Then, last Monday, a required track measurement was carried out between Osberghausen and Wiehl; this determines whether the track geometry complies with the regulations.

The result was (completely surprising for us) bad. The specified track gauge was undershot in many places. This would have meant practically the END for any train runs on the line! After several crisis phone calls, we finally received a promise from a track construction company that a work crew with the appropriate equipment would be deployed on the Wiehl valley railway on Friday, March 24th, 2023, to fix the faults. In an unprecedented special action, the defective areas of the Wiehl Valley Railway line were worked on with mobile grinding equipment. With the defective spots identified during the measurement of the track position, the planned opening trip could not have taken place today.

In addition, the ruts at the level crossings had to be cleaned.

The Hundhausen track construction company, in cooperation with the Thormälen welding company, was able to provide personnel and equipment at short notice to repair the track. The skilled workers were accompanied and supervised by our local operations managers Fabian Pinzke and Patrick Podevin, both long-time club members and company railwaymen. The documentation of the work carried out was also made by our colleagues. In the afternoon, the railroad operations manager (EBL) of the Rhine-Sieg-Railway Ltd. (Rhein-Sieg-Eisenbahn GmbH), Ingo Dewald, was able to report completion to the state railway supervisory authority and thus give the green light for the line opening run.

The 'Society for the preservation of the Wiehl Valley Railway (Förderkreis zur Rettung der Wiehltalbahn e.V.)' would like to thank everyone involved for their spontaneous and professional support!