Branderup – Osterterp railway line
| Branderup – Osterterp | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Route length: | 6 km | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gauge : | 1000 mm ( meter gauge ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Branderup – Osterterp ( Danish: Branderup – Øster Terp ) railway was a narrow-gauge military railway north of today's German-Danish border in northern Schleswig . It was built in 1916 and connected Osterterp on the Apenrader Kreisbahn ( Danish Aabenraa Amts Jernbaner ) with Branderup on the Haderslebener Kreisbahn ( Danish Haderslev Amts Jernbaner ). After the end of the First World War , the line was no longer needed and was shut down in 1919. Only in these three years were the two narrow-gauge private rail networks in Jutland connected.
history
During the First World War, the Apenrader Kreisbahn and Haderslebener Kreisbahn played an important role for the military in securing a line of defense in South Jutland . The Germans feared an English attack on the west side of Jutland . It was therefore important to connect some places with the existing railways. Only six kilometers apart, Osterterp and Branderup Mühle were selected, which were connected in 1916 with a narrow-gauge railway with the same gauge as the circular tracks ( 1000 mm ). English and later German prisoners of war built the route .
For this purpose, an additional 115 meter long siding was built in Osterterp station, which was only used for military purposes. The route led in an easterly direction and from today's meeting house to the north. After the road crossing to Bedsted , a raised embankment began . From Osterterp the route led first to the northeast and then to the north, past Baulund, and from there parallel with the Oberjersdal – Toftlund route to the southeast to Branderup Mühle. The gravel pit that supplied the material for the construction of the line was located very close to Osterterp.
In the same context, a 22-kilometer military route from Branderup Mühle via Arrild to Döstrup was built.
traffic
The operation on the line was carried out with locomotives and wagons of the Apenrader Kreisbahn . However, there is no specific information about train operations. It is proven that on September 12, 1917, according to an instruction from the transport management in Haberslund, a train with two locomotives, ten passenger cars and two freight wagons to transport prisoners of war from Aabenraa to a prison camp near Toftlund ran.
Traffic on the route was controlled from the Osterterp and Aabenraa stations. On March 29, 1917, the army's transport management negotiated with the district railway administration. This involved taking over operations on the route as well as a budget for operation and an exemption from liability for the district railway administrations. This agreement was made on April 2, 1917.
For the route Branderup – Osterterp it was considered necessary to employ a switchman with an annual wage of 1,800 marks, a train driver named Weber with an annual wage of 2,550 marks and a stoker named Knudsen with an annual wage of 2,200 marks. In addition there was the salary of a railway foreman, a builder with 1,800 marks and six line workers with 1,500 marks each. Platoon leader Desler received around 2000 marks, so that all wage expenses were estimated at 20,394 marks annually.
After the end of the war in 1918, the route was used for the removal of weapons and building materials that were no longer required . On January 6, 1919 it was determined that the Branderup – Osterterp railway line was no longer necessary for operation, so it could be dismantled. Shortly thereafter, the rails were removed and transported south. They are said to have been sold to Egypt.
A single civilian transport prior to closure is known. The farmer Martin Refslund Poulsen in Baulund had a harvesting machine delivered to him by rail. To this end, a provisional access track to his farm was laid.
Remnants of the route
Today traces of the route can still be found. The gravel pit is available and the embankment has been planted. A visible memorial, a stone with the year “1916–1917” was found there. It was overturned, but was supposed to be lifted and placed at the meeting house.
literature
- Birger Wilcke: Æ Kringelbahn - Aabenraa Amts Jernbane , Dansk Jernbaneklub, No. 44, 1982. Pages 118–122
- LH Hansen: Aabenraa Amts Jernbaner 1899-1926 , 1982, page 195
- Ulrich Holstein: Militære jernbaner ved Danmarks sydgrænser, 1844–1920 , 1980
- Peter Brodersen, farmer in Osterterp: Observations on the military railway, October 1983
