Bamberg tram
The Bamberg tram served inner-city traffic in Bamberg , the largest city in the Bavarian administrative district of Upper Franconia , for around 25 years. The responsible transport company was the electric tram Bamberg AG .
In keeping with its size - the 1910 census showed a population of 48,000 - Bamberg was also to receive a modern means of transport in the form of an electric tram at the end of the 19th century. Although several respected companies applied for the concession to build and operate this railway, the then little-known electricity company Felix Singer & Co in Berlin was awarded the contract on May 15, 1896.
After the company had opened on November 1, 1897, the railway construction company Becker & Co acquired the concession rights on January 1, 1899 and transferred them to its subsidiary "Electrische Straßenbahn Bamberg AG", which was founded on January 11, 1899.
Line network
The entire network encompassed a route length of around 8 kilometers and was laid out as a single-track meter gauge with switches. The depot was located east of the train station on Pödeldorfer Straße. Initially, four lines ran every ten minutes, which were distinguished by colored signs and light signals.
- The white line began in the east of the city at the infantry barracks and led through the train station into the city center. She crossed the Regnitz on the Ludwigsbrücke and reached the end point Karmeliterkloster am Kaulberg south of the cathedral via the Green Market.
- The red line began at the train station and led over the Sophienbrücke to Schönleinsplatz, then to the north of the cathedral to Schweinfurter Strasse.
- The green line from Hallstadter Straße, where the cemetery was located, served as a north-south connection via Ludwigsbrücke - Grüner Markt - Schönleinsplatz to Theresienhain.
- In the first few years, a fourth line increased traffic between the train station and the city center, which it ran through on a loop that touched Ludwigsplatz - Grüner Markt - Schönleinsplatz and Sophienbrücke.
In 1907 the remaining three diameter lines were reduced to two. The white line now replaced the red line between the train station and Schweinfurter Strasse, and it no longer ran over Schönleinsplatz, but over Ludwigsbrücke - Grüner Markt. The new red line ran from the infantry barracks via the train station - Schönleinsplatz to the Green Market and then over the Ludwigsbrücke to Hallstadter Straße. Both required 15 minutes of travel time for their route. Theresienhain was connected to Schönleinsplatz by a shuttle car on the green line in two minutes, while the branch line to the Carmelite monastery was no longer used after 1906.
When the First World War forced operations to be restricted in 1914, the pendulum line to Theresienhain was discontinued. The red line began its journey to Hallstadter Strasse at the station; instead, the white line connected the infantry barracks with Schweinfurter Strasse.
End of the tram
The economic crisis of the post-war years caused a considerable decrease in the number of passengers, so that the increased operating costs could no longer be covered. Operations were "temporarily" suspended on June 10, 1922. When the company refused to resume traffic after the end of the inflationary period, the city terminated its contractual relationship with it on July 1, 1925 and took over its business assets. The streetcar AG was liquidated in 1928/30.
The tracks and overhead lines were dismantled and scrapped; part of the fleet, which consisted of 15 railcars , went to the Würzburg tram . In Bamberg today only a few catenary rosettes are reminiscent of the tram, for example on house facades in Luitpoldstrasse.
City bus
The first attempt in December 1924 to set up a city bus route from the train station to Theresienplatz below the cathedral failed after just two months due to unprofitability.
It was not until October 1, 1925, that three bus routes were set up on which the Reichspost buses operated for the account of the municipal electrical works. As early as the beginning of 1926, operations were reduced to one line from the train station to Theresienplatz, each of which provided a connection to the Reichsbahn trains. It was only since 1936 that the network could be expanded. During the Second World War, the city of Bamberg took over the city bus operation from April 1, 1941.
Bamberger Bahn tourist train
The Wegebahn Bamberger Bahn , which offers a city tour under the name "Six Hill Tour", is modeled on an old Bamberg tram. According to the operator, she wants to keep the tram in memory.
literature
- Gerd Müller, Jürgen Schraudner, Wolfgang Wußmann: The tram is coming, Bamberg 2017, Heinrichs-Verlag, ISBN 978-3-89889-217-9
- Wolfgang Hendlmeier: Handbook of German Tram History , Volume 1, Munich 1981, page 97ff.
- On the history of urban traffic in Bamberg , in: "Stadtverkehr" 2005, issue 6.
- Dieter Höltge, Michael Kochems: Trams and light rail vehicles in Germany. Volume 10: Bavaria . EK-Verlag, Freiburg 2006, ISBN 978-3-88255-391-8 , pages 67-75
Web links
- The Bamberg Tram - 1897 to 1922 Detailed website about the history of the Bamberg Tram
- www.rw-buchen.de Digital picture collection and photo album about the Bamberg tram