On Sunday, 8 September 2024, in consultation with Deutsche Bahn, we were able to open the “R1” signal box to interested visitors on Open Monument Day and provide a view of the preserved part of the marshalling yard from above. This is particularly important in view of the fact that the marshalling yard will soon change its appearance significantly due to the new ICE stabling facility.

Before the visitors could enter the signal box, a small cleaning team from the association first had to carry out a basic cleaning(we reported).

Due to the limited space, particularly in the stairwell, it was decided to allow a maximum of 10 visitors to enter the signal box for one hour at a time. All the places were fully booked the day before. Due to the bad weather in the afternoon, some of the guests who had registered apparently decided not to go on the tour, but these gaps were more than compensated for by random walk-in customers. All visitors easily climbed the 60 steps up to the pulpit, where our members gave an overview of the shunting operations and the still fully preserved workplace in the signal box. They also explained how the sidings will extend across the site in future.

The offer was very well received by the visitors, which is why we are considering repeating this next year if the status of the construction work for the car park permits.