Railways of the Rhein-Wupper-Kreis

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The railways of the Rhein-Wupper-Kreis were a local transport company of the former Rhein-Wupper-Kreis and operated regular- gauge trams and a small train .

Planning

The first projects for the construction of a tram in the area of ​​what was then the district of Solingen go back to 1907. At that time, the companies Elektrizitäts-AG, formerly W. Lahmeyer & Co. (EAG) and Felten & Guilleaume, were planning to extend the Mülheimer Kleinbahnen from Mülheim am Rhein via Opladen to Langenfeld . The planned route was checked by the state police on July 3, 1908. In August 1908, a contract was signed between the district of Solingen and a subsidiary of EAG, Rheinisch-Westfälische Elektrizitätswerke AG (RWE), for the construction and operation of five tram lines under the name Bahnen in the lower district of Solingen.

These are the following routes:

  • Standard gauge
    • Opladen - Langenfeld - Richrath - Hilden
    • Langenfeld - Benrath
    • Opladen - Burscheid
  • Meter gauge
    • Immigrath - Landwehr - Ohligs
    • Landwehr - Höhscheid

Contrary to the plans, the lines from Langenfeld to Benrath and from Opladen to Burscheid planned for 1912 were not built. For this purpose, the two meter-gauge tram lines were built in standard gauge. The owner was the then Solingen district.

Trams

In detail, the following tram routes with a total length of 20.6 kilometers were built.

Opening date route
July 22, 1911 Opladen - Immigrath
September 28, 1911 Immigrath - Landwehr - Ohligs
March 21, 1913 Landwehr - Höhscheid (5.3 km)

In 1930, the company was renamed to Tram Opladen - Ohligs. At this point in time, the railway was in contact with numerous neighboring companies. In Opladen they met Mülheimer Kleinbahn AG, later Cologne trams , in Ohligs the Solingen Kreisbahn and Bergische Kleinbahn AG , later Rheinische Bahngesellschaft AG , in Höhscheid the Solingen Stadtbahn and in Langenfeld the current railways of the City of Monheim GmbH.

Kleinbahn Opladen-Lützenkirchen

The 4.6-kilometer standard-gauge line Opladen - Lützenkirchen was opened on April 15, 1914 as a small railway in the Solingen district. It was converted into a tram from January 1, 1952 and ceased operations on July 11, 1955. Freight traffic was also handled during the entire operating time.

The operator of the tram and small rail lines was RWE, and from 1936 its subsidiary, Rheinisch-Westfälische Straßen- und Kleinbahnen GmbH in Essen. From July 1, 1942, the city of Opladen took over this task, and from July 1, 1947, the Rhein-Wupper district.

From August 1, 1929, the Solingen district was merged into the Solingen-Lennep district, renamed the Rhein-Wupper district in 1931. However, the term Rhein-Wupper-Kreis railways only became established after the Second World War. Since the district already had a nationwide bus service at that time , it tried to stop tram operations as soon as possible. On January 31, 1954, the last train ran from Landwehr to Höhscheid and on June 30, 1955, the line from Opladen to Ohligs was closed.

On July 4, 1969, the railways of the Rhein-Wupper-Kreis merged with Kraftverkehr Wupper-Sieg AG , and the headquarters were moved from Langenfeld to Leverkusen .

literature

  • Dieter Höltge: Trams and light rail vehicles in Germany. Volume 5: Bergisches and Siegerland. EK-Verlag, Freiburg 2000, ISBN 3-88255-333-2 .