Historic Schalkenmehren Railway Station

"Old Station" Schalkenmehren
Passenger service between Daun and Wittlich was discontinued on November 1, 1981.
Schalkenmehren. Approaching the Old Station in Schalkenmehren on the former railway line, today's Maare-Mosel cycle path, and seeing the station building, it's hard to believe that it was opened as a fourth-class railway station exactly 100 years ago.
But how did it all begin 100 years ago? Surveying for the Daun-Wittlich railway line began as early as 1897. General preparatory work for the single-track line began in 1907. But it would take some time before the Daun-Schalkenmehren-Gillenfeld section opened on December 1, 1909, with the line running over the 28-meter-high Daun viaduct and through the 560-meter-long Schalkenmehren railway tunnel, "Großes Schlitzohr" (Great Sly Fox). The extension from Gillenfeld to Manderscheid to Pantenburg was completed on May 1, 1910, and the extension from Manderscheid-Pantenburg to Wittlich, signifying the completion of the entire line, was completed on July 1, 1910.
The completion of the Daun-Wittlich railway line brought rapid development to the village of Schalkenmehren. In the first year of the line's existence (1910), 18,968 tickets were sold in Schalkenmehren, followed by 25,057 in 1913, 27,969 in 1919, and even 30,279 in 1922. In addition, Schalkenmehren station was designed for general cargo traffic and the receipt and dispatch of wagonloads.
Text / Source: volksfreund.de
volksfreund.de/region/vulkaneifel/ein-schmuckstueck-fuer-nostalgiker_aid-5712448

On December 1, 1909, Schalkenmehren was connected to the rail network with the opening of the Maare-Mosel Railway. The current station building was built in 1910/11. Since May 29, 1988, Schalkenmehren can no longer be reached by train. The 58 km long Maare-Mosel cycle path now runs from Daun via Wittlich to Bernkastel-Kues on the former railway line.
At the station there is a small locomotive with an oil engine, called KÖ. It was built at Windhoff / Rheine in 1949, weighs 15 tons and reached a speed of 30 km / h with 130 HP. The KÖ was basically a shunting locomotive, but also took over the distribution of freight wagons on the route between Daun, Schalkenmehren and Gillenfeld. Sometimes she also pulled a passenger train. The locomotive, which is now at Schalkenmehren station, may be boarded and used.

The signs of the old railway line were left on the bike path and explained to be great for children