Tourist and Minor Railways

Nordrhein-Westfalen

A railcar of the Drachenfelsbahn climbs the Drachenfels mountain, October 2009

Tourist and Museum Railways

• Dampfeisenbahn Weserbergland Stadthagen West to Bad Eilsen, 12.9 km. Standard gauge, steam hauled. Operates around days each year (Site in German)
• Dampf-Kleinbahn Mühlenstroth 600m gauge line about 800m in length at the Kleinbahn- und Dampflokmuseum, Gütersloh. Usually steam hauled. Operates one or more days each month, April to October and in December, also by private charter (Site in German)
• Eisenbahnmuseum Dieringhausen from the museum via Dieringshausen (DB station) to Wiehl, 13.5km. Standard gauge, steam hauled. Operates one or two days each month, April to December (Site in German)
• Drachenfelsbahn metre gauge electric rack railway from Königswinter to the summit of the Drachenfels mountain, 1.5km with a rise of 220m. Operates daily, January to mid November (Site in German)
• Eisenbahn Tradition operates excursions on various days in May, August, September, and December, over various routes in the region. Standard gauge, steam or diesel hauled or historic diesel railcar
• Museum Eslohe offers rides on a 600m long, 600mm gauge line within the museum grounds, using former industrial equipment. Usually diesel hauled, steam hauled for special events. Operates typically 2 Saturdays each month, April to October, or by private charter (Site in German)
• Feldbahnmuseum Oekoven 600mm gauge line within the museum using former industrial equipment. About 1.1km, steam or diesel hauled. Operates one day each month, May to October, and several days in December. There is also a 200m long, 184 mm (7¼ inch) gauge miniature railway (Site in German)
• Museums-Eisenbahn Hamm Hamm Schumannstraße to Lippborg-Heintrop, 18.7km. Standard gauge, steam or diesel hauled or diesel railcars. Operates at least once each month, May to September and in December (Site in German)
• Hespertalbahn Essen-Kupferdreh to Haus Scheppen, south of the city of Essen. 3.3km, standard gauge, steam or diesel hauled. Operates two or more days each month, May to October, and numerous days in December (Site in German)
• Landeseisenbahn Lippe Bösingfeld (west of Hameln) to Dörentrup, 20.8km, standard gauge, part electric, part steam or diesel hauled. Operates one to three days each month, March to December (Site in German)
• Miljoenenlijn standard gauge tourist line based in Simpelveld, Netherlands; some trains travel to Aachen-Vetschau, 1.4km of the line being in Germany
• Museums-Eisenbahn Minden steam hauled or historical diesel railcar excursions on various sections of the MKB and VLO from Minden or Preußisch Oldendorf. Operates one or two days each month from April to October and in December (Site in German)
• Muttenthalbahn Zeche Theresia, Witten. Nachtigallstraße Car Park to Zeche Nachtigall Mining Museum, about 1.6km, but currently terminates short of the museum with no facilities for alighting. 600mm gauge, diesel hauled using former industrial locomotives. Operates one or two days each month, May to October
• Oleftalbahn Kall to Hellenthal, 17.2km. Standard gauge, historic diesel railcar. Not currently operating following flood damage in 2021. No date given for reopening (Site in German)
• Osnabrücker Dampflokfreunde offers various steam and diesel hauled passenger excursions in the Osnabrück area. Operates various days from may to October (Site in German)
• Museumsbahn Rahden-Uchte Rahden to Uchte, 25.4km. Standard gauge, historic diesel railcar. Operates one or two days each month, May to December, or by private charter (Site in German)
• Ruhrtalbahn Bochum Railway Museum to Wengern Ost, 25.5 km, via Dahlhausen S-Bahn station. Standard gauge, steam or diesel hauled or historic diesel railcar. Operates typically three days each month, April to October (Site in German)
• Sauerländer Besucherbergwerk visitors to the historic lead and zinc mine are carried underground on a narrow gauge railway. Battery electric hauled. Operates Tuesdays to Sundays and public holiday Mondays (Site in German)
• Sauerländer Kleinbahn Hüinghausen to Köbbinghauser Hammer, 2.3km, metre gauge, steam or diesel hauled. Operates one or two days each month, May to December (Site in German)
• Schluff St Tönis to Hülser Berg, 13.6km, standard gauge, usually steam hauled. Operates every Sunday, May to September (Site in German)
• Selfkantbahn Schierwaldenrath to Gillrath, near the Dutch border north of Aachen. 5.5km, metre gauge, steam hauled or diesel railcars. Operates Saturdays, Sundays and pulic holidays, April to September, also Wednesdays, July and early August (Site in German)
• Historischen Schienenverkehr Wesel Rheinpromenade, Wesel to Hohe Mark via Wesel DB station. Standard gauge, diesel hauled. Operates on a few days each year (Site in German, homepage includes a video which is not playable in all browsers)
• Wuppertalbahn Wuppertal-Oberbarmen to Wuppertal-Beyenburg, 7.4km. Standard gauge, diesel hauled or histoiric diesel railcar. Not currently operating, a test train ran in February, 2023 with the intention of establishing a regular service in the near future (Site in German)
• Ziegeleimuseum (Brick Works Museum) in Lage has a 600mm gauge railway. Diesel hauled using former industrial locomotives. Operates one Sunday each month

Miniature Railways

• Grugabahn in the Grugapark, Essen. 3.5km, 600mm gauge, diesel hauled. Operates daily, April to October (Site in German)
• Kleinbahn im Rheinpark Köln. 2km, 600mm gauge, diesel hauled including some steam outline locomotives. Operates daily, mid March to October, weather permitting (Site in German)
• Parkbahn Stadtlohn Losbergpark, Stadtlohn. About 300m, 320mm gauge. Unpowered steam outline locomotive propelled by a petrol driven tender. Operates Sundays and public holidays from April to October, and by private charter (Site in German)

Historic Trams

• Bergische Museumsbahnen historic tourist electric tram line in Wuppertal, about 3km in length. Operates weekends and public holidays, April to October (Site in German)
• Historische Straßenbahn Köln tram museum in Thielenbruch offering excursions on the city tram network. Operates one Sunday each month, March to October (Site in German)

Draisinenbahn

Hand or pedal powered rail trolleys available for hire

• Auenland-Draisinen Rahden to Ströhen (Niedersachsen), 14.2km. Rahden station is shared with Museumsbahn Rahden-Uchte and the Ströhen terminus is near the station of the Ströher Moorbahn. Operates daily, April to October, and at other times of year by prior arrangement (Site in German)
• Draisinen-Fahren im Extertal Rinteln-Sud (Niedersachsen) to Alverdissen, 18km. Part of the route is shared with the Landeseisenbahn Lippe. Drasines operate Mondays to Fridays, April to October (Site in German)
• Grenzland Draisine two sections:
  • Kleve to Kranenburg or Kranenburg to Kleve, 10km
  • Kranenburg to Groesbeek (Netherlands), 5.5km, possibly the only international pedal trolley line in operation
  Operates daily, April to October
• Schleifkottenbahn Oberbrügge to Halver, 6.3km. Operates throughout the year by prior arrangement (Site in German)
• Wuppertrail Dahlhausen to Wuppertal-Beyenburg (6.5km) or Wilhelmsthal (1.7km). Operates Wednesdays to Saturdays, May to October (Site in German)