Description [EN]
In the Cologne district of Dünnwald stands the Stellwerk Köln-Dünnwald, dedicated to presenting historic signalling and telecommunications technology in rail transport.
The building is located at the former operational station "Köln-Dünnwald" on the Mülheim-Speldorf–Troisdorf railway. Originally the station was connected on both sides to the lines toward Köln-Kalk and Opladen and was operated by two mechanical Einheitsstellwerke. In 1970 the facility on the Köln-Kalk side received a Gleisbildstellwerk of the DrS2 type, which thereafter took over the control of the station—now only connected on one side—and of several level crossings. In the following years the signal box was downgraded to a block signal box that ultimately only secured the level crossings; a 2010 modernization of the safety equipment led to its decommissioning in favour of centralised block signals controlled from Köln-Kalk.
From 2011 the signal box was converted into a museum with an integrated railway operation simulator. The central exhibit is the preserved DrS2 push-button interlocking system; the original relay technology has been kept visible behind glazing in the control room. The presentation is supplemented by a working reconstruction of an early electronic interlocking from the Essen-Kupferdreh station, a SIMIS B from 1991, a model that was phased out by Deutsche Bahn by the end of 2016 (the Kupferdreh signal box had already been taken out of service in 2003). Another exhibition area documents internal operational communication: the complete telephone exchange of a signal box (query and switchboard equipment) has been fully reconstructed.
The collection traces the technical transitions from mechanical via electromechanical to electronic interlocking technology and illustrates the significance of these systems for safe railway operations.