Vareler branch lines
| Varel-Neuchâtel (Oldb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Route number : | 1534 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Course book range : | 221 m (1944), 199n (1935) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gauge : | 1435 mm ( standard gauge ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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As Vareler branch lines , a network of railway lines in is called Germany around the city Varel on Jade Bay . These are exclusively normal-gauge branch lines that were opened between 1893 and 1896. None of them are used today and almost all routes have been completely dismantled.
prehistory
The city of Varel was already connected to the railway network of the Grand Ducal Oldenburg Railway (GOE) in 1867 by the main line Wilhelmshaven (then: Heppens) - Oldenburg .
In subsequent years, the voices grew louder, which also has a connection to the west of Varel situated Frisian Wehde demanded. The reasons for this were, among other things, the textile and clinker industry as well as the farmers , whose products had to be laboriously transported over several kilometers to the next train station by cart . At that time, Bockhorn already had a train station on the main line to Wilhelmshaven in Ellenserdamm , but this train station was five kilometers from the town and was therefore quite unattractive.
The rapidly growing villages of Zetel , Bockhorn and Neuenburg (Oldb) also needed a connection to the Wilhelmshaven naval base founded by Prussia in 1854 . Construction work finally began in the early 1890s, and in 1896, when Neuchâtel was connected, the Varel branch line network was complete.
stretch
Varel – Neuchâtel railway line (Oldb)
with the branch lines to Varelerhafen and to Bramloge
| Route | Length (km) | opening | Decommissioning PV | Closure of the GV | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Varel – Varelerhafen | 1.60 | May 15, 1893 | GV only | 1992 | Tore off; Railway embankment partially converted into a footpath; Track remains at the port |
| Varel - Langendamm - Borgstede | 4.00 | January 1, 1893 | May 23, 1954 | Varel – Varel West: December 31, 2002; Varel West – Langendamm: March 1, 1998; Langendamm – Borgstede: June 1, 1997; |
The route to the carton factory still exists; remaining route demolished; Connecting switch in Varel expanded; Borgstede station in good condition, Langendamm station area now Mc Donald's |
| Borgstede – Bramloge | 3.63 | January 1, 1893 | May 23, 1954 | Borgstede – Bramloge: September 25, 1966, until 1992 station track | Embankment between Borgstede and Bramloge hiking trail |
| Borgstede– Bockhorn | 7.00 | December 1, 1893 | May 23, 1954 | Borgstede – Rahling: June 1, 1997; Rahling – Bockhorn: December 31, 1991 | Demolished in 2002; partially overbuilt in Bockhorn ; track remains in level crossings |
| Bockhorn - Zetel | 3.63 | May 10, 1894 | May 23, 1954 | December 31, 1991 | Demolished in 2002; Embankment converted into a hiking trail in 2009; Bypass road on the Bockhorn station site; New building area on the Zetel station site |
| Zetel-Neuchâtel (Oldb) | 4.37 | April 1, 1896 | May 23, 1954 | December 31, 1991 | Demolished in 2002; largely overbuilt in Zetel ; Railway embankment partially converted into a hiking trail; Station building in Neuenburg (Oldb) and Zetel in good condition; in Neuchâtel (Oldb) tracks and an old railroad car. |
Ellenserdamm – Ocholt railway line
| Route | Length (km) | opening | Decommissioning PV | Closure of the GV | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ellenserdamm – Ellenserdammersiel | 1.40 | April 15, 1894 | GV only | August 10, 1926 | Tore off; no more traces visible |
| Ellenserdamm – Bockhorn | 5.42 | January 1, 1893 | May 23, 1954 | May 23, 1954 | Torn down, the embankment between Bockhorn and Steinhausen can still be seen |
| Bockhorn– Grabstede | 2.88 | November 1, 1893 | May 23, 1954 | December 31, 1991 | Tore off; Embankment south of B 437 available |
The routes Varel – Rodenkirchen (opened in 1913) and Grabstede – Westerstede – Ocholt (opened 1904/05) are not counted among the Varel branch lines due to their later construction. The last section of the route Varel - Diekmannshausen was dismantled in 1994. On the last existing section Westerstede-Ocholt - Westerstede-Stadt there is handcar traffic.
See: Ellenserdamm – Ocholt railway line
development
Freight and passenger traffic developed positively after the routes opened. Clinker, textiles and agricultural products were loaded on a large scale at the numerous stations. Workers used the passenger trains from Neuchâtel (Oldb) via Bockhorn to Wilhelmshaven. A few years before the outbreak of the Second World War, some of the lines had a surprisingly high train density for branch lines.
After the war, the Varel branch lines continued to flourish for a short time until the competition from buses and cars increased in the early 1950s . The decline was exacerbated by the long travel times, as the rails and track bed were last revised in many places in the 1920s and were therefore in need of improvement. By 1960, passenger traffic was suspended on the entire network. Freight traffic played an important role for a long time through the operation of numerous brickworks and cooperatives as well as a cardboard factory and a military connection in Varel and was only shut down in several steps between 1992 and 2002.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Lioba Meyer: Without any hurry. The Grand Ducal Oldenburg Railway (GOE) 1867 - 1920. Oldenburg City Museum, 1992. ISBN 3-89442-127-4 .
- ↑ Lioba Meyer: Without any hurry. The Grand Ducal Oldenburg Railway (GOE) 1867 - 1920. Oldenburg City Museum, 1992. ISBN 3-89442-127-4 .