Menzelen West train station

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Menzelen West
Menzelen West, around 1910
Menzelen West, around 1910
Data
Location in the network Crossing station
Design Tower station
Platform tracks formerly 2 (high)
formerly 2 (low)
abbreviation KMZ
(KMZT [formerly Menzelen West deep] )
opening Dec. 31, 1874 (low)
Aug. 15, 1904 (high)
0 Nov. 1, 1908 (installation low)
Conveyance May 29, 1960 (PV low)
May 27, 1978 (high)
location
City / municipality Alps
Place / district Menzelen
country North Rhine-Westphalia
Country Germany
Coordinates 51 ° 35 '59 "  N , 6 ° 30' 30"  E Coordinates: 51 ° 35 '59 "  N , 6 ° 30' 30"  E
Railway lines
Railway stations in North Rhine-Westphalia
i16 i16 i18

Menzelen West is a train station in the Menzelen district of the North Rhine-Westphalian municipality of Alpen . The operating site went into operation on December 31, 1874 as Menzelen station on the Venloer Bahn ( Haltern  - Venlo ). In 1904, the Menzelen West stop on the Lower Rhine route ( Rheinhausen  - Kleve ) and a connecting curve between the two routes followed. In 1908, the lower-lying Venloer Bahn station was relocated to the crossing point, creating the Menzelen West tower station .

The lower station was closed for passenger traffic in 1960 and has since served as a pure operating station for the remaining part of the Venloer Bahn to the Borth salt mine . The trains stopped in the upper part until 1979.

Location and structure

The passenger station was at the intersection of the VzG lines 2003 ([Haltern - Wesel  -] Büderich  - Venlo) and 2330 (Rheinhausen - Moers  - Xanten - Kleve), southwest of the Menzelen district of Menzelen-West, the former colony of Menzelenerheide.

The lower part of the station was on the Venloer Bahn and stretched from the overpass of the Lower Rhine route to the level crossing of Bundesstraße 57 at the Ostkopf. The two platforms were located directly to the east of the crossing point, to the east of which the tracks of the freight station were connected. The upper station comprised two platforms north of the crossing point. The station building of the tower station was north of the platforms of the underground station, the first station building from 1874 was a little off the main road and was connected to it by a road.

Coming from the Alps, the connecting curve met the Venloer Bahn roughly in the middle of the lower station. It is still in operation as VzG route 2517. The route between Menzelen West and the end point Büderich is identical to the former VzG route 2003.

history

Entrance building of the Cöln-Mindener Bahnhof, around 1910

The first Menzelen station went into operation at the same time as the Wesel  - Venlo section on December 31, 1874. The owner and operator of the line was the Cöln-Mindener Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft , from 1884 the Prussian state . In addition to the continuous main track, the track system included an intersection track and two freight tracks. The structure of the station building was similar to that of the Issum train station . The two-story clinker building had a floor area of ​​297 square meters, connected to the goods handling area with a floor area of ​​92 square meters.

On August 15, 1904, the Prussian state railways put the branch line from Moers via Xanten to Kleve into operation. The Königliche Eisenbahn-Direction Cöln had an unpaved stopping point built west of the Menzelenerheide colony for local traffic . The transition to the Cöln-Mindener Bahnhof was via an approximately 800 meter long unpaved and unlit field path. For freight traffic, KED Cöln had an approximately two kilometer long connecting curve built between the two routes at the expense of the Solvay works .

Although the timetables were not coordinated, there was a lot of transfer traffic between the two stations. Since the complaints about the poor condition of the connection path increased, the KED Cöln decided in 1907 to rebuild the facility. For this purpose, the lower station was relocated about 350 meters to the west. The platforms were laid on the continuous main track 1 and on the previous pull-out track 2 west, which was expanded to become a crossing and overtaking track. At the same time, a third track (track 3 west) was built as a new pull-out track . The existing railway systems continued to be used for freight traffic, and service apartments were set up in the old station building.

Menzelen West reception building, around 1910
Interior view of the Mw signal box, around 1910

The new station building was built north of the platforms of the underground station. The two-and-a-half-story building was clinkered in the lower area and plastered above . On the ground floor were the waiting rooms of the 1st and 2nd as well as the 3rd and 4th class with a total area of ​​81.3 square meters, both rooms each had a bar. In addition, there was the issue of tickets on an area of ​​12.1 square meters. The station master's and station host's apartments were on the upper floor. Access to the lower platforms was at ground level, and a covered staircase led to the upper platform. A freight elevator was also available for luggage and express goods .

Since the way to the train station would have been extended by a good one kilometer to almost three kilometers for the Menzelen population, the KED Cöln also decided to build a Menzelen Ost stop. This was immediately south of the local border of Menzelen. The breakpoint went into operation together with the newly built tower station on November 1, 1908. It is also assumed that the Mw and Mo signal boxes went into operation between 1904 and 1908. The stop at the Xantener Bahn was initially unaffected by the construction work. Later, a second platform track was laid here for crossing.

From 1911 on, plans arose to double-track the connecting curve as part of a strategic railway from Wesel towards the Moselle . The project was pursued until the early 1920s, but then had to be dropped due to the terms of the Versailles Treaty .

During the Second World War there was major damage to the station area. The station building of the old Cöln-Mindener train station was so badly damaged that only part of the building was rebuilt. Since the northern section of the Lower Rhine route and the western section of the Venloer Bahn were impassable with the advancing front, the first passenger trains ran on the Krefeld  - Moers - Menzelen West - Büderich route after 1945 . For this purpose, a temporary platform was built on the connecting curve at the level of the Tief passenger station. Traffic was maintained until the Klever line was restarted on October 3, 1948.

The Deutsche Bundesbahn stopped passenger traffic on the left bank of the Venloer Bahn on May 29, 1960, as did freight traffic between Menzelen West and the neighboring Bönninghardt station to the west . The interlockings Mw and Mo closed the Federal Railroad, the level crossing on the B 57 was from then on secured by the train crew. In April 1965 the last innkeeper moved out of the station building. In the 1950s it was still used as a club for the Menzelenerheide citizens' rifle club. The building was finally demolished in the spring of 1970. Passenger trains continued to hit the upper platform. However, the remote location of the stop and the absence of transfer traffic allowed the number of passengers to be drastically reduced. As a result, the Federal Railroad initially limited the number of stopping trains and abandoned the stop entirely for the 1979 summer timetable.

The high-rise buildings of the station have meanwhile been almost completely removed (as of 2014). The trains in the direction of Xanten pass through the upper platform that was last dismantled to the stop without stopping. The lower station is still connected to the network via the connecting curve, the railway is kept operational until the Büderich junction. The station was dismantled except for a crossing track, the points were switched to local operation after the signal boxes were closed.

traffic

After its opening, the station was initially served by four pairs of passenger trains every day. There were also two freight trains. In addition to agricultural products from the region, the handling of goods also included the loading of construction and pit timber from nearby Bönninghardt . In the first four years, the station recorded an increased volume of freight, which is due to the location on the Chaussee to Xanten (today's B 57). With the commissioning of the Boxteler Bahn in 1878, traffic migrated to this route.

The timetable was expanded to include six pairs of passenger trains by the beginning of the First World War. There were also ten pairs of trains on the Lower Rhine route. After the war began, individual pairs of trains were canceled again. After the Compiègne armistice was signed , the Belgian and French military occupied the area on the left bank of the Rhine. Since the Rhine crossing at Wesel and the Geldern station were occupied, the Menzelen West station alone offered a transfer option from the Venloer Bahn in the direction of the Ruhr area .

The 1939 summer timetable lists nine pairs of trains and 13 pairs of trains on the Lower Rhine route for the Venloer Bahn. With two pairs of local freight trains, freight traffic was roughly the same as before.

The destruction of the Venloer Bahn west of Menzelen West and the Lower Rhine route near Xanten forced the Reichsbahn to run unusual trains. Between 1945 and 1948 three pairs of passenger trains ran from Büderich via Menzelen West and Moers to Krefeld. From 1946 trains also ran from Büderich to Geldern again. Traffic between Büderich and Wesel was not resumed because the Rhine bridge was blown up. The connection between Menzelen West and Xanten was available again from October 3, 1948.

In the 1950s, the supply of trains was comparatively dense. About ten pairs of passenger trains ran daily on the remaining section of the Venloer Bahn, some of which ended up in Menzelen West from Geldern. There were now isolated direct connections to the trains to Xanten and Moers. However, the capacity utilization of the trains did not correspond to the offer, so that the Bundesbahn reduced the offer to a single pair of trains at the end of the 1950s. The remaining connections were ensured by rail buses . The reduction resulted in the cessation of passenger traffic in the lower station on May 29, 1960. The upper platform was still used until the summer of 1979.

Freight traffic in the post-war period continued to be limited. The local freight train from Geldern collected the wagons to Menzelen West, from where they were handed over to the Lower Rhine route. After 1960, two transfer trains from Moers served the Menzelen West and Büderich stations every day. The Borth salt mine near Büderich made up the bulk of the goods volume . Although the Solvay works transport most of the salt to the Rhine via its own route , trains are occasionally driven over the remaining route.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Railway Atlas Germany 2007/2008 . 6th edition. Schweers + Wall, Aachen 2007, ISBN 978-3-89494-136-9 .
  2. ^ A b Rolf Swoboda: Venlo Railway. Haltern - Wesel - Venlo . VBN Verlag Bernd Neddermeyer, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-941712-04-1 , p. 62-63 .
  3. ↑ a b c d Rolf Swoboda: Venlo Railway. Haltern - Wesel - Venlo . VBN Verlag Bernd Neddermeyer, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-941712-04-1 , p. 106-111 .
  4. ^ A b Rolf Swoboda: Venlo Railway. Haltern - Wesel - Venlo . VBN Verlag Bernd Neddermeyer, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-941712-04-1 , p. 146-151 .
  5. ^ Rolf Swoboda: Venlo Railway. Haltern - Wesel - Venlo . VBN Verlag Bernd Neddermeyer, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-941712-04-1 , p. 124-128 .
  6. ^ A b Rolf Swoboda: Venlo Railway. Haltern - Wesel - Venlo . VBN Verlag Bernd Neddermeyer, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-941712-04-1 , p. 202-203 .
  7. ^ A b Rolf Swoboda: Venlo Railway. Haltern - Wesel - Venlo . VBN Verlag Bernd Neddermeyer, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-941712-04-1 , p. 204 .
  8. ^ André Joost: StellwerkArchiv Menzelen West Mon. In: NRWbahnarchiv. Retrieved December 23, 2014 .
  9. ^ Association history. Bürgererschützenverein Menzelener Heide 1879 e. V., June 18, 2010, accessed December 23, 2014 .
  10. ^ Rolf Swoboda: Venlo Railway. Haltern - Wesel - Venlo . VBN Verlag Bernd Neddermeyer, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-941712-04-1 , p. 258-262 .
  11. ↑ a b Kursbuch 1979, table 475.
  12. ^ Rolf Swoboda: Venlo Railway. Haltern - Wesel - Venlo . VBN Verlag Bernd Neddermeyer, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-941712-04-1 , p. 70-72 .
  13. ^ Rolf Swoboda: Venlo Railway. Haltern - Wesel - Venlo . VBN Verlag Bernd Neddermeyer, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-941712-04-1 , p. 72-73 .
  14. ↑ Kursbuch Sommer 1914, Table 141.
  15. ↑ Kursbuch Sommer 1914, Table 164a.
  16. ^ Rolf Swoboda: Venlo Railway. Haltern - Wesel - Venlo . VBN Verlag Bernd Neddermeyer, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-941712-04-1 , p. 140-146 .
  17. ↑ Kursbuch Sommer 1939, Table 220f.
  18. ↑ Kursbuch Sommer 1939, Table 221.
  19. ^ Rolf Swoboda: Venlo Railway. Haltern - Wesel - Venlo . VBN Verlag Bernd Neddermeyer, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-941712-04-1 , p. 176-183 .
  20. ^ Rolf Swoboda: Venlo Railway. Haltern - Wesel - Venlo . VBN Verlag Bernd Neddermeyer, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-941712-04-1 , p. 220-223 .
  21. ^ Rolf Swoboda: Venlo Railway. Haltern - Wesel - Venlo . VBN Verlag Bernd Neddermeyer, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-941712-04-1 , p. 232-237 .