I first visited Dresden, capital of the state of Saxony, in the early 1990s shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the re-unification of Germany. The newly amalgamated national railway operator, Deutsche Bahn, inherited a network from the former Reichsbahn of East Germany in dire need of upgrading and investment which also included an assortment of narrow gauge lines known in Germany as Schmalspurbahnen, still operated on a year round daily basis with steam locomotives. Two of these were to be found in the Dresden suburbs, and even operated very early morning school workings.

These 750mm gauge lines were the surviving remnants of a once much larger network of routes which came into being in areas where topography and relatively sparse populations precluded the expense of constructing conventional standard gauge railways.

A carefully posed image of Hohnstein, terminus of the Schwarzbachbahn, in 1907. (Schwarzbachbahn collection) (Narrow Gauge Railways of Saxony, Amberley Publishing)

They had been gradually closed since the end of the Second World War, with the first examples being dismantled and stripped as war reparations by the USSR, but fortunately all of those still extant at re-unification survive today with new private sector operators. Other volunteer run museum lines have been rebuilt and reopened, and today they are marketed overall as the Saxon Steam Railway Route.

Until the collapse of the German Democratic Republic in 1989, these little railways carried freight as well as passenger traffic, although one line, running between Oschatz and Mugeln had survived on freight traffic alone since the 1950s. The reason for its survival was kaolin traffic, using standard gauge wagons on narrow gauge transporters, hauled by distinctive Saxon Meyer articulated locomotives. The kaolin works has long since closed, and the line has been threatened with closure in recent years, but fortunately. a passenger service runs today, with occasional heritage steam specials too.

No. 1584 runs along a mixed gauge section of track at Oschatz with a train of empties for Kemmlitz in February 1980. (Ed Kaas) (Narrow Gauge Railways of Saxony, Amberley Publishing)

My own favourite route is the line which runs from Freital Hainsberg via the scenic Rabenau Gorge to Kurort Kipsdorf, originally opened in 1883. Known as the Weisseritztalbahn from the river valley through which it threads its way, disaster struck in 2002 when torrential rains caused severe flooding, resulting in the destruction of much of the line. The lower part of the line from Freital to Dippoldiswalde reopened in 2008, but it would be a further nine years before services were reinstated to the upper terminus at Kurort Kipsdorf.

It was to be six years before the lower part of the line was rebuilt, but No. 1746 is seen here after arrival at Dippoldiswalde, the temporary terminus, a few days after reopening in December 2008. (Narrow Gauge Railways of Saxony, Amberley Publishing)

Motive power on all lines is normally provided by purpose built 2-10-2 tank locomotives, known as the VIIK class, but another earlier once ubiquitous type, the aforementioned Saxon Meyer 0-4-4-0 articulated type, class IVK, is well represented in preservation. In 2010 a replica of the diminutive IK class 0-6-0T type was built, representative of the engines used in the early years of the developing Saxon narrow gauge network.

I have returned to the area many times over the years, and I hope that the book will give the reader an insight into this fascinating area, and the delightful steam operated lines that can be enjoyed there. Whether climbing up into the Erzgebirge Mountains towards the Czech border in deep snow on board a train laden with weekend skiers, or trundling through a street in suburban Dresden with the locomotive’s bell clanging, in a carriage full of homeward-bound schoolchildren, these little lines still offer the atmosphere of everyday, working steam in the twenty first century. Dresden itself is a very fine city and cultural centre, justifiably long known as the Florence of the Elbe. After many years of painstaking effort following heavy wartime damage and GDR era neglect, it once again has a superbly reconstructed baroque heart. And if all that is not enough there is more steam to be found on the River Elbe, as the city is also home to the largest fleet of paddle steamers in the world, nine in total – with the earliest dating back to the 1870s, and most with oscillating engines.

New-build Saxon I K locomotive No. 54 with heritage stock at Lohsdorf, base of the Schwarzbach museum railway project. (Schwarzbachbahn collection) (Narrow Gauge Railways of Saxony, Amberley Publishing)

Just imagine taking a modern electric train from Waterloo to, say, Surbiton, then crossing the platform to find the equivalent of the Lynton and Barnstaple - a little black tank engine at the head of a rake of open balconied carriages, some still with wooden slatted seats waiting for you…

Yes, you can still find that in Saxony today.

Narrow Gauge Railways of Saxony by John Woodhams is available for purchase now.