Grossenbrode – Gedser railway ferry

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VT 12 as a Copenhagen express when leaving the ferry Theodor Heuss in Gedser in December 1959

The railway ferry Großenbrode-Gedser was a railway ferry connection between Großenbrode -Kai in the Federal Republic of Germany and Gedser in Denmark . In Germany this ferry connection was connected to the Lübeck – Großenbrode railway line , and in Denmark to the Nykøbing – Gedser railway line . It existed between 1951 and 1963, until the opening of the Fehmarnsund Bridge and the new ferry connection between Puttgarden and Rødbyhavn / Denmark that began at the same time .

History and operation

When, after the Second World War and the division of Germany, the Warnemünde – Gedser railway ferry could no longer be used for traffic from the Federal Republic of Germany , the railway ferry connection from Großenbrode Kai to Gedser was set up as a provisional solution until the Vogelfluglinie was built. An agreement between Germany and Denmark was reached on January 31, 1951. This interim solution was suggested because it was the shortest ferry route compared to other ports of departure in the Federal Republic of Germany such as Kiel or Travemünde and military facilities from the Second World War could be reused in Großenbrode. In addition, the necessary railway infrastructure had to be built, including a bypass curve at Lütjenbrode on the Neustadt – Heiligenhafen – Großenbrode ferry line .

Operations began on July 15, 1951. Compared to the connection via the Great Belt previously used , the travel time of express trains was shortened by one and that of freight trains by six hours. In the beginning, the ferry Danmark , built in 1922 but modernized, was used, which alternated between Gedser in Großenbrode and Warnemünde. It was supported by the Prins Christian , which was built in 1903 for the Warnemünde – Gedser connection, had been in use on the Öresund since 1923 and on the Great Belt between Korsør and Nyborg since 1945 . Both ships each had only one siding, so that only freight wagons used the trajectory ; the travelers had to change between ship and train in Großenbrode Kai and Gedser. For this purpose the train pair Dt 923/924 Hamburg – Großenbrode Kai was inserted by the DB. This service was provided by a class VT 33 diesel multiple unit.

Commissioned by the Deutsche Bundesbahn when the new ferry connection opened in 1951, Germany was built by Howaldtswerke in Kiel and had three tracks. It entered service on May 9, 1953. Instead of one trip per direction and day, three were now possible. A second pier was built in Großenbrode Kai. The stern of the ship had to moor against this. In Gedser, the existing pier was extended to three tracks, here it was only possible to moor with the bow. Therefore, the journey from Gedser to Großenbrode took longer than in the opposite direction, because the ships are turned around after casting off in Gedser and before berthing in Großenbrode.

By increasing the capacity, passenger coaches could now also be hauled. This made a number of connections to Scandinavia via Großenbrode – Gedser possible, on average 29 passenger coaches were hauled per day and direction:

In the summer of 1954, the Dronning Ingrid was moved from the Great Belt to the Großenbrode – Gedser ferry connection. From the end of 1954, however, it was replaced by the newly built Kong Frederik IX by DSB . Another ship had been commissioned by the DB from the Howaldtswerke in Kiel since 1955. On November 6, 1957, Theodor Heuss, named after the first German Federal President , was put into service. Like Germany, it had a railway ferry deck with three tracks. In addition, she had a second deck on which 75 cars could be transported.

Despite additional ships and the resulting increase in the number of ship courses, the demand could not be met. This was only possible by building more ships or shortening the ferry route so that more courses could be sailed per day with the same number of ships. Those involved opted for the latter and tackled the proposed bird flight route over Fehmarn in 1910. In 1958 a corresponding state treaty was concluded. The new connection was opened on May 14, 1963, and the Großenbrode – Gedser ferry connection was discontinued on the same day.

Used ships

  • dan. Danmark steam ferry
    1951–1963

  • dan.
    Prins Christian steam ferry
    1951–1954

  • German ferry
    Germany
    1953–1963

  • dan. Ferry
    Dronning Ingrid
    1954–1963

  • dan. Ferry ship
    Kong Frederik IX
    1954–1963

  • German ferry
    Theodor Heuss
    1957–1963

Surname Working time Shipowner Year of construction (conversion) measurement length Total track length
(tracks)
 Re-use
Danmark 1951-1963 DSB 1922 (1947) 2,915 GRT 102 m 157 m (2) until 1968 Gedser – Warnemünde
Prins Christian 1951-1953 DSB 1903 (1923) 1,824 GRT 89.50 m 129 m (2) broken up in 1955
Germany 1953-1963 DB 1953 3,863 GRT 115 m 256 m (3) until 1972 Puttgarden – Rødbyhavn
Dronning Ingrid 1954-1963 DSB 1951 3,046 GRT 110 m 258 m (3) until 1983 Gedser – Warnemünde (from 1979 as Sjælland )
Kong Frederik IX 1954-1963 DSB 1954 4,084 GRT 114 m 259 m (3) until 1993 Gedser – Warnemünde
Theodor Heuss 1957-1963 DB 1957 5,583 GRT 136 m 318 m (3) until 1997 Puttgarden – Rødbyhavn

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Preuss.
  2. ↑ Data and photos of the "Dronning Ingrid"
  3. ↑ Data and photos of the "Theodor Heuss"

literature

  • Günter Meier: The bird flight line and its ships Herford 1988 ISBN 3-7822-0441-7
  • Friedhelm Ernst: The Vogelfluglinie . Freiburg 1999.
  • Erich Preuß: 100 legendary train stations . Stuttgart 2010. ISBN 978-3-613-71389-5 , p. 111.
  • Victor Freiherr von Röll: Art. Danish Railways . in: Enzyklopädie des Eisenbahnwesens, Volume 3. Berlin, Vienna 1912, pp. 213–220.

Web links