. The operator of the line was now the Deutsche Reichsbahn. Passenger traffic comprised up to ten passenger trains a day. However it increasingly suffered from competition from the road. As a result it was discontinued on August 28 1967. Buses replaced the trains.
In 1976 regular passenger services were re-established to the new Berliner Straße stop. These served commuters. They were known as the Erfurt S-Bahn.
The line also became home to the first standard-gauge heritage railway in the GDR. In June 1982 a vehicle exhibition was held at Erfurt West station. It was part of the celebrations for “100 Years of the Erfurt Reich Railway Directorate”. Museum services ran for several days. The great response led to the establishment of regular historical operations from 1983. It was known as the “Traditionsbahn Erfurt West”. In subsequent years museum trains hauled by steam locomotives ran from Erfurt Hbf to Erfurt West. Sometimes they ran to Bindersleben.
In 1992 freight traffic to Erfurt Airport was discontinued. This also meant the end of historical traffic. Passenger trains to Erfurt Berliner Straße still ran until May 28 1995. Only freight traffic remained for the Marbach silo siding.
The section between Erfurt Nord and Erfurt-Marbach was closed on December 31 2003. The section to Bindersleben was dismantled in 2004.
In 2015 there was an idea to revive the line for the Bundesgartenschau 2021. The aim was to transport visitors from Erfurt’s main station to the Gera-Aue. Alternative ideas were a cycle path or use as a draisine route. In the end none of the ideas were implemented.
In November 2018 the bridge over the Gera was removed. In 2019 the Marbach was renatured between the bridge and Erfurt-Marbach. This included the dismantling of the Berliner Straße station. The tracks were also removed there.
The standard-gauge line began at Erfurt Nord station. It was 800 meters from the station on the Wolkramshausen-Erfurt line. It ran around the city to Erfurt West. Then it turned west. After 21.2 kilometers it reached Nottleben.