Local railway Frankenthal – Großkarlbach

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Local railway Frankenthal – Großkarlbach
Line of the Frankenthal – Großkarlbach local railway
Route number : 3415
Course book range : 241c (1939)
Route length: 12.3 km
Gauge : 1000 mm ( meter gauge )
Top speed: 15 km / h
Dual track : No
   
Local railway Frankenthal – Ludwigshafen
   
11.00 Frankenthal (Palatinate)
   
Mainz – Ludwigshafen railway line
   
11.44 Frankenthal Heßheimerstr.
   
Schrakelbach
   
14.55 Heßheim place
   
14.85 Heßheim train station
   
A6 (under construction from 1938)
   
Altbach
   
Eckbach
   
16.90 Heuchelheim train station
   
Floßbach
   
19.25 Dirmstein Heuchelheimer Strasse
   
20.00 Dirmstein train station
   
21.10 Dirmstein Laumersheimer Strasse
   
21.83 Laumersheim
   
A6 (from 1936)
   
23.52 Großkarlbach train station

The Frankenthal – Großkarlbach local line , also known as Bembel , Zuckerrübenexpress , Dirmstein-Express , Großkarlbach-Express or tram , was a narrow-gauge railway with a gauge of 1000 millimeters . It ran from 1891 to 1939 in the Vorderpfalz on a 12.3 kilometer single-track route between Frankenthal (Palatinate) and Großkarlbach . The route was part of a 42-kilometer-long meter-gauge network that led beyond Frankenthal to Ludwigshafen , Mundenheim , Dannstadt and Meckenheim .

history

Surname

Because of the frequent tinkling of the locomotive bells , the railway was popularly known as "Bembel", which means bell in Palatine . The name “sugar beet express” comes from the importance of the railway for sugar beet transport. Because it mostly ran on existing roads, it was often referred to as a "tram".

Planning and construction

With increasing industrialization in the second half of the 19th century, the need for local public transport for commuters increased. In 1887, the Palatinate Railways submitted plans to build a narrow-gauge railway network in the Upper Palatinate area from Ludwigshafen . A local railway line, the Ludwigshafen – Frankenthal line from Frankenthal in a southerly direction via Edigheim , Oppau and Friesenheim to the old Ludwigshafen main station , a line from Ludwigshafen to Dannstadt and a connection from Frankenthal to Großkarlbach were planned.

On September 15, 1887, a local railway company applied for the construction of the line from Ludwigshafen to Großkarlbach, but withdrew the offer on January 21 of the following year. Prince Regent Luitpold of Bavaria finally granted the concession on June 11, 1889. The cost of building the line from Frankenthal to Großkarlbach including its southern continuation to Ludwigshafen amounted to 998,000 marks. Of this, 759,000 were accounted for by the actual construction, the expenses for the acquisition of the land had to be borne by the affected communities. The construction was carried out on account of the Palatinate Ludwig Railway Company , which had been part of the Palatinate Railways since 1870.

Before the construction between Frankenthal and Großkarlbach, various routes and extensions were debated: either Dirmstein – Großkarlbach – Kirchheim an der Eck - Grünstadt with possible continuation to Altleiningen or Dirmstein– Obersülzen –Grünstadt. The municipality of Gerolsheim voluntarily renounced a connection. The decision was made in favor of the route to Großkarlbach, the planned extension to Grünstadt was never implemented.

Construction work began in March 1890. Initially, horse-drawn vehicles were used to transport materials, and then material trains a year later. Sometimes the trees along the roads had to give way to the tracks. The completion of the line was delayed due to the very cold winter of 1890/91. In addition, there were differences between the community of Heßheim and the Palatinate Railways about the location of a local freight loading area. The site for this was only available from January 1891, because a property owner had resisted an assignment to the railway company. Therefore, the corresponding work on site had to be carried out in October.

Further development

The line was opened on July 1, 1891. In the first few years, the railway only stopped once in each town, but later several additional stops were set up in Frankenthal, Heßheim and Dirmstein. Initially, the Ludwigshafen Railway Actien companies , which belonged to the Palatinate Railways, were responsible for the operation . In 1909 the Pfalzbahnen were nationalized and the local railway initially came into the ownership of the Royal Bavarian State Railways .

The Rhein-Haardtbahn GmbH , founded in 1911 to operate the meter-gauge railway of the same name to Bad Dürkheim (opened in 1913), planned to take over the route together with the other narrow-gauge railways around Ludwigshafen. Their goal was a large network of suburban railways, all of which should be operated electrically. The Ludwigshafen Railway Directorate, which emerged from the Pfalzbahn, initially kept a low profile, but began sales negotiations in 1912 because the profitability of the Ludwigshafen routes was no longer guaranteed. The First World War delayed the matter. Thereafter, the management tried to charge part of its expenses to the buyer. An expert advised the Rhein-Haardtbahn to purchase it by 1923, and electrification should take place by 1925. However, the negotiations dragged on and finally failed in 1929.

From 1920 the Deutsche Reichsbahn was responsible for the route. In 1922, the line was incorporated into the newly established Ludwigshafen Reich Railway Directorate , which succeeded the previous Railway Directorate . In the course of the dissolution of the Ludwigshafen management, Mainz management became responsible on April 1, 1937.

Decline and shutdown

The closure of the line was preceded by a long period of decline. Because the rails were laid right next to or even on the street, accidents were not uncommon. At the end of November 1925 there was a collision between a local train and a brewery wagon while driving through Heßheim. The train derailed, and one person was killed and some were injured. On November 26, 1934, a train hit a moving van on the western outskirts of Frankenthal, which was drawn by two horses. One of the horses got on the tracks and was injured. The moving van was damaged and an inmate was also injured.

The necessary rationalization and modernization measures had failed to materialize over the decades. The superstructure was in poor condition; the cars were not always up to the demands. The maximum speed was 15 km / h; There were no efforts to speed up traffic, for example by using railcars. One reason for abandoning the line was the construction of the regional section of the Mannheim - Kaiserslautern motorway from 1936, which was to cross the railway line twice by means of overpasses; the bridge structures could be shortened after the railroad was discontinued, as they only spanned narrow country roads.  The track had to be laid in advance between Heßheim and Heuchelheim for the construction of the bridge over today's state road 453, which necessitated a two-day interruption in rail operations. On May 14, 1939, the local railway was closed. The next day, buses (now BRN bus route 460) took over the transport of goods and passenger cars and trucks.

Most of the locomotives and wagons were to run on other routes after the shutdown, although they could not always be used because of their poor condition. Of the local railway locomotives, the XXIX (99 093) was the last to be in service on other routes until it was scrapped in 1957. In the post-war period, the tracks were completely dismantled. In the following years, Heßheim fought for the right to get back the land that had been lost to the railway line.

traffic

passenger traffic

When it opened, five pairs of trains ran daily. In the first years of operation, usage was higher than originally expected. Therefore, additional connections were introduced that already ended in Heßheim. In 1937, 18 pairs of passenger trains ran on weekdays and 12 on Sundays.

Freight transport

In wagonload traffic, 10,000 t of mixed goods were carried every year, for which a freight train was on the move every day. In addition, during the annual autumn campaign, 9,000 t of sugar beet were initially transported to Frankenthal and from there mostly to the Offstein sugar factory . Outside of the times of beet transport, however, freight traffic was loss-making. In Frankenthal, the goods had to be reloaded for onward transport, as no trolley transport was set up.

vehicles

Usually two Krauss tram locomotives of the Palatinate class L 1 were used . A total of three locomotives of this series were procured specifically for the route. Their serial numbers were 2448, 2449 and 2450, their track numbers XVIII, XIX and XX. Taking into account the routing, which was mostly on roads, the box shape of the locomotives should reduce the danger to other road users.

The Palatine Pts 3/3 H was also in use for a while. At the opening, 20 3rd class passenger cars were reordered, but they were used to reinforce the entire local rail network. There were also 43 different freight cars, including high-sided gondolas for transporting sugar beet, five baggage cars for transporting mail and 27 passenger cars. Of the latter, however, only ten were needed, the others had come here after the routes in Ludwigshafen were closed in 1933 and contributed to making the route uneconomical.

Route

Level crossing of the local railway with the Mainz – Ludwigshafen line around 1910

The railway line ran from Frankenthaler Bahnhof, where the connection to the Mainz – Ludwigshafen line of the Hessian Ludwigsbahn was made, initially westwards to Heßheim. There the route climbed in a right-hand bend near the junction with Lambsheimer Strasse in a ratio of 1: 180. About 300 meters after the Heßheim stop there was an additional stop in the direction of Heuchelheim under the name Bahnhof , where goods could be handled and coal could be picked up; the small cul-de-sac that branches off from Heuchelheimer Strasse to the west still bears the name “ Kohlenweg” today . The route then ran via Heuchelheim, Dirmstein and Laumersheim to Großkarlbach.

The rails were mostly laid on the side of the road or roughly parallel to the road, only about two kilometers ran on its own track body. In Heßheim, Frankenthaler Strasse , Hauptstrasse and Heuchelheimer Strasse had to be crossed diagonally in several places. This repeatedly resulted in problems when local trains and pedestrians, cyclists and wagons met, and later also with motor vehicles. Another problem was the level crossing of the Mainz – Ludwigshafen line in Frankenthal, where the local line crossed the main line and several station tracks immediately north of the station from east to west. The railway underpass from Eisenbahnstrasse to Heßheimer Strasse is now at this point.

At the time of its existence, almost the entire railway line ran in what was then the Frankenthal (Pfalz) district , today the local railway between Frankenthal and Heßheim would cross the border with the Rhein-Pfalz district and between Heuchelheim and Dirmstein with the Bad Dürkheim district .

Operating points

  • Frankenthal (Palatinate) - km 11.00

The train station is in the center of the city of Frankenthal. The station, which was put into operation in 1853, became a railway junction in 1877 with the opening of the Freinsheim – Frankenthal railway line. It got its current name after the incorporation of the town of Flomersheim on the Freinsheim route . The tracks of the narrow-gauge lines were located east of the main railway tracks on the station forecourt. The Eisenbahnstraße runs immediately to the east of them . In the northern area of ​​the station, they crossed the main railway line at the same level and led to Heßheim. To the northeast of the station building there was also a locomotive shed for the local railways.

  • Frankenthal Heßheimer Strasse - km 11.44

The stop was located immediately to the west of the intersection of the main railway tracks at the Kühnle, Kopp & Kausch branch .

  • Heßheim village - km 14.55

The breakpoint was in the center of Heßheim on the local main road. He did not have his own reception building. The ticket sales took place in the nearby "Restauration zur Lokalbahn", which also had a waiting room for passengers.

  • Heßheim train station - km 14.85

The station at the exit to Heuchelheim functioned mainly as a freight station for Heßheim. It was located on Heuchelheimer Strasse and had a freight track that also acted as a sideline for train crossings. There was a coal shop on the loading platform.

  • Heuchelheim train station - km 16.90

The station was on the southwestern outskirts of Heuchelheim. A waiting room as well as service rooms and apartments for railway workers were housed in its received reception building, and the station also had a goods shed and an economic building.

  • Dirmstein Heuchelheimer Strasse - km 19.25

The breakpoint was on the northeastern outskirts of Dirmstein near the confluence of Schlossgasse . The trains only stopped there when needed when passengers wishing to get off had informed the train driver.

  • Dirmstein train station - km 20.00

The station was in the extreme north of Dirmstein. Its received reception building is a listed building.

  • Dirmstein Laumersheimer Strasse - km 21.10

The breakpoint was on the southwestern outskirts of Dirmstein.

  • Laumersheim - km 21.83

The station was in the center of Laumersheim near the confluence of the road from Weisenheim am Sand . The corresponding railway buildings were only built around 1900.

  • Grosskarlbach - km 23.52

The station was in the northeast of Großkarlbach. Its received reception building is a listed building.

Relics and aftermath

The former station buildings in Heuchelheim, Dirmstein and Großkarlbach have been preserved to this day. The building of the former restaurant Zur Lokalbahn at the Heßheim Ort stop still bears the old pub sign with the corresponding inscription. In several of the neighboring communities there is a Bahnhofstrasse , and at the northeast entrance to Dirmstein, a local railway road runs almost on the former railway line.

To this day, reference is made to the former local railway at regional events. In 2003, during a street parade through Großkarlbach on the initiative of the local Sieben Mühlen Art and Culture Association, the model of a locomotive running on the route was on display. The Dirmsteiner Verein für Umwelt-, Dorf- und Landschaftsschutz Alte Sandkaut presented a non-detailed replica of a locomotive and a wagon at the 2009 annual fair.

literature

  • Jochen Glatt, Manfred Halkenhäuser: The Frankenthal – Großkarlbach local railway 1891–1939 . Pro Message, Ludwigshafen 2005, ISBN 3-934845-29-0 .
  • Wilhelm Distler, Jochen Glatt: The local railways in the Vorderpfalz . On narrow-gauge tracks between Meckenheim, Ludwigshafen, Frankenthal and Großkarlbach. Pro Message, Ludwigshafen 2010, ISBN 978-3-934845-43-5 .
  • Heinz Sturm: The Palatinate Railways (=  publications of the Palatinate Society for the Advancement of Science . Volume 53 ). pro MESSAGE, Ludwigshafen am Rhein 2005, ISBN 3-934845-26-6 , p. 242-243 .

Individual evidence

  1. a b c Jochen Glatt, Manfred Halkenhäuser (ed.): The Frankenthal – Großkarlbach local railway 1891–1939 . 2005, p. 11 .
  2. a b Jochen Glatt, Manfred Halkenhäuser (ed.): The Frankenthal – Großkarlbach Local Railway 1891–1939 . 2005, p. 7 .
  3. Volker Christmann: Frankenthal - Pictures from the Past . Meißner printing house, Frankenthal 1977.
  4. a b c Jochen Glatt, Manfred Halkenhäuser (ed.): The Frankenthal – Großkarlbach local railway 1891–1939 . 2005, p. 9 .
  5. Heinz Sturm: The Palatinate Railways . 2005, p. 242 .
  6. Jochen Glatt, Manfred Halkenhäuser (ed.): The Frankenthal – Großkarlbach Local Railway 1891–1939 . 2005, p. 10 ff .
  7. Jochen Glatt, Manfred Halkenhäuser (ed.): The Frankenthal – Großkarlbach Local Railway 1891–1939 . 2005, p. 12 f .
  8. ^ Royal Bavarian Railway Directorate Ludwigshafen a. Rhine - Timeline: Establishments - Designations - Dissolutions. bahnstatistik.de, accessed on August 10, 2014 .
  9. a b Erwin Schnell, Gerhard Nestler (ed.): Heßheim - history of a Palatinate village . tape 2 . Sommer Druck und Verlag, Grünstadt 1993, p. 521 .
  10. Jochen Glatt, Manfred Halkenhäuser (ed.): The Frankenthal – Großkarlbach Local Railway 1891–1939 . 2005, p. 43 .
  11. Jochen Glatt, Manfred Halkenhäuser (ed.): The Frankenthal – Großkarlbach Local Railway 1891–1939 . 2005, p. 46 f .
  12. ^ Heinz Spielhoff: Locomotives of the Palatinate Railways . History of the Palatinate railways, express, passenger and freight locomotives, tender and narrow-gauge locomotives, multiple units. 2011, p. 156 .
  13. Jochen Glatt, Manfred Halkenhäuser (ed.): The Frankenthal – Großkarlbach Local Railway 1891–1939 . 2005, p. 40 .
  14. Jochen Glatt, Manfred Halkenhäuser (ed.): The Frankenthal – Großkarlbach Local Railway 1891–1939 . 2005, p. 34 .
  15. Jochen Glatt, Manfred Halkenhäuser (ed.): The Frankenthal – Großkarlbach Local Railway 1891–1939 . 2005, p. 19 .
  16. Jochen Glatt, Manfred Halkenhäuser (ed.): The Frankenthal – Großkarlbach Local Railway 1891–1939 . 2005, p. 18 .
  17. a b c Jochen Glatt, Manfred Halkenhäuser (ed.): The Frankenthal – Großkarlbach local railway 1891–1939 . 2005, p. 15th f .
  18. Jochen Glatt, Manfred Halkenhäuser (ed.): The Frankenthal – Großkarlbach Local Railway 1891–1939 . 2005, p. 36 .
  19. Jochen Glatt, Manfred Halkenhäuser (ed.): The Frankenthal – Großkarlbach Local Railway 1891–1939 . 2005, p. 44 f .
  20. Jochen Glatt, Manfred Halkenhäuser (ed.): The Frankenthal – Großkarlbach Local Railway 1891–1939 . 2005, p. 48 f .
  21. a b General Directorate for Cultural Heritage Rhineland-Palatinate (ed.): Informational directory of cultural monuments - Bad Dürkheim district. Mainz 2020, p. 29 (PDF; 5.1 MB).