now follows the course of the river to Alexisbad. The numerous rock cuttings that the railway must pass through demonstrate the difficulty of engineering the line. After passing the small halt of Drahtzug, the line reaches the village of Alexisbad. Alexisbad station, which is also the starting point of the branch to Harzgerode, lies at the end of the small town. Subsequently, the branch line climbs out of the narrow valley of the Selke onto the plateau of Harzgerode. The first section of the Selke Valley Railway ended at Harzgerode station. From Alexisbad station, which is known for its simultaneous departures of two steam locomotives, the second line of the Selke Valley Railway continues through the Selke Valley towards Stiege, firstly to Silberhütte. Passing small factories, the line continues its journey via Straßberg, which has a halt as well as its main station, and continues to Güntersberge. After Güntersberge, the railway continues to climb, passing through Friedrichshöhe and Albrechtshaus stations to Stiege station. Since 1905, the connection to the Harz Railway has branched off here. This short line, the second section of the GHE, ends in Hasselfelde, also on a high plateau. The connecting line to the Harz Railway runs from Stiege station up to the highest point at 523 metres above sea level near the halt of Birkenmoor and then downhill through the Bere valley. In the Bere valley, which is surrounded by high ranges, the railway crosses two side valleys on two large bridges, before reaching the Harz Railway and Eisfelder Talmühle station. Rail operations Passenger services The route is used daily by steam trains and railcars. According to the summer and winter timetable, there are five daily services in both directions over the whole route, some with changes in Alexisbad and Stiege, as well as on the side branches to Harzgerode and Hasselfelde (2016/2017 timetable). Other trains run between Quedlinburg or Gernrode and Alexisbad. The number of pairs of trains operated by steam trains or diesel railcars is approximately the same in the summer timetable, with railcars predominating in the winter half-year. Although the Selke Valley Railway has some importance for regional traffic on the Quedlinburg–Gernrode section, the passengers on the other sections of the line are mostly tourists, people on excursions and hikers. Since April 2010, steam trains have also run regularly on the connecting line (Stiege–Eisfelder Talmühle); before 1996 it was exclusively served by diesel