The Celle-Soltau, Celle-Munster Light Railway (german: Kleinbahn Celle-Soltau, Celle-Munster GmbH) was until 1908 a publicly owned company run by the district of Celle in North Germany and was originally named the Garßen–Bergen Light Railway (''Kleinbahn Garßen-Bergen''). It was the builder and operator of the

Celle–Soltau railway The Celle–Soltau railway is a standard gauge railway in the state of Lower Saxony in northern Germany that belongs to the East Hanoverian Railways (''Osthannoversche Eisenbahnen'' or ''OHE''). It is the OHE's busiest line. History The in ...

and its branch line from Beckedorf to Munster. The initiative to build a railway to Bergen came from Celle district, who opened the first section from Garßen via Beckedorf to Bergen on 23 April 1902. The terminus had to be built at

Garßen Garßen is a Lower Saxony, Lower Saxon village in the southern part of the Lüneburg Heath and, since 1973, part of the borough of Celle in Germany. It lies on the northeastern side of the town. History The name of the village is derived from ' ...

because no agreement could be reached with the town of Celle about the routing of the line within the town limits. With the permission of the

Celle–Wittingen Light Railway The Celle–Wittingen Light Railway (german: Kleinbahn Celle–Wittingen) was founded on 21 June 1902 by the Prussian state, the town of Celle and 33 municipalities. On 15 August 1904 it opened the 51 km long, standard gauge line from Celle S ...

a solution was found in the shape of a junction on their line. It was more than two years later, on 13 December 1904, that direct services from Bergen to Celle became possible when the line to Celle-Vorstadt on the

Celle–Wittingen railway The Celle–Wittingen railway is a line belonging to the East Hanoverian Railways (''Osthannoversche Eisenbahnen'' or ''OHE''). Because its western portion runs along the River Lachte, it is also known as the Lachte Valley Railway (''Lachtetal ...

was opened. As a result, passenger trains no longer stopped at Garßen and goods trains (transferred to the state railway) followed suit on 1 September 1910. The railway facilities in Garßen were not dismantled until the 1930s. In 1905 joint operations were agreed with the Celle-Wittingen Light Railway. On 23 April 1910 the railway was extended from Bergen to Soltau and from Beckedorf to Munster. Two years earlier, in 1908 the ''Celle–Soltau, Celle–Munster Light Railway'' had been founded as a GmbH, supported by the district of

Celle Celle () is a town and capital of the district of Celle, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town is situated on the banks of the river Aller, a tributary of the Weser, and has a population of about 71,000. Celle is the southern gateway to the Lü ...

, the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Re ...

, the

Province of Hanover The Province of Hanover (german: Provinz Hannover) was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1868 to 1946. During the Austro-Prussian War, the Kingdom of Hanover had attempted to maintain a neutral position, ...

and the districts of

Fallingbostel Bad Fallingbostel (Northern Low Saxon: ''Bad Fambossel'') is the district town (''Kreisstadt'') of the Heidekreis district in the German state of Lower Saxony. Since 1976 the town has had a state-recognised Kneipp spa and has held the title of ...

and

Soltau Soltau () is a mid-sized town in the Lüneburg Heath in the district of Heidekreis, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It has around 22,000 inhabitants. The city is centrally located in the Lüneburg Heath and is known nationwide especially for its touri ...

, the town of

and several villages along the line. During Germany's re-armament prior to the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

several sidings were built to serve military bases (Scheuen, Bergen) which caused a sharp rise in traffic. From 1940 the line was no longer handled as a light railway but as a public railway due to standardisation of the Reich's regulations. This was reflected in the company's new name: the Celle-Soltau, Celle–Munster Railway (''Eisenbahn Celle-Soltau, Celle–Munster''). On 1 March 1944 a merger agreement with the ''Celle-Wittingen Railway'' went into force to form the new company of Celle Railway Company (''Celler Eisenbahn AG''); this was merged in turn on 10 July 1944 into the

East Hanoverian Railways The Osthannoversche Eisenbahnen AG (OHE) is a Celle based transportation company with railway network in North-eastern Lower Saxony around the Lüneburg Heath area of over 250 km. The OHE's main business is the transportation of freight ...

(''Osthannoversche Eisenbahnen''). The lines are still working today.

Sources

* Gerd Wolff: ''Deutsche Klein- und Privatbahnen. Band 10: Niedersachsen 2. Zwischen Weser und Elbe.'' EK-Verlag, Freiburg 2007, S. 226–258, {{ISBN, 978-3-88255-669-8 Defunct railway companies of Germany Celle Soltau