Dietzhölztalbahn

Dillenburg – Ewersbach
Eibelshausen train station in December 2010
Route number (DB) :	3720
Course book section (DB) :	366 (1987)
Route length:	16.2 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Top speed:	50 km / h
Legend 16,140 Connection omnical 15.9 Ewersbach 358 m 13.8 Ewersbach 13.4 Stone bridges 13.3 Mandelbach 11.7 Connection to Buderus (120 m) 11.5 Eibelshausen 380 m 11.0 Habachstrasse (dismantled) 10.5 Simmersbach 10.4 Bundesstrasse 253 8.0 Wissenbach (Dillkreis) 250 m 7.5 Connection to IVG 5.7 Connection scrap trade 5.5 Frohnhausen (Dill District) 5.2 Connection of copper works 3.6 Connection TenneT TSO (250 m) 2.3 Dillenburg North 2.2 Dillenburg steelworks ( Anst ) 1.2 Dillenburg Kurhaus of victories 0.0 Dillenburg to Wallau (Lahn) to Wetzlar Swell:

The Dietzhölztalbahn is a former 15.9 kilometer long, single-track and now disused branch line in Hesse . The line was opened on May 1, 1892 and led from Dillenburg to Ewersbach (formerly Straßebersbach). Passenger traffic was discontinued in 1987 and freight traffic at the end of 2000. The line was officially closed between km 2.2 and km 15.9 in mid-June 2001.

At the beginning of 2012, the route was to be exempted from railway operations from kilometer 2.588 . At the end of 2014, the application for exemption was withdrawn by Deutsche Bahn AG, as objections were repeatedly submitted.

history

Prehistory and construction

The first efforts to build a railway line through the Dietzhölztal go back to the year 1869: The Bergisch-Märkische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft wanted to build a " secondary railway " from Altenhundem via Laasphe to Cölbe , where it was to be connected to the Main-Weser Railway . This so-called “Lenne-Lahn-Dill-Bahn” should also have a branch from Laasphe through the Banfe and Dietzhölztal to Dillenburg to the Deutz-Gießener Bahn .

In 1877 another possible rail connection was discussed: A line from Weidenau via Netphen and Straßebersbach to Dillenburg, whereby the Haincher Höhe was to be tunneled under. A third variant came into play in 1885, which was to connect the aforementioned route via a junction at Steinbrücken via Almonds and Breidenbach with Wallau on the Kreuztal – Cölbe railway line .

On May 24, 1886, the responsible Prussian ministry ordered the preliminary planning work for a branch line from Dillenburg to Straßebersbach. This meant that the plans discussed in the previous years were initially settled. After the plans for the new railway, which should lead on the right side of the valley along the " Chaussee ", were completed, several communities protested against it, because the railway should then run through the middle of their villages. As a result, a new plan was drawn up that provided for the construction of the railway on the left side of the valley, so that it would pass the villages. Since the route mostly followed the course of the Dietzhölze, neither large bridges nor tunnels were necessary.

Construction began in the summer of 1890 and on April 29, 1892 the first train passed through the Dietzhölztal. The place Steinbrücken initially had no stopping point on the route. This was only realized several years later. When a rail connection from Dillenburg to Wallau was to be created shortly after the turn of the century, a competition broke out between the inhabitants of the Dietzhölztal and the neighboring Scheldtal as to which of the two routes (Dietzhölztalbahn or Scheldalbahn ) should be extended to Wallau. The Schelden Valley Railway was finally awarded the contract and in 1911 the Dillenburg – Wallau line was opened.

Even after the Prussian House of Representatives had already decided against it in 1896 , there was still hope in the Dietzhölztal that the route could be connected to the Johannland Railway and thus continue to Weidenau. After the First World War , however, these plans were finally abandoned due to lack of funds.

business

Special steam trip with 94 1292 on May 30, 1993

After it opened in 1892, there were initially three pairs of daily passenger trains between Dillenburg and Straßebersbach. When passenger train traffic began on the Scheldt Valley Railway in 1896, five continuous passenger trains ran daily from Straßebersbach to its end point at that time, the Nikolausstollen. Another three ended in Dillenburg. The Dietzhölztalbahn therefore had the same timetable number as the Scheldalbahn from 1911.

The first massive timetable cancellations occurred during the crisis of the 1920s. In 1924, passenger train traffic was temporarily suspended on Sundays and public holidays. At the beginning of 1926, the Dietzhölztalbahn faced competition from the road: the private bus connection Laasphe – Dillenburg was opened. Just three weeks later, at the instigation of the Reichsbahndirektion Frankfurt , it was banned again in the Steinbrücken – Dillenburg section. This ban was to last until 1929. Under the economic pressure of the parallel traffic, the summer timetable in 1926 introduced some improvements on the Dietzhölztalbahn, which on the one hand concerned Sunday train traffic and on the other hand the coordination with supra-regional trains at Dillenburg station .

After Hitler came to power in 1933 there was an upswing in the local mines and smelters, and with it a steady increase in freight traffic. Even tourism flourished in the 1930s and allowed many “summer visitors” to travel to Dietzhölztal by train. During the Second World War , bomb and rocket parts were manufactured in the huts in Eibelshausen and Ewersbach and transported away by train. From 1944 onwards, trains on the Dietzhölztalbahn were almost regularly shot at by Allied fighter-bombers . That is why most trains at that time were also provided with an anti-aircraft vehicle.

In March 1945 the Wehrmacht blew up a flak train parked in Ewersbach station, which also contained ammunition wagons. Some of the cars parked there were also damaged. A few days later the Wehrmacht tried to stop the advancing American troops by blowing up the small railway bridge over the road from Eiershausen to Eibelshausen. After the war, a provisional island operation was started from Ewersbach to the destroyed viaduct and from there to Dillenburg. The passengers had to leave the train in front of the interruption point and board another train behind it.

In the post-war period, it was mainly class 94 and 93 steam locomotives that were used. The 94 series from the Dillenburg depot were indispensable because their Riggenbach counter-pressure brake meant that they could also be used on the steep section of the Scheldal Railway . In the 1950s, the 50 series was added. The 86 series was supposed to replace the 94 series, which had been in use since the early 1920s. Due to their susceptibility to defects, they were then replaced by the old 94s.

The first rail buses ( VT 95 series , later VT 98 series ) were used from the mid-1950s . In contrast to other branch lines, they were never able to completely replace the locomotive-hauled passenger trains , which later mostly consisted of diesel locomotives from the V-100 family and n-type cars . This was due to the not inconsiderable school traffic on the route until recently. The passenger traffic was nevertheless stopped on May 29, 1987. After that, some special trips were carried out on the route, some with steam locomotives.

Special trip with a three-part rail bus set (June 2012)

From April 2000 the line was closed to traffic from km 8.0 (Wissenbach train station) due to track damage, and it was closed on June 10, 2001. In the meantime, freight traffic only takes place on a 2.2-kilometer remnant stretch to the Dillenburg steelworks. The tracks were renewed here in March 2008, so that further operation can be expected.

As part of a special DGEG trip on June 2, 2012, a three-part rail bus set was driven over this remnant . Most of the tracks on the rest of the line are still intact, only a few level crossings and a bridge in Eibelshausen have been dismantled. The route has overgrown in places.

present

In January 2012, DB Netz AG submitted an application to the Federal Railway Office for the parcels to be exempted for railway operations. As a result, local companies and the public sector had submitted concerns and objections to the exemption to the EBA.

Track measuring train of the 725/726 series at Dillenburg Stahlwerk (March 2015)

On December 22, 2014, the Federal Railway Office officially announced that the application for exemption of the parcels from railway operations was withdrawn by the applicant and owner, DB Netz AG, as objections were repeatedly filed. The continued existence of the Dietzhölztalbahn is thus secured for the time being.

At the beginning of 2012, an interest group was founded to maintain the Dietzhölztalbahn. Since March 2014 this has been registered as "Dietzhölztalbahn eV" in the association register.

The association aims to reactivate the line in passenger and museum traffic, as the railway line opens up a region of great tourist interest, in whose catchment area around 18,000 people live and work. There are also various interested parties in the Dietzhölztal for freight transport by rail. Wood transports would also be possible.

The first 5.9 kilometers of the route (between km 2.2 and km 8.1) were cleared of vegetation between October 2014 and February 2016. The section between Dillenburg and Wissenbach, via Frohnhausen, is clear of coarse vegetation.

Operating points

Dillenburg Kurhaus stop

The breakpoint was at the pedestrian underpass in Dillenburg shortly before the junction from the Dill route. It was only served by the trains of the Dietzhölztalbahn, which had its own (third) track east of the tracks on the Dill line. Today the breakpoint has been dismantled, only the pedestrian tunnel is still in use.

Siding steel works

The connection to the steel works is served several times a day from Dillenburg station. The connection to the steelworks used to branch off from the main track at about 2.2 km. At the end of 2001, the switch was dismantled in the direction of the steelworks to close the gap.

Dillenburg Nord stop

The halt was established in the 1950s and has a continuous main track with a platform

Substation siding

This is where the decommissioned siding with the TenneT TSO's transformer charging station is located .

Copper works siding

The siding has been dismantled. The track body can still be seen in the area, as is the bridge over the Dietzhölze.

Frohnhausen station

A continuous main track and a siding to a scrap dealership. There used to be a second track that was used for the train crossing.

The station building is a type building (like Bf Ewersbach) from 1891 to 1892, presumably according to a design by the railway architect Glasewald on the village side northwest of the route, two-storey on a T-shaped floor plan in field or ornamental slate / shingling under saddle roofs, which protrude on the gable sides Riddles are underpinned in a semicircle and decorated with polygonal protruding crooked hips. Half-timbered goods sheds are located on the north side.

IVG siding

The connecting switch is still there. The track systems on the factory premises are still patchy.

Wissenbach train station

A continuous main track with a platform and a siding with a loading ramp. Today's loading track used to be used as a passing track or as a train crossing.

The station building is a type building (like Bf Frohnhausen) from 1892, presumably based on a design by the railway architect Glasewald, on the village side northwest of the route, two-storey on a T-shaped floor plan in fielded or ornamental shingling / shingling under saddle roofs, which are semicircular on the gable sides with protruding chaff underpinned and decorated with polygonally protruding crooked hips. Half-timbered goods sheds are located on the southwest side.

Eibelshausen station

A continuous main track with a platform, as well as an overtaking and crossing track with a platform. In addition, there is another track in the station with a loading ramp and two more tracks, one of which leads to the former connection of Buderus (now Bosch Thermotechnik). The railway infrastructure was completely removed on the factory premises.

The station building is a type building from 1892, presumably based on a design by the railway architect Glasewald, on the village side to the northwest of the route, two-storey on a T-shaped floor plan in fielded or ornamental slate / shingling under gable roofs, which on the gable ends are semicircular underpinned with protruding rafters and projecting polygonally Crested hips are decorated. The station building is larger than Frohnhausen and Wissenbach. Half-timbered goods sheds are located on the north side.

Buderus siding (today: Bosch Thermotechnik )

The track branches off at the Eibelshausen train station and ends today just before the L 3043 state road, on a railway overpass over the Dietzhölze. The entire track infrastructure was removed from the Bosch factory premises. The company has completely switched its logistics to the road.

Steinbrücken stop

This stop was not included in the original plans, it was only set up in the years around the First World War. It had a concrete bus shelter and a continuous main track with a platform.

Ewersbach station

A main track with a platform, as well as a loading track and several sidings. After the site was sold, the tracks were completely removed up to about 15.65 km (at the level crossing).

The station building is a type building from 1892, presumably based on a design by the railway architect Glasewald, on the village side northwest of the route, two-storey on a T-shaped floor plan in fielded or ornamental slateing / shingling under gable roofs, which are semicircular under the gable ends with protruding chevrons and projecting polygonally Crested hips are decorated. The station building is larger than Frohnhausen and Wissenbach. Half-timbered goods sheds are on the west side.

Omnical siding

The station track ended directly at the company premises. The track systems on the factory premises are apparently still preserved.

Literature and Sources

• Uli Horch: The Railway in Dietzhölztal , 1990.
• Heinz Schomann : Railway in Hessen . Railway buildings and routes 1839–1939. In: State Office for Monument Preservation Hessen (Ed.): Cultural monuments in Hessen. Monument topography Federal Republic of Germany . Three volumes in a slipcase. tape 2.2 . Theiss Verlag, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-8062-1917-6 , p. 736 ff . (Route 058).

Web links

Commons : Dietzhölztalbahn  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Freight and passenger trains on the Dietzhölztalbahn Dillenburg-Ewersbach (1983–1998) (Online turntable)
• Gregor Atzbach, Sven Krebs: Dietzhölztalbahn (photo documentation from 2013)
• Dietzhölztalbahn eV association

Individual evidence

1. ↑ DB Netze - Infrastructure Register
2. ↑ Railway Atlas Germany . 9th edition. Schweers + Wall, Aachen 2014, ISBN 978-3-89494-145-1 .
3. ↑ Federal Railway Office - Frankfurt / Saarbrücken branch office -: Public announcement in accordance with Section 23, Paragraph 2 of the General Railway Act - Exemption from railway operations relating to the 3720 Dillenburg-Ewersbach line - from January 13, 2012 (Az. 55122 - 551pf / 127 - 2011 # 085 ; eBAnz AT8 2012 B3 )
4. ↑ ^{a b} Does the Dietzhölztalbahn wake up from its slumber? (PDF) In: Bahn-Report 4/2015. 2015, accessed April 17, 2017 .