Mechanical part of the signal box inaugurated

The mechanical part of the Zittau Süd training signal box was inaugurated today. Students of electrical engineering, most of whom had completed an apprenticeship at Deutsche Bahn as part of the cooperative study program with integrated training, have spent a year upgrading this system in their free time.

The basis for this is the usage agreement for the SOEG mbH training signal box at Zittau Süd station, which has been in place since February 7, 2014. Since then, students from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science' have been actively involved in refurbishing the control and safety components of the system. Patrick Hornung, a research assistant at the faculty, took over the management of the refurbishment of the system. He was actively supported by the Zittauer Schmalspurbahn e. V. interest group under the leadership of its chairman, Heiko Firle. The students were able to use the workshops and technical facilities at Bertsdorf station for their work. The students were also supported by experienced railroad employees from SOEG mbH and the interest group with their practical expertise.

In this way, the technical safety installations at Zittau Süd station were not only restored to a visually perfect condition in less than a year, but also to a functional level as documented in the planning documents from 1976. On January 29, 2015, an important step in "programming" the mechanical signal box to its documented original condition took place with the adjustment of the components in the mechanical locking box. This completed the repair work on the interior system. The students, almost all of whom are studying electrical engineering in the KIA degree program and completing an apprenticeship with Deutsche Bahn, are proud to see the results of their work in full operation after months of work to refurbish the individual components.

One of them is Kerry Gregor Grüneberg. He is a student in his seventh semester on the KIA electrical engineering course. He has been involved right from the start and has spent around 120 hours of his free time working on the reconstruction of the signal box. He applied to Deutsche Bahn in Dessau-Roßlau straight after graduating from high school and, as part of the KIA (sandwich-style) degree course, he qualified as an "electronics technician for operating technology" in two and a half years. "I've always been a rail enthusiast," he says. "And that's how I ended up working in vehicle maintenance at Deutsche Bahn. I really enjoy that."

The progress made around Zittau Süd station is an enormous enrichment for the class / course on railway-specific control and safety technology at the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences, as the facility can be presented in an increasingly complex context during excursions.

SOEG is also always very open to the planned expansion of the outdoor facility, combined with special requirements for its purpose as a training facility, and supports it to the best of its ability.

Not least due to the pleasing development around the signal box, SOEG mbH also had the building façade renovated in line with listed building requirements in the fall of 2014.

The presentation of the signal box at public events is now an integral part of SOEG mbH's activities. Interested parties can visit the signal box again during this year's Historik Mobil, SOEG's railroad festival, from 31.07. to 02.08.2015. In addition, a small program will be offered around the signal box.