The Apeldoorn–Zwolle railway was a

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

connecting

Apeldoorn Apeldoorn (; Dutch Low Saxon: ) is a municipality and city in the province of Gelderland in the centre of the Netherlands. It is located about 60 km east of Utrecht, 60 km west of Enschede, 25 km north of Arnhem and 35 km south of Zwolle. The ...

Gelderland Gelderland (), also known as Guelders () in English, is a province of the Netherlands, occupying the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Netherlands by land area, and second by ...

with

Zwolle Zwolle () is a city and municipality in the Northeastern Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Overijssel and the province's second-largest municipality after Enschede with a population of 130,592 as of 1 December 2021. Zwolle is o ...

Overijssel Overijssel (, ; nds, Oaveriessel ; german: Oberyssel) is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the eastern part of the country. The province's name translates to "across the IJssel", from the perspective of the ...

. The railway was constructed by the Royal Netherlands Railway Company (''Koninglijke Nederlandsche Locaalspoorweg-Maatschappij'', KNLS) and opened between 1887 and 1889. The railway soon earned the nickname Baron Line, thanks to the number of

nobles Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteristi ...

living along the line. The railway was closed in 1950 and largely dismantled in the 1970s.

History

In 1876, royal palace

Het Loo Het Loo Palace ( nl, Paleis Het Loo , meaning "The wikt:lea#English, Lea") is a palace in Apeldoorn, Netherlands, built by the House of Orange-Nassau. History The symmetry, symmetrical Dutch Baroque architecture, Dutch Baroque building was desi ...

was connected to the

Amsterdam–Zutphen railway The Amsterdam–Zutphen railway is a railway line in the Netherlands running from Amsterdam, North Holland to Zutphen, Gelderland via the province of Utrecht. It passes through the cities of Hilversum, Amersfoort and Apeldoorn. It is also informa ...

. Via the Loolijn, the palace could be reached directly from

Amsterdam Centraal Amsterdam Centraal Station ( nl, italic=no, Station Amsterdam Centraal ; abbreviation: Asd) is the largest railway station in Amsterdam, North Holland, the Netherlands. A major international railway hub, it is used by 192,000 passengers a day, m ...

. One year later, the Royal Dutch Local Rail Company (KNLS) was founded, which built several railways from

, including the railway to

. West of the Apeldoorn railway station, this new line connected to the Loo line. Just before the palace, the line split to

Vaassen Vaassen (; Low German: ''Vaossen'') is one of four villages in the Dutch municipality of Epe. Vaassen is situated between Apeldoorn and Zwolle, on the eastern edge of the Veluwe in the province of Gelderland. Vaassen was an independent municipa ...

, Epe and

Hattem Hattem () is a municipality and a town in the eastern Netherlands. The municipality had a population of in . The municipality includes the hamlet of 't Zand. Name origin The name “Hattem” is a typical farmyard name. The exact origin of “H ...

. Near

Wezep Wezep is a town in the municipality of Oldebroek, Netherlands. Located in the province of Gelderland, it had about 13,500 inhabitants in 2012.''ANWB Topografische Atlas Nederland'', Topografische Dienst and ANWB, 2005. The Wezep railway station, ...

, the line merged into the

Utrecht–Kampen railway The Utrecht–Kampen railway (also known as ''Centraalspoorweg'') is an important railway line in the Netherlands running from Utrecht to Kampen, passing through Bilthoven, Amersfoort, Nijkerk, Ermelo, Harderwijk, Nunspeet, Wezep and Zwolle. The ...

of the Dutch Central Railway Company (NCS). This way, KLNS could use the existing railway bridge over the river

IJssel The IJssel (; nds-nl, Iessel(t) ) is a Dutch distributary of the river Rhine that flows northward and ultimately discharges into the IJsselmeer (before the 1932 completion of the Afsluitdijk known as the Zuiderzee), a North Sea natural harbour ...

. In 1887, the section Apeldoorn-Hattem was opened. Trains terminated in a temporary station, close to the NCS Hattemerbroek railway station. The connection to the line to Zwolle was built in 1889. Trains were operated by the Dutch Iron Railway Company (HSM). Passenger services were terminated on October 8, 1950. The section from Heerde to Wapenveld was immediately put out of service. In 1970, freight services between Wapenveld and Hattem were ended. The last freight trains between Hattem and Hattemerbroek and between Heerde and Apeldoorn rode in 1972. Soon after, the track was removed. After the closure, passengers between Apeldoorn and Zwolle were serviced by buses of the Veluwe's Car Service (VAD). As of December 2010,

Syntus Keolis Nederland is a public transport company operating bus and passenger train services in the Netherlands. Originally created as Syntus and owned by Connexxion, Keolis and Nederlandse Spoorwegen, since 2012 Keolis Nederland has been a 100% subs ...

's Veluwelijn provides the bus service.

Stations and buildings

Most stations were so called Standard Stations by KNLS. Het Loo station was a unique design. In Apeldoorn and Hattemerbroek, the KNLS used the existing stations of HSM and NCS. In Epe, Heerde and Hattem, large station buildings of the type 1st Class were built. Vaassen railway station was of type 2nd Class. Emst and Wapenveld were 3rd Class. Kampen Zuid was built in the style of HSM stations, but this building was demolished after just twenty years. Apart from Wapenveld, Heerde and Vaassen, all station building were razed after the closure of the railway line.

Present day

Many recognizable objects have survived the closure of the railway line. In Apeldoorn, two connecting curves are now in use as footpaths and several signalmen's homes are still standing. Outside of Apeldoorn, almost the entire railway is converted into bike paths.

References

Bibliography

{{DEFAULTSORT:Apeldoorn-Zwolle railway Railway lines in the Netherlands Railway lines opened in 1887 1887 establishments in the Netherlands Railway lines closed in 1950 Standard gauge railways in the Netherlands Railway lines in Gelderland Railway lines in Overijssel