Dransfeld ramp

disused section of the Hannöversche Südbahn

Route number (DB) :

1732

Course book section (DB) :

formerly 202a / 257

Route length:

approx. 10 km

Gauge :

1435 mm ( standard gauge )

Maximum slope :

16 ‰

Legend

		Hannöversche Südbahn from Hanover , SFS from Hanover
	108.1	Goettingen
		B 3
		former Gartetalbahn to Duderstadt ( narrow gauge )
		Line to Bebra (until 1922)
		rope
		Line to Bebra (since 1922)
		SFS to Kassel
	112.1	A 7
	113.0	B 3 (Dransfelder Str.)
	113.1	Gross Ellershausen
	114.8	B 3
		Dransfeld ramp (16 ‰)
	119.2	B 3 (Rischenkrug)
	123.2	Basaltwork
	123.6	Raiffeisen
	123.8	Dransfeld
	128.0	BK Wellersen, B 3
	132.1	Upper Sweden
	135.9	Volkmarshäuser Tunnel (325 m)
	136.2	Volkmarshausen
	140.5	Münden north
	140.8	Private connection
	141.0	Weser transshipment point
	141.3	Werratalbrücke Münden , B 80
	142.0	Range from Bebra
	142.0	Hann Münden
		Hannöversche Südbahn to Kassel

Dransfelder Rampe was the nickname of an uphill section before Dransfeld on the now disused section between Göttingen and Hann. The railway line from Hanover to Kassel, built as the Hannöversche Südbahn, ends .

construction

The northern section from Hanover to Alfeld was opened in 1853, that from Alfeld to Göttingen in 1854, both of which are still in operation today. The middle section from Göttingen to Hann. Münden was opened after about five years of construction on May 8, 1856 and then extended to Kassel.

Colloquially, the name Dransfeld ramp is often used as a synonym for the entire former rail connection from Göttingen via Dransfeld to Hann. Münden, although actually only the straight section behind Groß Ellershausen is meant, which has the strongest increase with 16 per thousand (1: 61.7).

Historical view of the Göttingen train station around 1900

The Hannöversche Südbahn was built, among other things, to build the trading center Hann. Münden to connect with its port to the capital of the Kingdom of Hanover . In order to avoid a route over the Hessian area, the southern section was, despite the difficult terrain, via Dransfeld to Hann. Münden out. The section between Göttingen, Dransfeld and Hann. Münden was designated as Kursbuchlinie 257 from 1970 and was largely closed between 1980 and 1995.

As main line originally continuous double track applied route placed high demands on the construction and operation: a height difference of 158 meters with strong gradients up to 16 per thousand, radii of curvature of the part is 200 meters, complex embankments and expensive structures such as the Volkmarsdorf houses tunnel , with 325.5 Meters in length is the only tunnel in the Hanoverian route network, and the multi-arched stone Werra Valley Bridge in Münden .

View of the Volkmarshausen tunnel around 1850

Nevertheless, this route was the most cost-effective of three possible variants. The widespread claim that King George V (1819–1871) ordered the tunnel variant for reasons of prestige in order to also have a rail tunnel in his Kingdom of Hanover is not tenable. His father, King Ernst-August I (1771–1851), was also seen as a bitter opponent of the railroad: he feared a democratization of travel and did not want every shoemaker and tailor to travel as fast as he did .

The Duchy of Braunschweig and the Kingdom of Prussia planned large railway networks early on, and Prussia not least to connect its provinces of Rhineland and Westphalia . The railway was also due to industrialization, because wherever there were railways, large factories were built. In addition to the economic boom, the power of the so-called industrial barons opposed the rulers.

However, documents from the time also indicate that the Hanoverian royal family, after initially rejecting them, welcomed the construction of this railway line, not least because of the Weser connection. There were also early plans for rail connections from the Kurhessian side. Inland boatmen and carters feared for their existence, of course, and in King Ernst-August they had an ally who initially did not want any smoking and sooty locomotives even in Hanover, so that the Hanoverian Kingdom began building the railroad quite late and the large rail hub not in the city of Hanover , but first arose in Lehrte . Railway construction was also unpopular with farmers, as their fields were interrupted by the railway line and the very narrow dam passages (coll. Railway bridges) were no longer so easy to reach. Incidentally, these culverts also performed drainage tasks .

For the route to Hann. Münden there were the following variants:

Northeim - Nörten - Adelebsen - Güntersen - Scheden - Hann. Münden (without connection to Göttingen)
Göttingen - Eichenberg - Witzenhausen - Hedemünden - Hann. Münden (as realized since 1876)
Göttingen– Mariengarten –Hedemünden – Hann. Münden (with a 2.8 km long tunnel near Hedemünden)
Göttingen– ( Rosdorf ) –Rischenkrug – Dransfeld – Scheden – Hann. Münden

Individual route variants still had changes in sections. B. Follow the Schedetal to the confluence of the Weser at Eichhof. With the exception of the connection to Rosdorf, the last variant was then chosen with the most difficult route in terms of inclines, which was just considered passable with conventional locomotives (without gear drive, etc.). The originally planned connection to Rosdorf was left out because there were obviously disputes with Gut Olenhusen about the use of the land.

In addition to weighing up costs, two conditions spoke primarily for the variant that was then implemented: On the one hand, the route was not allowed to run through the Electorate of Hesse-Kassel in order to avoid complications under local law. Because the Hanoverians had previously enriched themselves well through the stacking right to the Hessians, who on the water through Hann. Münden had to drive. One feared something similar on the part of the Kurhessen. According to information, a corresponding building application was made, but probably not answered, so the topographically most favorable line over Eichenberg was ruled out. In addition, the line had to be built as high as possible so that it could later be continued to Kassel without problems. Due to the higher route, the Mündener Bahnhof is on a hillside 500 m from the city center.

Only after the German War and the annexation of Hanover and Hessen-Kassel by Prussia in 1866 did territorial concerns no longer play a role, and the route through the Werra Valley via Eichenberg / Arenshausen to Göttingen was realized in 1876 (Eichenberg- Friedland opened ). Therefore, the route kilometers in Göttingen (from 108.1 to 246.7) and Hann. Münden (193.5 to 142.0), since from Hann. Münden, the kilometering is again based on the old southern railway line via Dransfeld (142 km from Hanover).

First timetable of the Hanover Southern Railway from 1856

The idea of running the route along the Weser or Bramwald with considerably less structural effort and thus past the university town of Göttingen was quickly rejected, however, and Göttingen wanted to be connected to the rail network in any case. When planning the high-speed route from Hanover to Würzburg , about 120 years later, the same considerations arose to directly connect the cities of Hanover and Kassel (the latter had not yet been integrated into the intercity cycle). This variant would thereby probably by the Weserbergland lying nature park Solling been performed, which, for reasons of nature conservation have been proven to be unenforceable. In both cases it was thanks to a strong lobby that long-distance trains stop in Göttingen then as now. After a guided tour via Göttingen was established, a third tour via Mariengarten and Hedemünden was offered in addition to the Eichenberger and the then realized variant, which roughly corresponds to the course of today's federal motorway 7 and would have required a tunnel 2.8 km in length. A tunnel-free bypass of the hill "Hühnenburg" through which the Volkmarshausen tunnel leads could not be realized, so this tunnel was not a prestige object, but necessary on the site. At that time, safety concerns when using the steam locomotives would rather have spoken against a tunnel. For a “prestige tunnel ”, if the route remained the same, other places would have been available, such as the 25 m deep cut near Ossenfeld or on the Klus just before the tunnel. The variant that was then implemented was the worst solution in terms of railway technology, but the only possible one at the time.

To connect the Hann. The port railway was branched off shortly before the Werra crossing. (See section below.)

Although the entire route from Hanover to Kragenhof (just before Kassel), with the exception of the Brunswick town of Kreiensen, was completely on Hanover and now Lower Saxony territory, and was kilometered throughout, the two sections of the route Hanover-Göttingen and Göttingen-Hann. Since the time of the Reichsbahn, Münden has at times been treated differently. The northern section Hannover – Göttingen was combined with the Werra valley line Göttingen – Eichenberg – Kassel, while the section Göttingen – Dransfeld-Hann. Münden was treated as a separate course book series. The directorates were responsible for the northern section in Hanover, for the southern section in Kassel, and later in Frankfurt am Main . The last change took place in October 1980 - a few months after all traffic was discontinued - when Hann. Münden, the Frankfurt border (km 138) was moved to the level of Ossenfeld (km 121.1). The train stations in Dransfeld and Oberscheden (department designation FDFD and FOSD according to the directory of operations ) were attached to the train station in Hann Münden.

Route

Elevation profile of the Göttingen-Hann railway line. Münden

Werratalbrücke Münden near Hannoversch Münden

Underpass in Hann. Münden

Overgrown stretch of road near Oberscheden, 2008

From the Göttingen train station (km 108.1), the Dransfeld section initially ran parallel to the north-south line that was built later. From the bridge over the Göttingen Jheringstraße, the north-south route follows the Leinetal in a southerly direction, while the Dransfelder Bahn continued straight through the Grone- Süd district, which was only built in the 1960s . Until 1962, the line was double-tracked in this section and used the flyover structure of today's high-speed and north-south line, with which you can get from the eastern part of the Göttingen train station to the Eichenberger direction track without crossing . This overpass structure, which today, by the way, uses the high-speed route to extend it almost identically, was not built until 1922 when the railway systems in the Göttingen area were raised. When the track was laid after 1962, it was replaced by a modern concrete structure that still stands today.

After about two kilometers in a straight line, the Dransfeld route crossed the federal motorway 7 on a bridge that had been renewed in the last few years of operation and ran in a loop around the Groß Ellershausen district of Göttingen to gain altitude. After 1962 , a junction with a safety switch was built in front of the Groß Ellershausen stop , which was not built until after the Second World War , and from here the line was double-tracked again. As far as the bridge on Hetjershäuser Weg, the route was led on a fairly high embankment, while behind the bridge Hetjershäuser Weg it ran in a cut to about the B3 underpass. From the B3, where the straight stretch had the steepest ascent with 16 per thousand, it ran back to the Groner Wald on a dam. Between the motorway bridge and the Groner Holz level crossing , the bend covered around 90 meters of height difference.

Until shortly before Dransfeld, the route ran through the forest or along the edge of the forest. In Groner Holz she passed a level crossing, which was finally only opened by telephone request by railway staff, who had to come from the following Rischenkrug post and open the barrier on site. About two kilometers further was the Rischenkrug level crossing with the restaurant that gave it its name. Until the 1970s, the Rischenkrug was still a block post , later only a barrier post . Here the B3 crossed the Dransfeld route for the third time. It then approached the village of Ossenfeld in an arc, where it ran in a cut up to 25 m deep. Here she reached 307 m above sea level. NN also their apex .

The route then followed the cut in the terrain at Rodebusch and then approached Dransfeld from the north-east. Where the gravel works of the Südharz- Asphalt (SHA) stands today, there used to be the basalt loading , which was even connected to the basalt quarry on the Hohen Hagen by a lorry cable car . This was followed by the Dransfelder Strasse level crossing with the former signal box Df, the Raiffeisen warehouse , the goods loading ramp, the train station with the reception building that is still preserved today and the old signaling office, which today serves as a youth center. Basaltwerk and Raiffeisen-Lager had their own siding, with the latter the freight wagons were individually shunted using turntables .

After the level crossing at Imbser Weg, the line became single-track from 1942 when the second track was dismantled. The route then followed the Niemetal on an embankment, past the village of Varlose, over the Wellersen estate , where it crossed the B3 with a level crossing for the fourth time. The route ran relatively straight through a short piece of forest along the estate, partly in artificially created cuttings that were supposed to protect against snow drifts in winter. After a curve, the route ran towards the town of Scheden. The former Oberscheden train station was built in 1874, 18 years after the opening of this section, and was located far outside the built-up Oberscheden town center, especially since the village of Niederscheden was closer. This was followed by the loading tracks of the then sugar and later feed factory, which until 1995 was the last freight loader on the remaining section of the route.

The route ran straight for about two kilometers on a high embankment towards the Mündener Forest, where it then passed a deep cut when entering the forest. At the level of the Klusteiche, where the switching house of a level crossing that was backed by flashing lights still stands, the route left the cut and led through the Schedetal on a slope up to 30 meters high. This was followed by the 325 m long Volkmarshausen Tunnel , which left the Schedetal in an arch and led past Volkmarshausen . From 1947 this place got a stop directly behind the south portal of the tunnel.

The route now bypassed the Mündener Forest, which is shown on the map as a kind of "nose shape", led past the village of Gimte and circumnavigated the Questenberg . On the slope side was the Weserliedanlage , down the valley the confluence of Fulda and Werra to the Weser. The former route now led through the Münder district of Blume with the former north station (which was actually just a stopping point), then crossed the valley cut on a dam and then the Werra on a large bridge. Then she reached the former freight yard and the Hann Münden station .

business

The first 1Bn2 locomotive developed especially for the Dransfeld ramp from the Georg Egestorff machine factory in Linden near Hanover

Until the introduction of diesel traction , pushing locomotives were used in steam operation, which were used in both Göttingen and Hann. Münden always had to be ready. Usually two, rarely even three locomotives were driven. Locomotive types specially developed for the Dransfelder Rampe by the machine works Georg Egestorff in Linden near Hanover ( Hanomag from 1871 ) were used in the early days. Due to the high requirements and the proximity of the southern runway to Kassel , it served the locomotive builder Henschel there as a welcome test track. Practically every locomotive was only put into service after passing the test on the southern runway. Thus, the scenic route saw some Lok exotics such as the streamlined disguised Dampfmotorlok 19 1001 , the operationally mature unique entered the steam engine history, or even 1978, the BBC -Henschel Versuchslok EN 2500 , which, however, as part of a BDEF drove -Sonderfahrt.

In the 1950s and 60s , the long-distance trains pulled by class 01 express locomotives were the most common, which were often pushed by class 44 freight locomotives to Dransfeld. In addition to the 38 and BR 50 series, these in turn also drove lighter passenger and freight trains until 1974.

According to the Göttingen historian Karl Heinrich Kaufhold , Göttingen owes the steam locomotive repair shop , whose main building, the large Lokrichthalle, which has been preserved, has been renamed " Lokhalle Göttingen " after being converted into a multiplex cinema and an event hall . Because of the gradients, the locomotives often had to be swapped and then serviced. This required an on-site workshop.

There were also industrial accidents on the Dransfeld ramp: in 1955 the articulated multiple unit “Senator” VT 10 ⁵ derailed , caused by a rockfall at the Volkmarshausen tunnel. In 1966 loaded ballast wagons were maneuvered in Oberscheden , which got out of control and the sloping route to Hann. Münden rolled. In the narrow entrance to the train station in Hann. Münden, the cars derailed after they had reached speeds of over 100 km / h and overturned. No one was injured in either case.

meaning

Long-distance train VT 08 ⁵ in Oberscheden 1952

The importance of the Dransfeld route fell a little as early as 1876 when the Werra valley route between Hann. Münden and Göttingen via Eichenberg was opened. An alternative route was now available, but according to old timetable documents, this did not affect the southern runway. Contrary to other claims, passenger traffic on the Dransfeld route did not decrease either, it remained constant. From 1872 to 1876 the trains in Arenshausen would have had to turn around as the current connection between the north-south line and the Halle – Hann Münden line in Eichenberg did not yet exist. Of course, the traffic then did not increase as much as if there had been only one route. The founding of the state of Prussia, industrialization and the establishment of the railroad as a means of transport explain this.

It was not until the Second World War that traffic decreased significantly with the dismantling of the second track between Dransfeld and Münden. Such dismantling was done for war purposes in many places on double-track lines, on which the second track seemed to be dispensable. The second track was dismantled in the spring of 1942 and probably brought to Russia for the creation of supply lines , since the war material could not be transported without appropriate rolling stock due to the broad gauge available in Russia . According to other statements, the tracks are said to have been used for the development of the Mittelbau-Dora concentration camp in Nordhausen and the construction of the Helmetalbahn (bypassing the southern Harz line ), the latter was no longer completed.

Finally, in 1945, shortly before the end of the war, withdrawing German troops blew up many railway bridges in order to prevent the advance of the Allies , including the Werra Valley Bridge in Hann. Münden, and thus interrupted the route. However, since the Werra valley bridge on the route between Laubach and Hedemünden coming from Eichenberg was no longer passable due to blasting, traffic on the southern runway was maintained in trunk operation. For four years, all trains coming from Göttingen ended up in the provisional Münden Nord station. The passengers and their luggage had to walk several kilometers to the main train station in order to continue their journey in the direction of Kassel. Children earned their pocket money by transporting luggage. Even then, the single-track section made push-pull train operation necessary, but at that time there were no control cars . After the war, in addition to Hann Münden Nord, the Groß Ellershausen and Volkmarshausen stops (until then block posts) were added. The latter was therefore not created, as is sometimes claimed, to bring workers to armaments factories; there was no longer any reason to do so after the war. Rather, efforts will have been made to make the railroad mode of transport more suitable for local traffic, because the railroad, as the means of mass transport, had to cope with a high volume of transport in the post-war period .

In 1949 the gap was closed by installing a simplified steel lattice bridge in the Münden Werratal Bridge . The stone arch bridges that were blown up in many places were often only rebuilt as simpler steel structures. The Werra bridge was built on two tracks, as the rebuilding of the second track between Dransfeld and Hann. Münden considered. However, the second track on the right-hand side as seen from the station was never connected, and the junction to the port railway was also behind the bridge when viewed from the station. Information that the left bridge track was used for the port railway and the right one for the route are therefore incorrect. In some places, the Eichenberger route led past the Soviet occupation zone and later GDR , the proximity of a strategically important route to the enemy at the time was evidently very questionable from a defense policy point of view, so that the Dransfeld route is, so to speak, a "main route in reserve" wanted to hold up.

For another reason, the Dransfeld route was preferred to the Eichenberger in the post-war years : Göttingen and Hann. Münden belonged to the British zone of occupation , Eichenberg to the American zone . Controls took place at the border; the travelers had to get off, show their luggage and, if necessary, declare goods . Anyone who wanted to bypass these controls, of course, drove via Dransfeld.

In addition, the north-south line via Eichenberg was chronically overloaded until the construction of the high-speed line Hanover-Würzburg , so that electrification of both lines, the Dransfelder and the Werra valley line, was considered. The Volkmarshausen tunnel proved to be an obstacle due to its low tunnel profile. An electrified route was also sufficient for the first few years, although most recently it was driven almost at a block distance. No alternative route was available until the ICE line opened. When a dam broke near Friedland in 1985 , long-distance trains had to be rerouted widely via Altenbeken .

Decline

Overgrown portals (south and east portal) of the Volkmarshäuser tunnel , 2008

The approximately 110 meter long Werra Valley Bridge Münden over the Werra in Hann. Münden, 2015

After the second track was already missing between Dransfeld and Münden, the Göttingen – Groß Ellershausen section was also dismantled as a single track in 1962 in order to handle freight traffic on the north-south route without crossing. The overpass structure near the Leineberg , the tracks of which today lead from the east side of the Göttingen train station over the north-south route and flow back into this and the high-speed route, was used by the Dransfeld route until it was dismantled. The direction track from Dransfeld to Göttingen led on a bridge over the north-south route and then ended in the eastern part of the station.

Until the end of passenger traffic on May 31, 1980, only the section between Groß Ellershausen and Dransfeld remained double-tracked to enable the pushing locomotives to return without problems. The two local trains that run at noon met in the double-track section.

In 1964, the Werra valley line was electrified and the long-distance travel via Dransfeld, which was still brisk up to now, was reduced to an insignificant branch line, which from the 1970s only provided three pairs of trains on weekdays. Up until electrification, the Dransfeld Railway was a welcome relief route. Important long-distance trains such as the Roland or the Senator , who also derailed in front of the Volkmarshausen tunnel, drove there, but without stopping. The line remained last with V 100 and conversion cars or Silberlingen (which were still drawn with Ottbergen 44er until 1974 ) or accumulator railcars of the 515 series .

Despite the many operational setbacks, there were also plans for the future: In the mid-1970s, the developing Gimte / Volkmarshausen industrial estate was to be opened up with siding. Switch connections and two branch tracks were already in place, but after a few meters they ended in "nothing".

Former southern railway line in Hann. Münden with remains of signal systems at the junction to the port railway (left), 2015

At the beginning of 1980, only two pairs of local trains and one freight train ran on the route every day . With the change to the summer timetable, passenger traffic on the entire route and freight traffic between Göttingen and Dransfeld was discontinued on May 31, 1980 and the route was initially only operated as a freight siding by Hann until February 1, 1991. Münden to Dransfeld, then only to Oberscheden, where freight traffic ended on October 1, 1994. The tracks between Göttingen and Dransfeld were dismantled in April 1982 after passenger traffic had ceased. A short section of track remained on the Göttingen side in order to be able to bring earth material for the noise protection wall of the high-speed line. In the course of the dismantling work in 1982 in the area of the village of Ossenfeld, the bridge that crossed Kreisstrasse 42 disappeared under a dam.

In April 1995, a class 365 diesel shunting locomotive carried out its last official inspection as part of a train driver's course . The Volkmarshausen tunnel and the Werra valley bridge were closed in September 1995 due to disrepair. On October 9, 1995, the entire line was declared closed and in 2000 the track was dismantled from the Mündener side until shortly before Oberscheden. The track between Dransfeld and the Schedetal, which has so far remained relatively uninterrupted for 10 kilometers (corresponding to route kilometers 124-134), was removed in January 2006 to create a cycle path between Wellersen and Scheden. Due to the good revenues for scrap iron at the time, the tracks that were still lying in the Dransfeld and Scheden area were removed from September 2006; the latter after thieves had already removed 100 m of track in mid-January 2007 at the level of the clump ponds.

Port railway - Weser transshipment point

Remains of the Weser transshipment point , 2008
Weser transshipment point loading, 2013
Remnants of the port railway, 2006
Switch relic of the port railway, 2006
Tracks of the port railway, 2016

In 1906 the Hannöversche Südbahn got a siding at kilometer 141.0 directly in front of the Werra bridge in Hann. Münden, which led down to the banks of the Weser opposite the confluence of the Fulda and Werra rivers on its own railway track . The 1.5-kilometer-long branch line , known as the port railway , ended at a 240-meter-long quay wall in a specially constructed Weser transshipment point . Here, until 1978, bulk goods such as potash , grain , cement , basalt chippings and gravel were loaded from freight wagons onto barges using a one and a half ton crane that could be moved on two rails. In 1910 the system was expanded with a conveyor belt and in 1927 with electrically operated shovels from Amme- Luther ( MIAG , Braunschweig ). The complex included an elongated vault made of rubble stones, which served as a storage room for its own power supply. Above it rose another floor with an engine room and offices as well as a half- timbered, slate-covered second floor with apartments. Another, tower-like building, which was adjoined by a terrace with a balustrade on the street , protruded far beyond the ensemble of buildings with four floors.

The single-track port railway crossed Questenbergstrasse 1,100 meters after it branched off from the main line and, after a 200-meter-long cut in the mountain, Göttinger Strasse. Shortly before reaching the transshipment point, the railway branched out into several tracks, one of which was extended a few hundred meters further in the 1980s to the Bundeswehr water training area on the right bank of the Weser in order to be able to transport heavy equipment such as pontoon bridge parts by rail .

The decline of the Weser transshipment point, and with it the port railway, began in 1960 with the demolition of the parts of the building that protruded above street level, supposedly to provide a view of the newly built Weser bridge. In 1978 cargo shipping on the Oberweser was finally stopped and the port railway shut down. The track leading to the water exercise area was last used by a Bundeswehr train in the 1990s. Except for a few remains, the tracks of the port railway were removed by the beginning of 2005, and the rock cut was partially filled.

The buildings of the Weser transshipment point found a private owner around 1980 who had apartments built. In 1990 part of the complex burned down, the rest fell victim to the flames again in 1998. Except for the quarry stone vault and the engine room, the burned-out buildings were then torn down.

In 2008 the Weser transshipment point was reactivated without a siding. Investments to date have totaled 250,000 euros. Since then it has been used for inland shipping again. Heavy machine parts are primarily loaded from heavy-duty transports onto inland vessels.

Current condition

Formerly the main line, today the cycle path: the KBS 257 in spring 2005 at the Groß Ellershausen stop

About 10 kilometers of the former route between Göttingen and Dransfeld and between Wellersen and Scheden have been converted into a hiking and cycling path. These sections are part of the Lower Saxony long-distance cycle path network, which here as the Weser-Harz-Heide long-distance cycle path leads from the Weser through the Göttingen district via Scheden, Dransfeld and Göttingen to the Rhume spring and on through the Harz to the Lüneburg Heath.

In the Leineberg district of Göttingen, where it meets the former Dransfeld railway line, this cycle and hiking path initially runs parallel to the old route and today's high-speed line from Hanover to Würzburg to the Grone- Süd district . From Siekhöhenallee (K 36), the path then continues on the old railway embankment around Groß Ellershausen through the Groner Wald to Bundesstraße 3 , corresponding to the route kilometer 119.2 at that time, where the level crossing at Rischenkrug used to be. There, the cycle path first leaves the old railway line and runs as a no further signposted forest path slightly northeast parallel to the former railway line (the aisle of which can still be seen very clearly on aerial photos) to Ossenfelder Straße. From there there is no other direct bike path to Dransfeld; Possibilities are a “detour” over fields west of Ossenfeld, or a forest path towards the southwest with more difficult soil. A further section was opened between Wellersen and Scheden in 2006, which, in contrast to the Göttingen-Rischenkrug section, was specially concreted. Outside of these former sections of the route, the cycle path mostly follows Bundesstraße 3.

Mündener train station, which was severely dismantled in 2007. The Dransfeld – Kassel track was located in the area of the current house platform

Route relic south of Oberscheden, 2005

The cycle path from Goslar runs partly or completely on several former railway lines: the Innerstetalbahn from Goslar to Altenau , part of the former Bleicherode – Herzberg railway and the Gartetalbahn , a former narrow-gauge railway from Duderstadt (later Rittmarshausen) to Göttingen.

Using the entire route or just parts of it for rail traffic again fails, in addition to the dilapidation of the structures such as the tunnel and the Werra valley bridge (see illustration), as well as the isolated properties that have already been sold and built over. Further, a is at least in sections declassification of the route is carried out as a railway, whereby this may have to be approved under current, significantly stricter than new project.

Renewed traffic use would conflict with complex planning and approval procedures as well as nature conservation law, since over a third of the old railway line was designated as a compensation area for the Hanover – Würzburg high-speed line that was built at the time and has now also been declared an FFH area. For this purpose, the railway left most of the route to the Göttingen district. As the owner of the route, he recently created a retreat for rare animal species between Dransfeld and Wellersen. Grazing animals should keep the vegetation short in the summer months. For this purpose, the embankment was fenced in, and it should not be entered without authorization during this time.

Only the Dransfeld train station with an annex of the old railway maintenance office has remained as a station building; the former is used privately, the outbuilding as a youth center. For a time, the playground adjacent to the station building was adorned with a class 323 locomotive , which was only brought there with a crane when the playground was built. Due to damage caused by vandalism and the insufficient safety requirements for children's playgrounds, this locomotive was removed again and taken to the grounds of a senior citizens' home in Dransfeld, where it stands in front of a Uerdingen rail bus (VT 98). All other railway buildings along the route, apart from a few track and barracks, have since been torn down.

Trivia

The end of the film Father, Mother and 9 Children with Heinz Erhardt , shot in Göttingen , shows a scene that was shot at the Wellersen level crossing.

A Mündener small series manufacturer produces H0 models of structures on the Dransfeld line.

literature

Wolfgang Fiegenbaum: Farewell to the rails 1980–85 , Motorbuch-Verlag, ISBN 3-613-01191-3 .

Jens-Uwe Brinkmann: On rails through time - the Göttingen train station , ISBN 3-929181-42-8 .

Photographs by Ingo Bulla: Göttinger Jahresblätter 1984 , Verlag Göttinger Tageblatt.

Wolfgang Klee: The Dransfelder Rampe , Eisenbahn-Journal 3/97.

Stefan Vockrodt: Hanover's forgotten mountain railway, railway history 3/2004 (DGEG booklet No. 6).

Stefan Vockrodt: Who else knows Dransfeld? The Jumbos from Ottbergen , Lok-Magazin 211 4/1998.

Michael Meinhold: Südbahn, push locomotives and Senator , in MIBA 10 and 11/2006.

Web links

Commons : Dransfelder Rampe - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

^ DGEG booklet No. 6, Eisenbahn-Geschichte 3/2004, page 6
↑ Photo receipt D. Luckmann 1962
↑ Photo receipt D. Luckmann 1962
^ Photo receipt D. Luckmann 1963
↑ Picture timetables of the passenger train routes from 1856-1980 according to old timetables available in the Deutsche Postmuseum
↑ Construction instructions for the kits 1101, 1102, 1103, 1104: The Volksmarshäuser Tunnel. (PDF; 273 kB) Archived from the original on December 24, 2013 ; accessed on May 10, 2016 .
↑ Construction instructions for the kits 1101, 1102, 1103, 1104: The Volksmarshäuser Tunnel. (PDF; 273 KiB) Retrieved May 10, 2016 .

[1] DGEG booklet No. 6, Eisenbahn-Geschichte 3/2004, page 6

[2] Photo receipt D. Luckmann 1962

[3] Photo receipt D. Luckmann 1962

[4] Photo receipt D. Luckmann 1963

[5] Picture timetables of the passenger train routes from 1856-1980 according to old timetables available in the Deutsche Postmuseum

[6] Construction instructions for the kits 1101, 1102, 1103, 1104: The Volksmarshäuser Tunnel. (PDF; 273 kB) Archived from the original on December 24, 2013 ; accessed on May 10, 2016 .

[7] Construction instructions for the kits 1101, 1102, 1103, 1104: The Volksmarshäuser Tunnel. (PDF; 273 KiB) Retrieved May 10, 2016 .