Tram Muenster
The tram network in Münster existed from July 13, 1901 to November 25, 1954. It was operated by the Münster municipal utilities in meter gauge. In its maximum extent it comprised three lines and 12 kilometers of linear route. The favorable flat topographical conditions made it possible to operate with a sidecar right from the start.
In addition to some privately owned vehicle models and dioramas, very little reminds of the tram in Münster. One of these vehicle models, the Gothaer railcar 62, is in the Münster City Museum .
Only the former Gotha tram railcar 65 has survived in the original. In 1993 it found its way back to Münster in poor condition and has been extensively restored since 2002 by the Association for the Rescue of the Last Tram in Münster , which was founded in the same year . After a successful restoration, the car found a place in the courtyard of town house 3 on September 30, 2013.
history
The story of the "Elektrische" began in Münster on July 13, 1901. With 25 railcars and eight trailer cars, the company was operated on the first three lines with the colors red, yellow and green by Elektrizitäts-AG, formerly W. Lahmeyer & Co. recorded in Frankfurt am Main, which built the lines and leased the operation from the city. At that time, the tram replaced the two horse-drawn bus routes that the coachman Heinrich Hagenschneider had opened in the city of Münster on August 8, 1888, and which he has operated since then . After twelve years of operation of the three lines, the councilor line from Drubbel to Nordplatz was opened in 1913. The route was connected with the green line and called the blue line. The network now covered a total of around twelve kilometers.
During the First World War , women had to take over the conductors' duties as replacements for the male drivers and conductors who had been drafted to the front . In March 1920, operations were temporarily suspended due to unrest, lack of coal and heavy snowfall. Between May 5 and December 19, 1920, traffic was still on the blue line. From May 6, 1921, this line was discontinued. From September 30, 1922, the council ceased operations on all lines due to high inflation. In July 1923 the traffic ran again for nine days due to the singing festival. On February 16, 1924, the red and yellow, and on July 1, 1924, the blue and green lines resumed traffic.
During the Second World War , the city of Münster was hit by bombing attacks early on . There were already business interruptions in July 1941 after numerous overhead lines were damaged. In the following years there were repeated war damage. In addition, female personnel who were drafted for labor service had to take over the driver and conductor service to replace the men drafted for military service. After the destruction of the power station on September 12, 1944 - the vehicle hall and workshops were destroyed in the previous year - operations were temporarily suspended.
On November 13, 1946, the first section was put back into operation. From 1948 two of the former four lines were served. On October 26th and November 25th 1954 the city followed the recommendations of the traffic planner Max-Erich Feuchtinger and closed the last two tram lines. This was after the bus was introduced in 1926 and the trolleybus in 1949 .
future
The expected further population growth in Münster makes it necessary to develop new residential areas. In February 2017, considerations became public about connecting them to local public transport by city rail or tram , if necessary . Implementation of this idea is completely open, but an initiative has already been founded.
Lines
| Red line | Harbor ( Halle Münsterland ) - Central Station - Servatiiplatz - Lambertikirche ( Prinzipalmarkt ) - Grevener Straße |
| Yellow line | Warendorfer Strasse - Servatiiplatz - Lambertikirche (Prinzipalmarkt) - Schützenhof (Hammer Strasse) |
| Blue line | Wolbecker Strasse - Servatiiplatz - Lambertikirche (Prinzipalmarkt) - Neubückenstrasse - City Theater, City Hall - Nordplatz |
In 1932 the tram ran from 6 a.m. to midnight. A twelve-minute cycle was offered between 6:00 and 7:00 and between 21:00 and 24:00, and every six minutes between 7:00 and 21:00.
Fleet
Originally the car park was painted olive green with separate decorative lines and a large city coat of arms on the side walls. Around 1937, a light beige paint with olive-green dividing lines was introduced, which was retained until operations were closed. The current collection was initially carried out with roller pantographs , from 1927 Lyra pantographs were used.
| Art | Numbers | Construction year | Use up | Manufacturer | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Railcar | 1-25 | 1901 | 1954 | Garbe-Lahmeyer | 1), 2) |
| sidecar | 26-33 | 1901 | 1954 | Garbe-Lahmeyer | 1), 2) |
| Railcar | 51-70 | 1926 | 1954 | Gotha / AEG | Pike shape. 3), 4), 5), scrapped in 1960 |
| sidecar | 301-302 | 6) | 1954 | Scrapped in 1954 | |
| sidecar | 303-305 | 1951 | 1954 | Self-made | 7), 8), scrapped in 1960 |
1) Initial equipment
2) The other wagons that were not destroyed in World War II were scrapped in 1954
3) Five of them were completely destroyed in World War II, the other 15 heavily damaged were rebuilt after the war
4) 1954: 52, 54 and 56 sold to the Osnabrück tram . 52 renumbered there in 34, 54 in 35 and 56 in 36. 1959: Conversion of two railcars into sidecars (34 in 75 II and 35 in 68 IV ).
1954: 53, 57, 59, 60, 62 and 64 to 69 sold to the Würzburg tram , where it was in operation as railcars 102 to 107 and trailers 173 to 177 until 1975.
5) 1975: 65 (Würzburg number 207 ex 107) handed over from Würzburg to the German Tram Museum. 1986: Bankruptcy of the German Tram Museum in Hanover, takeover by the Association of Hannoversches Tram Museum . 1993: Purchase by private individuals and return to Münster. 2002: Takeover by the association for the rescue of the last tram in Münster and start of restoration. Exhibited in Stadthaus 3 since September 2013.
6) taken over from the Baden-Baden tram and mountain railway
7) Construction of sidecar 303 by reusing the car body from railcar 49
8) 303–305 sold to Osnabrück in 1954, there renumbered 69 III -71 III
literature
- City administration in connection with the tourist office (ed.): Guide through Münster in Westphalia . Without publisher, Münster (Westphalia) 1932.
- Alfred Spühr and Claude Jeanmaire: The Osnabrück tram. The history of the electric tram, its predecessor and successor . Verlag Eisenbahn, Villigen 1980
- Horst Meißner: Our construction drawing: Railcar No. 5 and trailer No. 27 of the tram from Münster. In: Miniaturbahnen MIBA, August 1981, No. 8, pp. 782-784. MIBA Verlag, Nuremberg, 1981
- Horst Meißner: Our construction drawing: Railcar No. 62 and trailer No. 27 of the tram from Münster. In: Miniaturbahnen MIBA, August 1981, No. 12, pp. 1146–1147 and 1153. MIBA Verlag, Nuremberg, 1981
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b stop in Stadthaus 3 , Westfälische Nachrichten of September 30, 2013; accessed on January 26, 2016
- ↑ Münster in old pictures and documents by Henning Stoffers, accessed on January 28, 2020
- ↑ Stadtwerke Münster (ed.): 1888 - 1988 - 100 years of local transport in Münster . 1989, p. 15 .
- ↑ Horst Meißner: Our construction drawing: Railcar No. 62 and sidecar No. 27 of the tram from Münster. In: Miniaturbahnen MIBA, August 1981, No. 12, p. 1153. MIBA Verlag, Nuremberg.
- ↑ Stadtbahn Münster WDR.de, accessed on February 9, 2017.
- ^ Initiative Pro Stadtbahn , accessed on August 18, 2017.
- ^ Thomas Naumann: The Würzburg tram . Würzburger Straßenbahn GmbH 1992, without ISBN, pages 118 and 231
- ↑ Dieter Höltge, Michael Kochems: Tram and light rail in Germany. Volume 10: Bavaria. EK-Verlag Freiburg 2006, ISBN 978-3-88255-391-8 . Page 390.