Erzgebirgsbahn, Chemnitz

Dark smoke billows from the chimney of an old steam locomotive as it struggles up the mountain, whistling along the tracks. It’s almost as if you can still smell the smoke and hear the sound. These seven halls once belonged to the Royal Saxon State Railways; later, they were transferred to the German Reichsbahn. But that was a long time ago: After nearly 20 years of disuse, the remnants of a bygone era have been transformed into the Vehicle and Technology Center of Deutsche Bahn Regionalgesellschaft Erzgebirgsbahn (DB Regio). Instead of steam locomotives, modern rail vehicles are now maintained at the industrial site known in Chemnitz as the Reichsbahn Repair Shop (RAW).

During the first phase of construction, the skylights above the concrete halls were renovated. In the largest of the four buildings, some of the interior and exterior wired glass panels were replaced. In the three other concrete halls, INDU LIGHT completely replaced the skylight strips on the existing steel substructure using the Skyline system and 16 mm PC + Sun Reflect glazing. In addition, INDU LIGHT retrofitted all four historic buildings with NRWG Type Draco-vent series skylights. New Skyline rooflights were also installed in the smaller gabled-roof halls, blending seamlessly into the black shingle roofing. The renovation project was completed in the second construction phase with the installation of another skyline continuous rooflight over the approximately 450 m² roof opening of the hall adjacent to the north. All continuous rooflights were equipped with additional wind and rain detection systems.