Driver’s Eye View - Zittau Narrow Gauge Railway - Part 1 - Zittau to Kurort Oybin

The Zittau Mountains are situated in Southeast Saxony close to the Polish-Czech border. Daily trains connect Zittau to the health resorts of Oybin and Jonsdorf passing through attractive countryside and pretty villages along the way. It was snowing hard for most of our journey adding a little extra excitement as the loco crew cleared snow from around the points to allow our train to pass safely over them. Operations at Bertsdorf, the junction station for the branches to Oybin and Jonsdorf were particularly interesting as our locomotive preformed a complicated manoeuvrer in the ever deepening snow to change direction from the Kurort Oybin to the Jonsdorf branch line. This journey will be covered in three parts.
Please click on this link to see Part 2 - • Driver’s Eye View - Zi...
Map at 00:32 - Google Maps
Map at 00:39 - www.openrailwaymap.org/
Music - Track - Composer - Source
00:00 & 47:47 - ES_The Souvenir - Trabant 33 - epidemicsound.com
This visit was part of a rail tour arranged by the “Railway Touring Company” - if it’s something you’d like to know more about, please click on this link - www.railwaytouring.net/europe
To find out more about the railway, please click on this link - www.zittauer-schmalspurbahn.d...
The track gauge - 750 mm (2 ft 5 1/2 inches)

[@D3athAng3l1977]

Als Einheimischer Zittauer ist es immer wieder schön wenn jemand auswärtiges unser schönes kleines Gebirge mit der Bimmelbahn entdeckt :D

[@Timsvideochannel1]

Du lebst an einem schönen Ort. Ich habe es wirklich genossen, Zittau zu besuchen und mit der wunderschönen Schmalspurbahn zu fahren 😊.

[@motorradler1982]

Super Video. Ein kostbares Kulturgut diese Eisenbahn.

[@Timsvideochannel1]

Ich freue mich, dass dir das Video gefallen hat. Die Schmalspurbahnen Sachsens ziehen wie die Schmalspurbahnen in Wales viele tausend Touristen in die Gegend, die ihr Geld für Hotels, Restaurants und andere Touristenattraktionen ausgeben. Die Eisenbahnen sind eine echte Bereicherung für die Region im Allgemeinen

[@johannperaus6890]

Hi Tim! Beautiful trip in a nice winter wonderland 👍. I hope you have a good journey in Hungary. Best regards from Hans and Cheers 🍻🇦🇹.

[@Timsvideochannel1]

Hello Hans, this trip was fun for both the loco crew and the passengers, everyone likes a snowball fight. I enjoyed my time in Hungary and I'm looking forward to sharing my videos from that holiday over the coming months. Cheers. Tim.

[@JimNicholls]

Another great video, Tim, but it looked too cold for me. It brought back memories of about 65 years ago when I lived in Sussex and worked in London. One day there were a few flakes of snow in the afternoon, and as a consequence my train home from Victoria took over 4 hours to reach Brighton (instead of 58 minutes) and it then took me another hour and a half to get to Lancing, getting me home just in time for bed in order to get up for work the next morning. The Swiss handle weather so much better!

[@Timsvideochannel1]

Hello Jim, it was fun to ride through the snow and thanks for sharing your snow story. We don't get much snow in West Sussex these days, this video shows our last significant fall just over ten years ago - kzbin.info/www/bejne/emfFn6anZap-gJI It bought the South's railways to a complete stand for a week or so.

[@nicholasroberts6954]

Cherish the memory . . .with global warming you'll probably unlikely to see those conditions ever again in West Sussex.

[@Timsvideochannel1]

​@@nicholasroberts6954 I miss the snow in winter, sledding on Goodwood Hill was the highlight of many of my childhood winters.

[@zJoriz]

Spectacular!

[@Timsvideochannel1]

I'm pleased you enjoyed it.

[@panikrystyna1]

Ładnie wygląda świat pod śniegiem.... Dziękuję , pozdrawiam.

[@Timsvideochannel1]

Witaj, krajobraz wygląda czysto i czysto pod świeżym śniegiem.

[@angelikaluft2515]

Eine Bahnfahrt im Winter ist auch schön, hat etwas mystisches. Danke für's Mitnehmen🙂🍀

[@Timsvideochannel1]

Es war schön, Ihre virtuelle Begleitung auf dieser wundervollen Zugfahrt zu haben. Die völlig mit Schnee bedeckten Gleise waren ein seltsamer Anblick, den ich noch nie zuvor gesehen hatte 😊⛄❄☃.

[@elmarberktold852]

Great video! I love the snow covered rails within the snow covered landscape, waiting for 'defloration'. 😉

[@Timsvideochannel1]

Hi, glad you enjoyed the ride, the snow gets even deeper in Part 2, I'm working on it now, should be up sometime over the weekend.

[@pegallen6983]

That was a beautiful ride. It was like you were filming in black and white until the pops of colour from some houses, signs, cars appear and you remember it is a colourful world until it snows. LOL Thank you for the ride along

[@Timsvideochannel1]

Hi, snow completely changes the landscape, making it much quieter with subdued colours. Riding the train was great fun, I'm glad you enjoyed the ride.

[@NikosKantiris]

Amazing. Thank you !!!!!!!!!!!!

[@Timsvideochannel1]

Cheers, I'm pleased you enjoyed it.

[@SMILEVIDEOTRAINS]

Wow Tim, what a great video. very well done mate.

[@Timsvideochannel1]

Hello Keith, I've just returned home from another trip chasing steam and other vintage traction around Czech, Hungary and Austria, I look forward to sharing those videos over the coming months. We don't get much snow on the South Coast of England these days, making this East German trip even more interesting. I'm glad you enjoyed the ride. All the best. Tim.

[@Bigbro28]

I think 'Winter Wonderland' would be an appropriate subtitle for this video. What a beauty!

[@Timsvideochannel1]

"Winter Wonderland" is a great description and the snow gets even deeper in Part 2, which should be available sometime this weekend.

[@jeanhitchcock577]

amazing ride

[@Timsvideochannel1]

Hi Mum, I'm glad you enjoyed the ride 😊.

[@carljohnson3989]

Very nice !!!

[@Timsvideochannel1]

Thank you.

[@OtiAdventureToller]

Very nice!

[@Timsvideochannel1]

Thank you Abi. 😊🦮.

[@robertcoleman4861]

Beautiful pictures in a winter wonderland thanks TIM cheers BOB.🌨❄☃🎄🎁

[@Timsvideochannel1]

Thank you Bob, I'm glad you enjoyed it 😊.

[@TerryMcGearyScotland]

That was a pleasant winters trip. I hope you were well insulated 😅

[@Timsvideochannel1]

It was great fun and "Yes" I was wearing a warm coat 😊.

[@svpst1]

I live in Florida in the US which gets no snow. I grew in Michigan which gets lots of snow. Watching your videos allows me to see the beauty of the snow, but I don't have to drive in it. Thanks for these great videos.

[@Timsvideochannel1]

Thank you, I'm pleased you enjoyed watching these videos.

[@Silverado21]

I live in Michigan. I have my whole life. What part are you from?

[@svpst1]

I grew up in a little town called West Branch, along I-75 about 100 miles south of the Mighty Mac. Also lived in Alpena and Warren.@@Silverado21

[@Timsvideochannel1]

​@@Silverado21 Hello, I live in England and I love to travel to see and ride some of the world's wonderful railways.

[@franklinbrooks9506]

27:17 - Deer! Beautiful trip!

[@Bigbro28]

Well spotted, deer sir. I almost missed it.

[@franklinbrooks9506]

@@Bigbro28 I have a highly refined “wildlife eye” as a lifelong birder and hunter. Practice!

[@Timsvideochannel1]

I missed the deer when I edited the video, good spot 😉

[@plonss]

2:40 quite extraordinary crossing of normal gauge by narrow gauge !

[@Timsvideochannel1]

It is unusual, although there are other places where this happens, such as Queensland, Australia where the 2 ft gauge sugar cane lines cross the 3ft 6 ins Queensland Rail main line to Cairns at least half a dozen times and the 1 ft 11 1\2 ins Welsh Highland Railway crosses the standard gauge main line at Porthmadog.

[@KOLEJ22DrogaPrzygody]

Mega video , like, my firend, super

[@Timsvideochannel1]

You've made my day. Cheers. Tim.

[@sellier-bellot22]

This video reminds me of last winter !!!🥸

[@Timsvideochannel1]

Was it a cold one where you are? it was a wet one in my part of the world (Southern England).

[@sellier-bellot22]

@@Timsvideochannel1 Not very cold here in the southern part of the land but snow amounts were normal . In Lapland ,northern part of the land there was a lot of snow ! 🥸

[@Timsvideochannel1]

@@sellier-bellot22 This was the first time I'd seen a significant snow fall for 10 years, although I did see a little snow around Prague in 2019.

[@sellier-bellot22]

@@Timsvideochannel1 Congratulations ! 🥸

[@williamkettle8666]

It’s a great pity we lost many picturesque narrow gauge lines in Scotland. The Kinlochleven electric narrow gauge line, the lines around Fort William . Many more would have been wonderful experiences for tourists.

[@Timsvideochannel1]

It was not only Scotland that lost it's narrow gauge heritage, so did Ireland and England. Fortunately many Welsh narrow gauge railways survived just long enough for the emerging railway heritage movement to save most of them and they are doing wonders for the Welsh tourist industry today.

[@paharibrat2301]

Grandpa Beeching and Maggie messed up most of it... Privatisation was the big mistake of the 1980s and now Branson is laughing all the way to the bank... plus Network Rail and the others... having the same rolling stock and people having to stand even with a First Class train ticket. 😢😢

[@konradschroter4071]

Anfang August gibt es jedes Jahr Historik Mobil . Ein schönes Eisenbahn und Classik Motorsportfest .😊😊😊

[@Timsvideochannel1]

Der August scheint eine gute Zeit für einen Besuch in Zittau zu sein 😊.

[@user-pn7br5jn7b]

👏👏👏👍😊

[@Timsvideochannel1]

😊👍

[@geoffreyford7288]

Travelled the line twice behind 2-10-2T both in Winter time some 15 to 20 years ago. No snow on either trip but know what it's like at -17C on the lines around Dresden and similar conditions. Sadly I'll health would make it difficult to go back, still thanks for sharing your experience.

[@Timsvideochannel1]

Hi Geoffrey, I'm glad you enjoyed the ride, sadly no steam for this run, but the snow more than made up for it. I really enjoyed the Dresden lines, I didn't know regular year round scheduled steam trains could still be found running today. It was around zero degrees for most of my trips and that was cold enough, -17C must have been a memorable experience.

[@TerryMcGearyScotland]

Snowy trip this time! You might like my last two uploads from Llandudno and Mt.Snowdon. My Great Orme cable tram (?) video isn’t as slick as yours though but it was fun😂

[@Timsvideochannel1]

This trip was fun.

[@nicholasroberts6954]

So pictureseque and the human structures, so in keeping with the surroundings. - the villages look like model villages. Just wonder whether UK permament way regulations would allow a train to run with that level of unswept snow coverage, although, obviously, it must be pretty standard for winter conditions in an area like that given the altitude ? Luv the design (So elegant) and fabrication of those viaducts with the lightweight perforated floor plates and ballastrads

[@Timsvideochannel1]

Hi Nicholas, snow makes the world look pristine and East Germany is very pretty with or without snow. The attitude to health and safety is very different to the UK, people are allowed to make their own judgement as to whether an activity is safe or not. I did notice that where there was an obvious danger, people took extra care without someone in a Hi Vis coat shutting the whole railway down. The railways were constructed using low cost techniques resulting in sensible structures such as the bridges you mentioned, ungated road crossings and a general lack of lineside fencing. I wonder how many British branch lines would have survived the Beeching cuts had they not been lumbered with all the unnecessary costs often avoided in other countries, such as line side fencing, high platforms and the need for all road crossings to be protected with barrier gates?

[@joselitoelias7733]

Bom dia Pernambuco Brasil

[@Timsvideochannel1]

Olá, espero que tenham gostado do vídeo.

[@chriswood5205]

At 11:40 there is what looks like a level crossing between two bridges (one road and one rail, with the two bridges crossing a river at markedly different angles. Am I seeing right. I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like that before.

[@dieterschroers8914]

So it is!

[@Timsvideochannel1]

I think you are seeing it right and "Yes" I agree it's a pretty unusual setup.

[@coswiger]

If you wanna check it out on a map: It's the Prinz-Friedrich-August-Brücke in Zittau, where Südstraße and railway meet over the small river Mandau.

[@TerryMcGearyScotland]

Do you just clamp the camera in place with extra charge plugged in, then go to a carriage for the rest of the trip?

[@Timsvideochannel1]

That about describes how I mount the camera, except being on the outside of the locomotive there is nowhere to quickly secure an external power-pack, the camera is running on internal power.

[@TerryMcGearyScotland]

@@Timsvideochannel1 Wow! I always thought the camera was safely inside a cab. Could get pretty cold out there for batteries.

[@Timsvideochannel1]

@@TerryMcGearyScotland Where ever possible I mount the camera on the outside, although that is not always the case.

[@michaeljackson2838]

Strangest perspective. Almost like the camera is hanging 6 feet outside and not over the tracks. Loved the video though, well done.

[@Timsvideochannel1]

Glad you enjoyed the video. There weren't too many places to mount the camera, I had to make do with what I could find resulting in the somewhat off-centre perspective.

[@svpst1]

Do items placed along these tracks, such as signal, fences, boxes, etc, have to be a certain distance from the rails? Some look very close. Must be some clearance regulation.

[@Timsvideochannel1]

There are rules and regulations for the minimum distance track side objects can be placed in relation to the tracks.

[@neilforbes416]

Geez, all this snow has made the video appear almost black & white! LOL😁

[@top40researcher31]

@neilforbes416 he must've been off colour

[@robertcoleman4861]

@@top40researcher31 His been watching to many black & white films.🎞🎥📽🎬📺

[@top40researcher31]

@@robertcoleman4861 yes with title cards no sound lol

[@robertcoleman4861]

@@top40researcher31 🤣😂😅😁

[@Timsvideochannel1]

You need to get those glasses checked.

[@Collateralcoffee]

Irgendwie hat der Lokführer auch alle Signale ignoriert. Die mechanischen waren ausser Betrieb, die doppelt-roten Lichtsignale waren aber auch egal.... Heftig, wenn man denkt da fahren Menschen mit die sich auf die Technik verlassen.

[@Timsvideochannel1]

Hallo, dies war der einzige Zug, der fuhr. Es ist wahrscheinlich, dass die Stellwerke nicht benutzt wurden, da kein Bedarf für sie bestand.