41 The former Loading Station of the Ore

In order to be able to transport the ore concentrates from the „Willibald“ processing plant on the western slope of the Dörnberg to the railway siding in Bestwig at low cost, the then Stolberger Zink AG had its own narrow-gauge railway (gauge 750 mm) built in 1896/97. The ore concentrates were initially transported by a small trolley railway (gauge 575 mm) from the processing plant over a road bridge along the slope above to the so-called „Bremsberg“ (see station 24 of the mining trail!).

On a platform wagon that ran on rails, one braked two full trolleys at a time from the upper engine house 100 m down to the level of the valley. The platform was connected by a rope over a pulley to a counterweight on four wheels that ran below the platform. The counterweight was supposed to slow down the downhill journey and make the uphill journey easier.

At the loading station, the ore concentrates were reloaded into the Reichsbahn wagons (1435 mm gauge) standing on trestles of the narrow-gauge railway and then transported by the „little train“ through the Valmetal to the station in Bestwig. From 1952, lorries that could load 30 tonnes per trip took over the transport. The route of the „little train“ was closed down.