Schülp Peat Works

Why we can't take the old field railway to the moor:“In 2010, a local bought the peat plant and wanted to set up a museum that also offers rides on the old field railway into the moor. Unfortunately, this project has not yet been implemented.” Source: information board in the Moorwerk.

The Schulper Torfwerk
Peat extraction in the Great Moor, which also includes the area around Schülp, has a long tradition. Peat briquettes were already being produced in the Schülper peat factory in 1922. At that time there was already a field railway.
In 1930, the Meiners company bought Leon Levinson Levin's peat works. There have been up to
120,000 cubic meters of peat were mined each year, which were ground, sieved and processed into peat fertilizer and potting soil in the peat plant and in the large storage area in front of the peat plant. At peak times, up to 50 people worked in the moor and peat works. Until 1959/1960, the finished products could be transported directly to the Aspe train station via a rail connection.
The peat extraction permit was last extended in 1989 and the peat plant was shut down in 1998. Until about 2008/2009 the peat was taken to other plants for further processing. After that, the demolition and renaturalization of the moor began. The pumping stations were dismantled, the peat heaps were cleared, the drainage ditches and the quarrying areas were extensively waterlogged.
An original natural landscape with large shallow water lakes has almost emerged again. The raised bog is gradually regenerating.Source: Information board in the Moorwerk.

In the peat factory in Schülp, which is located in the moor between Schülp and Schönbeck, peat was extracted for over 100 years. After the Second World War, peat was an important heating resource. In Schülp, however, the focus of peat production was on peat litter, rubbish and pressed peat. The Schülper peat factory was in operation until 1998, the goods cart even rolled until 2008. Two years later, the student Achim Neelsen bought the peat factory. Initially, the premises were used as elongated rooms, but now the peat factory is to be converted into a tourist attraction. On the former tracks of the peat railway, visitors should be able to drive towards the moor and at the end of the journey there should be a lookout tower. On the way into the moor and from the observation tower, visitors should be able to enjoy the fantastic view of nature and the fauna.