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Bahnbetriebswerk Leipzig-Wahren. The pig-shit depot. April 22. (Part One)

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Due to the close proximity to a large pig farm the depot was colloquially known as "Schweinekackdepot"

I'm loving it, I think "Schweinekack" is to become one of my favourite everyday expletives!

The depot was built for the maintenance and repair of the locomotives in use, and later in the 1970's an apprentice training school was built.

Ballast is a bastard to walk on.

I had to walk on and across loads of it to get to this beauty. It was the last mooch of the day, and thought

"It will only take half an hour"

It didn't, two hours later and I was stumbling back across the bastard ballast. Failing daylight, bushes and trees, because I lost my bearings and a lack of Red Bull to keep me going, but it was worth it, really worth it.

Oh woe is me. There was some beer quaffed that night post Macadees. I can tell you!!

The historical bit is but a mere stones throw from a busy freight/container depot, that has been built in 2001, after demolition of many of the original buildings.

There has been a station at Wahren, since 1841, as a basic terminus for passengers; it became a hub or freight in the early 20th Century, deemed a suitable location by the Prussian State Railway.

As early as 1914, this depot and section of railroad was electrified, how advanced is that! However electrification was halted due to the conflict, the non Fe metals required elsewhere and it was not reintroduced until the mid 30's.

Planned expansion work was halted during WW2, and the depot and station took a battering by aerial bombardments, then with reparations never really got off its arse again until the late 50's.


Thermal lagging was clearly present, Asbestos in all it's glory?

The two water towers, which are classed as historical buildings, were alas inaccessible.

So thats's the engineering side of the complex completed,

Next time.......
..... A stroll round the other buildings left on site, some of which were totally inaccessible, no matter how hard I stumbled and "fell against the doors"