Geldern circular orbit

The Geldern circular orbit was a narrow-gauge railway with a gauge of 1000 mm. The owner was the city of Geldern . The Geldern circuit ran between 1902 and 1934 from Kempen via Straelen to Kevelaer and, in its 30-year existence, has had a major impact on the economic and transport-political situation in the district of Geldern.

Overview of the railways on the Lower Rhine in the late 19th century

After the maiden voyage of the first German railroad between Nuremberg and Fürth on December 7, 1835 , private railroad companies were founded throughout the then German Confederation , often without government support. This is how the Rheinische Eisenbahngesellschaft was formed in Cologne in 1837 , which finally opened the first railway line between Cologne and Müngersdorf on August 2, 1839 and connected it to the Belgian State Railways via Aachen to the state border by October 15, 1843 .

In the years that followed, more and more railway companies were founded and lines built that connected the German Confederation and later the German Empire with the Netherlands . In 1880 the railway network on the left bank of the Rhine was around 450 kilometers long. One problem here was the lack of railway bridges on the Dutch and German sides, which were initially compensated for by the use of ferries.

In spite of the fact that there were already many existing railway lines, many of which were taken over or bought up by the Prussian state, the demand was often not yet met. The often considered construction of additional railways was mostly not implemented for political or economic reasons. With the " Law on Small Railways and Private Connection Railways " of August 17, 1892, however, the development of small railways owned by corporations , cities or districts was favored.

Construction and operation of the Geldern circuit

Reasons to build the circular path

Since in the 19th century mainly agricultural goods were produced on the Lower Rhine , which could not all be purchased by the local industry , the Lower Rhine was heavily dependent on exports . Therefore there was an increased interest in fast and cheap transport connections. In Germany the population grew at that time , there was a trend towards urbanization ; this increased the need for food transport from rural to densely populated areas (e.g. to the Ruhr area ).

A first initiative in county funds came from the Krefeld circle Kempen industrial railway company that a distance of Grefrath to Straelen with a possible continuation after Kevelaer planned. Much of the necessary land has already been bought, but after the company went bankrupt in 1875 (before the start of the founding crisis ) the project had to be discontinued for the time being. The Krefeld Railway Company , which took over the bankruptcy estate , had no interest in continuing the construction of the line.

At the beginning of 1894 the idea of ​​a small railway in the district of Geldern was taken up again by the then District Administrator Oskar von Nell, but now with a different route ( Kempen - Wachtendonk - Wankum - Straelen - Walbeck - Kevelaer ). The basis of the considerations was the small railroad law passed by Prussia , which was supposed to facilitate the construction of local railways by renouncing the strict requirements of the railway law of November 3, 1838.

In order to realize the project, a railway construction commission was set up under the direction of the District Administrator von Nell. After the profitability calculations in the affected communities, the first measurements began in May 1896.

Construction of the railway

In the following years there were considerable disagreements about the planned course of the Geldern circular path. In addition to the route mentioned above and implemented later, the route Walbeck - Geldern - Veert - Wetten - Kevelaer and a route via Lüllingen , Twisteden and Wemb to Weeze were also up for debate .

Ultimately, it was agreed on an almost straight stretch from Kempen via Straelen to Kevelaer , whereby the district town of Geldern was left out, as it was already adequately developed by two state railway lines. In order to realize the project, the district took out a loan of 800,000 marks, and after a long approval process, the small railway was finally granted the concession on July 10, 1900 .

In the following period the construction work proceeded rapidly. In mid-October 1900 the substructure of the Straelen – Kevelaer section was completed so that the track installation could begin. On July 20, 1901, after a few structural problems between Walbeck and Kevelaer, the section was finally completed and opened to traffic on August 6, 1901. The second section, Kempen - Straelen , went into operation on July 13, 1902 about a year later.

On September 1, 1902, passenger and freight traffic was officially opened and scheduled traffic began.

Overall, the construction of the railway cost 1,529,702.33 marks, about 145,000 marks more expensive than previously estimated, which corresponds to a kilometer price of around 45,000 marks. Compared to other small railways built at this time, which cost around 25,000 marks per kilometer, the Geldern circular orbit was quite expensive.

The owner of the small railway was the district association of Geldern , which was represented in all matters by a district railway committee elected by the district council with its seat in Geldern. The Chairman of the opening ceremony was the District Administrator von Nell. In the financial year 1902/1903 a total of 41 civil servants and workers were employed.

Operation of the railway

Equipment, facilities and route

Compared to other narrow-gauge railways of that time, only a modest fleet of vehicles was used for the Geldern circular path. The locomotives were, as was customary, named after cities around. The first three locomotives that were purchased to run the railway were given the names "Geldern", "Straelen" and "Kevelaer". As passenger traffic - especially due to pilgrimages - increased steadily, a fourth locomotive was purchased as early as 1903, named " Neubeckum ", and in 1926 a fifth, " Kempen ".

Despite the different ages, the locomotives only differed in a few fittings and lines. All locomotives come from the factory of the Hohenzollern ( Düsseldorf ) company for locomotive construction .

At the opening, the railway had a mail and baggage car and 11 passenger cars, each with 28 2nd class and 48 3rd class seats, as well as 26 freight cars, the total of which later increased to 35. Despite the increasing number of passengers, freight wagons were not bought and existing freight wagons were converted into passenger cars in the company's own workshop.

After the railway was closed, the cars were sold to other railway companies.

The rail network of the railway, including all side tracks, had a total length of 38.2 km. Of this, 15.9 km were laid on the company's own substructure and 22.3 km in the area of ​​roads.

The southern starting point of the network was the Kempen state train station for passenger traffic . For freight traffic, there were extra parking and loading tracks for reloading the goods onto the state railway.

The following is a list of the stops and their equipment:

Geldern circular orbit
Route length:	33.4 km
Gauge :	1000 mm ( meter gauge )
Legend from Kleve 33.4 Kevelaer to Geldern – Kempen 29.9 Bets 27.9 Lüllingen 25.8 Spitzfeld 23.1 Walbeck 21.3 Vorst 20.4 Get 19.6 Auwel 16.6 Straelen II 16.0 Straelen I. Haltern – Venlo railway line 14.7 Zand 13.4 Boekholt 12.0 Langdorf ring furnace 10.0 Wankum 8.5 Wachtendonk II 7.2 Wachtendonk I 4.3 Lock 3.1 Schmalbroich of funds 48.6 Kempen to Krefeld

• 0.0 Kempen station building with goods shed, water station and weighbridge
• 3.1 Schmalbroich station building with goods shed
• 4.3 Schloot agency in a private home
• 7.2 Wachtendonk I goods shed, agency in a private house
• 8.5 Wachtendonk II station building with goods shed
• 10.0 Wankum goods shed, agency in private house
• 12.0 ring furnace
• 13.4 Boekholt agency in a private home
• 14.7 Zand Hp, agency in private home
• 16.0 Straelen I station building with goods shed, locomotive shed, workshop, wagon shed, water station
• 16.6 Straelen II Hp, agency in a private house
• 19.6 Auwel goods shed, agency in private house
• 20.4 Pick up ticket sales in the train
• 21.3 Vorst Hp, ticket sales in the train
• 23.1 Walbeck goods shed, agency in a private house
• 25.8 Spitzfeld Hp, agency in a private house
• 27.9 Lüllingen Agency in a private house
• 29.9 bets Hp
• 33.4 Kevelaer station building, goods shed, water station, turntable, locomotive shed with a stand

Later there were stops in Langdorf and Wetten . There were also several bridges, for example over the Schleck, Niers , Nette or over the tracks of the state railway in Straelen . After the railway was closed, most of the bridges were converted into pedestrian bridges.

Traffic performance

A total of up to five continuous pairs of trains ran between Kempen and Kevelaer , with additional trains running on the two sections of Straelen –Kevelaer and Straelen – Kempen. From old timetables it can be concluded that passenger traffic was considerably higher on the Straelen – Kempen section, as there were considerably more trains than on the other section.

Special trains were also used on special occasions, for example for the Walbeck fair or the Kevelaer pilgrimage . Otherwise, the train was mostly used by commuters who were able to get to their workplaces. A train took about two hours between the two terminus.

At first the train was very popular. In 1916 a total of 443,083 tickets were sold, which meant a turnover of 146,217.85 marks. Freight traffic also developed positively, for example in 1928 a freight volume of 60,000 t was recorded. In the course of the advancing motorization after the First World War , however, the capacity utilization fell, especially in passenger transport. In addition, many farmers no longer wanted to pay the high reloading costs from the narrow-gauge railway to the state railway and now brought their goods directly to the state railway stations in Kevelaer, Straelen, Geldern or Kempen.

Even the purchase of a new railcar in 1924, which was supposed to shorten travel times, could not stop this trend.

Development of the railway up to decommissioning

In the first years of its existence, the Geldern circular path achieved good results. The number of people and goods transported, mainly sand and gravel, grew steadily. The surplus could not only be used to repay debt, but also to buy a new locomotive and several freight cars. In addition, a renewal fund was set up to pay for later repairs to the network and machines.

The conversion from narrow gauge to standard gauge was also considered. The earlier decision in favor of the narrow gauge was seen as a mistake, since the higher follow-up costs, especially for the laborious and costly reloading of the goods, exceed the relatively low savings for material, construction and maintenance.

The conversion was even approved on August 29, 1914, but could no longer be implemented due to the First World War.

After the war, the network and vehicles were in poor condition. Motorization reduced freight and passenger traffic, so that the railway made losses and no money could be spent on urgently needed repairs and maintenance. The tense economic situation in the 1920s made this situation even worse.

Due to inflation and the economic crisis , passenger traffic had to be stopped on November 15, 1923. The freight traffic could, however, still be maintained.

In 1924 negotiations were conducted with the Rheinisch-Westfälische Elektrizitätswerke ( RWE ) regarding the takeover of the railway. In order to keep it "in an operationally safe condition" until then, the superstructure was renewed and an additional railcar was purchased. The loan for the railway administration was financed by the district of Geldern .

In the weeks and months that followed, the municipalities in the district tried to rebuild freight and passenger traffic. To achieve this, the Niederrheinische Automobilgesellschaft mbH (NIAG) was founded at the beginning of 1925 by the municipal associations of Duisburg , Moers , Rees , Kleve and Geldern . A dense bus network was then formed on the Lower Rhine.

After the failed takeover of the Kreisbahn by RWE , it became less and less important. At the beginning of 1930 efforts were made to find wealthy buyers as part of a reorganization of the Kreisbahn. On October 1, 1930, a preliminary contract was signed with the Krefeld Railway Company , which after 5 years of operational management wanted to decide whether to buy the circular railway.

Passenger traffic was resumed, but the number of daily train journeys had to be reduced further and further, as many passengers now used the numerous NIAG buses. Freight traffic also fell sharply and only consumer goods such as milk or vegetables were transported. On April 1, 1932, all passenger and freight traffic on the Geldern circular railway was stopped. The vehicles were transferred to the Krefeld Railway on the basis of the preliminary contract concluded in 1930. By 1934 the entire track structure was dismantled and on February 18, 1937, the approval document of July 10, 1900 was officially revoked.

The Geldern circular orbit in the population

In the population, the Geldern circular orbit was mainly known by the nickname "The fiery Elias ". This goes back to an event on March 20, 1928: Shortly before the Auwel stop , the train driver noticed an unusual development of smoke in the last three wagons loaded with straw. The train was stopped immediately and the wagons that had caught fire were uncoupled and secured with brake blocks. The train then continued. Due to a strong wind and the gradient at this point on the route, the straw wagons slipped over the brake pads and drove towards Holt at a steadily increasing speed . The draft of air lit the burning straw into a blazing fire that endangered the buildings near the railway line. In the end, several residential buildings were damaged and one residential building, the Holter School and the “Zum Paradies” inn burned down completely.

Despite this event or the multiple derailments of the railroad, it was popular with the population and the claim that it held the “world record in derailment” was not even meant maliciously. For example, Leo Opheys wrote nostalgically after the shutdown of the railway:

Leisurely, slowly, without hurry,
often stopping for too short a rest,
Do you daily your plan,
O, you faithful little train.

and ends with the sentence: "We are always happy to be your guest."

Final evaluation of the profitability of the circular path

The Geldern circular orbit can no longer be seen in today's landscape, but it has left a lasting impression on the population and many people think back to its existence with nostalgia. However, the end of the small railroad was not very glorious: Due to years of economic problems, the transport operations had to be stopped in 1932. So you might think that the whole project was a bad investment. But it's not that simple. At the end of the 19th century, the railway planners could not yet foresee the motorisation that would set in later, which would later lead to a decline in people and goods. It is also a fact that the district orbit brought an economic upswing in the affected communities in the first few years. In addition, the journey for tourists on pilgrimages to Kevelaer has been made much easier. There was even a lot of controversy about the route, as every municipality wanted to be connected to the network and hoped for advantages as a result.

However, a far-reaching mistake was made in the planning: For reasons of cost, it was decided to use a narrow-gauge line with a track width of 100 cm. As a result, a direct connection to the state railway , which ran on standard gauge , was not possible . Goods had to be reloaded in a laborious and costly manner, which, in the course of increasing motorization, made the railway even less attractive.

The conversion to standard gauge was planned , but because of the First World War, this plan could no longer be realized. In conclusion, it can be summarized that the idea of ​​building a small railway in the Geldern district was a good one in itself, but failed due to mistakes in planning and execution.

Poem about the Geldern circular orbit

Thirty-three years promptly
you served - as is befitting and pious -
hand in hand with the state railroad for
the traffic in Gelderland.

Leisurely, slowly without hurry,
often stopping for too short a rest,
Do you daily your plan,
O, you faithful little train.

In the morning in the morning of the Lord God
you crawled full of effort
in a moderately fast run
panting up Wankums mountain.

Creeps in sync with the path
over Niers and Nette Steg,
with bells and flute
from station to station.

Citizens, peasants, every class
from the city and from the country,
working men, traders,
you welcomed everyone with joy

Baskets, boxes, boxes, loads,
what the car bodies held,
all that went nicely and finely
into the compartment.

Pilgrims, looking for consolation and suffering,
you brought from to and far
Again and again year after year,
numerous in to Kevelaer.

You gave everyone, big and small,
a special
trip ticket at a reduced, cheap price,
friendly for the pilgrimage.

Studios in great numbers
Your best customers were.
Cheeky the cap on the ear,
A jolly, colorful choir.

The conductors often have to act strictly in
order to keep calm.
Anyone who does not obey the order
was severely reprimanded by him.

In the early train - what an idyll! -
Everything then sat as quiet as a mouse,
completely submerged, distant from the world,
bent deeply over books:

Repeating, preparing,
declining, conjugating,
one looked eagerly, undaunted.
There the fellow students.

So you always drove bravely
"Fiery Elias".
Until you clap like a horse,
And the thresholds brittle, lazy.

If you then fell as a tired old man, oops, hops
, sometimes off the track,
the gang came off the track, 'got
you out of the dirt again'.

May be more modern today
than in those early years,
Still it sounds far and wide,
From a past beautiful time:

Little train, whether you hissed,
smoked so heavily in a chimney,
whether you rumbled through us -
we would always be happy to be your guest.

literature

• Hans-Paul Höpfner: Railways - their history on the Lower Rhine. Mercator-Verlag, Duisburg 1986, ISBN 3-87463-132-X .
• Leo Opheys: The fiery Elias. The Geldern circular path in memory. In: Geldrischer Heimatkalender. 1940, ZDB ID 402383-3 .
• Lothar Riedel: The Geldern circular path. The traffic history of the narrow-gauge small railway Kempen - Straelen - Kevelaer (= publications of the historical association for Geldern and surroundings 90). Historical association for Geldern and the surrounding area, Geldern 1989, ISBN 3-921760-17-8 . 2016, ISBN 978-3-7412-2368-6 .