Railway line Oberscheld-Hochofen – Oberscheld-Augustus tunnel
| Oberscheld-blast furnace-Oberscheld-Augustus tunnel | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Route number (DB) : | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Route length: | 3.2 km | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gauge : | 1435 mm ( standard gauge ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Oberscheld-Hochofen – Oberscheld-Augustus tunnel was a branch line that branched off from the Scheldal Railway in the beginning of the station area of the Oberscheld-Hochofen freight station and led to the Oberscheld-Augustus tunnel.
history
The line was opened for freight traffic on February 15, 1872 at the same time as a section of the Schelden Valley Railway. However, there was never public transport on this route - in contrast to the Schelden Valley Railway. Passenger trains only drove at the change of shift to transport the miners. Freight traffic developed quickly. More and more pits were loading their goods at the two freight yards. The railway also brought an economic upswing to the region. In order to further strengthen this and create a continuous connection to Gießen and Marburg, plans have been made for an extension to Eisemroth on the Aar-Salzböde Railway . The new route would have been only a few kilometers long, but would have required a longer tunnel, so the plans were rejected again.
The route was used almost exclusively by freight trains. Between 1880 and 1910 in particular, she had a considerable volume of freight. Mainly ore was loaded. After the First World War , however, the importance of freight transport decreased rapidly as more and more pits and tunnels were closed. In the 1950s there were only a few trains left. From 1960 onwards, traffic even stopped in some cases.
Since the other mines were gradually closed after the Second World War , the railway quickly lost its remaining importance. In 1966 the traffic was completely stopped and the line closed; it was dismantled as early as 1968.
Route
The route begins at the Oberscheld-Hochofen freight yard. It branched off from the Schelden Valley Railway at the beginning of the station area and started directly with a slope. The routes ran parallel to each other for a few hundred meters. After crossing the Brückenstraße, the Schelden Valley Railway turns west; the route to the August tunnel runs through a forest. Shortly after the L 3363 was crossed, the Handstein loading station followed. Directly behind it the route ran in a deep rock cut. The Oberscheld-Augustus tunnel was reached at kilometer 3.2.
State today
Today both bridges have been torn down and the railway embankment has been partially built over. In Oberscheld, the route is lost in a new development area. Most of the embankment has been removed there. The rest of the route can only be guessed at. Large, unwooded areas in the forest are reminiscent of the former Handstein and Oberscheld-Augustus tunnel loading stations. These testify to the formerly very extensive track systems.