Black Forest Railway (Baden)
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The Baden Black Forest Railway (German: ''Badische Schwarzwaldbahn'') is a twin-track, electrified railway line in
Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...
,
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, running in a NW-SE direction to link
Offenburg Offenburg ("open borough" - coat of arms showing open gates; Low Alemmanic: ''Offäburg'') is a city located in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With nearly 60,000 inhabitants (2019), it is the largest city and the administrative capital ...
on the
Rhine Valley Railway ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , sou ...
(''Rheintalbahn'') with Singen on the
High Rhine Railway The High Rhine Railway (german: Hochrheinbahn) is the Deutsche Bahn railway line from Basel to Singen. It is also part of the tri-national S-Bahn Basel and referenced as . It was built by the Grand Duchy of Baden State Railways as part of the Ba ...
(''Hochrheinbahn''). Passing directly across the
Black Forest The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is t ...
, through spectacular scenery, the route is 150 km long, ascends 650 metres from lowest to highest elevation, and passes through 39 tunnels and over 2 viaducts. It is still the only true mountain railway in Germany to be built with two tracks, and is the most important railway line in the Black Forest. It was built between 1863 and 1873, utilizing plans drawn up by Robert Gerwig. This line should not be confused with the Württemberg Black Forest Railway (''Schwarzwaldbahn (Württemberg)''), which runs between
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
and
Calw Calw (; previously pronounced and sometimes spelled ''Kalb'' accordingly) is a town in the middle of Baden-Württemberg in the south of Germany, capital and largest town of the district Calw. It is located in the Northern Black Forest and is a ...
in Germany.


Geographical and economic significance

By cutting straight through the Black Forest, the Black Forest Railway shortened the trip between Offenburg and Singen, which had been connected by the
Baden Mainline The Baden main line (german: Badische Hauptbahn) is a German railway line that was built between 1840 and 1863. It runs through Baden, from Mannheim via Heidelberg, Karlsruhe, Offenburg, Freiburg, Basle, Waldshut-Tiengen, Waldshut, Schaffhausen an ...
(''Badische Hauptbahn''), from 240 km to 150 km. The route is currently operated by a regular service of Deutsche Bahn ''
RegionalExpress In Germany, Luxembourg and Austria, the Regional-Express (RE, or in Austria: REX) is a type of regional train. It is similar to a semi-fast train, with average speed at about 70–90 km/h (top speed often 160 km/h) as it calls at ...
'' trains, using double-decker rolling stock, which allow excellent views. The trains continue southwards from Singen on the High Rhine Railway to
Konstanz Konstanz (, , locally: ; also written as Constance in English) is a university city with approximately 83,000 inhabitants located at the western end of Lake Constance in the south of Germany. The city houses the University of Konstanz and was th ...
and across the Swiss border to Kreuzlingen, and northwards to
Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...
along the Rhine Valley Railway. In addition, the line is utilized by a daily ''
Intercity InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to regional, local, or commuter trains) generally call at m ...
'' between
Konstanz Konstanz (, , locally: ; also written as Constance in English) is a university city with approximately 83,000 inhabitants located at the western end of Lake Constance in the south of Germany. The city houses the University of Konstanz and was th ...
and
Hamburg-Altona Altona (), also called Hamburg-Altona, is the westernmost Boroughs and quarters of Hamburg#Boroughs, urban borough (''Bezirk'') of the Germany, German States of Germany, city state of Hamburg, on the right bank of the Elbe river. From 1640 to ...
. This route was also economically significant for the small communities in the southern part of the Black Forest. For many localities, which, prior to the advent of train service, were only accessible via horse-drawn carriages, this development was key to their industrialization. From the end of the 19th century, until
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, the manufacture of clocks in the Black Forest saw its economic heyday, and this industry marks the local economy even today. Not only the residents of towns directly on the line, such as St. Georgen,
Hornberg Hornberg is a town in the Ortenaukreis, in western Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated in the Black Forest, 35 km southeast of Offenburg, and 25 km northwest of Villingen-Schwenningen. Sons and daughters of the town * ( ...
, Villingen-Schwenningen, and Donaueschingen, were beneficiaries of train service, but even
Furtwangen Furtwangen im Schwarzwald (; Low Alemannic: ''Furtwange im Schwarzwald'') is a small city located in the Black Forest region of southwestern Germany. Together with Villingen-Schwenningen, Furtwangen is part of the district (German: Kreis) of Sc ...
or
Schramberg Schramberg is a town in the district of Rottweil, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated in the eastern Black Forest, 25 km northwest of Rottweil. With all of its districts (Talstadt, Sulgen, Waldmössingen, Heiligenbronn, Schönbron ...
, which are not far away, profited. The line is also significant in terms of tourism.


History


Planning phase

The first plans for a railway line right across the central Black Forest had been drawn up in the 1840s. However, these initial plans did not come to fruition, mainly because the technical expertise necessary to build this complex and expensive line was not yet available. Originally, the Black Forest line was intended as a feeder line to the Swiss Gotthardbahn, across the first German-Swiss border crossing near Waldshut and
Koblenz Koblenz (; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz''), spelled Coblenz before 1926, is a German city on the banks of the Rhine and the Moselle, a multi-nation tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman mili ...
. Geological issues in the Wutach Valley prevented taking a path in a southerly direction from Donaueschingen, and trains took a lengthy detour around the Swiss
Canton of Schaffhausen The canton of Schaffhausen, also canton of Schaffouse (german: Kanton Schaffhausen; rm, Chantun Schaffusa; french: Canton de Schaffhouse; it, Canton Sciaffusa) is the northernmost canton of Switzerland. The principal city and capital of the ca ...
to reach Singen, near Lake Constance, which was the ultimate destination. After settling on Offenburg as the starting point, and Singen as the destination, three variations on the line were examined: # the ''Bregtallinie'' via Furtwangen and alongside the Breg river, # the ''Sommeraulinie'' via Hornberg and Triberg # the ''Schiltachlinie'' via Wolfach, Schiltach and Schramberg. The Bregtallinie option was eliminated first, due to its expense and complexity. From an engineering perspective, it was actually the Schiltachlinie that turned out to be easiest to execute; however, because that line would have run through Schramberg, in Württemberg, and would not have been located solely in Baden, the final decision was made to utilize the Sommeraulinie. Railway engineer Robert Gerwig was tasked with the creation of the track layout plans.


Construction

Since the central section of the line required an extended planning phase, the Baden State Railway made the decision to initially start construction on the first section, from Offenburg to Hausach, and the last section, from
Engen Engen (延元) was a Japanese era of the Southern Court during the Era of Northern and Southern Courts after Kenmu and before Kōkoku, lasting from February 1336 to April 1340.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Engen''" i ''Japan encyclop ...
to Singen. The work between Offenburg to Hausach turned out to be relatively uncomplicated, since the engineers were able to utilize the Kinzig valley. The only exception was the necessity to create a new river bed for the Kinzig near
Gengenbach Gengenbach (; gsw, label=Low Alemannic German, Low Alemannic, Gängäbach) is a town in the Ortenaukreis, district of Ortenau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, and a popular tourist destination on the western edge of the Black Forest, with about 11,0 ...
. Between Engen and Donaueschingen construction met with considerably more difficult conditions. To deal with the watershed between the
Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...
and
Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...
rivers, the Hattinger tunnel had to be dug through the local limestone. In addition, a 240-metre section of the Danube had to be rerouted between the communities of Pfohren and Neudingen. Two options were examined to achieve the exit of the Danube valley in the direction of
Hegau The Hegau is an extinct volcanic landscape in southern Germany extending around the industrial city of Singen (Hohentwiel), between Lake Constance in the east, the Rhine River in the south, the Danube River in the north and the Randen (mountain r ...
. One option was to leave the valley near
Geisingen Geisingen is a town in the district of Tuttlingen, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated on the Danube, 13 km southwest of Tuttlingen, and 21 km southeast of Villingen-Schwenningen. History Geisingen is referenced (spell ...
, the other choice was to exit near
Immendingen Immendingen is a municipality in the district of Tuttlingen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany located on the Upper Danube. It is famous for the Danube Sinkhole. Geography Immendingen is located on the Upper Danube. On the municipal area are part ...
. Gerwig chose the latter option, as it turned out to allow for less complex track construction. He chose to artificially lengthen the route with two double slings in the Gutach valley near
Triberg Triberg im Schwarzwald is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, located in the Schwarzwald-Baar district in the Black Forest. In 2020, it had a population of 4,656. Triberg lies in the middle of the Black Forest between 500 and 1038 metres above ...
. Due to the many tunnels on a curved alignment, the section between
Hornberg Hornberg is a town in the Ortenaukreis, in western Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated in the Black Forest, 35 km southeast of Offenburg, and 25 km northwest of Villingen-Schwenningen. Sons and daughters of the town * ( ...
and Sankt Georgen ended up being the most complicated section of the route, and was completed last. In 1870, the Franco-Prussian War markedly delayed construction, since the German construction crews were drafted for military service, and the Italian crews were let go. Work did not resume until 1871.


1866-1919 - Operations as part of Baden State Railway

The two sections Offenburg–Hausach and Engen–Singen were opened for service in 1866, and the other parts of the line were finished in the next several years. Due to the further delays caused by the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, the Black Forest Railway was not completed in its entirety until 10 November 1873. In addition, the section Singen–Konstanz, which had been opened in 1863 as part of the
Baden Mainline The Baden main line (german: Badische Hauptbahn) is a German railway line that was built between 1840 and 1863. It runs through Baden, from Mannheim via Heidelberg, Karlsruhe, Offenburg, Freiburg, Basle, Waldshut-Tiengen, Waldshut, Schaffhausen an ...
, was operationally linked to the Black Forest Railway. Plans were also drawn up to connect the
Elz Valley Railway The Elz Valley Railway (German: ''Elztalbahn'') is a long, single-tracked, standard gauge branch line in the Black Forest area of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. The line branches off the Freiburg im Breisgau to Offenburg section of the Rh ...
from
Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...
via
Elzach Elzach (; Low Alemannic German, Low Alemannic: ''Elze'') is a town in the Emmendingen (district), district of Emmendingen, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated on the river Elz (Rhine), Elz, 26 km northeast of Freiburg. Geography ...
with
Hausach Hausach (; gsw, label= Low Alemannic, Huusä) is a town in the Ortenaukreis, in western Baden-Württemberg, Germany. History Hausach was founded in the 13th century, below Husen Castle. In the 14th century, it became a possession of the Coun ...
, but this was never realized. Initially, there were 5 scheduled passenger trains running from Offenburg to Konstanz, and an additional 3 trains were run in the section Villingen–Konstanz. There was also express passenger service from Konstanz to Immendingen, with this train then taking the Gäu Railway (Stuttgart–Singen) to
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
, and one express train from Offenburg to Singen. This last service took about four hours to make that trip. The section Hausach–Villingen was expanded into a twin-track configuration by 1888. Scheduled passenger train service continually increased through the early 1900s. Additionally, freight train service also saw growth in that same period. Starting in the summer of 1906, more and more passenger express trains utilized the line, amongst them international connections such as
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
–Konstanz,
Ostend Ostend ( nl, Oostende, ; french: link=no, Ostende ; german: link=no, Ostende ; vls, Ostende) is a coastal city and municipality, located in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerk ...
–Konstanz and
Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
Chur , neighboring_municipalities= Arosa, Churwalden, Tschiertschen-Praden, Domat/Ems, Felsberg, Malix, Trimmis, Untervaz, Pfäfers , twintowns = Bad Homburg (Germany), Cabourg (France), Mayrhofen (Austria), Mondorf-les-Bains (Luxe ...
. However, these connections were soon discontinued. After the start of World War I in 1914, service was steadily decreased for the duration of the war. In the summer of 1918, just a single passenger train frequented the line. Then, on 24 May 1918, a munitions train exploded near
Triberg Triberg im Schwarzwald is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, located in the Schwarzwald-Baar district in the Black Forest. In 2020, it had a population of 4,656. Triberg lies in the middle of the Black Forest between 500 and 1038 metres above ...
.


1919-1945 - Operations as part of the Deutsche Reichsbahn

The sections Offenburg–Hausach and Villingen–Singen were expanded into twin track lines by November 1921, which was made possible by the fact that the rail beds of the entire Black Forest Railway had been laid out to accommodate two tracks. Starting in 1922, the Prussian Class P 8 steam locomotive saw service on the route. On 4 February 1923, French troops occupied the towns of
Appenweier Appenweier ( gsw, label= Low Alemannic, Appewiir) is a municipality in western Baden-Württemberg, Germany in the district of Ortenau. Geography Appenweier consists of the main municipal Appenweier (4,075 inhabitants), Urloffen (4,301 inhabitan ...
and Offenburg, which meant that the slow passenger trains (''Bummelzug'') were forced to start and end their runs in the community of Ortenberg, just south of Offenburg. Only one express passenger train, traveling between Hausach and Konstanz, utilized the line at the time. All the usual through traffic on the Black Forest Railway had to be rerouted in complicated fashion. Only on 11 December 1923, when Appenweier und Offenburg were liberated, did regular service to Offenburg, and limited service further north, resume. Starting in 1924, the old Hornberg viaduct across the Reichenbach valley was replaced by a new arched bridge to increase the capacity of the route. At the end of October 1925, after 17 months of construction, the new bridge was put into service. Also in 1925 (some sources quote 1931), the 31-metre-long Kaisertunnel was excavated and removed. On 22 April 1945, service had to be halted when a pillar of the viaduct suffered collateral war damage. The damage was repaired just a few weeks after the end of the war, and the Black Forest Railway was operational again on 30 June 1945.


1945-1994 - Operations as part of the Deutsche Bundesbahn

Rail buses were seen on the Black Forest Railway for the first time in the summer of 1955, and the following year marked the first service of diesel locomotives on the line. Diesel locomotives of the type
DB Class V 200 DB Class V 200 (also known as Class 220) was the first series production diesel-hydraulic express locomotive of the German Deutsche Bundesbahn and – as Am 4/4 – of the SBB-CFF-FFS in Switzerland. History DB Service Five prototypes of t ...
replaced the last steam locomotives, particularly of the type DRG Class 39 (former
Prussian P 10 The Prussian state railways' Class P 10 were 2-8-2 "Mikado" type passenger-hauling steam locomotives built for hauling heavy express trains in the hilly terrain of the ''Mittelgebirge''. They were the last Prussian passenger train steam locomot ...
). At the start of the 1970s it was decided to electrify the line, in order to make the Black Forest Railway yet more flexible and economically attractive, and on 25 September 1977, the entire line was switched to full electrical operation. The work to electrify the line had been more complex than anticipated, particularly in the many tunnels, as the rail beds had to be lowered in those instances. Several unprofitable railway stations and other halts were also taken out of service at the time. It is also worth noting that, due to the many sections with steep inclines, locomotives of the type DB Class 139, with
rheostatic brake Dynamic braking is the use of an electric traction motor as a generator when slowing a vehicle such as an electric or diesel-electric locomotive. It is termed " rheostatic" if the generated electrical power is dissipated as heat in brake grid ...
s, were prominently seen in service. 1989 saw the beginning of a new chapter in rail service in the Black Forest: The Deutsche Bundesbahn celebrated the creation of a new train type, called '' InterRegio'' (''IR''), with the introduction of new service from Konstanz via Offenburg, Karlsruhe,
Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...
and Frankfurt am Main to
Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020 ...
. These ''InterRegio'' trains ran every other hour, alternating on the hour with a ''
Regional-Express In Germany, Luxembourg and Austria, the Regional-Express (RE, or in Austria: REX) is a type of regional train. It is similar to a semi-fast train, with average speed at about 70–90 km/h (top speed often 160 km/h) as it calls at ...
'' (''RE'') train from Konstanz to Offenburg. ''InterRegio'' connections to
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
,
Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...
,
Lübeck Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the stat ...
, and Stralsund were offered starting in the mid-1990s.


1994 until today - Operations as part of the Deutsche Bahn AG (DB AG)

The privatization of the Bundesbahn also affected the Black Forest Railway. The rail transport reform program enabled private rail transport companies to gain access to the network of the DB AG, and with it access to the Black Forest Railway. Starting on 24 May 1998, trains of the
Ortenau The Ortenau, originally called Mortenau, is a historic region in the present-day German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the right bank of the river Rhine, stretching from the Upper Rhine Plain to the foothill zone of the Black Fore ...
-S-Bahn provided service between Offenburg und Hausach. This service is now available hourly from Offenburg, via Hausach, then onto the Kinzig Valley Railway to
Freudenstadt Freudenstadt (Swabian: ''Fraidestadt'') is a town in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is capital of the district Freudenstadt. The closest population centres are Offenburg to the west (approx. 36 km away) and Tübingen to the eas ...
. Concurrently, trains of the Swiss company ''Mittelthurgaubahn'' travelled between Engen and Konstanz, which connected via Konstanz into
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
. In 2001, a new halt was constructed at the Offenburg regional vocational school on behalf of the Ortenau S-Bahn. With the new schedule of 2001, and with the exception of two trains, the ''InterRegio'' service was replaced by the new '' Interregio-Express'' (''IRE'') trains going from Karlsruhe to Konstanz. The service provided by the ''RegioExpress'' trains was also extended to Karlsruhe. At the end of 2002, the two remaining IR trains were converted into ''
Intercity InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to regional, local, or commuter trains) generally call at m ...
'' (''IC'') trains, and the ''IR'' train type was discontinued. Since 2003, sections of the line between Donaueschingen and Villingen, and, since 2004, sections between the
Wutach Valley Railway The Wutach Valley Railway or german: Wutachtalbahn is one of the most unusual and impressive stretches of railway in Germany. It links the town of Waldshut-Tiengen, on the High Rhine Railway (''Hochrheinbahn'') and the border of Baden-Württemberg ...
branching near Hintschingen, and Immendingen, are utilized by the ''Ringzug'' ('circle train') system of the districts
Tuttlingen Tuttlingen ( Alemannic: ''Duttlinga'') is a town in Baden-Württemberg, capital of the district Tuttlingen. Nendingen, ''Möhringen'' and ''Eßlingen'' are three former municipalities that belong to Tuttlingen. Tuttlingen is located in Swabia ea ...
, Rottweil and
Schwarzwald-Baar Schwarzwald-Baar () is a Districts of Germany, ''Landkreis'' (district) in the south of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from north clockwise) Ortenaukreis, Rottweil (district), Rottweil, Tuttlingen (district), Tuttlingen, ...
. For this purpose, several unused halts were reactivated, and new halts were created. Invitations to bid on providing local rail service between Karlsruhe and Konstanz were issued in 2003 across Europe by the state of
Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...
. In 2004, the DB Schwarzwaldbahn GmbH, a subsidiary of DB AG, which became part of
DB Regio AG DB Regio AG is a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn which operates regional and commuter train services in Germany. DB Regio AG, headquartered in Frankfurt am Main. It is a 100% subsidiary of the Deutsche Bahn Group and there part of the DB Regio b ...
before ever starting service, won the contract over two other bidders. Starting on 10 December 2006, trains consisting of locomotives of the type DBAG Class 146, and modern double-decker passenger cars with the name "Schwarzwaldbahn" printed on them, are providing comfortable service with air conditioning and suspension seats. Passenger counts rose by 30% within a year of starting this service. The ''InterCity'' service 2370/2371, dubbed "Schwarzwald", going from Hamburg to Konstanz, and from Konstanz to Hamburg and Stralsund, still makes this trip daily in parallel with the RegioExpress trains, and replaces that service on the route between Offenburg and Konstanz. On weekends, an additional ''IC'' train with numbers 2004 and 2006/2005, dubbed "Bodensee", connects Konstanz with Dortmund, Emden, and Norddeich. Freight traffic is of only secondary significance. In the route table of the DB, the Black Forest Railway is listed under the number 720.


Route details


Geography

Between Offenburg and Hausach, the Black Forest Railway follows the river Kinzig, and runs right next to it near Gengenbach. The section between Offenburg and Gengenbach is flanked by expansive vineyards, which slowly dwindle away as the Kinzig Valley narrows. The line then runs through the Gutach valley to Hornberg. From Hornberg to Sankt Georgen, the route must negotiate numerous loops, many through tunnels, and transcends several hundred metres in altitude in the process. This section is clearly visible from a lookout point near
Triberg Triberg im Schwarzwald is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, located in the Schwarzwald-Baar district in the Black Forest. In 2020, it had a population of 4,656. Triberg lies in the middle of the Black Forest between 500 and 1038 metres above ...
. After passing through Sankt Georgen, the route continues alongside the river
Brigach The Brigach is the shorter of two streams that jointly form the river Danube in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The Brigach has its source at above sea level within St. Georgen in the Black Forest. The Brigach crosses the city Villingen-Schwenni ...
. After Villingen, the route starts to leave the Black Forest behind, and crosses the Baar lowlands. In Donaueschingen, the Black Forest Railway meets up with the Höllental Railway, which is second only to the Black Forest Railway in significance in terms of railways in the area. The route then parallels the Danube river, which is formed by the confluence of the Brigach and Breg rivers, until it reaches Immedingen. The entire route crosses through four districts of the state of Baden-Württemberg: From Offenburg to Hausach it starts in the
Ortenaukreis Ortenaukreis ( gsw, label= Low Alemannic, Ortenaukrais; french: Arrondissement de l'Ortenau) is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in the west of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are (clockwise from north) Rastatt, Freudenstadt, Rottw ...
, and crosses the
Schwarzwald-Baar-Kreis Schwarzwald-Baar () is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in the south of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from north clockwise) Ortenaukreis, Rottweil, Tuttlingen, Constance, the Swiss canton of Schaffhausen, and the districts ...
between Triberg and Donaueschingen. Kreis Tuttlingen is traversed between
Geisingen Geisingen is a town in the district of Tuttlingen, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated on the Danube, 13 km southwest of Tuttlingen, and 21 km southeast of Villingen-Schwenningen. History Geisingen is referenced (spell ...
and Immendingen, and the final part of the line ends up in Kreis Konstanz.


Technical characteristics

The Black Forest Railway was the first mountain railway to use hair-pin loops, which artificially lengthened the line, but allowed for the grade to stay under 20
per mille Per mille (from Latin , "in each thousand") is an expression that means parts per thousand. Other recognised spellings include per mil, per mill, permil, permill, or permille. The associated sign is written , which looks like a percent sig ...
at any point. Without this solution, the construction of part of the line as a
rack and pinion railway A rack railway (also rack-and-pinion railway, cog railway, or cogwheel railway) is a steep grade railway with a toothed rack rail, usually between the running rails. The trains are fitted with one or more cog wheels or pinions that mesh with th ...
, like the
Murg Valley Railway The Murg Valley Railway (german: Murgtalbahn) is a 58 kilometre long railway line in the Northern Black Forest in Germany, that links Rastatt and Freudenstadt. It was opened in stages from 1868 to 1928 being built outwards from both Rastatt and Fr ...
or the Höllental Railway, would have been necessary. Between Hausach and Sankt Georgen, the railway ascends a total of 564 metres. The two towns are separated by only 21 kilometres in a straight line; the railway traverses 38 kilometres to make the trip. As mentioned before, the line had to be constructed with the limitation that it could not leave the territory of the Grand Duchy of Baden. Building the line via the town of Schramberg, in the
Kingdom of Württemberg The Kingdom of Württemberg (german: Königreich Württemberg ) was a German state that existed from 1805 to 1918, located within the area that is now Baden-Württemberg. The kingdom was a continuation of the Duchy of Württemberg, which existe ...
, would have made construction much less expensive and complex. However, this would have meant that Baden would have had to share control over the strategically important line with another state, and the clock-making industry in Schramberg would have gained an important advantage in their competition with the same industry in Furtwangen in Baden. The route passes through numerous tunnels (37 alone in the section between Hausach and Sankt Georgen), but only travels across one large viaduct, in Hornberg. On its way from north to south, the line passes under the main European watershed twice, once via the Sommerau tunnel between Triberg and Sankt Georgen, which is 1,697 metres long, and then via the Hatting tunnel, between Engen and Immendingen, which is 900 metres in length. Also worth mentioning is the control and safety technology on display on the Black Forest Railway. Three different signal box types are in use: The mechanical type near Villingen, relay-controlled signal boxes near Triberg, and electronic examples near Immendingen.


Model railway

A part of the Black Forest Railway has been reconstructed, using pictures and actual construction plans, as a model railway in HO scale, in the town of Hausach. With 1,600 metres of track, 1.8 metres from highest to lowest elevation, and an area of 400 square metres, it is the largest model railway project in Europe that replicates an actual railway line.


See also

* History of the railway in Württemberg


References


Sources

* * * * * * {{coord missing, Baden-Württemberg Railway lines in Baden-Württemberg Railway lines opened in 1866 Standard gauge railways in Germany Railway lines in the Black Forest Tuttlingen (district) Buildings and structures in Ortenaukreis Buildings and structures in Schwarzwald-Baar-Kreis Buildings and structures in Konstanz (district)