Darmstadt Ost – Groß-Zimmer railway line
| Darmstadt Ost-Groß-Zimmer | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Route number (DB) : | 3555 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Course book section (DB) : | ex 256b (1966) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Route length: | 13.1 km | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gauge : | 1435 mm ( standard gauge ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Darmstadt Ost – Groß-Zimmer line was a 13.08 km long, single-track , standard-gauge branch line in southern Hesse . It ran from Darmstadt Ost train station via Roßdorf to Groß-Zimmer . A remnant between Darmstadt Ost and the Bessunger Forsthaus stop is still operated as a museum railway today .
history
construction
The extensive mining and removal of basalt from a quarry near Roßdorf by Odenwälder Hartstein-Industrie AG prompted the construction of a railway line between Darmstadt Ost (until 1900: Rosenhöhe ) and Groß -zimmer. This was made possible by the law of the Grand Duchy of Hesse of September 15, 1894. The line was initially built by the Grand Ducal Hessian State Railways , which in 1897 became part of the Prussian-Hessian Railway Community. On August 23, 1897, the line was inaugurated - as the first new line of the railway community - and passenger and freight traffic began one day later. A large loading facility was built on the Roßberg between Roßdorf and Gundernhausen for the basalt removal. On February 10, 1914, new “double- light pre-signals ” were put into operation on the route “when darkness fell” , which corresponded to the model of the form signal that is still in use today .
Dismantling
As early as August 21, 1924, the Glasberg and Rothes Kreuz stops were closed.
On May 28, 1965, passenger traffic on the Rodgau Railway between Dieburg and Reinheim was discontinued, and on June 1, 1966, on the route between Darmstadt and Groß -zimmer. Declining freight led to the closure of Route 23 September 1966. The section between the loading station in Roßdorf and Darmstadt, however, was as siding operated on. In February 1982 the entire line was shut down, but on May 22, 1982 a special train lasted from Roßdorf.
The neighboring communities of Roßdorf and Groß-Zimmer bought the route in their districts in order to exploit it outside the railroad. The contrary ideas of a rail-friendly citizens' initiative did not get a chance. In 1983 a contract was signed between the railway and the municipalities of Darmstadt, Roßdorf and Groß-Zimmer, which provides for the maintenance of the route. Nevertheless, in 1984 the route from the eastern Darmstadt city limits to Groß -zimmer was dismantled and later developed in isolated places. In 2005, the contract was extended by ten years and then - if not terminated - automatically runs for a further ten years. A reactivation failed for cost reasons, although the demand for bus connections is very high and continues to rise.
Museum railway operation
On the remaining 4.3-kilometer section between Darmstadt Ost and Bessunger Forsthaus , the Deutsche Museums-Eisenbahn operates museum railways several times a year. The line ends bluntly as track 3 in Darmstadt Ost, but is connected to the Odenwaldbahn via a switch at the southern end of the station.
Trivia
On the site of the former Roßdorf train station, the Roßdorfer Eisenbahnclub now operates a 5-inch garden railway that runs once a month.
literature
- Railway in Hessen. Cultural monuments in Hesse = monument topography Federal Republic of Germany , ed. from the State Office for Monument Preservation Hessen, Theiss Verlag Stuttgart, 2005, 3 volumes in a slipcase, 1,448 pages, ISBN 3-8062-1917-6 . Vol. 2.2, p. 785f (route 069).
- Wolfgang Bleiweis: The branch line Darmstadt-Ost-Groß-Zimmer . In: The railway and its history = series of publications of the district of Darmstadt-Dieburg 2 (Ed .: Georg Wittenberger / Förderkreis Museen und Denkmalpflege Darmstadt-Dieburg). Darmstadt 1985, pp. 79–83.
Remarks
- ↑ Until 1934: Roßdorf b Darmstadt (Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft (ed.): Official Gazette of the Reichsbahndirektion Mainz of January 20, 1934, No. 5. Announcement No. 39, p. 17).
Individual evidence
- ↑ Opening of the new Darmstadt Ostbf line. (Rosenhöhe) - large rooms . In: Eisenbahndirektion Mainz (Hrsg.): Collection of the published official gazettes . Born 1897, announcement no.385, p. 540.
- ↑ Eisenbahndirektion Mainz (ed.): Official Journal of the Royal Prussian and Grand Ducal Hessian Railway Directorate in Mainz of January 24, 1914, No. 5. Announcement No. 50, p. 33.
- ^ Reichsbahndirektion in Mainz (ed.): Official Gazette of the Reichsbahndirektion in Mainz of September 6, 1924, No. 37. Announcement No. 777, p. 434.
- ↑ Echo online: A tram instead of the northeast bypass? ( Memento from April 16, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
Web links
- Private website with photos of the route (October 2013) ( Memento from March 5, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
- Small and branch lines in Hessen ( Memento from May 1, 2008 in the Internet Archive )