Weihnachtsmarkt-Express Steam Excursions — Eisenbahnfreunde Zollernbahn

The Eisenbahnfreunde Zollernbahn, based in Rottweil in Baden-Württemberg, run special trains to Christmas markets in the weeks before Christmas under the name Weihnachtsmarkt-Express.

The operator lists four excursions in its Express series. Two lead to the Weihnachtsmarkt am See in Konstanz, one to Heidelberg, and one to the Esslingen Mittelaltermarkt and Weihnachtsmarkt or the Ludwigsburg Christmas market. The trains board at several stations along the line, from Stuttgart-Vaihingen via Böblingen, Herrenberg and Horb to Rottweil and beyond.

The operator announces steam locomotive 01 519 for some stretches, mainly between Rottweil and Konstanz, while electric locomotives work other sections. The use of the steam locomotive depends on the completion of its main overhaul, and the operator names an electric or diesel locomotive as the replacement.

A full-day return excursion by special train with time at a Christmas market at the destination. On the Konstanz trip from Stuttgart-Vaihingen the operator's page shows an outward journey of about four hours and a return from Konstanz in the early evening, with second class and first class available and a family compartment seating four.

The trains board at several stations, depending on the excursion; the operator's timetable for the Konstanz trip lists Stuttgart-Vaihingen, Böblingen, Herrenberg, Horb, Oberndorf, Rottweil and Tuttlingen. The operator notes that the times come from earlier years and may change. A booking route is not given on the pages read.