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Gotha, Germany:
Streetcars (Trams) and the Thüringerwaldbahn

Description

Gotha is a city of about 47,000 in the German state of Thuringia (Thüringen). Its meter-gauge streetcar system consists of two basic city routes (about 4.6 miles or 7.5 km) plus an interurban route, the Thüringerwaldbahn (an additional 11.3 miles or 18.2 km), which serves the towns of Waltershausen, Friedrichroda and Tabarz in the foothills of the Thuringian forest (Thüringer Wald), a popular vacation area.

Pictures

These pictures were taken on 30 June 2009.

City routes

[picture] The basic city routes (1 and 2) start at the main railway station (Hauptbahnhof), where a new streetcar and bus terminal opened in 2007. Along the roofline is a quotation from Goethe: "Denn man reist doch wahrlich nicht, um auf jeder Station einerlei zu sehen und zu hören" ("For after all, one really doesn't travel in order to see and hear the same things every place")

[picture] A Tatra car heads south along Bahnhofstraße towards the railway station.

[picture #1] | [picture #2] The two city routes diverge/meet at Huttenstraße near the old city center. A Tatra car arrives from the left on route 1, and a Düwag (vintage 1962) arrives from the right on route 2.

The Thüringerwaldbahn

Route 4, the Thüringerwaldbahn, is the same as route 1 until reaching the end of that route; from there it heads out into the countryside. First it traverses farmland, then, near Waltershausen, it enters the forest. The route is single track with passing sidings. Normal service is every forty minutes. Routes 1 and 4 together provide a uniform ten-minute service interval inside the city.

[picture] A pictorial map of the route, posted at one of the stops.

[picture] At the starting point, the Hauptbahnhof in Gotha.

[picture #1] | [picture #2] At the Marienglashöhle stop in the forest. Here you can take a tour through a former gypsum mine with a spectacular crystal grotto.

[picture #1] | [picture #2] At the end of the line in Tabarz, 14.1 miles (22.7 km) and 58 minutes from the starting point.

[picture] Route 6, about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long, connects the town of Waltershausen with route 4. A single car shuttles back and forth.

[picture] A route 4 car headed for Gotha waits for passengers from route 6 at the junction (Gleisdreieck).

Other Sites

This page was last updated on 1 August 2009.

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