Kochertalbahn

Waldenburg (Württ) –Forchtenberg

Route number (DB) :

4956

Course book section (DB) :

784 (until 1981)

Route length:

23.6 km

Gauge :

1435 mm ( standard gauge )

Maximum slope :

38 ‰

Legend

	from Heilbronn
0.0	Waldenburg (Württ)	350 m
	to Crailsheim
1.7	Hesselbronn (until 1924)
3.9	Copper cell
7.6	Hague (Württ)
12.2	Künzelsau	223 m
13.6	Nagelsberg
15.3	Ingelfingen
17.1	Criesbach
18.9	Niedernhall
21.6	Weissbach (Württ)
23.6	Forchtenberg	196 m

The Kochertalbahn was a standard gauge branch line in northern Württemberg . It ran as a branch line from Waldenburg to Forchtenberg and followed the Kocher between Künzelsau and Forchtenberg . The line was opened in two sections in 1892 and 1924 and closed in 1981/91 and then dismantled. The “Citizens' Initiative: We are building the new Kochertalbahn e. V. ”under the direction of the Bundestag member Christian von Stetten , who campaigns for the reactivation of the railway line from Waldenburg to Künzelsau.

Operation and history

Last train in Forchtenberg before passenger traffic ceases

The first, 12.2 kilometer long section was inaugurated on October 1, 1892 by the Royal Württemberg State Railways (KWSt.E.), opened to regular traffic the following day and led to Künzelsau.

The completion of the second, 11.5 km long section to Forchtenberg was delayed due to the economic situation until the opening under the Deutsche Reichsbahn on June 21, 1924 or until the regular commissioning the following day.

The intended closing of the gap between Forchtenberg and Ohrnberg , the terminus of the Untere Kochertalbahn , and thus the connection through the Kocher valley to Bad Friedrichshall and Heilbronn never came about, probably because of the Second World War. According to local sources, there was also opposition from Ernsbach entrepreneurs, who feared that the local workforce would emigrate through commuting. The lack of gap closure was probably one of the reasons for the end of rail operations.

Present and Future

Passenger traffic was "temporarily" discontinued on May 30, 1981 in favor of the Hohenlohekreis local traffic model , a pilot project for bus networks in rural areas, and freight traffic finally on May 15, 1991. The formal closure followed with effect from August 1, 1995 Railway line dismantled, sections of footpaths and bike paths run on or next to the former route.

A reopening of the section between Waldenburg and Künzelsau as an extension of the Heilbronn Stadtbahn was examined from 2008. However, in 2012 the Hohenloh district council decided to abandon these plans because, according to forecasts, the operation would be uneconomical.

Kupferzell station

The Kupferzell station, which has been moved to Wackershofen

The station building of Kupferzell was built in 1892 as the first Württemberg standard station . After the line was closed, it was moved to the Wackershofen Open Air Museum from 1989 to 1990 . There it stands together with the former Kupferzeller warehouse - the first cooperative warehouse in Württemberg - next to a stop on the Crailsheim – Heilbronn railway line set up for the open-air museum . The historic official apartment in it has been open to visitors since 2000 with illustrations of the history of the building and its railway system.

literature

Albrecht Bedal (ed.): The station from Kupferzell. The story of a station building in Württemberg and the Waldenburg – Künzelsau branch line . Hohenloher Freilichtmuseum, Schwäbisch Hall 2001, ISBN 3-9806793-3-0 .
Dieter Gräter: The Kocher Valley Railway: Waldenburg – Künzelsau – Forchtenberg . Swiridoff, Künzelsau 2003, ISBN 3-89929-006-2 .
Peter-Michael Mihailescu, Matthias Michalke: Forgotten railways in Baden-Württemberg . Konrad Theiss Verlag, Stuttgart 1985, ISBN 3-8062-0413-6 , p. 151-153 .

Web links

Commons : Kochertalbahn - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ Künzelsau 2019-02-01 18:15: Vision: With the tram from Heilbronn to Künzelsau - STIMME.de. Retrieved May 4, 2019 .
^ Federal Railway Authority : List of the federally closed lines in the state of Baden-Württemberg that have been closed since 1994
↑ Matthias Stolla: The train hasn't left yet . In: Hohenloher Zeitung . November 27, 2008 ( from Stimme.de [accessed on January 18, 2009]).
↑ Matthias Stolla: council sets Kettle Valley Railway on ice . In: Hohenloher Zeitung . July 17, 2012 ( from Stimme.de [accessed January 24, 2013]).
^ Albrecht Bedal: Early secondary railway and first standard station. On the history of the Kupferzell rail connection . In: The station from Kupferzell. The story of a station building in Württemberg and the Waldenburg – Künzelsau branch line . Hohenloher Freilichtmuseum, Schwäbisch Hall 2001, ISBN 3-9806793-3-0 , p. 45-60 .

[1] Künzelsau 2019-02-01 18:15: Vision: With the tram from Heilbronn to Künzelsau - STIMME.de. Retrieved May 4, 2019 .

[eba-liste-2] Federal Railway Authority : List of the federally closed lines in the state of Baden-Württemberg that have been closed since 1994

[3] Matthias Stolla: The train hasn't left yet . In: Hohenloher Zeitung . November 27, 2008 ( from Stimme.de [accessed on January 18, 2009]).

[4] Matthias Stolla: council sets Kettle Valley Railway on ice . In: Hohenloher Zeitung . July 17, 2012 ( from Stimme.de [accessed January 24, 2013]).

[5] Albrecht Bedal: Early secondary railway and first standard station. On the history of the Kupferzell rail connection . In: The station from Kupferzell. The story of a station building in Württemberg and the Waldenburg – Künzelsau branch line . Hohenloher Freilichtmuseum, Schwäbisch Hall 2001, ISBN 3-9806793-3-0 , p. 45-60 .