Signal box 3
Signal box 3 is the heart of our rope-and pulley shunting system. From here, it is controlled. We are proud to say all of the system is still available. It has been renovated and is the core of our museum.
Erected in 1930, the building is 50 m wide (about 94.5 yards) and 10 m deep (about 10.9 yards). It shows a passage height of 6.4 m (about 7 yards). Buildings of this kind are known as horseman-type signal boxes. www.reiterstellwerk.de
Using the original technical equipment, our guides will show visitors how goods trains were split up. On the 3rd floor of the museum, a model of the shunting hill of Chemnitz-Hilbersdorf (model gauge 1) serves to illustrate shunting operations.
The 2nd floor (once the place from where shunting was controlled) and the staircase area serve to present visitors a large number of exhibits and documents on railway goods traffic and its importance for Chemnitz and western Saxony as a centre of business. Movies that show the history of our shunting station are available here, too. Visitors can also develop a complete idea of how goods trains were split up by means of our rope-and-pulley shunting system, which now in its renovated state is unique in Europe.
