Hohenlimburg small train
The Hohenlimburger Kleinbahn AG (HKB) operated a narrow-gauge railway that was built to connect the industrial companies located in the Nahmer Valley. The Nahmertal is located in today 's Hohenlimburg district of Hagen .
history
In 1900 the company opened its only 3.3 km long railway line with a gauge of 1000 millimeters , as there was interest in a railway due to the ever increasing volume of goods in the industrial Nahmertal . Because the valley was too narrow for a standard-gauge route, it was decided to use a narrow-gauge railway. The line had up to 40 sidings for the steel industry companies operating there. The largest gradient was 1:20, the smallest radius 15 m. The track was divided into several tariff Stations: transfer station Hohenlimburg , Station Nahmer , Bahnhof Upper Nahmer and station Hobräckerweg . Four evasions made it possible for trains to meet and to move the locomotives. The main traffic consisted of delivering standard gauge freight wagons on trolleys from Hohenlimburg station to the individual connections and collecting them again. This sometimes led to problems with motor vehicle traffic on the narrow streets. Until 1958, general cargo was also carried out with its own freight cars. In 1968, train radio was introduced, making it possible to increase the line speed to 12 km / h.
While 36,999 t of goods were transported in the first year, the amount rose to 294,464 t by 1943. In the 1960s and 1970s, the transport performance declined, but even in the last year of operation it was still 98,600 t. On working days, 20 to 30 truckloads were distributed to the individual connections and picked up. This required at least three locomotives.
Originally all of the siding owners were shareholders of the stock corporation.
In 1982 there was still no mention of the closure of the railway. The decision to shutdown came as a surprise to the workforce in July 1983. It was told to the press that the volume of transport had fallen rapidly in recent years (1975–1982 by 25%) because many factories had relocated their production, a development that is still seriously going to continue. In addition, the reloading terminal of the DB (Deutsche Bundesbahn ) in Letmathe has just been completed, which would offer new and inexpensive options for rail shipping. Ultimately, the railway fell victim to the steel crisis in the 1980s. The background to the short-term decision was the announcement that Hoesch will withdraw from the Nahmertal. The only remaining transports from Krupp would not have been enough to operate the railway economically. Since Krupp also intended to shift traffic to the streets, the board of directors applied to the responsible ministry for closure on December 31, 1983. With a total tonnage of 11.8 million t, the era of the railroad in Hohenlimburg's Nahmertal ended after 83 years. The official approval to cease operations was only received by the HKB after the last trip. With effect from January 1, 1984, the railway was "permanently exempt from the obligation to maintain the railway operations of the small railway in Hagen-Hohenlimburg." With the deletion of Hohenlimburger Kleinbahn GmbH from the commercial register on November 12, 1990, the company's history ended after 90 years.
Remnants of the track of the former small railway are still available today (2020). For example, within the entrance to the workshop, which is located in the former Krupp works, as well as on the site of the former cold rolling mill Hüsecken & Comp. on the Hobracker way. In addition, the former HKB AG engine shed is still preserved and is now used as a mosque.
The railway was used exclusively for freight traffic.
vehicles
The operation was started with three two-axle box steam locomotives , later six more box steam locomotives (used or brand new) were added. In 1925 and 1927 two three-axle steam locomotives were procured, which remained in use until the traction changeover in 1961; As a replacement for decommissioned locomotives, three additional two-axle steam locomotives were procured.
A diesel locomotive - Hohenlimburger Kleinbahn 3 II - was used for the first time in 1934, but it did not prove itself and was returned in 1936. In 1960/61 Orenstein & Koppel (O&K) purchased five two-axle diesel locomotives - V1 – V5 - which replaced the steam locomotives and provided traffic until they were no longer in operation.
| designation | design type | Manufacturer | Construction year | origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steam locomotives | ||||
| 1-3 | B n2t K | Hohenzollern | 1899 | |
| 4th | B n2t K | Hohenzollern | 1897 | 1905 from Cologne-Frechen-Benzelrath Railway |
| 5 | B n2t K | Humboldt | 1900 | 1906 by tram Meiderich – Neumühl – Dinslaken |
| 6th | B h2t K | Henschel | 1913 | |
| 7-8 | B n2t K | Henschel | 1899 | 1918 from Kleinbahn Eltville – Schlangenbad |
| 4 II | C h2t | Young | 1925 | |
| 1 II | C h2t | Young | 1927 | |
| 2 II | B h2t K | Henschel | 1935 | |
| 5 II | B n2t K | Hohenzollern | 1904 | 1925 from Kleinbahn Piesberg – Rheine |
| 3 III | B h2t | Young | 1937 | |
| 5 III | B h2t | Young | 1939 | |
| Diesel locomotives | ||||
| 3 II | C dm | DWK | 1934 | |
| V1-V5 | B ie | OK | 1960-1961 | |
Up to 45 trolleys were available on the railway, along with some freight wagons for general cargo traffic . While the first trolleys had a load capacity of 23 t, the last ones acquired could hold 42 t.
The Hohenlimburg Kleinbahn is still reminiscent of the following: A steam locomotive (locomotive 1 II from Jung) in the Eslohe Museum and the diesel locomotive No. No. which was erected as a memorial at the Waelzholz company on Ludwigstrasse (contractor). 4. Furthermore, the O&K diesel locomotives no. 2 and 3 received at the Märkische Museum-Eisenbahn in Plettenberg and diesel locomotive No. 1 is under the No. Received in 1203 at the TEC in Charleroi .
Locomotive No. 4 was restored by the CD Wälzholz company after an arson attack on October 16, 2011.
literature
- Erhard Born / Wolf D. Groote: The Hohenlimburg small train . 1st edition. Kenning, 2011, ISBN 978-3-933613-26-4 .
- Rolf Löttgers: Small railways in the Sauerland . Alba Buchverlag, Düsseldorf 1981. ISBN 3-87094-533-8
- Gerd Wolff, Lothar Riedel: German small and private railways. Volume 5: North Rhine-Westphalia. Northwestern part . EK-Verlag, Freiburg 1998, ISBN 3-88255-662-5 , p. 124-136 .
