Cancellation of the steam train to Mariazell on 09th August 2015

Dear travelers and friends!

Due to the persistent drought caused by the high tempertatures and the related high risk of wildfires in the region, the NÖVOG cancelled tomorrow´s Mh.6 hauled steam service on the Mariazell Railway. Instead by the Mh.6, tomorrow´s service will be powered by a class E (1099) electric locomotive.

We apologize for the circumstances of which we have just have been informed.

For questions regarding existing reservations, please contact:
http://www.noevog.at/de/kontakt

Activity report July 2015

After the renovation of our engine stalls, we have focussed our work to a new project.

The next wagon for restoration is No. 8502. As the only remaining of three postal wagons of the Mariazellerbahn, he holds a significant historical value.  In order to obtain him for posterity, he now receives a rejuvenation and is therefore being prepared for sandblasting in a freshly renovated stall of our roundhouse.

Post1

Post2

The following picture shows the different shades of brown used on the Mariazell Railway . After the disassembling the add-on parts, we surprisingly found a spot with the “Mariazellerbahn – Brown” used in the initial livery of this wagon.

Post3

Outside the roundhouse, our archivist has browsed the online archive for historical postcards “AKON” of the Austrian National Library for historical impressions of the Mariazell Railway. The following picture representing his findings shows the railway facilities of Ober-Grafendorf during their glory days. Note the impressive wagon shed with a length of 104 meters on the right, which can be found today substantially shorter at the south end of the station Ober-Grafendorf.

Railway Facilities Ober-Grafendorf
Ober-Grafendorf (Westseite) © AKON/Österreichische Nationalbibliothek

 

 

Renovation of engine stalls 5 + 6

Last Friday, we started with the renovation of our diesel engine stalls 5 and 6. Before repainting, the section of our roundhouse had to be cleared out and cleaned by our members.

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After cleaning, the walls were painted in a light grey.
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Our junior club members took care of  the lowest section.
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Despite the bad surface, the opacity of the color already was perfect in the first layer.

On this occasion, also  the installations of both engine stalls (light, power, compressed air) were newly built.
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Monday evening, we were able to admire the results of our working weekend.
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The quality of the new LED lighting has exceeded our expectations. To reduce energy costs, it offers three different power levels.

Behind the scenes, our new archivist has started to sort and cataloge our documents and drawings.

Many thanks to our involved members, which can be proud of the result of their work.

 

Activity report June 2015

After the transfer of the rolling stock last month, our work in June was focussed on cultivating  of our railway facilites.

The most visible sign is the disappeared diesel filling station, which has been unused for years.  She has been sold for building a new siding with connection to the turntable in this section.

While the repainting of the first passenger wagon 3253 has been finished, our next activity will be the renovation of two engine stalls in our roundhouse until the mid of July. When finished, the next wagons will be refurbished.

At the beginning of June, we halso had a special photo session for presenting our members and facilities in 360° panoramic view.  Don´t miss a virtual panoramic visit of a working day at our roundhouse and railway facilities – It is definitely worth following the marked link.

 

Transfer of our Vehicles from St.Pölten to Ober-Grafendorf

On Friday the 22nd of May 2015 we transferred our “new” rolling stock to Ober-Grafendorf. As you can see in the following videos, this was also a very emotional event for the engineers who drove this engines for their last time.  More images about the transfer can be found via this Link.

© Markus Gregory
Mounting the coat of arms of Ober-Grafendorf by the mayor

Leaving St. Pölten Alpenbahnhof towards Ober-Grafendorf for the last time:

The engines 1099.01, 11 and 16 are now stored under roof in a shed at our local club facilities, 1099.08 is standing outside at the track yard.

© Markus Gregory
Triple 1099 trainset near Matzersdorf
Bildtitel-Attribut
The second trainset with our rolling stock near Nadelbach
© Markus Gregory
The first 2 class 1099 engines arrived at our shed
3252
The Wagon 3252 will be painted in a few days