The Pigtail Line (Sauschwänzlebahn) takes you from Blumberg to Weizen, passing 6 tunnels and 4 viaducts along this 25.5 kilometres route. It is a section of the Wutach Valley Railway (Wutachtalbahn) in the southern Black Forest, which connects the High Rhine Railway (Hochreinbahn) with the Black Forest Railway (Schwarzwaldbahn).
The line was built in the late 19th century for military reasons, as part of the so-called “strategic bypass railways” in the southern Black Forest. The intention was to bypass neutral Swiss territory.
To remain below the maximum gradient of 10 per mil, the line had to be artificially extended by adding a series of curves and tunnel constructions. With its length of 1700 metres, the Grosse Stockhalde spiral tunnel is the only spiral tunnel in Germany.
Enjoy a fascinating piece of railway history in the impressive landscapes of the Kommental, the Randen range and the Wutach gorge as well as historic shaped signals (semaphore) and vehicles (Class 50 and Umbauwagen).
