Dresden Steam Engine Festival (Dresdner Dampfloktreffen) — IG Bw Dresden-Altstadt

The IG Bw Dresden-Altstadt e.V. holds the Dresden Steam Engine Festival (Dresdner Dampfloktreffen) in the former Bahnbetriebswerk Dresden-Altstadt. The festival ground takes in the roundhouse (Haus 1) beside the Nossener Brücke and the depot of the Dresden Transport Museum at the corner of Zwickauer Straße and Würzburger Straße. The operator says the festival has established itself as a meeting point for railway and steam-locomotive enthusiasts.

The operator says numerous special trains from all over Germany and from neighbouring countries come to Dresden for it, and that their locomotives bring the traditional steam depot to life where visitors can experience them up close. It describes locomotives presented on the turntable with explanations over a loudspeaker system, cab rides on a steam locomotive next to the turntable during the day, and the museum's own locomotives on display.

The operator also calls it a festival for the whole family, with a bouncy castle, children's crafts, face painting and a dealers' mile with railway and model-railway goods, and says guided tours of the club's historic model railway layouts are regularly offered. Each year it names the night photo parades at the turntable and the live-music evening "Dampf & Dixie" in the roundhouse as highlights. Its programme has also included half-day special excursion trains from Dresden main station and a shuttle with historic buses.

A weekend of visiting locomotives in a traditional steam depot: locomotive presentations on the turntable with commentary, cab rides on a steam locomotive, dealers, model-railway tours and family activities, open from 10:00 to 18:00. Night photo parades and a live-music evening take place in the evening from 19:00. Special excursion trains and historic shuttle buses have been part of the operator's programme.

The festival ground is on Zwickauer Straße (museum entrance Zwickauer Straße 86, 01187 Dresden, GPS 51.036966, 13.711226); the operator says the entrance from the Nossener Brücke stays closed during the steam engine festival, so use the Zwickauer Straße entrance. The operator asks guests to leave the ground at 18:00 because the evening events start at 19:00; its festival programme says the evening events need their own tickets. S-Bahn line S3 to Dresden-Plauen is a 15-minute walk and bus line 61 stops at Zwickauer Straße; the operator says parking near the ground is very limited and recommends public transport. Dogs are allowed only in the open-air area, not in buildings.