Bergedorf-Geesthacht Railway

Hamburg-Bergedorf - Geesthacht
Route number :	9123
Course book section (DB) :	110c
Route length:	14.169 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Legend from Aumühle / Berlin 0.000 Hamburg-Bergedorf to Hamburg Hbf -0.112 to / from Hamburg Hbf 0.460 Hamburg-Bergedorf Gbf 1.079 Schleusengraben 1,576 Hamburg-Bergedorf Süd 2.409 according to Zollenspieker 2,890 Brook weather 3,665 Holten latch 5.450 State border Hamburg - Schleswig-Holstein 6.225 Exchanges 7.465 Dalbek Gorge (excursion traffic only) 7.521 Dalbek 8,855 Escheburg 10,410 Federal highway 404 11,420 Broom nest Connection of the powder factory in Düneberg by 1921 from Zollenspieker 12.968 Dune Mountain 13,355 Connection of the powder factory in Düneberg 13,854 Geesthacht Connection to Geesthacht port 14.057 0.055 End of the route Krümmelbahn to Krümmel

Former Hamburg-Bergedorf Süd station (September 2008)

The Bergedorf-Geesthacht Railway AG (BGE) was a railway company in northern Germany , which since 1907 standard gauge light railway routes and in May 1926 as transport companies also operate bus routes.

On September 1, 1953, the BGE took over the Stormarn District Transportation Company (VKSt), which operated the Südstormarnsche Kreisbahn and some bus routes . On April 7, 1954, the BGE became the new transport company Verkehrsbetriebe Hamburg-Holstein  AG  (VHH), which handed over the operation of the railroad to the AKN in 1956 and only continued and expanded the bus operations of the two predecessor companies.

Railway line Hamburg-Bergedorf - Geesthacht

Railway water tower and workers' house in Geesthacht

Participation certificate of the Bergedorf-Geesthachter Eisenbahn-AG from May 2, 1931

The Bergedorf-Geesthachter-Eisenbahn AG opened up the Vier- und Marschlande on the right bank of the Elbe in the southeastern part of Hamburg , where flowers, fruit and vegetables are grown with three standard-gauge small railroad lines . The connection between the Hamburg districts of Bergedorf and Geesthacht , which belonged to Hamburg until 1937 , was initially provisionally opened on December 20, 1906. The complete passenger and freight traffic on the almost 14 kilometer long route, which partly ran over Prussian territory, from Bergedorf Staatsbahnhof (today Hamburg-Bergedorf train station ) in a south-westerly direction over a curve further east to Bergedorf Süd train station and then on over the Stations Holtenklinke, Börnsen, Escheburg, Besenhorst and Düneberg to Geesthacht was only started on May 1, 1907.

On April 1, 1912, the four-country railway from Bergedorf Süd station via Curslack-Neuengamme - Kirchwärder Nord (today: Kirchwerder) to Zollenspieker with a length of 10.85 km was added as the second route . In Düneberg and crumbs at Geesthacht were sidings applied to the resident large explosives and powder factories, including in 1916, the six-kilometer " crumbs track " to that of Alfred Nobel established plant of Dynamit AG in crumbs . During the two world wars, considerable quantities of goods and workers essential to the war effort were carried on this route ; popularly this was referred to as the “powder train”.

With the end of the First World War , the transport services quickly declined. In order to employ the numerous unemployed, the city of Hamburg had the previously planned Hamburg march railway built and opened in sections. The operation was run by the BGE from the start. It began on May 12, 1921 with the section from Düneberg via Altengamme - Krauel to Fünfhausen . In Zollenspieker Querweg it joined the Vierland Railway to the Zollenspieker terminus , which it left in the opposite direction. In 1923 Ochsenwärder (today: Ochsenwerder), in 1926 Tatenberg and in 1927 after 33 kilometers of driving Moorfleth was reached, where at the station Billwärder-Moorfleth (today: Billwerder-Moorfleet) there was a transfer to the suburban trains of the Reichsbahn line Hamburg-Büchen. The number of passengers was not as large as expected and the Deutsche Reichsbahn had terminated the lease for the property on which the Bergedorf terminus stands. The resulting financial problems were to be solved by issuing new shares directly to the Hamburg government; the capital stock was to rise to six million marks. It is not known whether the company's general assembly passed such a resolution.

Within the period between 1928 (from here verifiable) and 1960, the tracks of the Bergedorf Süd station were continued up to about one kilometer west to an extensive freight track system, which in the further course has a direct connection to the railway line in the direction of Hamburg. The connecting curve to the Hamburg-Bergedorf train station was only removed later.

The Billwerder industrial railway

From 1926/1927 there was a track connection from Moorfleth via Billbrook to Tiefstack station . Freight trains went from there to the Hamburg-Rothenburgsort marshalling yard . The original 4 kilometer long section Tiefstack – Billbrook – Schiffbek-Kirchsteinbek (later: Billstädt, today: Billstedt) was put into operation on August 1, 1907 by the Billwärder Industriebahn ; From December 17, 1907, the passenger trains of the Südstormarnsche Kreisbahn from Trittau to Tiefstack also ran on it . Later the marching line trains ended in Billbrook. The Billwärder Industriebahn was taken over by the BGE on October 21, 1921, the Hamburg Marschbahn in 1942. Over the years, almost one hundred percent of their shares were privately owned by the State of Hamburg.

→ Main article : Billwerder Industriebahn

Use of buses

In May 1926, the BGE introduced the operation of buses as a supplement to the railway operation . The first line ran from Bergedorf via Geesthacht to Lauenburg , with the majority of journeys taking place between Geesthacht and Lauenburg. On October 3, 1926, city bus services were introduced in Bergedorf. As early as the end of 1927, the basic structure of the later bus network existed with ten overland lines (to the Vier- und Marschlande and as a supplement to the railroad) and two city lines, which were used by 14 buses. In this first full year of operation, 405,463 passengers were carried. In 1929 the number of journeys was already 1,187,459. 1930 during the economic crisis , were on the bus network, which comprised the meantime 13 lines with 14 vehicles with 1.2 million passengers for the first time more passengers transported in the railways.

In October 1931 the line network consisted of the following lines:

  1 Bergedorf - Geesthacht

  2 Geesthacht - Tesperhude - Lauenburg

  3 Bergedorf - Howe

  4 Bergedorf - Curslack

  5 Bergedorf city traffic

  6 Bergedorf - Borghorst - Altengamme

  7 Bergedorf - Allermöhe

  8 Bergedorf - Leaning Bridge - Kirchwärder - Zollenspieker

  9 Bergedorf - Billwärder - Billbrook - Hamburg

10 Hamburg - Moorfleth - Ochsenwärder - Howe - Zollenspieker

11 Lauenburg - Lütau

12 Bergedorf - Schiefe Brücke - Curslack - Neuengamme - Altengamme

13 Bergedorf - Lohbrügge - Billstedt - Hamburg

There was also a night bus route between Bergedorf and Hamburg

In Bergedorf the state train station (Bergedorf Nord) was approached.

During the Second World War , bus traffic had to be almost completely stopped due to a lack of vehicles. In 1945, the number of passengers carried was only 424,021, and only nine vehicles were still operational. Thanks to good contacts with the British occupying forces, additional vehicles could be organized so that the pre-war network could be used again in 1946 and 2,304,809 people were transported.

In 1950 the route network was reorganized:

  1 Hamburg - Bergedorf - Geesthacht - Lauenburg

  2 Bergedorf - Howe - Zollenspieker - Krauel

  3 Bergedorf - Altengamme

  4 Bergedorf - Billstedt - Hamburg

5/6 Bergedorf - Wentorf - Reinbek - Schönningstedt / - Ohe

  7 Bergedorf Stadtverkehr - Friedhof / - Holtenklinker Straße - Curslack

  8 City traffic: Bergedorf - Lohbrügge (- Boberg)

11 Bergedorf - Neuengammer Hinterdeich / Hausdeich

12 Bergedorf - Allermöhe - Reitbrook - Fünfhausen

13 Hamburg - Rothenburgsort - Ochsenwerder - Zollenspieker

14 Bergedorf - Billwerder - Allermöhe, church

15 Bergedorf ring line

16 City traffic: Bergedorf train station - Lohbrügge

17 City traffic: Bergedorf train station - Nettelnburg

In 1950, the BGE carried around 32 buses 3.849 million passengers.

In 1953, the BGE had 47 buses and 15 trailers , which together with the 8 buses and 9 trailers of the Stormarn District (VKSt) transport company , which was taken over on September 1, 1953, were transferred to the successor company Verkehrsbetriebe Hamburg-Holstein AG (VHH ) was acquired. This further expanded the bus operation.

1933-1945

After the transfer of power to the National Socialists and during the Second World War , production in the factories in Krümmel and Düneberg rose again and traffic on the BGE increased sharply. At that time workers' trains ran from Krümmel to Hamburg Hauptbahnhof . The Deutsche Reichsbahn partially provided vehicles and personnel. A siding branched off from the Vierländer Eisenbahn at Curslack to the Neuengamme concentration camp, to transport the prisoners mainly to work in Hamburg, but also to transport the goods produced in the concentration camp to the clients, mostly companies from the Hanseatic city.

After 1945

After the liberation in 1945, the explosives factories were closed and dismantled. Hamster rides and commuter traffic led to increased passenger traffic. At the beginning of the 1950s, two new Esslingen railcars were procured that ran to Hamburg Central Station . But soon the passenger traffic decreased again from year to year. This was taken over by the BGE bus company, which had already opened on May 15, 1926 and was constantly being expanded. Even before the Second World War, his lines led via Bergedorf and Geesthacht to Lauenburg and even to Boizenburg in Mecklenburg .

On March 1, 1952, all operations on the Marschbahn ceased after there was hardly any traffic between Geesthacht and Krauel by 1950. On May 17, 1953, passenger traffic on the four-country railway ended , while goods traffic continued until 1961. On September 1, 1953, the BGE took over the Stormarn District Public Transport Company (VKSt), which operated the remainder of the Südstormarnsche Kreisbahn and some bus routes in this area, and from April 7, 1954 it operated as Verkehrsbetriebe Hamburg-Holstein AG (VHH), which in particular continues and develops the bus services of the two predecessor companies.

On October 26, 1953, the last regular passenger train ran from Bergedorf to Geesthacht. The tracks of the Marschbahn and the Vierländer Bahn have been completely dismantled; A modest freight service has remained on the Geesthacht route, which has been operated by the AKN since January 1, 1956 . On and next to the station facilities in Bergedorf Süd, the VHH maintains its most important depot with workshops that have been repeatedly adapted to requirements, with parts of the area with buildings also being sold.

The Danish steam locomotive of the DSB Q series , Karoline , is used for museum operations

Since 1976, the Geesthacht-based working group Geesthacht Railway has been running a museum steam train operation on this route, including original BGE wagons.

On the occasion of the 800th anniversary of the city of Geesthacht, special trips were carried out in 2016 with a new AKN railcar.

Perspective in the 21st century

Together with local politicians and the NAH.SH transport association, the AKN is promoting the reactivation of the former BGE route for passenger traffic, with the Bergedorf Süd train station also being included. A connection to the Nettelnburg S-Bahn station is planned, as the previous connection between the Bergedorf Süd and Bergedorf stations has been dismantled. Plans for reactivation were taken up by the Schleswig-Holstein Ministry of Economics and Transport.

Walkway

• BGE : Hamburg-Bergedorf (Kleinbahnhof) - Hamburg-Bergedorf Süd - Holtenklinke - Börnsen - Escheburg - Besenhorst - Düneberg West (was built around 1918 on the access tracks to the explosives factory) - Düneberg - Geesthacht
• Vierländer Bahn : Bergedorf - Curslack-Neuengamme (from 1942 branch track into Neuengamme concentration camp ) - Zollenspieker
• Hamburger Marschbahn : Billwerder-Moorfleet - Zollenspieker - Krauel - Geesthacht (also called "Marschlandbahn")
• Krümmelbahn : Geesthacht - Fährstraße (demand stop around 1944) - leisure pool - energy park - Krümmel

Received vehicles

• Steam locomotives: Locomotive 21 (current owner: Verein Braunschweiger Verkehrsfreunde )
• Baggage car: PPosti 36 ( Association of Traffic Amateurs and Museum Railways )
• Passenger cars: Ci 11 (Geesthacht Railway Working Group), Ci 14 (Geesthacht Railway Working Group), Ci 26 (Traffic Amateurs Association and Museum Railway), Ci 27 (Geesthacht Railway Working Group), Ci 35 (Geesthacht Railway Working Group), Ci 47 (Geesthacht Railway Working Group)
• Railcar trailer: B1 (Geesthacht Railway Working Group)
• Freight wagon: G 54 (Geesthacht Railway Working Group)

literature

• Stefan Meyer: 100 years of the railroad between Bergedorf and Geesthacht. From the BGE to the AKN freight railway . Lokrundschau Verlag, Gülzow 2006, ISBN 3-931647-21-8
• Jürgen Opravil: The Bergedorf Geesthachter Railway . Kurt Viebranz, Schwarzenbek 1978, ISBN 3-921595-01-0
• Rolf Wobbe: Chronicle of the four-country railway . Walter Flügge, Geesthacht 1984, ISBN 3-923952-03-1

Web links

Commons : Bergedorf-Geesthachter Eisenbahn  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Geesthacht Railway Working Group
• Verkehrsbetriebe Hamburg-Holstein GmbH (VHH)
• History of the origins of the Bergedorf-Geesthacht railway (Vier- & Marschlande regional magazine)
• The Vierländer Bahn and the Hamburg Marschbahn ( Memento from August 8, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) (private page, PDF file; 3 MB)
• Historical picture from the Bf. Geesthacht
• Early documents and newspaper articles on the Bergedorf-Geesthacht Railway in the 20th Century press kit of the ZBW - Leibniz Information Center for Economics .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Manfred Schwanke: 60 years of bus operation at VHH . In: Hamburger Nahverkehrs-Nachrichten , 33rd vol. 2, p. 3/4, Association of Traffic Amateurs and Museum Railways eV (VVM), Hamburg 1986
2. ^ Map of Bergedorf 1928
3. ↑ Financial problem with the Bergedorf-Geesthachter Railway In: Vossische Zeitung , April 5, 1929, p. 5.
4. ^ City map section from 1961
5. ^ Stefan Meyer: Bergedorfs train stations . Verkehrsbetriebe Hamburg-Holstein (VHH), Hamburg 2012, pp. 40/41
6. ↑ Free rides on the "disused" railway line to Geesthacht. In: www.nahverkehrhamburg.de. June 29, 2016. Retrieved July 12, 2016 . 
7. ↑ "Nahverkehr Hamburg" July 4, 2016: 1500 people test test train journeys to Geesthacht ( memento from August 13, 2016 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on August 13, 2016
8. ↑ Communication from the Ministry of July 15, 2016 ( Memento of August 13, 2016 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on July 20, 2016