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| Neuerberg Tunnel Northern Portal |
This year for
the first time with our children we headed to the Eifel Region of Germany, a
small rural corner of the country that borders Luxembourg
and has a continuation of the Ardennes hills that characterise this part of Europe. The Ardennes had a very important role in World War II, for
it was here that the German Army launched a counter-offensive in the last
winter of the war, with disastrous consequences as far as casualties were
concerned. It is difficult to believe
now, for this area is very peaceful and full of picturesque villages among the
rolling wooded hills and fast flowing streams.
It is also a good area for the railway walker to explore, for many of
the old lines that once served many of these towns are long since defunct, but
thanks to German efficiency have been turned into wonderful cycle tracks.
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| Inside Neuerberg Tunnel |
In order to
get a taste for what was on offer we walked a very short stretch of the former
Neuerberg branch line, which once ran to this small village where we were staying
from Prüm. Prüm seems to have been something of a railway hub in days gone by, but
virtually all the lines that radiated from here are now closed, although there
is a preserved railway that still serves the town where the trains run to
Gerolstein nearby.
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| Neuerberg Level Crossing |
Our walk though began at the other end of the line
in Neuerberg (translated as Newcastle).
The line finally succumbed to closure in 1969 to passengers and 1989 to
goods traffic. Sadly there is no trace
of the former station as the flat piece of land on which it was located was
just too valuable to leave derelict in this narrow valley. The station area is now occupied by an Aldi
store, but the area must have been quite large when it was an operational
railway for there is plenty of room for the store and associated car park. Pictures of what it once looked like can be
found at
http://www.drehscheibe-foren.de/foren/read.php?17,5406223.
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| Nicely surfaced |
The trail itself starts immediately north of the
store and the reason we even discovered it was because of the rather obvious
and decorative tunnel mouth! We thought
it would be rather fun for the children to walk through the tunnel, which was
on a slight curve therefore not allowing sight of one end from the other. Although they were initially a bit
apprehensive when they got inside they soon realised that it was alright as it
was lit throughout. Of course echoing shouts
also helped with the entertainment value!
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| Picnic Areas |
On the other side of the tunnel we initially
walked through a heavily wooded section of track, shielded from view of the
village. The track was asphalt – no
mucking about with crushed stone or any other kind of rough surface that seems
to be the norm for such paths in Britain.
In fact this railway path seemed to have had a significant amount of
money lavished on it. As a result it was
undeniably popular on this hot July day, with plenty of families passing us en
route.
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| Enz Valley |
We crossed the main road by level crossing
protected by gates. This must have held
up the traffic when the cleared line was operational but now it would be us
waiting our turn to cross. On the other
side the line took a route high above the River Enz and we were pleased to see
that the trees on the river side had been allowing views of the sweep of the
valley. There was an obvious incline as
the line headed northwards, which must have been a struggle for steam engines
when the line first opened in 1909.
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| Meadowsweet |
All along the track were wild flowers and we
enjoyed looking at the different shapes and colours. Some of the flowers we recognised as they
were the same as British ones, while others were new to us. The air was full of the sound of buzzing bees
and hoverflies, all servicing the myriad of flowers.
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| Typical Eifel Scenery |
At various intervals picnic areas had been
created, making this truly a tourist attraction in itself. We were mightily impressed – I think our next
visit to this part of Germany might have to include bicycles in our luggage so
that we can make this for a more comprehensive trip than the little taster we
had. We walked only about four
kilometres along the track, turning back principally because we were very hot
and bothered but also to ensure that the little legs of the children still had
enough stamina for the return journey!
We needn’t have worried – they were too busy telling us stories to
notice the distance!
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| End of the Line For Us |
