Teutoburger Wald Eisenbahn

The TWE (Teutoburger Wald Eisenbahn) is one of Germanys longest private railways, it runs for over a 100KM from Ibbenburen to Gütersloh, then on to Hovelhof, with short branch lines to the docks on the Dortmund-Ems canal at Hafen Saarbeck, to Harsewinkle West (and the Klaas combine harvester factory!) and to the airfield at Gütersloh. It connects with the DB mainlines at Ibbenburen, Lengerich (where the main TWE workshops are), Gütersloh and Hovelhof.

Much of it's traffic originates with the Klaas factory in Harsewinkle and the docks on the Dortmund-Ems Canal, but there are 30 or so other small sidings into factories and other through traffic, and a busy timetable results (I can watch the trains pass from where I sit typing these notes!). The one movement I most notice is the train that leaves Gütersloh around 21.30 every evening, returning about 2.30 in the morning! They shift something in the region of 400,000 tonnes of freight per year (26 million tonne Km's!)

	This old map shows the extent of the TWE network. The first stretch, Gütersloh to Laar opened in Nov 1900. It is interesting to note that the old TWE station and yard at Gütersloh, despite being adjacent to the DB mainline and station is separated by a fence and there is no physical connection between the two networks, the only link being from the line to Hovelhof into the DB goods yard on the east of the mainline.
Most traffic on the TWE is handled by one of it's fleet of 4 modern BO-BO locomotives. One duty is sufficiently heavy (a weekly train of steel) to require double heading as routine. Loco V 156 is shown here in the yard at Lengerich.
	Near Lengerich the "Eisenbahn Tradition eV." preservation organisation maintain their fleet of locomotives and rolling stock. These make regular trips along the TWE, usually monthly during the summer. Shown left is locomotive 38 1772
Although all routine passenger services have been replaced by buses since the late 60's, the TWE still maintain one old diesel railcar for special duties. Railcar VT03