Bavarian branch lines - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Bavarian branch lines comprised nearly half the total railway network in Bavaria

Bavaria

Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...

, a state in the southeastern Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

that was a kingdom

Kingdom of Bavaria

The Kingdom of Bavaria was a German state that existed from 1806 to 1918. The Bavarian Elector Maximilian IV Joseph of the House of Wittelsbach became the first King of Bavaria in 1806 as Maximilian I Joseph. The monarchy would remain held by the Wittelsbachs until the kingdom's dissolution in 1918...

in the days of the German Empire

German Empire

The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...

. The construction era for branch lines lasted from 1872, when the first route, from Siegelsdorf to Langenzenn

Langenzenn

Langenzenn is a municipality in the district of Fürth, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 15 km west of Fürth.The town lies on the river Zenn and has a population of 10.518 people Langenzenn is a municipality in the district of Fürth, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 15 km west of...

, was opened, to 1930, when the last section of a the branch from Gößweinstein

Gößweinstein

Gößweinstein is a municipality in the district of Forchheim in Bavaria in Germany.-Districts:-History:The first record of the Goswinesteyn Castle is from 1076. Prior to 1102 the Hochstift Bamberg became the owner of the castle. The prince-bishop of Bamberg Friedrich Carl von Schönborn elevated...

to Behringersmühle went operational.

History

The first German railway line was opened in Bavaria in 1835. This was the Ludwigsbahn
Bavarian Ludwigsbahn
The Bavarian Ludwig Railway was the first steam-hauled railway opened in Germany. The Königlich privilegirte Ludwigs-Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft received a concession to build a railway from Nuremberg to Fürth in the state of Bavaria on 19...

(Ludwig’s Railway) from Nuremberg

Nuremberg

Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...

to Fürth

Fürth

The city of Fürth is located in northern Bavaria, Germany in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. It is now contiguous with the larger city of Nuremberg, the centres of the two cities being only 7 km apart....

which opened on 7 December 1835. This was the start of a railway building frenzy, which rapidly spread across the state. The second Bavarian railway line, from Munich

Munich

Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...

to Augsburg

Augsburg

Augsburg is a city in the south-west of Bavaria, Germany. It is a university town and home of the Regierungsbezirk Schwaben and the Bezirk Schwaben. Augsburg is an urban district and home to the institutions of the Landkreis Augsburg. It is, as of 2008, the third-largest city in Bavaria with a...

, soon followed. The early railways were private lines, but from 184?, the Bavarian state oversaw the construction of railways, through its state-owned railway company, the Royal Bavarian State Railways

Royal Bavarian State Railways

As a nation-state, Germany did not come into being until the creation of the German Empire in 1871 from the various German-speaking states such as Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony, Baden and Württemberg. By then each of the major states had formed its own state railway and these continued to remain...

. The most important routes were established first, of course, and became the 'main lines', the backbone of the Bavarian railway network which has lasted to the present day.

The First Branch Lines - Vizinalbahnen

The first branch lines to appear in Bavaria – indeed in Germany – were the so-called Vizinalbahnen ('neighbourhood lines'). This was a legal term and envisaged the costs of real estate acquisition and line construction being raised locally, whilst profits would be shared between state and district, in accordance with the statuted dated 29 April 1869.

The first line to be built was the 5.5 kilometre stretch from Siegelsdorf to Langenzenn opened on 25 May 1872. Over the next seven years a further 14 Vizinalbahnen were built, including the Bavarian Ostbahn route from Wiesau

Wiesau

Wiesau is a municipality in the district of Tirschenreuth in Bavaria, Germany....

– Tirschenreuth

Tirschenreuth

Tirschenreuth is the capital city of the district of Tirschenreuth. It is located in the northeast of Bavaria, very close to the Czech-Bavarian border.-Geography:...

.

Compared to the main lines, the regulations for these branch lines were relaxed. Steep inclines (up to 1:25), tight curves (100 m) and a narrower subgrade were permitted; as were lighter rails (or used main line rails), lighter vehicles and lower speeds. All the lines were standard gauge

Standard gauge

The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...

. Narrow gauge

Narrow gauge

A narrow gauge railway is a railway that has a track gauge narrower than the of standard gauge railways. Most existing narrow gauge railways have gauges of between and .- Overview :...

lines were much rarer in Bavaria than in other states.

The Sekundärbahnen

Because the Vizinalbahnen did not generate the returns expected and the state had to bail them out to a large extent, a new statute appeared on 28 April 1882 which introduced a new category of branch line the Sekundärbahn ('secondary line'). These would be constructed at state expense. In fact, only one true Sekundärbahn was built – the line from Gemünden to Hammelberg, now part of a single-track main line. Nevertheless, the name stuck and passed into Bavarian folklore, continuing to be used to refer to branch lines. Although not an official Sekundärbahn, the line from Erlangen to Gräfenberg and its locomotives were nicknamed the Seekuh. The story goes that a railway inn called the Sekundärbahn was having its sign painted. It was left half-finished overnight with only the letters 'Seku' completed. Hence the nickname.

The Age of the Branch Line - Lokalbahnen

By the 1880s, the Bavarian main line network was largely completed and attention now turned to its expansion into the hinterland. On 21 April 1884 the first Bavarian Lokalbahn ('local line' also spelt Localbahn) law was passed. This went back to the premise that funding for land purchase and construction would be a local affair, although earthworks would be paid for by the state. However, the state would also take the profit.

To make them viable, the Lokalbahnen were to be built and operated as simply as possible. Structures too were to be simple. This led to the widespread use of standard buildings and structures; nevertheless branch lines and their stations still retained a lot of individual character based on the region and local material available for construction.

The real boom period for branch line construction in Bavaria was from 1894 to 1910, a time when more than half of all branch lines were completed. The average time to build was four years and the construction cost worked out at about a fifth that of main lines per kilometre.

Everyday speech saw the introduction of another name in Bavaria for the Vizinal-, Sekundär- and Lokalbahnen: the Nebenbahn, the usual German word for a branch line.

The Deutsche Reichsbahn Era

On 31 March 1920, the state railways (Länderbahnen) were formally merged into the new 'imperial' railway company, the Deutsche Reichsbahn

Deutsche Reichsbahn

Deutsche Reichsbahn was the name of the following two companies:* Deutsche Reichsbahn, the German Imperial Railways during the Weimar Republic, the Third Reich and the immediate aftermath...

and the branch line network in Bavaria, less a few privately-run lines, transferred to the ownership of the German Reich and thereby became part of the Reichsbahn railway network.

But the aftermath of World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, the state of the economy and rampant inflation brought a halt to any significant further expansion. Of the 52 routes envisaged in 1920, only the stub from Zwiesel to Bodenmais

Zwiesel–Bodenmais railway

The Zwiesel–Bodenmais railway was the last railway line to be built in Lower Bavaria, a province of the state of Bavaria in southeast Germany. Today it is route number 907 in the timetable. Construction started in 1921 as part of a move to support this depressed area and it was taken into service...

in 1928 and the link from Kinding to Beilngries in 1929 were built.

The Post-War Years

The demise of much of the Bavarian branch line network came after the Second World War when competition from the road network and increasing car ownership hit first passenger, then goods services. Around half the original branch lines had closed by the mid-seventies and the trend has continued since, albeit at a slower pace.

Trackbed

The Vizinalbahnen used old mainline rails or lightweight, Vizinalbahn rails laid on wooden sleepers. For Lokalbahn lines, the lower speeds enabled a lighter superstructure to be used, for a wheel load of 4.25 to 5 t (4.2 to 4.9 LT)/4.25 to 5 t (4.7 to 5.5 ST). By the 1930s, the superstructure of Bavarian branch lines generally consisted of 6 m rails, supplied by the Maximilianshütte at Haidhof, fixed to iron base plates and wooden sleepers with massive rail spikes. The result was a special – lightweight – Bavarian Lokalbahn rail profile.

Track Layout

Although track layouts varied, there were certain standard layouts that were common:

A halt with a loading loop served by a combined end- and side-loading ramp.
A terminal station with a kick-back loading siding, served by a ramp at one end and the goods shed at the other. There was a run-around loop for the engine and a crossing loop from which the engine shed and any industrial siding could be accessed.

Any industrial sidings had to be built and maintained by the industries concerned.

Halts

Many halts just had a name board; sometimes there was a simple shelter with a bench provided by the local council. The railway administration permitted railway 'agents' to operate on many stations, and the standard design of single-storey, wooden, agency building can still be seen today in many places. One side handled the passenger traffic, with a waiting room, ticket office and earth toilet. The other half was the office, goods shed and loading ramp. In epoch 3, these buildings were sometimes extended and more solidly built.

Stations

Station buildings were often of stone or brick and many appear to be far too large for the villages and towns they serve. In the early days, a standard cubic shape, the so-called Würfel was common, later the design was more variable. Station names could be painted in large letters or carved into long sandstone ashlar slabs on the walls of the building. At the front there is often a shed roof to provide some shelter for waiting passengers on the 'home' platform. The goods shed was often attached.

Engine Sheds

The engine shed was not just a building for housing locomotives. It was a combined 'stable', workshop, office and servicing area, often with living accommodation integrated. There were external locomotive facilities such as cleaning pits, water cranes and nearby coaling bunkers. Inside there were sanding facilities. There was a work table and vice, an office with the duty roster, regulations, operating instructions and other reference material as well as clothes lockers and washing facilities for the staff. Oil was kept in the cellar.

Coaling was carried out by hand from coal bunkers. Coal was shovelled onto a platform and from there into the locomotive's coal tank. Later simple cranes or derricks were installed.

For major repairs, however, the engines were sent to the depot (Bahnbetriebswerk or Bw) and a replacement locomotive provided.

Locomotives

Typical Bavarian branch line locomotives in Epoch 1 include the:

Class D XI
Bavarian D XI
The Bavarian Class D XI engines were branch line saturated steam locomotives built for service with the Royal Bavarian State Railways ....

, the classic branch line engine of which over 100 were delivered.
Class GtL 4/4
Bavarian GtL 4/4
The Bavarian Class GtL 4/4 engines were superheated steam locomotives in service with the Royal Bavarian State Railways for duties on branch lines .- History :...

, a common goods train locomotive for branch lines.
Class PtL 2/2
Bavarian PtL 2/2
The Class PtL 2/2 locomotives of the Royal Bavarian State Railways were light and very compact superheated steam locomotives for operation on Bavarian branch lines...

, nicknamed the 'glass box' (Glaskasten), an unusual design for one-man operation on short lines.
Class BB II
Bavarian BB II
The Bavarian Class BB II engines were Mallet saturated steam locomotives in the service of the Royal Bavarian State Railways ....

, a Mallet locomotive
Mallet locomotive
The Mallet Locomotive is a type of articulated locomotive, invented by a Swiss engineer named Anatole Mallet ....

designed for winding, hilly routes with tight curves.

In Epoch 2, former light main line tank engines were cascaded to the branch lines including the:

Class Pt 2/3
Bavarian Pt 2/3
The two-cylinder, superheated Bavarian Pt 2/3 engine was built by Krauss for the Royal Bavarian State Railways between 1909 and 1915...

, which became the classic branch line motive power for Epochs 2 and 3.
Class D XII
Bavarian D XII
The Bavarian Class D XII steam locomotives were manufactured by the firm of Krauss from 1897 for the Royal Bavarian State Railways . Ninety six of them were procured for service on the stub lines running from Munich into the mountains, but in reality they were stationed in many large Bavarian...

, which was deployed in small numbers to some lines.

They were joined by new Einheitsdampfloks built for the DRG in the late 1920s and 1930s:

DRG Class 64
DRG Class 64
The Deutsche Reichsbahn had a standard passenger train tank engine with a wheel arrangement of 1'C1' or 2-6-2 and a low axle load, which was designated in their classification system as the DRG Class 64 . The Class 64 was developed from 1926 onwards and it was built between 1928 and 1940...

, nicknamed Bubikopf ('bob' hairstyle).
DRG Class 86
DRG Class 86
The DRG Class 86 was a standard goods train tank locomotive with the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft. It was intended for duties on branch lines and was delivered by almost all the locomotive building firms working for the Reichsbahn...

, its larger cousin.

Goods Wagon Classification

The Bavarian railways, at different times, had three different classification systems that roughly correspond to the early, middle and late period of the state railway era in Bavaria, i.e.:

Epoch Ia (1867-92)

The early period from 1867 to 1892. Capital letters were used to indicate the type of wagon, e.g. G = open wagon with low sides, short; H= log wagon. Photographs suggest that this system took time to develop and was not fully established until after the Bavarian Ostbahn had been merged into the State Railway in 1877. Roman or Arabic numerals were used additionally to indicate the age of the wagon, e.g. an A I was an old, 6-wheeled, goods van for a load of 12 t (11.8 LT; 13.2 ST) , whilst an A³ was a 10 m long 'modern' van for 15 t (14.8 LT; 16.5 ST) load (10 t (9.8 LT; 11 ST) was 'normal') and an H² was a log wagon built between 1860 and 1880. The owner inscription was K.Bay.Sts.B. with a rather square, crowned Bavarian coat of arms (white and blue lozenges).

Epoch Ib (1893-1912)

Epoch Ib may be viewed as the middle period from 1893 to 1912. The K.Bay. Sts.B. continued to capital letters to indicate the overall category of vehicles, but changed the meanings in some cases to make them more 'intuitive'. For example, G became a covered (Gedeckter) goods van, S were flat wagons (Schienenwagen = rail-carrying wagon) and V were livestock vans (Viehwagen). In addition, lower case letters were used to further define the class of vehicle, indicating e.g. the maximum load, height of the sides etc., and additional axles were indicated by doubling or tripling the letters. So Xm was a works wagon with a maximum load over 10 t (9.8 LT; 11 ST) and SSml was a long, eight-wheeled flat wagon capable of carrying over 10 tonnes.
The owner inscription was just K.Bay. Sts.B. without any coat of arms.

Epoch Ic (1913-1920)

In 1909, the German state railways founded the German State Railway Wagon Association

German State Railway Wagon Association

The German State Railway Wagon Association was an association of the German state railways Länderbahnen founded in 1909. The purpose of the association was to guarantee the unrestricted exchange of goods wagons between the member railway administrations...

(Deutscher Staatsbahnwagenverband or DSV) in order to enable the free interchange of goods wagons and reduce production and maintenance costs. At the same time standardized wagon numbering, based on the Prussian system, was introduced. In Bavaria, this appears to have been delayed until 1912/13. In addition, Bavaria introduced a naming scheme. Works wagons were given the name of their railway division, but others received the name of a Bavarian division depending on their age, type and location. So a modern covered goods wagon with over 15 ton maximum load was designated Gm München. More strikingly, the DSV wagons were supposed to be painted red-brown from 1 January 1911. However this was delayed at least a year in Bavaria and it is likely that green wagons were still around for some time afterwards. Epoch Ic ended with the merging of the state railways into the Deutsche Reichsbahn