Mechanical part of the signal box inaugurated

Today, the mechanical component of the Zittau Süd signal box was inaugurated. Electrical engineering students—most of whom had completed an apprenticeship with Deutsche Bahn as part of the Cooperative Study Program with Integrated Training—spent their free time over the course of a year upgrading this facility.

This project is based on the usage agreement for the SOEG mbH training signal box at the Zittau Süd station, which has been in effect since February 7, 2014. Since then, there has been active participation by students from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in refurbishing the system’s components of control and safety technology. Patrick Hornung, a research assistant at the faculty, took charge of the system’s restoration. He received active support from the Zittau Narrow-Gauge Railway Association (Interessenverband Zittauer Schmalspurbahn e. V.), led by its chairman, Heiko Firle. The students were able to use the workshops and technical facilities at Bertsdorf Station for their work. In addition, experienced railroad engineers from SOEG mbH and the association provided the students with practical expertise.

In this way, the technical safety systems at Zittau Süd Station were not only restored to visually impeccable condition in less than a year, but also restored to the full range of functionality documented in the 1976 design drawings. On January 29, 2015, the adjustment of the components in the mechanical lockbox marked an important step in “programming” the mechanical signal box to its documented original condition. This completed the restoration work on the internal system. The students, nearly all of whom are enrolled in the KIA electrical engineering program and are completing an apprenticeship with Deutsche Bahn, are proud to see the results of their work in full operation after months of work restoring the individual components.

One of them is Kerry Gregor Grüneberg. He is a seventh-semester student in the KIA electrical engineering program. He was involved from the very beginning and spent approximately 120 hours of his free time working on the signal box’s reconstruction. Immediately after graduating from high school, he submitted an application to Deutsche Bahn in Dessau-Roßlau and, as part of the KIA (sandwich-style) degree course, earned his certification as a “Electronics Technician for Operational Technology” in two and a half years. “I’ve always been a rail enthusiast,” he says. “And so it was only natural that I ended up at Deutsche Bahn in rolling stock maintenance. I really enjoy it.”

For the class / course on railway-specific control and safety technology at the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences, the progress being made around the Zittau Süd station is an enormous asset, because the facility can be presented in an increasingly complex context during field trips.

SOEG has also always been very open to the planned expansion of the outdoor facility—which involves special requirements for its use as a training facility—and supports it to the best of its ability.

Not least due to the encouraging developments surrounding the signal box, SOEG mbH also had the building’s facade renovated in accordance with historic preservation standards in the fall of 2014.

As a result, the presentation of the signal box at SOEG mbH’s public events has now become an integral part of its activities. Those interested can once again visit the signal box during this year’s “Historik Mobil,” SOEG’s railroad festival, from July 31 to August 2, 2015. In addition, a small program centered around the signal box will be offered.