Harz Railway – Brockenbahn in a blizzard – German Steam Trains

A ride on the Harzer Schmalspurbahnen (Harz narrow-gauge railways) on their line to Brocken, which at 1,141 metres is the highest peak in northern Germany.

It is also Germany’s highest railway station (1,125 metres above sea level).

The route travels through the Harz National Park, however most of the trees here are dead. Many have been snapped off and there has also been fires.

From the National Park’s website: “Storms, heat waves and drought as a result of climate change are weakening the trees. Bark beetles, the beneficiaries of this weakness, are causing large-scale dieback of the mostly human-dominated, older spruce forests in the national park area.”

As spruce trees are quick growing, the Park hopes for the forest to be regenerated in the next 30 years.

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