Southern Berlin suburban train

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Route and line network of the southern Berlin suburban railway

The Südliche Berliner Vorortbahn A. G. (SBV) was a tram company in the south of Berlin , whose lines ran primarily within the then independent communities Schöneberg , Rixdorf (later Neukölln), Tempelhof and Britz . In addition, this company owned several routes that were used exclusively by lines of other companies. The rolling stock comprised 30 railcars. Sidecars , depots, personnel and administration, however, belonged to the Great Berlin Tram (GBS, majority shareholder since 1910). The SBV was independent from its foundation until 1919 when it was merged with the GBS.

history

One of the few known photos of the southern Berlin suburban railways shows two Berolina cars at Rixdorf station , June 3, 1901

The company was founded on July 4th, 1898 with share capital of three million marks (adjusted for purchasing power in today's currency: around 21 million euros). Half of the share capital was owned by GBS, the other half by the company for electrical companies . The company took over the contracts of the consortium of the southern Berlin suburban railways, which contracted with the municipalities of Britz, Lankwitz (for Lankwitz, the then municipality head Friedrich Dillges led the negotiations), Rixdorf, Schöneberg, Tempelhof, Treptow and the city of Berlin about the construction of a Kleinbahn had agreed. The approval contract for the city of Berlin was concluded until December 31, 1919, the contracts for the other municipalities were concluded by July 1, 1947, and the state concession to operate the railway was issued until 1948. The operator had to pay eight percent of the gross income to the city of Berlin annually and, if the net income exceeded six percent of the capital invested, half of the excess. No taxes should be paid to the other municipalities for the first five years. An annual amount of 70 pfennigs per kilometer of single track had to be paid to the municipality of Rixdorf and 20 pfennigs per kilometer to the other municipalities for paving maintenance. In November 1898 the first construction phase between Britz and Tempelhof began. Operations began on July 1, 1899 on two lines. As with the GBS, these were marked with signal boards in different colors.

Line overview December 15, 1900
Line /
signal board
course Cycle
(in min)
Length
(in km)
blue "Südring"
Rixdorf station - Richardplatz - Hermannplatz - Kaiser-Friedrich-Platz - Blücherplatz - Schöneberg station - Kaiser-Wilhelm-Platz - main street - Sachsendamm - Dorfstrasse ( Tempelhof ) - Dorfstrasse ( Britz ) - Buschkrug - Rixdorf station
24 21.2
White blue Rixdorf station - Hermannplatz - Kaiser-Friedrich-Platz - Blücherplatz - Schöneberg station - Kaiser-Wilhelm-Platz - Schöneberg, Hauptstrasse / Eisenacher Strasse 8-16 9.5
White Tempelhof, Friedrich-Karl-Strasse - Mariendorf station - Südende station - Kaiser-Wilhelm-Strasse - Groß-Lichterfelde Ost station 24 5.7
Red / white line Eichhornstrasse / Potsdamer Strasse - Dennewitzplatz - Kaiser-Wilhelm-Platz - Schöneberg station - General-Pape-Strasse 18th 5.3
White Blücherplatz - General-Pape-Strasse k. A. 3.7

The first line with the designation "Südring" and blue signal boards led from Rixdorf train station over Bergstrasse , Blücherplatz in Berlin, Schöneberg, Tempelhof and Britz back to Rixdorf. Since the line between Tempelhof and Britz ran through mostly undeveloped areas, the nickname "Desert Railway" was quickly remembered for it. A second line with the white / blue signal board also ran to the Südring from Rixdorf train station to Schöneberg. The end point was at the intersection of Hauptstrasse and the corner of Eisenacher Strasse. However, this could only be handed over to operation on October 1 or December 1, 1899. The line previously ended at the military station in Kolonnenstrasse. Four days later, the line was temporarily brought forward to Hauptstrasse / corner of Mühlenstrasse . The GBS tracks were also used between Rixdorf station and Yorckstrasse / corner of Katzbachstrasse and between Kaiser-Wilhelm-Platz and Hauptstrasse / corner of Mühlenstrasse. It has been pointed out that traffic will be restricted when it is snowing and completely stopped when it is drifting.

The layout of the second line was changed slightly on October 1, 1900. Between Katzbachstrasse and Kolonnenstrasse, a parallel route via Kreuzbergstrasse, Monumentenstrasse and Siegfriedstrasse went into operation that day. On December 15 of the same year, a new route from Bergstrasse via Richardplatz and Kaiser-Friedrich-Strasse to Hermannplatz was put into operation for both lines within Rixdorf . The direct route via Bergstrasse was still used by the GBS lines.

Tram traffic in Potsdamer Strasse with a train on line P of the Berlin-Charlottenburg tram , behind it a train on line III and, in the opposite direction, a train on line 56 of the great Berlin tram, around 1910

The third line of the SBV went into operation a few months earlier on July 16, 1900 and had no connection to the other two lines. It led from Tempelhof, Friedrich-Karl-Straße / Berliner Straße on the station Mariendorf , station south end and Lankwitz to the pickup place at the train station Gross-Lichterfelde Ost . The line, which is marked with white signal lamps, was initially operated as a horse-drawn tram , as objections meant that the laying of cables could not be completed on time. After the police inspection in November 1901, the train ran electrically from March 22, 1902. The track systems were in full possession of the SBV.

Congruence of the line names
until 1902 1902-1922 from 1922
blue I. 6th
White blue II
Red / white line III 140
White IV
V 106

Two more lines followed on August 10, 1900. The fourth line with the "red with white line" sign led from the crossing of Eichhornstrasse and the corner of Potsdamer Strasse via Dennewitzplatz and Kolonnenstrasse to General-Pape-Strasse not far from the Papestrasse ring and suburban railway station . The GBS tracks were used between the northern terminus and the intersection of Mansteinstrasse and the corner of Großgörschenstrasse. The fifth line had white signboards and ran from Blücherplatz to General-Pape-Strasse. On May 6, 1902, this was combined with the Brunnenstrasse  - Kreuzbergstrasse line of GBS to form the new line 41 Brunnenstrasse - General-Pape-Strasse and operated as a connecting service. According to unconfirmed information, the fourth line should have been diverted from this day on Yorckstrasse - Katzbachstrasse - Dreibundstrasse. At the end of 1902 the line got its old management back.

In the summer of 1902, Roman numerals were introduced for the general numbering of the lines of the Great Berlin Tram and its subsidiaries for the southern Berlin suburban railway .

Line III was extended on April 21, 1905 in connection with GBS via Potsdamer Strasse, Leipziger Strasse , Lindenkreuzung, Hackescher Markt and Zionskirchplatz to the intersection of Swinemünder Strasse and the corner of Ramlerstrasse. After the opening of the Linden Tunnel, the line used the eastern section of the tunnel from December 19, 1916.

Line overview August 3, 1914
line course Cycle
(in min)
Length
(in km)
I. "Südring"
Neukölln train station - Hermannplatz - Kaiser-Friedrich-Platz - Blücherplatz - Schöneberg train station - Kaiser-Wilhelm-Platz - main street - Sachsendamm - Dorfstrasse ( Tempelhof ) - Dorfstrasse ( Britz ) - Buschkrug - Neukölln train station
30th 20.2
III Swinemünder Strasse / Ramlerstrasse - Vinetaplatz - Arkonaplatz - Zionskirchplatz - Hackescher Markt - Lindenkreuzung - Potsdamer Platz - Dennewitzplatz - Kaiser-Wilhelm-Platz - Schöneberg Station - General-Pape-Strasse 20th 11.7
V Neukölln train station - Hermannplatz - Kaiser-Friedrich-Platz - Blücherplatz - Schöneberg train station - Kaiser-Wilhelm-Platz - Hauptstrasse - Rheinstrasse - Schloßstrasse - Chausseestrasse - Lichterfelde , Händelplatz 15th 14.3

Line V was set up on January 1, 1907, with every second car on line II going past the terminus Eisenacher Strasse via Hauptstrasse, Rheinstrasse and Schloßstrasse to Steglitz , Schloßpark. On October 1, 1910, this line was extended via Chausseestrasse to Lichterfelde , Händelplatz. The other wagons on line II, on the other hand, ran from February 1, 1910 onwards as part of the Südring to Tempelhof, Germaniastraße / Oberlandstraße, in order to strengthen line I. On the same day, line IV was replaced by GBS connection line 99. On Sundays, the line was also taken to Steglitz, Schloßpark, instead of Tempelhof, if required. Line II was discontinued on August 3, 1914 with the beginning of the First World War . At the same time, line I in Neukölln (until 1912: Rixdorf) was restored to its old route via Bergstrasse and Berliner Strasse.

On May 28, 1918, a new agreement of consent was concluded between the Greater Berlin Association, which was founded in 1911/1912, and the GBS, in which, among other things, their merger with their branch lines had been established. GBS had owned all SBV shares since 1910. On March 3, the association assembly gave its approval to the project, which was implemented on May 15, 1919, according to other information on April 26, 1919. The southern Berlin suburban railway as well as the Berlin-Charlottenburg tram , the western Berlin suburban railway and the north-eastern Berlin suburban railway ceased to exist on that day. The accounting of the companies was standardized retrospectively from January 1, 1918.

On May 11, 1922, the remaining lines were integrated into the numbering system of the Berlin tram (BSt), which emerged from the GBS in 1920 . The total length of the route at that time was 37.29 kilometers, 19.63 kilometers of which were double-tracked. The operating voltage was between 500 and 550 volts direct current .

Further routes of the SBV

GBS opening train consisting of Tw 2432 and Bw 85 in Buckow, June 12, 1913

In addition to the routes already listed, the Südliche Berliner Vorortbahn built several routes over the course of its existence that were never used by its own lines. In detail these were:

  • around 1905: Mariendorf , Dorfstrasse ; Operation by GBS
  • February 18, 1907: Kolonnenstrasse / Sedanstrasse - Gotenstrasse; Line 23 of the GBS
  • November 20, 1909: Kaiser-Friedrich-Strasse (between Hertzbergstrasse and Teupitzer Strasse); Line 65 of the GBS
  • November 27, 1909: Kaiser-Friedrich-Strasse / Wildenbruchstrasse - Wildenbruchplatz; Line 89 of the GBS
  • October 20, 1910: Wildenbruchplatz - Elsenstrasse / Heidelberger Strasse; Line 89 of the GBS
  • June 18, 1911: Elsenstrasse (between Heidelberger Strasse and Görlitzer Bahn ); Line 19 of the GBS
  • June 18, 1911: Erkstraße (between Donaustraße and Kaiser-Friedrich-Straße); Line 19 of the GBS
  • June 13, 1913: Britz, Chausseestrasse / Triftstrasse - Buckow West; Line 28 of the GBS
  • 0October 1, 1913: Britz, Buschkrug - Rudow ; Line 47 of the GBS

In addition, there were already installed tracks in the Wittelsbach parade (today: Boelckestrasse) in Tempelhof. They were never given their intended purpose and were removed again in the 1920s. The lines operated by the SBV via Richardplatz and in Bahnstraße were opened on October 1, 1899 and initially used exclusively by GBS.

Fleet

Railcar 24 on line II at Hermannplatz, around 1907

For the opening of operations in 1899, the SBV bought 30 railcars and provided them with the car numbers 1 to 30. They were similar to the Berolina cars purchased by GBS at the same time and had chassis of the New Berolina type. The electrical equipment was procured by the Union-Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft (UEG). Since these wagons were not sufficient for operation, the company had to borrow additional railcars and sidecars from GBS, as well as the horse-drawn carriages that were now used on the Lichterfeld line. Is known, the use of four-axle railcar type Brandenburg on the line III, as these for the intersection of the boulevard Unter den Linden with corresponding devices for the sub-line operation were equipped.

After the takeover by GBS in 1919, the railcars were given the new car numbers 3233–3262. The conversion of the 3238, 3251-3256 and 3258 cars into the U3l cars 3056 II -3063 II is known. The conversion took place in 1922 at the National Automobile Society and is also said to have included other SBV cars. The remaining vehicles either came to the work vehicle fleet or were taken out of service. The U3l cars, for their part, could be found in passenger traffic until around 1934. The subsequent use as work cars (A90 II and A84) of the cars 3056 II and 3059 II is occupied; the two railcars were retired in 1955 and 1954 respectively.

Maintenance was carried out on a rental basis in the GBS depots, as the SBV did not have any comparable systems. Initially, they were housed in the Brandenburgstrasse courtyard , later also in the Rixdorf or Neukölln and Tempelhof depots .

Operating results

Operating statistics
year Track length
(in km)
Command pers.
(in thousands)
Income
(in marks )
Car
kilometers
Income /
wagon km
(in Pfennig)
Pers./
car km
Deficit
(in marks)
1899 23.314 1756 177.209 0.731.757 24 2.40 -
1900 31,435 3417 346.276 1,604,973 22nd 2.13 0.113,821
1901 31,548 3241 322,360 1,949,159 17th 1.66 0.425.497
1902 31,906 3305 326,622 1,825,823 18th 1.81 0.685.762
1903 31,906 3615 366,462 1,839,511 20th 1.97 0.855.237
1904 31,906 4043 397.268 1,834,713 22nd 2.20 0.986.760
1905 32.656 4441 437,349 1,827,362 24 2.43 1,079,170
1906 33,530 6213 614.376 2,373,155 26th 2.62 1,188,286
1907 34.171 6990 712.468 2,718,642 26th 2.57 1,315,697
1908 42.006 7431 763.630 3,017,711 25th 4.46 1,420,891
1909 k. A. k. A. 801.875 3,090,072 k. A. k. A. 1,468,891
1910 k. A. 9016 947.982 k. A. k. A. k. A. k. A.

The share capital of the SBV amounted to three million marks, half of which belonged to GBS and the company for electrical companies . GBS has been the sole owner since 1910. Since the company was not making profits, there was also no reserve fund . The main reason for the losses was the route through largely undeveloped areas. In order to positively influence the overall result, GBS took over the management of line IV as connecting line 99 from 1910. Line III, which is largely identical to tram line 40 of GBS, is also said to have been completely taken over by GBS from 1908, but will be used for the Year 1911 given as the line of the SBV.

Tariff

Ticket samples over 20 pfennigs in the internal tariff on the lines of the SBV

The tariff on the individual lines was essentially based on the traffic area they served. On lines II, III and IV there was a standard tariff of 10 pfennigs for an uninterrupted journey. For line I, a fare of 10 pfennigs applied to journeys within the respective soft zone and to any point in a second suburb, and a fare of 20 pfennigs for journeys beyond that. Line V, which was subsequently operated by the West Berlin suburban railway, was subject to a partial route tariff with tickets for 10, 15 and 20 pfennigs.

The 10 pfennig tickets were white, the 15 pfennig pink and the 20 pfennig green. The issue of time cards and student cards took place from 1904 according to the principles customary at GBS. A monthly ticket for one line initially cost 7.50 marks, for two lines 10 marks, for three lines 13 marks and for the entire network 15 marks. After the introduction of the ticket tax on August 1, 1906, the price increased to 7.70, 10.20, 13.40 and 15.40 marks. Student monthly tickets for two lines were available for 3.00 marks, each additional line cost 1.00 marks more. Weekly worker cards were issued for six times two trips at a price of 1.00 marks.

Remarks

  1. today: Neukölln station
  2. today: Karl-Marx-Straße
  3. today: Dominicusstrasse
  4. today: Czeminskistraße
  5. today: Sonnenallee
  6. today: Tempelhofer Damm
  7. today: Attilastraße station
  8. today: Kranoldplatz
  9. today: Lichterfelde Ost train station
  10. today: Südkreuz station
  11. today: Hindenburgdamm
  12. today: Alt-Mariendorf
  13. not in that order

literature

  • Wolfgang Kramer, Siegfried Münzinger: Southern Berlin suburban railway . In: Berliner Verkehrsblätter . Issues 6, 7, 8, 1963.

Individual evidence

  1. a b c d Michael Kochems: Trams and light rail vehicles in Germany. Volume 14: Berlin - Part 2. Tram, trolleybus . EK-Verlag, Freiburg im Breisgau 2013, ISBN 978-3-88255-395-6 , p. 67-69 .
  2. a b Author collective: Tram archive 5. Berlin and surroundings . transpress, Berlin 1987, ISBN 3-344-00172-8 , pp. 108-111 .
  3. ^ A b c Eduard Buchmann: The development of the great Berlin tram and its significance for the development of traffic in Berlin . Julius Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg 1910, p. 26/27 .
  4. a b c d e f g Wolfgang Kramer, Siegfried Münzinger: Southern Berlin suburban railway . In: Berliner Verkehrsblätter . Volume 6, 1963, pp. 59-61 .
  5. a b c Wolfgang Kramer, Siegfried Münzinger: Southern Berlin suburban railway . In: Berliner Verkehrsblätter . Issue 8, 1963, pp. 88 .
  6. a b c d e f g h Wolfgang Kramer, Siegfried Münzinger: Southern Berlin suburban railway . In: Berliner Verkehrsblätter . Issue 7, 1963, pp. 69-72 .
  7. The Great Berlin Tram and its Branch Lines 1902–1911 . Berlin 1911, p. 11-20 .
  8. Sigurd Hilkenbach, Wolfgang Kramer: The trams in Berlin . alba, Düsseldorf 1994, ISBN 3-87094-351-3 , p. 7-34 .
  9. The fleet of the "Berlin tram" . In: Berliner Verkehrsblätter . Issue 11, 1968, pp. 152-162 .
  10. Wolfgang Kramer, Siegfried Münzinger: The fleet of the Berlin tram 1921-1970 . In: Berliner Verkehrsblätter . Volume 5, 1971, pp. 79-93 .
  11. The work car of the Berlin tram from 1920 . In: Berliner Verkehrsblätter . Volume 6, 1967, pp. 78-113 .
  12. Michael Kochems: trams and light rail in Germany. Volume 14: Berlin - Part 2. Tram, trolleybus . EK-Verlag, Freiburg im Breisgau 2013, ISBN 978-3-88255-395-6 , p. 204-216 .
  13. The Great Berlin Tram and its Branch Lines 1902–1911 . Berlin 1911, p. 21-24 .
  14. The Great Berlin Tram and its Branch Lines 1902–1911 . Berlin 1911, p. 114-115 .
  15. a b The Great Berlin Tram and its Branch Lines 1902–1911 . Berlin 1911, p. 83-86 .
  16. ^ A b Eduard Buchmann: The development of the great Berlin tram and its significance for the development of traffic in Berlin . Julius Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg 1910, p. 74-82 .
This article was added to the list of excellent articles in this version on February 6, 2016 .