history
The CVAG depot Kappel is the oldest depot of the Chemnitz public transport. It was commissioned on April 22, 1880, with the opening of the first horse-drawn tram line. The first structural measures included a wooden carriage shed with four tracks for 20 vehicles and a coachman’s room. In 1893, the first significant remodeling of the depot took place due to the introduction of electric railroad operation. An additional carriage shed with four tracks and a storage capacity of 24 tramcars was built. This was followed in 1908 by the construction of a further, two-aisle carriage shed with space for 64 tramcars and the erection of various buildings, including the head office building and communal buildings, which turned the area into the heart of Chemnitz’s local transport system. In the post-war period, bomb damage was initially repaired, followed by further reconstruction measures. With the new generation of Chemnitz streetcars (Variobahn) in the 1980s the end of the narrow gauge fleet was in sight. The buses were also increasingly distributed to other locations. Some sections remained in Kappel for the time being, but then gradually moved to other depots, resulting in the end of operations at the Kappel site. In order to preserve some of the narrow-gauge railroad vehicles, tram enthusiasts got together in 1987 and founded the working group Straßenbahnfreunde. Other parts of the Kappel site were rented out, sold, partially deconstructed or remained unused.
