The Duisburg–Hochfeld railway bridge (german: Duisburg-Hochfelder Eisenbahnbrücke) spans the
Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, so ...
in the German city of
Duisburg
Duisburg () is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine and the Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruhr Region, Duisburg is the 5th largest city in Nor ...
on the
Duisburg-Ruhrort–Mönchengladbach line. The first bridge was built by the
Rhenish Railway Company
The Rhenish Railway Company (German language, German: ''Rheinische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft'', RhE) was along with the Cologne-Minden Railway Company (CME) and the Bergisch-Märkische Railway Company (BME) one of the railway companies that in the m ...
and put into operation at the end of 1873. It was replaced by a new bridge in 1927, which was badly damaged during 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 ...
, but rebuilt and is still serves rail traffic between the
Ruhr
The Ruhr ( ; german: Ruhrgebiet , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr area, sometimes Ruhr district, Ruhr region, or Ruhr valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 2,800/km ...
region and
Aachen
Aachen ( ; ; Aachen dialect: ''Oche'' ; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle; or ''Aquisgranum''; nl, Aken ; Polish: Akwizgran) is, with around 249,000 inhabitants, the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the 28th- ...
.
History
On 23 August 1866, the
Rhenish Railway Company
The Rhenish Railway Company (German language, German: ''Rheinische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft'', RhE) was along with the Cologne-Minden Railway Company (CME) and the Bergisch-Märkische Railway Company (BME) one of the railway companies that in the m ...
(''Rheinische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft'', RhE) opened its
line between Osterrath and Essen to connect the coal mines in the Ruhr region with its railway network, which at that time was mainly located on the west bank of the Rhine. This line included the
Rheinhausen–Hochfeld train ferry
The Rheinhausen–Hochfeld train ferry was a German train ferry on the Rhine between Rheinhausen and Hochfeld, now districts of Duisburg. It was built by the Rhenish Railway Company and commenced operations on 23 August 1866.
History
Following th ...
. Prior to the
Austro-Prussian War
The Austro-Prussian War, also by many variant names such as Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), (; "German war of brothers") and by a variety of other names, was fought in 186 ...
, the
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
n military opposed the building of fixed bridges across the Rhine for military reasons, except in fortified cities such as Cologne,
Mainz
Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...
,
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 ...
and
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...
. Hints in 1869 that military opinion had changed led the company to apply immediately for permission to construct a bridge from
Rheinhausen
Rheinhausen () is a district of the city of Duisburg in Germany, with a population of 78,203 (December 31, 2020) and an area of 38.68 km². It lies on the left bank of the river Rhine.
Rheinhausen consists of the neighbourhoods: Rumeln-Kald ...
to Duisburg.
The first bridge
The Prussian government issued a concession on 29 July 1871 for the construction of a railway bridge on the Osterrath–Essen line near
Rheinhausen
Rheinhausen () is a district of the city of Duisburg in Germany, with a population of 78,203 (December 31, 2020) and an area of 38.68 km². It lies on the left bank of the river Rhine.
Rheinhausen consists of the neighbourhoods: Rumeln-Kald ...
on the following conditions:
*Chambers with
mines were to be built in all bridge piers,
*Towers were to be constructed with defensive facilities at both bridgeheads and there were to be
swing bridge
A swing bridge (or swing span bridge) is a movable bridge that has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its center of gravity, about which the swing span (turning span) can then pi ...
s at the end of the main bridge that could be activated during wartime,
*Train ferry facilities on the banks were to be removed,
*300
thalers
A thaler (; also taler, from german: Taler) is one of the large silver coins minted in the states and territories of the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburg monarchy during the Early Modern period. A ''thaler'' size silver coin has a diameter of ...
was to be paid to the Prussian government for two military gunboats.
Since the Rhenish Railway Company plans for the bridge was largely ready, construction of the double-track bridge was able to begin in 1872. Despite two floods, it was completed in two years. To the west of the Rhine, a 16 span brick approach bridge was built over the flood plain; each span had an internal length of 50 Prussian feet. The central pier of the swing bridge was about 34 metres long and 10 metres wide. In the event of an attack it could be turned 90° and thus made impassable for troops and trains. At the ends of the bridge there were defensive towers, which had pedestrian walkways on each side. The main bridge consisted of four spans, each 98 metres long, which were supported by three piers. Each span consisted of a two-hinged arch truss made of 2,800 tons of wrought iron made by Jacobi, Haniel and Huyssen (later
GHH) in
Oberhausen
Oberhausen (, ) is a city on the river Emscher in the Ruhr Area, Germany, located between Duisburg and Essen ( ). The city hosts the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen and its Gasometer Oberhausen is an anchor point of the European Rout ...
. On the eastern side of the Rhine the bridge's defensive tower connected with a swing bridge and a shorter bridge over the flood plain with 6 spans, which were 50 Prussian feet long. The bridge had an overall length of 800 metres.
Freight operations on the bridge commenced on 24 December 1873. The passenger trains still used the train ferry until 14 January 1874. All four lines of the ferry could then be demolished. The construction costs for the Rhenish Railway were about 2.5 million thalers.
The ever-increasing rail traffic across the bridge and the increasingly heavy trains were already starting to damage the bridge by 1910 and at the beginning of 1914 the first plans for a new bridge were being drafted, but were dropped because of the
First World War
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 ...
.
Bombing
On 30 June 1923, during the
occupation of the Ruhr
The Occupation of the Ruhr (german: link=no, Ruhrbesetzung) was a period of military occupation of the Ruhr region of Germany by France and Belgium between 11 January 1923 and 25 August 1925.
France and Belgium occupied the heavily industria ...
a time bomb exploded while a Belgian military train was crossing the bridge. Eight people died and several were injured.
The second bridge
The construction of the second bridge began in 1925 and it was commissioned on 13 October 1927. It was built only a few metres downstream of the first bridge. This was demolished as far as the left-bank bridge pylon in order to remove impediments to shipping and the discharge of floods.
The new bridge had a clearance for navigation that was nearly 180 metres wide. The main bridge was 20 metres high with spans of 126 metres and 189 metres. It was continued on both sides by spans that were both 104 metres long and 10 metres high and on the eastern approach there was a bridge with a 51.8 metre-long span over local industrial rail tracks. To the west of the Rhine there was a brick
viaduct
A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide v ...
with 19 spans, each 15.60 metres long, over the flood plain. A pedestrian bridge was attached on its northern side. The steel superstructure for the 907 metre-long rail bridge was built by two local construction companies, Friedrich-Alfred-Hütte (part of the
Krupp
The Krupp family (see pronunciation), a prominent 400-year-old German dynasty from Essen, is notable for its production of steel, artillery, ammunition and other armaments. The family business, known as Friedrich Krupp AG (Friedrich Krup ...
group) of Rheinhausen and Harkort of Duisburg.
The eastern end of the bridge was made impassable by a bomb on 22 May 1944 during
World War II
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 ...
. The adjacent Krupp factory built a temporary bridge and temporary piers within 17 days and the bridge was extensively repaired. However the following year German troops blew up the entire bridge on 4 March 1945, as they retreated from the western bank of the Rhine. They also completely destroyed the pier in the centre of the river.
The third bridge
![Victory Bridge Duisburg-Carschten](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/Victory_Bridge_Duisburg-Carschten.jpg)
Immediately after the American army crossed the Rhine, the
332nd Engineer General Service Regiment
332nd Engineer General Service Regiment or 332nd Engineer Regiment was activated as a Special Service Regiment in May 1942, as a unit in the United States Army. Later this unit was redesignated a General Service Regiment. The unit was formed f ...
(as a member of
ADSEC
ADSEC was the Advance Section of the Communications Zone (COMZ), European Theater of Operations, United States Army (ETOUSA), and was formally activated at Bristol, England in February 1944. It is commonly referred to as simply "ADSEC". Upon it ...
Engineer Group "A") constructed a replacement railway bridge long over the river in the record time of six days, fifteen hours and twenty minutes. The bridge was completed 8 May 1945 and was named the "Victory Bridge" in English.
This line was put back into operation on 12 May 1945. The ramps were built over the local marshalling yards of Krupp and
German railways
The (; abbreviated as DB or DB AG) is the national railway company of Germany. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG). The Federal Republic of Germany is its single shareholder.
describes itself as the ...
, partly assembled from the abundant debris that had accumulated on both sides as a result of the war.
The fourth bridge
In August 1945 work began on the recovery of the remains of the destroyed bridge superstructure. Still usable parts were recovered and reused. Almost half of the old structure was incorporated into the new bridge in its original form. The fourth bridge was put into operation on 1 October 1949 and it remains in operation.
In addition to freight trains, the bridge is used by
Regionalbahn services RB 31, Der Niederrheiner, and RB 33, Rhein-Niers-Bahn, and
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 f ...
service RE 2,
Rhein-Haard-Express
The Rhein-Haard-Express (RE 2) is a Regional-Express service in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), running from Osnabrück via Münster, Recklinghausen, Gelsenkirchen, Essen and Duisburg to Düsseldorf.
The Haard-Bahn (RB 42) ope ...
.
On the northern side of the bridge is a wide footpath, which is also used by cyclists.
See also
*
List of bridges over the Rhine This is a list of railway bridges over the Rhine.
Railway Crossings
Existing and former railway bridges, with the nearest train stations on the left and right banks:
Vorderrhein
* Switzerland
** A total of five bridges on the line, Andermatt – R ...
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
External links
*{{cite web, url=http://www.route-industriekultur.de/themenrouten/tr15/brueckentuerme-der-rheinhausener-eisenbahnbruecke.html, title=Duisburg-Hochfelder Eisenbahnbrücke , publisher=
The Industrial Heritage Trail
The Industrial Heritage Trail (german: Route der Industriekultur) links tourist attractions related to the industrial heritage in the Ruhr area in Germany. It is a part of the European Route of Industrial Heritage. The series of routes were devel ...
, accessdate=19 October 2010 , language=German
Railway bridges in Germany
Buildings and structures in Duisburg
Transport in Duisburg
Bridges over the Rhine
Bridges in North Rhine-Westphalia
Bridges completed in 1873
Bridges completed in 1927
Bridges completed in 1949