Please note: It is now too late to join this trip


Bluebell Railway Preservation Society

in association with

Cox Intercontinental (NL)

The Saxon Warrior

A special tour of steam railway lines and centres in the Lower Saxony region to help mark the 125th anniversary of narrow gauge railways in Saxony.  The tour will finish with three day visit to the Harz Mountain Railway.

26th May 2006 to 4th June 2006

Proposed Programme (Subject to confirmation)

Day 1 (Friday 26th May 2006)

Morning Ryanair flight from Stansted to Leipzig (Altenburg).  Visit to the Chemnitz railway museum and, time permitting, the Modelbahnland exhibition, before driving to Oberwiesenthal  where we will stay for two nights at The Birkenhof Hotel. 

Day 2 (Saturday 27th May)

Fichtelbergbahn locoTravel on the Fichtelbergbahn from Oberwiesenthal to Cranzahl and return. Visit the Eisenbahnmuseum Schwarzenberg, where we have asked that some of the exhibits may be taken outside the round house for photographs.  In the afternoon, we visit the Sachsishes Schmalspurbahn-Museum at Rittersgrun before returning to the hotel for Dinner.

In the evening, we will then return to the Fichtelbergbahn for the special train 'Abendfahrt ins Suppenland'. This special train runs to Neudorf, where, included in the trip, will be a visit to a soup museum, and refreshments in a local restaurant. The train then returns us to Oberwiesenthal. 


Day 3 (Sunday 28th May)

SSB Schmalspurbahn museum Check out of the hotel and drive to the Pressnitztalbahn at Johstadt.  On our return, we drive to Dresden, arriving just after lunch.  This is the weekend of The Karl - May - Festival, and the Traditionsbahn Radebeul are running a special timetable of trains between Radebeul and Friedewald. We will have time to travel on the trains and to visit the SSB Schmalspurbahnmuseum. This museum is under reconstruction at the present time, so entrance fees are not included in the price for the tour. Dinner and overnight accommodation at The Steinberger Parkhotel Dresden-Radebeul.


Day 4 (Monday 29th May)

Check out of the hotel and return to the station at Radebeul Ost and take the Lossnitzgrundbahn train.  On our return, we will visit the locomotive depot, before driving to the quay of the Sachsische Dampfschiffarhts for a River Sightseeing Tour on a paddlesteamer at 13.00hrs.

Parkeisenbahn Dresden(Any passengers preferring to go into Dresden for sightseeing or shopping instead of travelling on the Lossnitzgrundbahn train will find DB trains from Radebeul to Dresden main station. It will be possible to rejoin the main group for the paddlesteamer trip).

Then we will drive to the Parkeisenbahn Dresden and take a tour on the miniature railway. After this we will drive from Dresden to Olbersdorf, where we will take dinner and most of the group will stay at the Hotel Bahnhof Bertsdorf. This hotel is famous for its position alongside the Zittauer Schmalspurbahn. It is possible that the hotel will not be able to accommodate the whole group, depending on the total number of participants, those not accommodated here will be in a hotel nearby, probably the 'Haus am See', also in Olbersdorf.


Day 5 (Tuesday 30th May)

Breakfast at the hotels. We shall then spend the day travelling on the Zittauer Schmalspurbahn, with visits to the locomotive depot at Zittau which is shared between the narrow gauge railway and DB, and the Interessenverband der Zittauer Schmalspurbahnen e.V (the local support group) own depots and museum on the railway. We will return to the Hotel Bahnhof Bertsdorf this evening for a special dinner menu of Saxon specialities. We are hoping that some of the local support group will join us this evening at the Hotel Bahnhof Bertsdorf. Overnight accommodation will be at this hotel again and at the Hotel Haus am See.

Day 6 (Wednesday 31st May).

Colditz CastleBreakfast at the hotels and then check out. We will drive then to Colditz Castle for a guided tour and time for lunch in the town before driving on to Wernigerode in The Harz mountains for a stay of four nights at the Ramada-Treff Hotel. Dinner and overnight accommodation at the hotel.


Days 7. 8 and 9 (Thursday 1st to Saturday 3rd June).

Harz Mountain RailwayBreakfast, and dinner (including one glass or wine or beer or soft drink per person) at the hotel each day. Every passenger will have a three day all system ticket for the Harzer Schmalspur-Bahnen, and a group visit to the workshops at Wernigerode Westerntor will be included. The coach will be available to take the group to Alexisbad, Gernrode and Quedlinburg and elsewhere if required. A visit to the model railway on Wernigerode station will also be arranged for one evening with a social event with the model railway group. Many of you will know that the HSB is intending extending its system to include a new section from Gernrode to Quedlinburg, along the trackbed of the former DB route. The new timetable has not yet been published, but our coach is available to take the group to visit this part of the system if it cannot reasonably be reached on the trains from Wernigerode.

During our stay in Wernigerode, there is planned a 'Landesgartenschau'. This is a large horticultural exhibition and flower show which starts on 15th April 2006 and goes on to 8th October 2006. From 24th May 2006 till 7th June 2006 it is anticipated by the organisers of the show that the exhibition of local flowers and regional artistic gardens will be at its peak. The coach will also be available to carry our group to the show if required. The entrance fee to go to the show is not included in the price of the tour, but is advertised at 11 Euros per person for a day ticket, and 5 Euros per person for an evening ticket after 18.00hrs.


Day 10 (Sunday 4th June)

Breakfast at the hotel and then check out for the drive back to Leipzig (Altenburg) airport for the flight back to Stansted.

The Price

The cost of this tour is £875 with a single room supplement of £100.  For those not wishing to participate in the full tour a separate price can be quoted.

The terms and conditions for operating this tour are as follows:

The Booking Form to be sent to Roger Price together with cheque for £875 or £975 as appropriate, and a passenger list specifying the type of rooms required, and in the case of twin rooms, the names of the passengers sharing each twin room. 

The tour price includes:

Not included in the tour price:

Every passenger is strongly advised to have a valid travel insurance policy to cover against accident, illness, theft or loss of personal property and possible cancellation charges

Cancellation Policy

From 30 March, cancellations other than those instigated by the organisers will incur a 100% cancellation charge. All passengers are strongly advised to have a valid travel insurance policy to cover against accident, illness, loss or theft of personal property and possible cancellation charges.

Disclaimer

Michael Cox, Gavin Bennett and Roger Price are running this trip for members of the Bluebell Railway Preservation Society but neither they nor the society can accept responsibility for any changes to the itinerary, although these will be advised as soon as known to participants. Neither can they or the society accept any responsibility for loss of property, delays by carriers or costs for curtailment or cancellation through illness which should all be adequately insured against by participants. Participants attention is also drawn to the remarks concerning the deposit shown in the itinerary proposed prices paragraph.

Cox Intercontinental reserves the right to cancel or change the tour if there are insufficient numbers to make the tour economically viable.  Whilst every effort will be made to run the tour as advertised, neither the Bluebell Railway Preservation Society or Cox Intercontinental can be held liable for any changes or cancellation of proposed site visits or train services which are outside their control. 

Updated 25 May 2006