Court trains of the regents of Bavaria

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King Ludwig II saloon car in the Nuremberg Transport Museum

The court trains of the regents of Bavaria were formed between 1850 and 1918 from a series of saloon cars that were repeatedly expanded and adapted to the technical innovations of the time . The most famous cars from the Hofzügen are the two " Ludwig van ", the museum in Nuremberg Transport Museum are preserved. Between 1850 and 1877 at least 33 railroad cars were built for the Bavarian royal court alone .

King Ludwig I.

In 1844, King Ludwig I of Bavaria asked his Minister of the Interior , Karl von Abel , whether " own railway wagons for the exclusive use of the royal family " should be agreed with the provisions of the Bavarian constitution . The Minister of the Interior said yes and spoke out in favor of financing such vehicles at state expense. The project was not pursued any further at the time.

King Maximilian II

Court train of the Palatinate Ludwig Railway for King Maximilian II of Bavaria (1987)
The same train depicted in a watercolor (1864)

King Maximilian II gained the Bavarian crown after his father's abdication in the revolution of 1848 . The revolution in 1849 had barely calmed down when the new king ordered a first saloon car for himself, which had already been completed in 1850. More wagons followed, so that by 1855 at the latest a court train was available. But a short time later - the railway technology, as well as the demands on travel comfort developed rapidly during this time - the king had a second court train built as early as 1858. These cars were designed as pass-through cars .

There were also other court trains for King Maximilian II:

  • The court train of the Bavarian Eastern Railway was built before 1859. In that year the king had the train supplemented with a terrace car , an open observation car . After the nationalization of the Eastern Railway in 1875, the stock of this court train was probably transferred to the Royal Bavarian State Railways .
  • The court train of the Palatinate Ludwig Railway Company was held for journeys by the king in the Palatinate (Bavaria) . It was built in 1864, probably in the Pfalzbahnwerkstatt in Ludwigshafen. The train consisted of four two-axle cars, three passenger cars , which were constructed in a mixed form of through and compartment cars , and a baggage car . The passenger cars were painted a light blue from a preserved watercolor , the baggage cars were brown. A black and white photo of the train that has survived shows a dark paint job. The first car had a closed brakeman's seat and a closed wall facing the locomotive. It had 10 window axes, an entry door at the front and an open entry platform at the other end. The front side was glazed towards the platform at this end. Two royal crowns attached or painted on the walls of the car indicated the special purpose of the car. Retinue probably traveled in this carriage. The car that followed was the one that the king personally used. It had seven window axes and it was adorned with a royal coat of arms attached to the side. Both ends of the car had open boarding platforms. The front sides were glazed. There was a water tank on the roof. The third car was very similar to the first, but is shown with 11 window axles, and three instead of two crowns adorned the side wall. The baggage cart followed. In 1870 the train was supplemented by four more cars. The old wagons were rebuilt in the 1890s. The king's salon now has an additional entry door in the middle of the long side, the water tank has been removed, but a gas tank for the lighting has been installed under the vehicle. The car was given the number 2 and was still in the vehicle fleet in 1913. The follower car was converted into a doctor's car in 1904. It was not until 1903 that a four-axle saloon car was put into service for the first time.

Ludwig II.

Salon in the carriage of King Ludwig II.

King Ludwig II took over his father's court train and completed it, e.g. B. to his own terrace car , and in particular had the saloon car redesigned for his personal use.

The king apparently only rarely used this court train. Photographs of the train in its reign from 1864 to 1886 are not known. As the reign progressed, he traveled more and more often " incognito ". He used a special train made up of public transport passenger cars , not the court train cars, which were already very conspicuous in their external design. Therefore little is known in detail about the composition of the court train. In addition, the railway administration's documents on journeys by the court train were classified as secret and were destroyed after such a journey was completed. Two of the king's travel agents are known by name, Friedrich Petri and Adolph Schamberger . They ensured the hinge between the protocol-courtly and the railway-traffic-technical requirements on a journey of the king. A list of the train wagons - which, however, only dates back to 1913 - indicates the following vehicles that belonged to the court train:

It can be assumed that, as a rule, a baggage car was set up as a crumple zone behind the locomotive as protection in the event of a collision . It is not known whether there were locomotives that were basically used before the court train. Given the operating conditions at the time and the relatively short routes that steam locomotives could run continuously at the time, multiple locomotive changes are to be expected on longer journeys. In addition, the most modern machines that were available when the king was on the road were probably always used.

When the king increasingly withdrew from the public eye and used a special train made up of public transport passenger cars, the court administration was extremely reluctant to see it. She then planned her own incognito train, for which a "service car" (probably a kitchen car) and a car for the entourage were put into service in 1876. Nevertheless, the incognito could not always be preserved.

Prince Regent Luitpold

Prince Regent Luitpold of Bavaria , uncle and in 1886 de facto successor to King Ludwig II, since the nominal King Otto I was seriously ill, had a modern court train built from 1891:

  • Salon car no.1 (four-axle)
  • Salon car no.2 (four-axle)
  • Salon car no.8 (six-axle), addition from 1899
  • Follower car (four-axle)
  • Follower wagon (three-axle)
  • Service car
  • Van
  • Kitchen trolley no.14
  • Baggage car (four-axle), addition from 1910, converted into a kitchen car in 1916

In terms of design, these wagons were based on the bogie wagons customary at the time for express trains , had the upscale features for saloon wagons, but were by far not as gorgeous and eye-catching as those of its predecessor. These cars were also used by his successor and son, Prince Regent and later King Ludwig III. utilized.

Occasions

In the literature there is a list that names the occasions for "journeys of the Bavarian kings" - but without naming the source base, the period considered or the absolute number from which these percentages were calculated:

  • 66% on business
    • 18% foreign policy
    • 28% domestic
    • 15% military
    • 05% studies
  • 34% private
    • 22% family visits
    • 12% relaxation, cure, hunting

literature

  • Ursula Bartelsheim : Versailles on Wheels - Ludwig II and his court train = object stories from the DB Museum 1. Nuremberg 2009. ISBN 978-3-9807652-5-1
  • Paul Dost : The red carpet. History of State Trains and Salon Cars. Stuttgart 1965.
  • Royal Bavarian State Railways (Hrsg.): Service instructions for the implementation of special trains of the highest and highest gentlemen. (Special service instruction = SdzDA). Valid from April 1, 1907 . Munich 1907. [Quoted: KBayStB: Dienstanweisung .]
  • Albert Mühl : The Pfalzbahn. History, operation and vehicles of the Palatinate Railways . Theiss Verlag, Stuttgart 1982. ISBN 3-8062-0301-6

Remarks

  1. ↑ See here

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Bartelsheim, p. 9.
  2. ↑ Quoted from Bartelsheim, p. 7.
  3. ↑ Bartelsheim, p. 7.
  4. ↑ Bartelsheim, p. 7.
  5. ↑ Bartelsheim, p. 7. The information on this in Dost, p. 138, is partially incorrect - e. B. with regard to the terrace car, which was built later (see: Bartelsheim, p. 13).
  6. ↑ Dost, p. 138.
  7. ↑ Bartelsheim, p. 7.
  8. ↑ Mühl, p. 107.
  9. ↑ Mühl, p. 107, identified in as carriage 76 of the Palatinate Maximiliansbahn .
  10. ↑ Mühl, p. 107, identified in as carriage 93 of the Palatinate Ludwig Railway .
  11. ↑ Mühl, p. 107, identified in as car 94 of the Palatinate Ludwig Railway.
  12. ↑ Mühl, p. 107, identified in as car 95 of the Palatinate Ludwig Railway.
  13. ↑ Mühl, p. 107.
  14. ↑ Mühl, p. 222.
  15. ↑ Mühl, pp. 108, 225.
  16. ↑ Mühl, pp. 108, 223.
  17. ↑ Bartelsheim, p. 8.
  18. ↑ Bartelsheim, p. 8.
  19. ↑ So at least in Prussia . See: Prussian State Railway Administration: Instructions for conductors. Valid from December 1, 1912 - Appendix 1: Excerpt from the regulations for travel of the Most High and Highest Lords (RAuHH) . Hannover 1912., p. 9 no. 24.
  20. ↑ Dost, p. 138.
  21. ↑ Bartelsheim, p. 10f.
  22. ↑ Dost, p. 138, gives the year 1876.
  23. ↑ § 4 KBayStB: service instructions .
  24. ↑ Bartelsheim, p. 10.
  25. ↑ Bartelsheim, p. 36.
  26. ↑ Bartelsheim, p. 37.
  27. ↑ Information from Dost, p. 138.
  28. ↑ Bartelsheim, p. 39f.
  29. ^ In: Werner Schreiner : Paul Camille von Denis - European transport pioneer and builder of the Palatinate railways . Ludwigshafen 2010. ISBN 978-3-934845-49-7 , p. 113, a photo is shown that Ludwig III. in front of the saloon car No. 15 (formerly: Palatinate Railways ) shows.
  30. ↑ Information from Dost, p. 140.