Ludwigshafen – Mannheim route

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Rhine trajectory Ludwigshafen – Mannheim was a railway ferry that, from 1863, connected the railway systems of the Palatinate Ludwig Railway on the left bank of the Rhine with those of the Grand Ducal Baden State Railways on the right bank of the Rhine. This provisional arrangement ended with the opening of the first Rhine bridge between Ludwigshafen and Mannheim in 1867.

Starting position

With the connection from Ludwigshafen am Rhein to the railway by the Palatinate Ludwigsbahn in 1849 and its connection to the railways in the Prussian Saar area a year later, there was a brisk freight traffic for the transport of the high-quality hard coal from the Saarland coal districts to the Ludwigshafen Rhine port . The aim of the coal was the emerging industries in southern Germany and Switzerland . Since only small ships could travel up the Rhine at that time due to the lack of regulation on the Rhine , the coal was transported on by the Grand Ducal Baden State Railways on the right bank of the Rhine. To do this, it had to be laboriously reloaded twice: in Ludwigshafen onto boats and in Mannheim again onto freight wagons .

construction

In presenting the annual report of the Palatine railways for the fiscal year 1859, the creation of was Trajekts between Ludwigshafen and Mannheim decided. As a model that served ferry Mainz-Kastel between the Hessian Ludwig Railway in Mainz and the Taunus Railway in Mainz-Kastel . The Palatinate Railways anticipated costs of 50,000 guilders . However, there were delays in planning. Approval was refused for the landing site on the Baden side between the customs building and the Hotel Europäische Hof, which was planned in the initial planning. As an alternative, a landing site directly opposite the Ludwigshafen train station was selected and approved.

The construction was carried out in 1862 and the trajectory was put into operation on January 8, 1863. The proportional costs for the Palatinate Railway amounted to 25,499 guilders and 13 cruisers.

business

The two companies involved in the operation of the trajectory procured a paddle steamer and several shells . These had no drive of their own, were provided with a track and could accommodate four to five freight wagons of 200 hundredweight each . For the operation of the trajectory, a shell was attached to the side of the paddle steamer and this transported the freight wagons to the other bank without the help of ropes or chains stretched between the mooring points. The capacity that could be achieved with this process was 200 wagons a day, i.e. up to 5000 wagons a month. In the business year 1863/64 a total of 57,313 wagons with 4,288,394 quintals of coal and goods were transported through the trajectory. The lateral position of the shells on the paddle steamer resulted in a derailment-proof rail connection at the landing stages.

The End

The Rhine bridge between Ludwigshafen and Mannheim was initially put into operation on February 25, 1867, and finally on August 10, 1867. On August 2, 1867, the ferry service was therefore stopped.

literature

  • Hans Schlieper: Railway trajectories across the Rhine and Lake Constance. Alba, Düsseldorf 2009, ISBN 978-3-87094-369-1

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Schlieper, Railway Trajectories over the Rhine and Lake Constance, Alba Verlag 2009, page 95ff
  2. ^ Annual report of the Palatinate Railways for the year 1859/60, page IV, Bavarian State Archives Munich, call number 4 Bavar. 3129 m-1856/61
  3. ↑ Annual report of the Palatinate Railways for the year 1860/61, page V, Bavarian State Archives Munich, signature 4 Bavar. 3129 m-1856/61
  4. ↑ MARCHIVUM : Chronicle star . January 8, 1863. Retrieved September 28, 2018 .
  5. ↑ Annual report of the Palatinate Railways for the year 1862/63, page XXI, Bavarian State Archives Munich, signature 4 Bavar. 3129 m-1861/63
  6. ^ Albert Mühl, Die Pfalzbahn, page 12
  7. ↑ Annual report of the Palatinate Railways for the year 1863/64, page XLVIII, Bavarian State Archives Munich, signature 4 Bavar. 3129 m-1863/65
  8. ^ Hans Schlieper / Railway trajectories over the Rhine and Lake Constance / page 97
  9. ↑ MARCHIVUM: Chronicle star . February 25, 1867. Retrieved September 28, 2018 .
  10. ↑ MARCHIVUM: Chronicle star . August 10, 1867. Retrieved September 28, 2018 .