Grünberg – Lollar railway line

Grünberg (Oberhess) Lollars
Route number :	3705
Course book range :	528 (1981)
Route length:	26.741 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Route class :	C3
Maximum slope :	15.5  ‰
Minimum radius :	294 m
Top speed:	30 km / h
Legend from Giessen von Lich and Butzbach 0.000 Grünberg (Oberhess) 271 m to Fulda 3.200 Beltershain 273 m 4.800 Anst Buderus / Atzenhain ore mine 1908-35 4.900 Lumda 270 m Federal motorway 5 8.000 Geilshausen 259 m 9.900 Odenhausen (Lumda) 250 m 11.300 Kesselbach 243 m 11.200 Instead of Hertel Basaltwerk Kesselbach 12.000 Lumda 12.400 End of track since 1965 12.690 Londorf 234  m above sea level NN 14.400 L 3146 14.500 Lumda 15.600 Klingelbach 16.140 Allendorf (Lumda) 201 m 18.800 Staufenberg-Treis 191 m 19.500 Staufenberg- Treis Weiherstrasse (planned) 21.800 22.500 Mainzlar Didier Works ( Anst ) 23.090 Staufenberg- Mainzlar 176  m above sea level NN 23.400 Lumda 23.800 Staufenberg - Daubringen 174  m above sea level NN 24.700 Bundesstrasse 3 25.300 Anst Kloppmaschin / Basaltwerk Lollar 25.600 Lollar Nord (planned) 26.200 Infrastructure border DB Netz AG / HLB 26,218 from Kassel Hbf 26.741 Lollar 168 m to Frankfurt (Main) Hbf Swell:

The Grünberg – Lollar line , now also known as the Lumdatalbahn , is a branch line in Hesse . The now largely disused line branched off the Gießen – Fulda railway line in Grünberg and led in the Lumda valley via Londorf to Lollar .

Only the short section from the Didier-Werke Mainzlar connection to Lollar is still in operation today and is still used by freight traffic. The entire remaining section from Londorf is planned by the Hessian state government for recommissioning in tourist traffic.

history

Last construction train on the bridge over today's L3146 (1902)

The Grand Ducal District Office in Gießen has been building the Lumdatalbahn since 1881. The " Buderusschen Eisenwerke" in Lollar and the family of Baron von Nordeck zur Rabenau each donated 5,000 marks. In 1889 the rural community representatives came together to clarify land issues or to transfer ownership to the Grand Ducal Hessian State Railways . From around 1894 construction work began on the first section, which opened in 1896, at a cost of around 622,000 marks, the further lower part followed a few years later at a cost of around 800,000 marks.

In the 1939 summer timetable, eight pairs of passenger trains were listed on weekdays and five on Sundays, each going to and from Giessen . Another only ran between Londorf and Giessen. The travel time from Grünberg to Lollar was between 51 and 58 minutes, which corresponds to a cruising speed of around 30 km / h.

Summer timetable 1959

The Londorf office was the operational center and independent until 1963. Londorf had treatment facilities for steam locomotives with a water tower and a two-tier locomotive shed , which were removed around 1962. The freight transport facilities with loading platform and two additional sidings are still in place today. In Allendorf / Lumda, the siding for freight traffic was last modernized in the 1980s, while track 3 as a crossing track for passenger traffic had already been dismantled in the 1970s. In 1974, the side tracks in Staufenberg-Treis were dismantled and the station was thus degraded to a stopping point. In 1907 the "Scheidhauer & Gießing refractory factory" settled in Staufenberg-Mainzlar after the bauxite deposits found during the construction of the railway. Since 1932 it has been known as "Didier-Werke". This siding is operated continuously. Until 1972, the wagons were moved in the factory using a cable system with two winch towers. In the course of the improvement of the operating processes, the rope hoist system, which was prone to damage, was then dismantled. A two-axle small diesel locomotive was purchased as a replacement, and a small locomotive shed was built especially for it. The main track was swiveled during this renovation work, so that one more track was available in the factory. The basalt quarries in Lollar and Kesselbach loaded stones. In Lumda, iron ore was transported by rail. Various types of cable cars were used for transport between the quarries and the rail-side reloading stations in Lollar and Lumda. During the construction of the Reichsautobahn, which crosses the Lumdatal on an embankment near the Lumda station, the local track system in the Lumda station was significantly enlarged in the 1930s . The highest traffic volumes are likely to have been observed on the route during the construction of the Reichsautobahn.

Sh-2 board at kilometer 21.8

The route was operated in Zugleitbetrieb (ZLB) by the dispatcher (train manager) in Lollar. Freight transport services used platform 13 in Lollar, special passenger traffic took place on platform 11. There was always only one train on the route. The train driver and train driver were equipped with radio telephones to deliver communication messages. The transport services took place at irregular intervals. Station usage fees for the Daubringen passenger stop and the Mainzlar passenger train station were not charged.

On the single-track branch line, which was only opened in 1902, regular passenger traffic was discontinued on May 30, 1981 by what was then the Deutsche Bundesbahn . In the following period, however, it was occasionally used for special transports (excursions for senior citizens). The telegraph lines and stationary communication facilities were dismantled in 1987 . The only thing that still remains in Lollar is a telephone in front of the entrance signal.

On April 1, 1991, according to the law of the time, the section between Rabenau-Londorf and Staufenberg-Mainzlar Anst was officially closed. Didier-Werke, which until September 1990 was still used for freight transport (mainly timber loads or national products). But even after the formal closure in 1991, on October 31, 1993 and July 21, 1996, there were still manned special traffic with official approval to Allendorf / Lda. instead of.

The section between the discharge point in Lollar and the Didier-Werke junction in Mainzlar could be used as a public railway infrastructure from May 2002 to December 2016 under the direction of the Hessische Landesbahn (HLB) as a non-federally owned railway for railway companies according to schedule orders.

On the occasion of the 110th anniversary of the commissioning of the western part, a permanent exhibition lasting several months took place from June 1, 2012 in the Museum der Rabenau in Londorf. This was supplemented by two film evenings in the Bürgersaal at the train station, in which all available films (including from 1936, 1966 and 1993) were shown.

Route description

course

The 14 km long route branches off the Main-Weser Railway at Lollar station and ends in Londorf . The original route between Grünberg and Londorf was opened on August 1, 1896. On June 1, 1902, the line from Londorf to Lollar was extended and created the link between the Main-Weser Railway and the Vogelsberg Railway . The section between Lollar / Einleitungsweiche (km 26.218) and the " Didier-Werke " (now RHI Refractories; producer of refractory bricks) in Staufenberg-Mainzlar (km 21.800) was owned by the Hessian from May 2002 to December 2016, which is still used today as a public railway infrastructure Landesbahn as a railway infrastructure company (EIU). The existing passenger transport systems in Staufenberg-Daubringen (usable length: 80 meters) and Staufenberg-Mainzlar (usable length: 100 meters) meet current standards. Freight traffic consisted mainly of the delivery of raw materials to the siding.

The route is categorized in route class C3. The smallest radius is 285 m, the largest slope 16.5 ‰. The height difference between Lollar and Londorf is 66.4 m, between Lollar and Grünberg 103 m, the maximum speed was formerly 50 km / h, today it is 30 km / h to Mainzlar. 28 level crossings (Bü) and eight small bridges are passed to Londorf . In Allendorf / Lumda, a small bridge (over the Klingelbach) and a Bü (district road to Allertshausen) have been dismantled since 2003.

The section between Staufenberg-Mainzlar / Anst. Didier-Werke (km 21.800) and Rabenau-Londorf (km 12.395) are included in the local public transport plan of the district of Gießen and in the regional spatial planning plan, which excludes any other use for non- rail purposes .

Directory of railway bridges (railway overpasses)

year	Place / location	Type	Length in m
1901	Londorf / Reisiger Weg -km 13,170-	Steel beam	8.60
1898	Londorf / Bachlauf -km 13.606-	Stone vault	4.80
1900	Londorf / L 3146 -km 14.360-	Steel beam	16.70
1895	Londorf / Mühlgraben -km 14.415-	Stone vault	9.30
1898	Londorf / Lumda -km 14,480-	Concrete vault	28.50
1901	Allendorf / Klingelbach -km 15,596-	Steel girders -dismantled-	4.70
1937 2002	Mainzlar / Lumda -km 23,420-	Steel beam	28.20
1901 1985	Daubringen / flood opening -km 23.770-	Steel beam	12.10

There are also water culverts, 28 level crossings and a road overpass for the B 3A at km 24.742.

Buildings

Uniform reception building of the former Grand Ducal Upper Hessian Railway Company ( Lumda station )

The population used to refer to the reception buildings as the "Villas of the Rabenau". The station building in Daubringen differed significantly from the one-story half-timbered building; it was removed in the late 1970s. The wooden shelter of the stop in Beltershain was leveled with the dismantling of the tracks there in 1965. All other stations have been preserved - at least partially recognizable in their original state - but have been privately owned for a long time and have massive three-story brick buildings in the uniform, typical architectural style with features of the Prussian-Hessian railway community still visible today . The "HS" of the wrought iron initials stands for the Hessian state railway. The windows and doors have accents / borders made of special clinker elements. In the past few years, various "expansion areas" in Mainzlar, Treis and Allendorf have been sold to third parties. The “ tunnel ”, meaning the underpass under the A5 at Lumda, now serves as a connecting route and is barely recognizable as a railway construction.

Vehicle use

Freight transport

Freight train near Daubringen (2009)

Until the late 1980s, a Köf was stationed in Lollar , which took care of the freight traffic to Londorf ( stake wagons with wood loads), but also on the Aar-Salzböde-Bahn (course book route 624) to Hartenrod ( Diabas ) in the Marburg-Biedenkopf district .

In wagon traffic predominantly covered are Schüttgutwagen (Tad) in use. Until 2007, it was operated by DB Schenker Rail (today DB Cargo ), with shunting locomotives ( V 60 or V 90 ) pulling the trains “on the last mile”. From June 27, 2007 to the end of 2013, the Siegen-Wittgenstein (KSW) district railway provided the majority of rail freight transport with various MAK locomotives in cooperation with SBB Cargo Deutschland GmbH . During this time, DB Schenker Rail services with bulk goods from Austria ( Mixnitz ) were rare. From around August 2008 the HGB (Hessische Güterbahn GmbH; based in Buseck ) was responsible for the freight transport services of DB Schenker Rail for a short period of time, between Wetzlar Rbf and the connection in Mainzlar mainly with 203 211 locomotives. KSW then served this service as well. Since the end of 2013, DB Schenker Rail or the successor company DB Cargo has been responsible for all traffic again, and locomotives of the 261 series ( Gravita ) are now used . Finished products are dispatched by rail on a case-by-case basis.

The two-axle works locomotive on the RHI works tracks was manufactured by O&K (serial number 26 677) in 1970 and only moves the freight cars within the works premises.

passenger traffic

LINT 41 of the Hessische Landesbahn as Schmaadleckershuttle on the Lumdatalbahn (2014)

The use of steam locomotives of the series 93.5 (1946–1951), 91 , 86 , 78 , 74 , 66 , 65 , 64 (1940–1942), 57 , 56 , 55 , 50ff , 38 in train sets are known. At the latest after the end of the steam locomotive in Lumdatal in spring 1972, Gießen diesel multi-purpose locomotives type V 100 (211, 212, occasionally 213) were hauled in front of freight and passenger trains. V 36 was also used for track construction work . Furthermore, use of diesel railcars VT 60 between 1958 and May 1963 is known. After the oil crisis, i.e. from the mid-1970s, accumulator railcars of the ETA 150 and ETA 176 series were used in z. T. four- and six-part sets were in use until the timetable change on May 31, 1980. As a worsening supply compared to the comfortable and quiet accumulator railcars for the last timetable year 1980/1981, rail buses VT 98 then appeared again . Single-engine VT 95 were only used from 1955 to the 1960s at times of low load.

After the regular local rail passenger traffic was discontinued in 1981, until September 1986 Gießeners 212 occasionally traveled the route with up to six silver coins in tourist traffic. In the second half of the 1990s, the white prototype Talent, the Regio-Sprinter from the Dürener Kreisbahn and two LVT-S at the HLB to Mainzlar and the two HLB BR 629 on July 21, 1996 to Allendorf / Lda. Until 2016 there were only sporadic special transport services with various railcars from different railway companies , e.g. B. annually on the first Sunday in September to the Schmaadleckermarkt in Lollar.

future

Reactivation plans

The first investigation into a possible reactivation of the Lumdatalbahn was carried out at the beginning of the 1990s and thus before the railway reform.

The Lumdatalbahn AG was a joint stock company organized reactivation initiative, aimed at the resumption of operation by taking over the rail infrastructure. When it was founded by interested citizens, they assumed that a takeover of the infrastructure by a regional railway infrastructure company would create a significantly better starting position for the reactivation process. The model was, among other things, the private Ermstalbahn. The Lumdatalbahn AG has since been dissolved after having invested its capital over about two decades in maintaining the route and providing expert advice on the reactivation process. Two platforms on the Lollar – Mainzlar section for special traffic, which was still in operation at that time, were also created largely through money from Lumdatalbahn AG and voluntary work. The Lumdatalbahn AG's transport policy work has been taken over by the Lumdatalbahn eV association based in Allendorf / Lumda. The association also looks after the preservation of the railroad as a cultural asset in the Lumdatal. In September 2017, the infrastructure committee of the Gießen district council presented a further detailed investigation of the route. This study contains a scenario called "Fourth Mitfall", according to which the operation of the Lumdatalbahn is worthwhile if a combination of trains and buses is used. The experts chose the designation "Fourth Mitfall" in order to distinguish the operating concept from the earlier investigations (see also under "Transport planning aspects" below in the article). Earlier investigations had assumed that the route would sometimes be operated every half hour. As a result, a crossing station with the appropriate signaling should have been created. By dispensing with the half-hourly service and adding buses to the timetable, the investment costs should remain at around 11 million euros. The sum of 14 million euros had previously been mentioned. In addition, the operating concept presented in September 2017 has the advantage that direct buses continue to run from the city and municipality parts of the Lumdatal municipalities to Gießen.

In the summer of 2018, the Hessian Ministry of Transport announced that more detailed planning for the resumption of operations between Lollar and Londorf was justified and that it had agreed to contribute to later construction costs. A new tender for the “Wetterau” sub-network should take the route into account.

Transport planning aspects

Giessen – Lollar (–Londorf)

Legend Main-Weser-Bahn to Frankfurt Dill route + Lahn valley railway Vogelsbergbahn + from Gelnhausen 134.0 Giessen ( wedge station ) 133.6 Wieseck 132.9 Giessen Oswaldsgarten Giessen-Nordstadt (planned) 128.7 A 480 Lollar South (planned) 132.9 Kanonenbahn to Wetzlar 126.6 Lumda 125.9 Lollar ( island train station ) Conn. Buderus Lollar company Main-Weser Railway from Marburg 25.9 L 3475 25.6 Lollar Nord (planned) 25,170 Ostendstrasse

In the traffic planning considerations, the train connections starting and ending in Gießen / Bahnhof are out of the question. More recent plans even include additional stops in the northern part of Giessen and in the south of Lollar. Since November 2013, a new development area has been developed in the north of Lollar, directly adjacent to the possible Lollar Nord stop. Different names are used for this breakpoint.

Several independent reports confirm the high capacity utilization with around 4,000 passengers per working day. The 520 (Londorf – Gießen) buses currently carry around 3,000 passengers. With a modern rail service, in which regular buses continue to function in a feeder function, further modal split shares can be achieved in favor of local public transport . Settlement around the stations of the Lumdatalbahn has increased in recent years and even leaves spaces that were formerly more peripheral access systems such as B. Call Staufenberg-Daubringen today from local politics as “Staufenberg-Vitale-Mitte”. The convenient location of the train station in Lollar brings rail travelers to the largest employer in the Lumdatal quickly and within walking distance.

The train covers the distance Londorf – Gießen Oswaldsgarten in about 26 minutes, to Gießen train station in about 27 minutes. Frankfurt am Main can be reached in around 65 minutes. With the implementation and commissioning of the Gießen Oswaldsgarten stop on December 13, 2004, an important building block for reactivating the Lumdatalbahn was set. Modern regional railways help the regions that serve them to achieve higher settlement acceptance and make properties more attractive.

A 71-page preliminary report published in February 2014 is positive with regard to the planned reactivation. While only 7.1 million euros are estimated for the section from Lollar to Allendorf due to its good condition (as of September 2016), the relatively short section from Allendorf to Londorf is expected to cost 6.6 million euros. In order to preserve the profitability of the reactivation, the Allendorf – Londorf section could be dispensed with for the time being, but commissioning at a later point in time would still be possible. For the section Lollar – Allendorf 1580 passengers are forecast, for the entire route to Londorf 1900 passengers per day. Since reactivation is only a comparatively small measure, the standardized cost-benefit analysis was adapted. Under the formulated conditions and at an hourly rate, the ratio rises to 1.68, which clearly indicates eligibility. In autumn 2019, Minister of Transport Tarek Al-Wazir promised to develop a new assessment procedure for investments in rail infrastructure in rural areas so that small increases in costs do not lead to a failure of reactivation.

Bibliography

• State Office for the Preservation of Monuments Hesse (Ed.): Cultural monuments in Hesse . 3 volumes, ISBN 3-8062-1917-6 (route 065; with 17 named buildings)
• D. Eckert: Swan song of a railway line . In: Gießener Allgemeine Zeitung . Special supplement
• The Lumdatalbahn . In: Eisenbahn Magazin . Alba Verlag Düsseldorf, issue May 1986
• Wolfgang Fiegenbaum, Wolfgang Klee: Farewell to the rails. 1980–1985 Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1st edition 1988 ISBN 3-613-01191-3
• Deutsche Eisenbahn-Consulting GmbH, Frankfurt Technical condition of the Lollar-Londorf line Investigation and final report with a view to the resumption of local rail transport ; 32 pages + attachments; February 1991
• PGN Planning Group North, Kassel: Reorganization of the public transport in Lumdatal Operating concepts for the Lumdatalbahn July / August 1992; 125 pages plus. Attachments and cards
• J. Lindemann and P. Kreuter (eds.): Annual calendar for the Lumdatalbahn for 1997 and 2002 . with extensive historical explanations
• Urs Kramer: Beside a. Narrow-gauge railways in Germany then and now GeraMond Verlag, Munich 1998; A4 loose sheet collection; 8 pages: Grünberg (Hess) -Lollar
• Ingenieurbüro VKT and BGS Ingenieursozietät Pre-stage examination as part of an N / K / U to reactivate the Lumdatalbahn Final report 18 pages plus attachments; Summer 1999 as well as table template actual analysis 9 pages plus attachments from May 19, 1999
• P. Kreuter MA: the Hessian branch line law of May 29, 1884 with the description of the special meaning for the Lumdatalbahn. Allendorf in August 1999; 30 pages plus various attachments of copies from archives
• BGS-Ingenieursozietät Investigation into the realization of a leisure traffic 10 pages plus. Appendix from November 1999
• J. Lindemann and P. Kreuter (eds.): Annual calendar for the Lumdatalbahn for 1997 and 2002 . with extensive historical explanations
• Alexander Maluche Investment and operating cost estimates for the start of tourist traffic April 2005 2 pages each
• Egbert von Steuber: Lumdatalbahn - a snapshot . In: Bahn-Report . November 2006
• Railway Atlas Germany - Edition 2005/2006 . Vlg. Schweers + Wall, o. O. 2005, ISBN 3-89494-134-0
• Friedrich Lang Lumdatalbahn in Sleeping Beauty Magazine Schiene Edition 3/2006 pp. 26–29 Joachim Seyferth Verlag, Wiesbaden
• Michael Laux Activity report of Lumdatalbahn AG for the year 2005 Journal Schiene Edition 4/2006 pp. 53–56 Joachim Seyferth Verlag, Wiesbaden
• P. Kreuter: The rail world was not over in Londorf: memories of the Grünberg-Londorf railway line opened 110 years ago . In: Hess. Heimat, supplement of the Gießener Allgemeine Ztg., No. 16f. (2006)
• Jürgen Röhrig: Series of publications "Upper Hessian Railways" Volume # 8; in April 2012; 110 years of rails in the Lumdatal ; pays tribute to the opening of the Londorf-Lollar section on June 1, 1902
• Transport planning office IGDB, Dreieich Pre- stage examination as part of an N / K / U to reactivate the Lumdatalbahn , created winter 2012/2013
• P. Kreuter: 50 years ago, the last train ran a newspaper report on the suspension of passenger traffic between Londorf and Grünberg on May 25, 1963, published in Gießener Anzeiger on May 25, 2013 and Gießener Ztg. On May 27, 2013
• Simone Gaul: You want your train back . In: The time . Zeitverlag Gerd Bucerius GmbH & Co. KG, November 17, 2019, ISSN  0044-2070 ( zeit.de [accessed November 18, 2019]).

Web links

Commons : Lumdatalbahn  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Association "Lumdabahn eV"
• Photo gallery of the Lumdatalbahn (2013)
• The Lumdatalbahn e. V. as guest in the podcast "Slow travel - the magazine about the railways" (2019)
• MiBaOne de addresses freight traffic to the siding
• Graphic of the official course book page from 1944/45 (KBS 193 k)

Individual evidence

1. ^ DB Netz AG: Infrastructure Register. In: geovdbn.deutschebahn.com , accessed on July 2, 2020.
2. ↑ Railway Atlas Germany . 9th edition. Schweers + Wall, Aachen 2014, ISBN 978-3-89494-145-1 .
3. ^ Map of the Federal Railway Directorate Frankfurt / M. 1983
4. ↑ Summer timetable 1939
5. ↑ schr: reactivation plans in Hessen In: Eisenbahn-Revue International 10/2018, p. 506.
6. ↑ Simone Gaul: They want their train back In: Zeit online November 17, 2019
7. ↑ Signals indicate "free travel". In: Gießener Anzeiger. Gießener Anzeiger Verlags GmbH & Co KG, February 22, 2014, archived from the original on February 28, 2014 ; accessed on February 22, 2014 . 
8. ↑ Lumdatalbahn: For 320 passengers per day 6.6 million euros would be required. In: Gießener Anzeiger. Gießener Anzeiger Verlags GmbH & Co KG, September 10, 2016, accessed on September 30, 2016 . 
9. ↑ Lumdatalbahn: District Administrator feels wrongly quoted. In: Gießener Anzeiger. Gießener Anzeiger Verlags GmbH & Co KG, April 19, 2018, accessed on April 30, 2018 . 
10. ↑ Good omen for reactivating the Lumdatalbahn. District of Giessen, October 25, 2019, accessed on January 27, 2020 . 
11. ^ [1] Research by historian Peter Kreuter on the subject -Review of the eastern section of the Lumdatalbahn- on Giessener-Zeitung.de