Palatinate Maximiliansbahn Society

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Obligation of the Palatinate Maximiliansbahn

The Palatinate Maximiliansbahn-Gesellschaft was a stock corporation that was founded for the construction of the Neustadt an der Weinstrasse – Wissembourg railway between Neustadt (then "an der Haardt") and Weissenburg (today Wissembourg ). The route was also used to distinguish it from the Königl route of the same name. Bavarian State Railroad called "Palatinate Maximiliansbahn".

In the concession granted by the Bavarian government on November 3, 1852, a “joint administrative council” and a “joint management” with the Palatinate Ludwig Railway Company with “separate accounting” were required. On January 1, 1870, both companies and the Palatinate Northern Railways became part of the Palatinate Railways company .

history

Lines of the Maximiliansbahn

After the connection between the Palatinate Ludwig Railway and the Hessian Ludwig Railway in Ludwigshafen was established, the search was made to continue this route south to Strasbourg . For a long time - ultimately since 1837 - there had been unsuccessful attempts to obtain a license for such a railway. It was also unclear whether a route should be built near the Rhine or one along the “mountains”. The hesitant attitude of France towards the route ultimately contributed significantly to the fact that Neustadt an der Haardt was chosen as the starting point for the route. After submitting an expert opinion, the administrative board of the Ludwigsbahn decided on December 13, 1851 the route from Neustadt via Landau to Wissembourg . The district government in Speyer followed suit on February 5, 1852.

In France, too, on February 25, 1852, the decision in favor of the Strasbourg – Haguenau – Wissembourg route was made. The Bavarian government had already set the framework for such a cross-border railway line with France in the state treaty signed on February 4, 1848. This included B. also that locomotives could not only be used on the respective national sections, but also across borders. This treaty was ratified in Munich in May 1852. On May 7, 1852 a stately guaranteed interest of 4.5% has been granted for the construction of the line, shareholder approval was then carried out on 19 July 1852. On that occasion the company was named Maximiliansbahn in honor of their protector Maximilian II. , who then granted the concession on November 3, 1852.

From Neustadt to Wissembourg

The construction of Edesheim and Winden began under the direction of Paul Camille von Denis . As with the Ludwigsbahn, a route for two lanes was planned for the entire route, although initially only one was laid. The route and the location of the station in the area of ​​the Landau fortress caused major problems. This was about the question of the route through the fortress terrain. However, the Bavarian War Ministry and the Federal Committee for Military Affairs worked out a detailed agreement which, for example, B. the demand for "a bombproof, vaulted and defensive shelter for two to three locomotives and tenders" contains. The Lauter crossing at Wissombourg also had to be approved by the military authorities. According to an agreement of the German Confederation, fixed bridges over border rivers to foreign countries or to states that were not members of the German Confederation required a test for military admissibility. In July 1855, the construction of the line between Neustadt and Landau was finished and this section went into operation. On the French side, the Haguenau-Wissembourg section was commissioned on October 23, 1855, and the Wissembourg-Landau section followed on November 26, 1855.

The railway caused a great economic boom due to the steadily increasing freight traffic on the route. Therefore, the second track between Neustadt and Winden went into operation as early as 1867. In addition, several subway stations were redesigned and partially provided with longer crossing tracks. Under pressure from the military authorities, the second track on the Winden-Wissembourg line was built in the middle of the war in 1870/71.

From Winden to Maxau

In the Maximiliansbahn's annual report for the year 1858/1859, the need for a rail link from Winden to Karlsruhe is raised as a particular concern. One is looking for a connection to the railways in Baden, Württemberg and the other side of Bavaria in order to make it easier to send coal to those countries. From a military point of view , a connection between Winden and Karlsruhe was called for in a report by the corps commander of the Palatinate, Major General Karl von Krazeisen . With the law of November 10, 1861, the Bavarian state granted an interest subsidy for this railway line in the amount of 1.5 million guilders, followed by the concession on June 28, 1862. The details of the route were worked out by the Kandel Section under the engineer C. Millet. After approval by the General Assembly, construction began and the line was opened on March 14, 1864.

The Maxauer Schiffsbrücke over the Rhine

old postcard (litho) of the Maxau ship bridge around 1905

The creation of this connection from Maxau via ship bridge to Karlsruhe with connection to the Baden rail network encountered various difficulties. After the city of Karlsruhe had no luck with the Baden government with its petitions submitted in 1853 and 1857 for the route, it was decided to organize the rail connection - later also called Maxau Railway - itself. The state let the Karlsruhe citizens have their way because “nobody should be held back who wants to do something stupid at any cost”. In spite of all prophecies of doom, on September 6, 1860, the "law concerning the building of a railway from Karlsruhe to the Rhine near Maxau by the city of Karlsruhe" was promulgated. The concession was then granted on July 27, 1861.

The technical challenges for the Rhine crossing and the connection to the Palatinate Railway were not insignificant. A trajectory was not possible because constantly changing gravel banks opposed it, so that only the reinforcement of the ship bridge, which had existed since 1840 for rail traffic, remained an option. The Rhine already had considerable traffic back then. In 1863, for example, the bridge had to be opened to shipping traffic 1040 times. The chief engineer C. Basler was entrusted with the development of the construction . He took existing ship bridges for railways as a model, which had emerged in British India. However, these were located on calm inland lake waters. His first draft was approved by the Baden building authorities and the Bavarian commissioners also agreed, but the costs were almost as high as a new building. A second draft estimated 135,000 guilders for the bridge alone plus two special locomotives of 15,000 guilders each.

After the Baden and Bavarian commissioners had agreed on a contract on March 31, 1864 on the distribution of the construction and operating costs as well as the property rights, construction of the pontoons began in May 1864. On April 22, 1865, the test load and then the clearance took place. This ship bridge was not used until April 4, 1938 and was replaced by a permanent railway bridge after almost five years of construction.

fusion

On January 1, 1870, the administration and operation of the Palatinate companies of the Maximiliansbahn, the Ludwigsbahn and the Nordbahnen were combined as the Palatinate Railways . With the consent of the shareholders to this contract, both the obligation to build further routes and a state interest guarantee of 4.5% on building and equipment capital for 35 years were connected. This was accompanied by the establishment of a new administrative structure. For further details on the development after 1870 see Palatine Railways .

Further routes

Even after the merger, the Palatinate Maximiliansbahn-Gesellschaft remained legally an independent company. In the following years, additional routes were opened in their name and on their account:

On January 1, 1909, the Maximiliansbahn together with the other companies belonging to the Palatinate Railways became the property of the Royal Bavarian State Railways .

literature

in alphabetical order by authors / editors

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Report of the administrative council and the management of the Palatinate Railways ... Ludwigshafen am Rhein 1855, p. 4 .
  2. ^ December 26, 1836, King Ludwig I decided to set up two railway companies, Bexbacher Bahn and Lauterburger Bahn
  3. ↑ a b c d Heilmann, carpenter: 150 years of the Maximiliansbahn. P. 15 ff.
  4. ^ A b Heinz Sturm: The Palatinate Railways. P. 145
  5. ↑ Mühl, p. 16.
  6. ↑ Mühl, p. 16.
  7. ↑ Heinz Sturm: The Palatinate Railways. P. 159
  8. ↑ Heinz Sturm: The Palatinate Railways. P. 161
  9. ↑ Kuntzemüller, reference to the session of the first chamber on August 23, 1860
  10. ↑ a b c d Heinz Sturm: The Palatinate Railways. P. 163 ff