Local railway Ebelsberg – St. Florian

Local railway Ebelsberg – St. Florian
Remise of the Florianerbahn
Route length:	9.6 km
Gauge :	900 mm ( narrow gauge )
Power system :	600 V  =
Maximum slope :	47  ‰
Minimum radius :	44 m
Legend Transition to the Linz tram 0.0 Ebelsberg 3.5 Pichling local railway 5.0 Pichling lake 5.6 Bruck 7.9 Taunleiten 8.4 Bell foundry 9.6 St. Florian Market

The tram Ebelsberg-St. Florian , also called Florianerbahn , is a discontinued tram route in Upper Austria . It was originally a narrow-gauge local railway between the formerly independent community of Ebelsberg (now a district of Linz ) and St. Florian . The owner was the local railway Ebelsberg – St. Florian AG , the company Stern & Hafferl from Gmunden was responsible for the management . As the orbit the character of a Regional tramway had, it was a result of the annexation of Austria in 1938 - along with the Stern & Hafferl-sister enterprises Electric local railway Unterach Lake and Electric local railway Gmunden - in a tram service rededicated .

The track width is like that of the Linz tram, 900 mm, the route is electrified with 600  volts direct current . Regular operation lasted from September 2, 1913 until the end of 1973. From 1929, it was directly connected to the Linz tram network in Ebelsberg, so that sidecars could pass through from Linz to St. Florian.

history

Beginnings

At the beginning of the 20th century the plan arose to connect the cities of Linz and Steyr with a second railway line and to develop the Florianer Landl . This should start from Ebelsberg and lead via St. Florian, Niederneukirchen , Losensteinleiten (today part of the municipality of Wolfern) and Wolfern in order to facilitate the transport of agricultural products to the two cities. This region represented one of the most profitable parts of Upper Austria from an agricultural point of view. The merchants from Steyr, however, were against this project because they feared that business traffic would migrate to Linz, which in their opinion would have been massively promoted by the railway.

In 1908, an action committee was formed to move the project forward. In the same year, the mayor of Ebelsberg, a member of the committee, applied to the Ministry of Railways for approval to carry out preliminary technical work. A corresponding pre-license was granted on December 31, 1908. The company Stern & Hafferl agreed to carry out the project at its own expense, which they stated for the 34.7 kilometer route at 2,600,000 crowns . Between March 8 and 10, 1910, the route and station were determined, against which the city of Steyr and private investors raised massive objections. Therefore, a new preliminary project was created for the Wolfern – Steyr section. On October 26, 1910, the city of Linz was commissioned by the Ministry of Railways with the route and station picking. In addition, the prospect of building the new Traun Bridge in Linz was announced. The new building would have been a prerequisite for a merger of the local railway and the Linz tram. However, since this was not foreseeable and the determination of the route within the urban area of ​​Steyr caused long negotiations to be feared, the local railway company Ebelsberg - St. Florian initially only decided on the Ebelsberg – St. Florian to erect. On August 19, 1912, the concession to build and operate a narrow-gauge local railway from Marktplatz in Ebelsberg to St. Florian was granted. The investment costs were covered by the issue of shares with a total value of 1,079,000 kroner. 730,000 crowns of this were earmarked for the construction of the section mentioned, the rest was to serve as a reserve for the later expansion.

Railway construction and opening

The construction of the railway was carried out by the company Stern & Hafferl, who agreed to take over the operation of the railway and possibly extend it to Steyr, for a fixed lump sum. Construction work began shortly after the concession was granted. Just one year later, in August 1913, the technical inspection of the railway could be carried out by the police. From the starting point of the railway to kilometer 0.59, the rails were laid on the road, which is why grooved rails were used in this area . Vignole rails were laid on the rest of the route . A substation was set up in the St. Florian station building to supply the railway with electricity . Here, the three-phase current supplied was converted with a voltage of 10,000 volts into 500 volts direct current . Three motor cars, three passenger cars , two baggage cars and an assembly scaffolding car for maintaining the overhead line were procured for the operation of the railway .

The local railway was officially opened on September 1, 1913. The festively decorated opening train, consisting of railcar 2 and two attached wagons, left St. Florian at 6:22 am and reached Ebelsberg at 6:50 am. The rush for the opening trip was limited, however, as only 42 of the 96 available were occupied. In the remaining months of 1913, 26,216 people were carried. Although the continuation of the railway was still planned and even a new project was being worked out, the expansion was not carried out due to the lack of interest from those interested in Steyr. The outbreak of the First World War in 1914 finally ruined the plans.

War years and crisis

In 1915 the train pairs were reduced to five on weekdays and to six on Sundays in order to make operations more economical. When there was a great rush, special trains were run if necessary. In the same year, a wooden hall was built next to the coach house to accommodate the passenger and luggage wagons. The railway generated its income from passenger transport: in 1915 80,305 passengers and 2,104 kilograms of luggage were transported, and there was almost no freight transport . In order to be able to transport goods by rail, the installation of a 2.3-kilometer-long siding to Asten-St. Florian planned to connect to the Kaiserin-Elisabeth-Bahn . Although a detailed project for the implementation of this extension was available, approval from the Ministry of Railways was a long time coming. The economic situation in the interwar period made the project finally to nothing. The number of passengers had skyrocketed during the war and reached its all-time high in 1920 with 538,795 passengers. In addition, the volume of goods transported increased due to the increasing shortage of food and wagons - in 1917 839 tons of freight were transported, in 1914 it was only 20.9 tons.

From 1921, the number of passengers transported began to drop sharply, which was also due to the tariff increases that had become necessary as a result of inflation . On July 4, 1929, the roof of the car shed was covered by a severe storm and the vehicles parked in it were damaged. In the same month, surprisingly, the new construction of the Traun Bridge and subsequently the extension of tram line E. From July 29, 1929, the local railway had a direct connection to the Linz tram. However, it was not possible to run local rail vehicles on the tram network due to their greater width. The possibility of running tram trains to St. Florian was basically not implemented by the local railway company due to the high rents. On the occasion of the Bruckner Festival Concerts in St. Florian Monastery in the early 1930s, continuous sidecars were brought to St. Florian, which could be used at a reduced price with a specially introduced, combined ticket.

The economic crisis in the 1930s and the thousand-mark block made the local railway difficult to manage in the following years. In 1930 only 165,609 passengers were carried, seven years later the frequency had fallen further to 100,830 passengers. After the connection of Austria to the German Reich , the local railway was rededicated to the tram. In this context, the vehicles were retrofitted with direction indicators and - analogous to G for Gmunden , P / H for St. Pölten – Harland and Y for Ybbs , the line letter F for St. Florian was introduced. This was also compatible with the designation system of the Linz tram, where lines B (station line), E (Ebelsberg), M (Mozartstraße) and V (supply house) ran at the time.

The economic situation also improved and the number of journeys rose: in 1939 225,868 people and 302.5 tons of luggage were transported. Because of the planned construction of the Reichsautobahn from Vienna to Salzburg , which would have made an expensive relocation of the railway necessary, the railway should have been converted to bus operation. The Reichsstatthalter for the Gau Oberdonau forbade such a change "in view of the importance of this traffic line and its possible expansion".

The outbreak of World War II brought about a huge increase in frequency - in 1943 546,461 passengers were carried. However, the railway was not spared the fighting and suffered ten hits in two bomb attacks (which were, however, emergency drops), which damaged about 400 meters of track and the overhead contact line. Despite the prevailing scarcity of materials, this damage could be repaired within a short time.

Development from 1945 and discontinuation of regular operations

In the post-war onset motorization led to a decrease in passenger numbers. In the following years, new stops were built in order to develop the areas near the railway that were increasingly populated. The Lager-Asten stop was set up in 1946, followed by Pichling-See in December 1949 and the St. Florian-Hauptschule stop on demand in November 1953 . Due to the increasing popularity of the quarry ponds near Pichling, bath trains were introduced that commuted between Ebelsberg and Bruck. The Ufer stop was equipped with a short siding for this purpose. Despite these measures, the financial situation of the railway remained tense, as almost a third of the passengers had to be transported at the lowest social tariffs. The cessation of mail transport in 1954 brought further loss of income. With the beginning of the construction of the western motorway , the route was relocated in 1956 in order to achieve the necessary clearance. In the same year, a new mercury vapor rectifier system was installed and a cycle timetable was introduced . The trains left Ebelsberg on the hour and St. Florian on the half hour. The train service was increased to train pairs on weekdays, Sundays and public holidays.

Ebelsberg, 1971

At the end of the 1960s, two used railcars from Pforzheim (built in 1931) were procured cheaply in order to rejuvenate the railway's fleet. In the Stern & Hafferl main workshop , however, it turned out that the adaptation work for use on the Florianerbahn would be far too time-consuming, which is why the "modernization" was not carried out. The further decline in passenger numbers could not be prevented in the following years. In 1972 the threatened attitude became apparent. At that time the renovation of the Traun Bridge was due, which would have cost 9 million schillings more if the Linz tram had also led over it to Ebelsberg. However, ESG did not want to raise this amount and decided to shorten Line E. For the Florianerbahn, this shortening meant a further decrease in frequency, as the train lost its connection to the Linz tram network. Due to this incident and the poor condition of the line in need of renovation, the decision was made to shut down the railway. The deficit at that time was 984,235.26 schillings. Despite protests, line E was shortened in October 1973. On January 1st, 1974 the Florianerbahn ran for the last time. The rush on the farewell trip was greater than on some regular operating days, which is why four-car trains sometimes had to be used. By the time it was closed, the railway had carried around 12 million passengers. The number of employees last amounted to four employees who were either retired or taken over by the St. Florian community. The railway line was replaced by a post bus line.

Reactivation as a museum railway

Shortly after the termination, on January 12, 1974, the ÖGEG , later the Florianerbahn Club , took over the railway that wanted to operate it as a museum railway . After tough negotiations with various agencies, the first work began in April 1975. The adaptation of the route was associated with considerable problems, as, for example, tracks were missing, crossings were tarred and almost half of the station area in St. Florian had been adapted to a service yard. The remaining facilities and vehicles were acquired by the ÖGEG and the railway line leased. In the vicinity of the Remise, the tracks and overhead line systems were rebuilt, which was completed in the summer of 1977. As a result, there were now more sidings than originally available. Before the entire infrastructure for the museum operation could be adapted and rebuilt, a lot of work had to be carried out, which was completed by the 75th birthday of the Florianerbahn in 1988.

Suspension of the museum railway and further developments

In 2003 the museum had to be stopped due to insufficient standards for track systems and catenary. The suspension was preceded by a dispute between the Florianerbahn club and the St. Florian community, which blocked the necessary renovations in the interests of farmers. The farmers' resistance to the railway can be explained by the fact that the railway runs partly across fields and meadows, which makes it difficult to cultivate. In the meantime, large parts of the route are no longer passable or have already been removed. In August 2011, strangers stole two kilometers of copper catenary wire worth 20,000 euros from the overhead contact line systems of the Florianerbahn. It is uncertain whether driving can ever be resumed.

The members of the Florianerbahn Club renovated both the heritage-protected Remise in St. Florian and some of the tram companies parked there. While the mayor of the municipality of St. Florian thinks that the “Florianerbahn has a high ideal value for the municipality, but there are no reactivation plans”, a study by the University of Trier sees a potential of the railway for local public transport. Accordingly, a tram from Pichling to the Florian center is included in the state's general transport plan. In 2013 the Florianerbahn celebrated its 100th anniversary.

In 2016 the municipality of St. Florian wanted to remove further parts of the route, but this was given up after broad resistance.

vehicles

EM 1 in the Remise

EM 1 at the Open House 2013

Smoking was allowed in EP3

The route was driven by the following vehicles until it was discontinued in 1973:

number	Construction year	Manufacturer	Remarks
Railcar
EM 1	1912	Graz wagon factory	Retired in 1974, handed over to the museum railway in 1975, operational
EM 2	1912	Graz wagon factory	Scrapped in 1975
EM 3	1912	Graz wagon factory	Retired in 1974, handed over to the museum railway in 1975, not operational
sidecar
EP 1	1912	Graz wagon factory	1974 renamed EB 20.224, used as a passenger car on the Attergaubahn
EP 2	1912	Graz wagon factory	1974 renamed EB 20.222
EP 3	1912	Graz wagon factory	1974 renamed EB 20.223, kept operational in St. Florian
EP 4	1913	Graz wagon factory	Gep 4 until 1951, handed over to the museum railway in 1975, operational
EP 5	1913	Graz wagon factory	until 1940 Gep 5, handed over to the museum railway in 1975
Freight wagons
E 501	1912	Graz wagon factory	Scrapped in 1974
E 502	1946	Stabeg	Scrapped in 1974
E 521	1912	Graz wagon factory	Scrapped in 1974

The abbreviations have the following meanings:

• EM - E belsberg M otorwagen
• EP - E belsberg P ersonenwagen

These designations were not written on the vehicles.

literature

• Manfred Carrington among others: A journey through time to St. Florian with the Florianerbahn , Lentia-Verlag, Linz-Ebelsberg 2013, AC11043086 .
• Erwin Hauke: The Florianerbahn. From D. Local to the museum railway. Austrian Society for Railway History ( ÖGEG ), Linz 1979, AC05850928 .
• Franz Binder, Robert Jedliczka, Arnold Schnitzler: Local Railway Ebelsberg – St. Florian. Festschrift for the 75th birthday, ÖGEG, 1988.
• Peter Wegenstein: The company Stern & Hafferl 3. Bahn im Bild, Volume 80, 1991, AC00770301 .
• Konstantin Putz: Electric in the provinces. History of the local railway Ebelsberg - St. Florian. Diploma thesis, University of Graz, 1995, AC01104858 .
• Wolfgang Kaiser: Trams in Austria. GeraMond Verlag, Munich 2004, ISBN 3-7654-7198-4 , AC03797375 .

Web links

Commons : Local Railway Ebelsberg – St. Florian  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Website of the Club Florianerbahn
• Article about the Florianerbahn in the Austria-Stadtverkehr-Wiki

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Concession document of August 19, 1912 for the local railway from Marktplatze in Ebelsberg to St. Florian in Wiener Zeitung of August 23, 1912, pp. 2-4; accessed on February 28, 2019.
2. ↑ Frank Binder, Robert Jedliczka and Arnold Schnitzler: Lokalbahn Ebelsberg – St. Florian . Festschrift for the 75th birthday, ÖGEG, 1988, pp. 4–7
3. ↑ Frank Binder, Robert Jedliczka and Arnold Schnitzler: Lokalbahn Ebelsberg – St. Florian . Festschrift for the 75th birthday, ÖGEG, 1988, pp. 9–11
4. ↑ Frank Binder, Robert Jedliczka and Arnold Schnitzler: Lokalbahn Ebelsberg – St. Florian . Festschrift for the 75th birthday, ÖGEG, 1988, pp. 11–15
5. ↑ Frank Binder, Robert Jedliczka and Arnold Schnitzler: Lokalbahn Ebelsberg – St. Florian . Festschrift for the 75th birthday, ÖGEG, 1988, pp. 15-19
6. ↑ Frank Binder, Robert Jedliczka and Arnold Schnitzler: Lokalbahn Ebelsberg – St. Florian . Festschrift for the 75th birthday, ÖGEG, 1988, pp. 20–31
7. ↑ ^{a b c} Florianerbahn is 100 years old in the Enns district broadcast on August 28, 2013; accessed on February 26, 2019.
8. ↑ Two kilometers of catenary wire stolen , ORF Upper Austria; Retrieved August 11, 2011.
9. ^ Club Florianerbahn
10. ↑ Impressions from the Florianerbahn anniversary in the Enns district circular on September 4, 2013; accessed on February 26, 2019.
11. ↑ The route of the Florianerbahn is still retained in the Enns district circular from May 31, 2017; accessed on February 26, 2019.

Coordinates: 48 ° 14 ′ 0 ″  N , 14 ° 22 ′ 28.3 ″  E