Eisenbahnfreunde Wetterau

Eisenbahnfreunde Wetterau e. V. (EFW) is a non-profit registered association based in Bad Nauheim, Hesse, Germany. Founded in 1974 as a model railway club, it evolved into a heritage railway operator that runs museum trains and, since 2004, freight services on the historic Butzbach-Licher Eisenbahn (BLE) route in the Wetterau region. The association is both a railway infrastructure company (Eisenbahninfrastrukturunternehmen, EIU) and a licensed railway undertaking (Eisenbahnverkehrsunternehmen, EVU), operating under the name Eisenbahn der Eisenbahnfreunde Wetterau (EbEFW) since 2006. The EFW's origins lie in a model railway layout housed in a former track maintenance building at Bad Nauheim station. After burglaries destroyed the layout twice, members organized special steam trips with locomotive 98 727 ("Zucker-Susi") from the Darmstadt-Kranichstein Railway Museum to fund reconstruction. This success led the group to focus on heritage train operations and acquire its own passenger coaches. In 1980, special trips were offered for the Rosenfest in Steinfurth, followed by a trip with steam locomotive 24 009. In 1983, the association acquired the V 36 locomotive from the Friedberg sugar factory, giving it its first own locomotive. In 1990, the Henschel Type Bismarck locomotive No. 1 of the Marburger Kreisbahn arrived on loan after lengthy restoration. A two-track locomotive shed was built on the BLE site in Bad Nauheim between 1992 and 1993, with an inspection pit added in 2000. In 2004, the EFW took over as lessee the railway sections Butzbach Betriebsgrenze–Münzenberg and Griedel–Bad Nauheim Nord, preventing closure and securing the future of museum operations. The association also began operating freight trains, including wood transport. In July 2021, it purchased the rail infrastructure and associated land from HLB Basis AG. The EFW maintains over 20 kilometers of track, largely through volunteer work, and has carried out extensive renewals. Its operations are based at Bad Nauheim Nord, where the depot, sidings, and locomotive shed with workshop and pit are located. The line is operated under simplified train control (vereinfachter Zugleitbetrieb), with Bad Nauheim Nord as the reporting point. The EFW's fleet includes steam and diesel locomotives and passenger coaches. The steam locomotive underwent major overhauls, returning to service in 2009 and again in 2013 after repairs. The association's activities have gained attention beyond the region, including a feature in the 2026 annual magazine of the Austrian ÖGLB. As of the latest information, regular trains are suspended due to construction work on the line, with service expected to resume in the 2026 season. The EFW remains a volunteer-driven organization dedicated to preserving railway heritage and operating museum and freight services in the Wetterau.

The Eisenbahnfreunde Wetterau e. V. (EFW) was founded in 1974 as a model railway club. The association rented rooms in the former track maintenance building of the southeastern freight area at Bad Nauheim station to set up a model railway layout. This layout was destroyed twice during burglaries. To finance its reconstruction, the members successfully organized special trips with steam locomotive 98 727 ("Zucker-Susi") from the Darmstadt-Kranichstein Railway Museum. As a result, some members decided to focus on the heritage railway sector and acquired their own passenger coaches. In 1980, special trips were offered for the first time at the Rosenfest in Steinfurth, followed by a special trip with steam locomotive 24 009. In 1983, the V 36 locomotive from the Friedberg sugar factory was taken over, giving the association its first own locomotive. In 1987, locomotive No. 1 of the Marburger Kreisbahn, a Henschel Type Bismarck, was to be loaned to the EFW; however, after lengthy restoration, it only arrived in Bad Nauheim in 1990. At the same time, with financial support from the city of Bad Nauheim, the track maintenance building was converted into a clubhouse. During the construction of the new B 3 (Bad Nauheim and Ober-Mörlen bypass), the line, which was only used for museum traffic, was taken into account and a bridge was built over the road. To shelter the steam locomotive, a two-track locomotive shed was built on the BLE site in Bad Nauheim between 1992 and 1993 (the inspection pit followed for financial reasons only in 2000). In 1993, the EFW train ran off the museum line for the first time, to the reopening of the modernized Friedrichsdorf–Albshausen railway line. The steam locomotive was later taken out of service due to expired deadlines (main inspection, boiler inspection) and initially uncertain future of the line. After the line was put out to tender for takeover by Hessische Landesbahn, closure was also considered, which would have meant the end of museum traffic. On 1 January 2004, the Eisenbahnfreunde Wetterau took over as lessee the sections Butzbach Betriebsgrenze–Münzenberg and Griedel–Bad Nauheim Nord. For the first time, the EFW also operated a wood train. The conversion of the intersection of the B 488 (today L 3053 / L 3134) at the eastern exit of Butzbach, including the immediately following level crossing, into a roundabout in 2005 for the Hessentag 2007 also took the railway line into account, which crosses the roundabout and touches the central island. From 2007 onwards, further locomotives were acquired, among other things for the wood trains, and extensive maintenance work was carried out on the line due to the increasing aging of the superstructure, which had no longer been maintained by the BLE. In addition, the steam locomotive was put back into service in 2009 after several years of restoration, but had to be taken out of service again until 2013 after a few trips due to damage to the cylinder. As lessee and operator of the public railway lines 9371 (section Butzbach Betriebsgrenze–Münzenberg) and 9373 (Griedel–Bad Nauheim Nord), the EFW is a railway infrastructure company (EIU). Both lines were originally built by the Butzbach-Licher Eisenbahn; the Butzbach–Münzenberg section is a remnant of the main line to Lich. The border with Hessische Landesbahn between Butzbach Ost and Griedel lies on the open line at the B 488 level crossing. At Bad Nauheim Nord, where the depot with sidings for the association's vehicles and the locomotive shed with workshop and pit are located, there is a connection to the Main-Weser Railway, which was included in the conversion to the Friedberg electronic interlocking and has been jointly used by both sides since the beginning of 2016. The line is operated under simplified train control (vereinfachter Zugleitbetrieb), with Bad Nauheim Nord as the reporting point. All intermediate stations (Steinfurth, Oppershofen, Rockenberg, Griedel, Gambach and Oberhörgern-Eberstadt) are built as stations typical of a small railway; the station buildings were mostly still owned by Hessische Landesbahn and rented to private individuals as living space, but most have now been sold. The platforms, where present, are mostly low and have a water-bound surface. Only Bad Nauheim Nord and Steinfurth Rosenbahnsteig have a high platform edge; Steinfurth Bf, Rockenberg and Gambach each have a low platform, and Münzenberg has a ground-level platform paved with composite stones. In total, the Eisenbahnfreunde Wetterau maintain over 20 kilometers of track; track construction is carried out in-house with the association's own vehicles. Two longer sections have already been completely renewed, and in the winter season 2013/2014 several hundred individual sleepers and a switch were replaced. In the winter season 2014/2015, the extension of the passing loop in Griedel was continued. After several attempts, the rail infrastructure and associated land were finally purchased from HLB Basis AG in July 2021. According to the applicable regulations, the Eisenbahnfreunde Wetterau have been an independent public railway undertaking (EVU) since 2006 under the name Eisenbahn der Eisenbahnfreunde Wetterau (EbEFW). The reason for the cumbersome name is that the abbreviation EfW was already taken. The association's original mainstay is the museum trains and passenger...

• 2021

  Purchased rail infrastructure and associated land from HLB Basis AG.

• 2013

  Steam locomotive returned to service again after cylinder damage repair.

• 2009

  Steam locomotive returned to service after several years of restoration.

• 2006

  Became an independent public railway undertaking (EVU) as Eisenbahn der Eisenbahnfreunde Wetterau (EbEFW).

• 2004

  Took over as lessee the sections Butzbach Betriebsgrenze–Münzenberg and Griedel–Bad Nauheim Nord; began freight operations.

• 2000

  Inspection pit added to the locomotive shed.

• 1993

  First trip off the museum line to the reopening of the Friedrichsdorf–Albshausen line.

• 1992

  Construction of a two-track locomotive shed on the BLE site in Bad Nauheim (completed 1993).

• 1990

  Henschel Type Bismarck locomotive No. 1 of the Marburger Kreisbahn arrived on loan after restoration.

• 1983

  Acquired V 36 locomotive from the Friedberg sugar factory, first own locomotive.

• 1980

  First special trips offered at the Rosenfest in Steinfurth; special trip with steam locomotive 24 009.

• 1974

  Founded as a model railway club.

Volunteer-run heritage railway association preserving and operating historic rail lines and museum trains in the Wetterau region.

• Museum train rides

  Heritage train services on the Butzbach-Licher Eisenbahn line.

• Freight transport

  Freight services, including wood transport, since 2004.

• Railway infrastructure maintenance

  Maintenance of over 20 km of track as a railway infrastructure company.

1. 1Museumsbahn & mehr - Eisenbahnfreunde Wetterauef-wetterau.de
2. 2Eisenbahnfreunde Wetterau - Wikipediade.wikipedia.org
3. 3Eisenbahnfreunde Wetterau - Wikidatawikidata.org