Schauplatz Eisenbahn, Railway museum in Hilbersdorf, Germany

Schauplatz Eisenbahn is a railway museum on the former Chemnitz-Hilbersdorf marshalling yard, covering 260,000 m². Its centrepiece is the cable-operated hump system (Seilablaufanlage) developed by Edmund Frohne, with cable cars running on narrow-gauge rails set into the standard-gauge tracks. The site also includes the 1916 goods shed, now the visitor centre, and the preserved machinery house of signal box 2.

The Chemnitz-Hilbersdorf marshalling yard reached its capacity limit in the late 1920s. Since the site could not be expanded, engineer Edmund Frohne adapted a cable haulage system he had developed for Dresden-Friedrichstadt: wagons were lowered down a 1:180 gradient by cable trolleys instead of being pushed by shunting locomotives, raising output by about 35 percent. At peak, 3,600 wagons a day were handled. The cable system stopped in 1992 and all shunting ended in 1996; since 2020 the combined site has been open as Schauplatz Eisenbahn.

The site's name refers to the former Chemnitz-Hilbersdorf marshalling yard, where a cable-operated hump system replaced shunting locomotives from the late 1920s, handling up to 3,600 wagons a day. The 1916 goods shed now serves as the visitor centre, with an opening exhibition on Saxon railway history and a library on European railways.

The site is best explored on foot, with the roundhouses and outdoor areas easily accessible for walking. Visitors should wear sturdy footwear and prepare for weather, as much of the grounds remain open and exposed.

The cable haulage system was powered by hauling machines in the basement of signal box 2, whose machine house survives in its original form. The six tracks of the hump each had an extra narrow-gauge rail sunk into the standard-gauge track bed, on which paired cable wagons ran.