Dortmund-Löttringhausen – Bochum-Langendreer railway line
| Langendreer – Löttringhausen | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Route number (DB) : | 2141 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Course book section (DB) : | ex 331 (1979) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Route length: | 13 km | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gauge : | 1435 mm ( standard gauge ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Maximum slope : | 10 ‰ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Top speed: | 50 km / h | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The railway line Dortmund-Löttringhausen-Bochum-Langendreer is a former, a good 13-kilometer railway line from the station Bochum-Langendreer to Bahnhof Dortmund-Löttringhausen in the Ruhr area in North Rhine-Westphalia . Today it connects the cities of Dortmund, Witten and Bochum as a cycle and footpath .
Its popular name is Rhenish donkey .
history
Originally planned by the Rheinische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft as the main line and direct connection of its two most important routes in the Rheinisch-Westfälischen industrial area - the Osterath – Dortmund Süd and the Düsseldorf-Derendorf – Dortmund Süd railway - the line opened on December 15, 1880 primarily served the local traffic in the southern Ruhr area . Initially there were only the six train stations Langendreer (from 1929 Bochum-Langendreer ), Stockum (from 1949 Witten-Stockum ), Witten (from 1897 Witten Ost ), Annen Süd (from 1950 Witten-Annen Süd ), Rüdinghausen (from 1946 Witten- Rüdinghausen ) and Löttringhausen (from 1949 Dortmund-Löttringhausen ). In the years 1953 and 1954 another five stops were added: Siebenplaneten , Witten-Sonnenschein , Witten-Stadion , Dortmund-Silberknapp and Dortmund-Großholthausen .
The route was primarily designed for freight traffic with a maximum gradient of 10 ‰. It was also used by workers to reach their jobs and market women to reach the surrounding markets. These women were often packed with baskets full of fruit and vegetables, egg boxes, and often chickens and rabbits - hence the name Rhenish donkey .
Commercial customers were the Gottessegen colliery , all the major Annen collieries, the Klingelhöfer sawmill, Dynamit Nobel , the Wittener Stahlröhren-Werke AG (since 1918 "Witten Department" of the Mannesmannröhren-Werke AG ), the general cargo station Witten Ost and the steel companies Geissler and Wassermann.
Passenger traffic on this route ceased on November 30, 1979. On November 30, 1982, the section between the Löttringhausen and Witten Ost stations was completely shut down by the Deutsche Bundesbahn . This section is used today as a cycling and hiking trail . Freight traffic between Witten-Stockum and Witten Ost was stopped on December 31, 2001 and on the last used section between Witten - Stockum and Bochum- Langendreer on December 31, 2004 due to structural defects and the line was dismantled by the beginning of 2006.
Despite an annual tonnage of 18,000 tons , the railway was not ready to rehabilitate this 2 km long section. The decision was controversial because the renovation was unprofitable in terms of the section, but the railway never presented figures on the profitability taking into account the connecting traffic. The railway is further accused of not actively acquiring new customers. In particular, the waste transfer station directly adjacent to the steelworks with several truck trips to the waste incineration plant in Herten every day would have been a good customer. In the medium term, the two steelworks affected by the closure are now planning to relocate their production facilities.
Rhenish donkey cycle path
The eastern part of the route between Dortmund and Witten was converted into a cycle and hiking trail between 1988 and 1990 . It offers the opportunity to cross the Ardey Mountains on the old railway line with almost no incline to the Ruhr Valley . On a scenic route, starting near the train station in Löttringhausen , the route first passes the Dortmund districts of Großholthausen and Kruckel , then leads in Witten via Rüdinghausen and Annen to the vicinity of the city center. From there there is a direct connection to the Ruhr Valley Cycle Path . In 2011 and 2012, the western part from Witten-Mitte to Bochum- Langendreer was expanded into a cycle and hiking trail. This part of the route has been paved throughout, while the eastern part has a water-bound surface.
Between Witten- Rüdinghausen and the A 448 A was Planetenweg applied.
Picture gallery
Reception building of the former Bochum-Langendreer train station
Bridge over the A 448
Bridge over the Elberfeld – Dortmund railway in Witten, near the Sonnenschein stop
Witten Ost train station
Cyclist sculpture in Annen
Former train station Witten-Annen Süd
Forest stretch in front of Löttringhausen in the 1970s
On the left the overgrown route at the end of the route in Löttringhausen
literature
- Rolf Swoboda, Michael Schenk: The Rheinische Eisenbahn between Hagen and Dortmund including the branch line to Langendreer. VBN-Verlag Neddermeyer, Berlin 2005, ISBN 3-933254-59-0 .
Web links
- Description of route 2141 in the NRWbahnarchiv by André Joost
- The Rhenish donkey cycling along the railway line
- ruhrgebiet-industriekultur.de: Rhenish donkey