The Hessian Ludwig Railway (German: ''Hessische Ludwigsbahn'') or HLB with its network of 697 kilometres of railway was one of the largest privately owned railway companies in Germany.
Early history
The Hessian Ludwig Railway was a product of the failed – or, more accurately, non-existent – railway politics in the
Grand Duchy of Hesse
The Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine (german: link=no, Großherzogtum Hessen und bei Rhein) was a grand duchy in western Germany that existed from 1806 to 1918. The Grand Duchy originally formed from the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt in 1806 ...
. Whilst the province of
Starkenburg
Starkenburg is an historical region in the State of Hesse, Germany, comprising the area south of the Main River and east of the Rhine, around the regional capital Darmstadt.
Geography
The region is named after Starkenburg Castle, above Heppen ...
was given a central railway link, the
Main-Neckar Railway
The Main-Neckar Railway (german: Main-Neckar–Eisenbahn, MNE) is a main line railway west of the Odenwald in the Upper Rhine Plain of Germany that connects Frankfurt am Main to Heidelberg via Darmstadt, Bensheim and Weinheim. It was opened in 1 ...
very early on and the province of
Upper Hesse
The term Upper Hesse (german: Provinz Oberhessen) originally referred to the southern possessions of the Landgraviate of Hesse, which were initially geographically separated from the more northerly Lower Hesse by the .
Later, it became the name of ...
at least had connexions to the railway network through the
Main-Weser Railway at its periphery - the Grand Duchy had shares in both lines and they were operated as joint railways (''Kondominalbahnen'') – the third province,
Rhenish Hesse
Rhenish Hesse or Rhine HesseDickinson, Robert E (1964). ''Germany: A regional and economic geography'' (2nd ed.). London: Methuen, p. 542. . (german: Rheinhessen) is a region and a former government district () in the German state of Rhineland- ...
(''Rheinhessen''), had no such facilities.
Because the state was not active in this area, there was an opportunity for private involvement in the shape of a
joint stock company
A joint-stock company is a business entity in which shares of the company's stock can be bought and sold by shareholders. Each shareholder owns company stock in proportion, evidenced by their shares (certificates of ownership). Shareholders are ...
(''Aktiengesellschaft''). The HQ of the Hessian Ludwig Railway was therefore not based in the capital of
Darmstadt
Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it th ...
, but in the provincial capital for Rhenish Hesse,
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 ...
. The first impetus for the construction of a line in Rhenish Hesse came not however from local people, but from outside; in particular the
Bavarian Palatinate
The Electoral Palatinate (german: Kurpfalz) or the Palatinate (), officially the Electorate of the Palatinate (), was a state that was part of the Holy Roman Empire. The electorate had its origins under the rulership of the Counts Palatine of ...
was interested. For military strategic reasons the
Prussian state
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 ...
disapproved of a route running west of the Rhine. The
Grand Duchy of Baden
The Grand Duchy of Baden (german: Großherzogtum Baden) was a state in the southwest German Empire on the east bank of the Rhine. It existed between 1806 and 1918.
It came into existence in the 12th century as the Margraviate of Baden and subs ...
saw the project competing with the Main-Neckar Railway in which Baden also had shares.
When, in 1844, the Bavarian government issued a licence for railway construction in the Bavarian Palatinate, a northern expansion of the railway into Rhenish Hesse appeared attractive. In addition, the pioneer of the German railways,
Friedrich List
Georg Friedrich List (6 August 1789 – 30 November 1846) was a German-American economist who developed the "National System" of political economy. He was a forefather of the German historical school of economics, and argued for the German Customs ...
, personally championed the building of a line from Mainz to
Worms Worms may refer to:
*Worm, an invertebrate animal with a tube-like body and no limbs
Places
*Worms, Germany
Worms () is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, situated on the Upper Rhine about south-southwest of Frankfurt am Main. It had ...
. The grand ducal government in Darmstadt however, initially remained opposed, especially as it had passed a law in 1842 for a state railway system. From 1845 onwards, however, there were proponents in the government for a private railway for the province of Rhenish Hesse.
Lines
Mainz – Ludwigshafen – (France) (1853)
At first, the route to be used was totally unclear. The alternative from Mainz via
Alzey
Alzey () is a ''Verband''-free town – one belonging to no ''Verbandsgemeinde'' – in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the fifth-largest town in Rhenish Hesse, after Mainz, Worms, Germany, Worms, Ingelheim am Rhein ...
to Worms was soon discarded in favour of a direct route along the Rhine. On 15 August 1845 a licence was granted to the Mainz-Ludwigshafen Railway Company (''Mainz-Ludwigshafener-Eisenbahngesellschaft''). The company was later renamed to the ''Hessian Ludwig Railway Company'' (''Hessische-Ludwigs-Eisenbahngesellschaft'') or HLB – in honour of
Louis III, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine
Louis III, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine (german: link=no, Großherzog Ludwig III von Hessen und bei Rhein; 9 June 1806, Darmstadt – 13 June 1877, Seeheim) was Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine from 1848 until his death in 1877.
Biograp ...
, although he initially opposed the building of the line. In the times following the HLB got increasingly into financial deep water, because several share holders withdrew their money. Construction began in spring 1848. However, as the state purse became empty as a result of the
revolution of 1848
The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europea ...
, the state could no longer be relied on to provide any support and the construction of the line threatened to grind to a halt. Not until August 1852 did the Hesse-Darmstadt government, decided to support the HLB. In addition a treaty was agreed with
Kingdom of Bavaria
The Kingdom of Bavaria (german: Königreich Bayern; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1805 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German E ...
for the entire
Mainz–Ludwigshafen line.
Whilst the city of Worms would have preferred a station in the vicinity of the port, the HLB, after a degree of toing and froing, built it further west where it is today. Thereafter building proceeded apace and the 46 kilometre long route was opened in several sections from Mainz to Worms during the period 23 March (Mainz –
Oppenheim
Oppenheim () is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The town is a well-known wine center, being the home of the German Winegrowing Museum, and is particularly known for the wines from the Oppenheimer Krötenbru ...
) to 24 August 1853. From 15 November 1853 trains ran through from Mainz to Ludwigshafen. Initially there were 6 passenger trains daily (2 of which were expresses) in each direction between Mainz and Worms. In Mainz there was a connexion to the steamships of the ''Cologne and Düsseldorf Company for Steamships on the Rhine River'' (
Kölnische und Düsseldorfer Gesellschaft für Rhein-Dampfschiffahrt).
Rhine-Main-Railway
On 1 of August 1858 the
Rhine-Main line from Mainz via Darmstadt to
Aschaffenburg
Aschaffenburg (; South Franconian: ''Aschebersch'') is a town in northwest Bavaria, Germany. The town of Aschaffenburg is not part of the district of Aschaffenburg, but is its administrative seat.
Aschaffenburg belonged to the Archbishopric ...
in Bavaria was opened. Initially the
Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, so ...
river was crossed by a
train ferry
A train ferry is a ship (ferry) designed to carry railway vehicles. Typically, one level of the ship is fitted with railway tracks, and the vessel has a door at the front and/or rear to give access to the wharves. In the United States, train f ...
east of the railway station ''Mainz Neuthor'' (today: ''
Mainz Römisches Theater station
Mainz Römisches Theater station is a station in the city of Mainz, the capital of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate on the Main Railway from Mainz to Frankfurt am Main. It is the most important station in the city after Mainz Hauptbahnhof ...
'') until a newly designed Rhine bridge was constructed by MAN-Werk Gustavsburg and given to traffic on 1 of December 1862. This line not only connected Mainz, second in importance after the grand-ducal capital, with Darmstadt. But it enabled also to run trains through from the Bavarian railways up the Rhine valley to
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...
and further on to
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
.
Expansion of the network
Over the succeeding decades the following lines were added to the network and the HLB became the major provider of rail services within the two southern provinces of the grand-duchy (
Rheinhessen
Rhenish Hesse or Rhine HesseDickinson, Robert E (1964). ''Germany: A regional and economic geography'' (2nd ed.). London: Methuen, p. 542. . (german: Rheinhessen) is a region and a former government district () in the German state of Rhineland- ...
and
Starkenburg
Starkenburg is an historical region in the State of Hesse, Germany, comprising the area south of the Main River and east of the Rhine, around the regional capital Darmstadt.
Geography
The region is named after Starkenburg Castle, above Heppen ...
) as well as one of the largest privately owned railways of Germany.
*
West Rhine Railway
The West Rhine railway (German: ''Linke Rheinstrecke'', literally 'left (bank of the) Rhine route') is a famously picturesque, double-track electrified railway line running for 185 km from Cologne via Bonn, Koblenz, and Bingen to Mainz. It i ...
(''Linksrheinische Bahn'') – 1859 (Mainz-
Bingen)
*
Frankfurt City Link Line
The Frankfurt City Link Line (german: Städtische Verbindungsbahn, commonly just called the ''Verbindungsbahn'') in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, emerged in the 19th century as a link line between Frankfurt's western stations at the ''Gallustor'' ...
(''Städtische Verbindungsbahn Frankfurt'') – 1862 (owned by the City of Frankfurt, rail services provided by HLB)
*
Frankfurt-Hanau Railway (''Frankfurt-Hanauer Eisenbahn'') - owned by the private ''Frankfurt-Hanau Railway Company'', rail services were operated by the HLB from 1863. It purchased the line in 1872.
*
Main Railway
The Main Railway (German: ''Mainbahn'', pronounced 'mine barn') is a 37.5 km-long double-track rail electrification, electrified railway line, which runs on the south side of the river Main (river), Main from Mainz to Frankfurt (Main) Hauptbahnhof, ...
''Mainbahn'' – 1863 (Mainz-Frankfurt)
*
Worms–Bingen Stadt railway (''Rheinhessenbahn'') – 1864 to 1871
*
Darmstadt–Worms railway ''Riedbahn'' - from 1869 (Darmstadt
ater: FrankfurtRosengarten
ight bank of Rhine river, opposite Worms
*
Nibelungen Railway
The Nibelung Railway (german: Nibelungenbahn) is a 23.9 km long electrified line between Worms Central Station, Worms in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate and Bensheim station, Bensheim in Hesse. Its name refers to the fact that the li ...
''Nibelungenbahn'' – 1869 (Rosengarten-
Bensheim
Bensheim () is a town in the Bergstraße district in southern Hessen, Germany. Bensheim lies on the Bergstraße and at the edge of the Odenwald mountains while at the same time having an open view over the Rhine plain. With about 40,000 inhabita ...
)
*
Alzey–Mainz railway
The Alzey–Mainz railway was opened on 18 December 1871 by the Hessian Ludwig Railway (german: Hessische Ludwigsbahn), linking the two cities of Alzey and Mainz in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate to each other.
Route
The non-elect ...
(1871)
*
Taunus Railway
The Taunus Railway (German: ''Taunus-Eisenbahn'') is a double-track electrified railway line, which connects Frankfurt and Wiesbaden, Germany. It is 41.2 km long and follows the course of the Main on its north side, running quite close ...
''Taunus-Eisenbahn'' – 1871, sold in 1872 to the
Prussian state railways
The term Prussian state railways (German: ''Preußische Staatseisenbahnen'') encompasses those railway organisations that were owned or managed by the State of Prussia. The words "state railways" are not capitalized because Prussia did not have a ...
* ''Wiesbachtalbahn'' - 1871-1895
*
Main-Lahn Railway
The Main-Lahn railway (german: Main-Lahn-Bahn), also called the Limburg railway (''Limburger Bahn''), is a double-track, electrified main railway line in Germany. The long line extends from Frankfurt Central Station (''Hauptbahnhof'') to Eschhofen ...
''Main-Lahn-Bahn'' – 1877 (Frankfurt-
Limburg an der Lahn
Limburg an der Lahn (officially abbreviated ''Limburg a. d. Lahn'') is the district seat of Limburg-Weilburg in Hesse, Germany.
Geography
Location
Limburg lies in western Hessen between the Taunus and the Westerwald on the river Lahn.
The to ...
)
*
Ländches Railway (''Ländchesbahn'') (
Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...
-
Niedernhausen
Niedernhausen im Taunus is a municipality in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany, with almost 15,000 inhabitants.
Geography
Location
Niedernhausen lies in the Rhein-Taunus Nature Park in the west o ...
) - 1879
*
Odenwald Railway (''Odenwaldbahn'') – 1882 (Darmstadt / Hanau-
Eberbach)
Route numbers
In the early 1890s the HLB numbered its routes as follows:
*Line 1 : Frankfurt - Hanau - Eberbach
*Line 2 : Darmstadt - Wiebelsbach-Heubach
*Line 3 : Mainz - Alzey
*Line 4 : Armsheim - Wendelsheim
*Line 5 : Bingen - Alzey - Worms
*Line 6 : Mannheim - Worms über Lampertheim
*Line 7 : Bingen - Mainz - Frankfurt
*Line 8 : Mainz - Worms
*Line 9 : Mainz - Darmstadt - Aschaffenburg
*Line 10 : Frankfurt - Hanau - Aschaffenburg
*Line 11 : Frankfurt - Limburg
*Line 12 : Wiesbaden - Niedernhausen
*Line 13 : Frankfurt - Mannheim
*Line 14 : Darmstadt - Worms
*Line 15 : Bensheim - Worms
Nationalisation
On 1 April 1897 the HLB was nationalised and became part of the
Prussian-Hessian Railway Operating and Financial Association. The abbreviation "HLB" was said by the local people to stand for ''Hoch lebe Bismarck'' (Long live Bismarck).
Stock
Locomotives
The Hessian Ludwig Railway began operations with 6
steam locomotives
A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...
from the
Maschinenfabrik Esslingen
Maschinenfabrik Esslingen (ME), was a German engineering firm that manufactured locomotives, tramways, railway wagons, roll-blocks, technical equipment for the railways, (turntables and traversers), bridges, steel structures, pumps and boilers. ...
; these sported (as was then common) illustrious names: ''Schenk'' (after Freiherr von Schenk, director of the Hessian Finance Ministry), ''Dalwigk'' (after Freiherr von Dalwigk, then Hesse's ''Ministerialdirektor'' and ex ''Territorialkommissär'' for Mainz - this engine hauled the first train on the Mainz - Oppenheim line), ''Gutenberg'' (after ''
Johannes Gensfleisch'' called ''
Johannes Gutenberg
Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg (; – 3 February 1468) was a German inventor and Artisan, craftsman who introduced letterpress printing to Europe with his movable type, movable-type printing press. Though not the first of its ki ...
'', the inventor of the
printing press
A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a printing, print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in wh ...
), ''Arnold Walpoden'' (after Arnold Walpoden, the initiator of the ''Rheinische Bund'' in 1254) as well as ''Mainz'' and ''Worms''.
At the end of 1895, i.e. one year before the Hessian Ludwig Railway was nationalised, it had 216 locomotives.
Coach fleet
In addition to 11 1st and 2nd class
passenger coach
A passenger railroad car or passenger car (United States), also called a passenger carriage, passenger coach (United Kingdom and International Union of Railways), or passenger bogie (India) is a railroad car that is designed to carry passen ...
es the HLB had 19 3rd class coaches and 36
luggage van
A passenger railroad car or passenger car (United States), also called a passenger carriage, passenger coach (United Kingdom and International Union of Railways), or passenger bogie (India) is a railroad car that is designed to carry passeng ...
s and
goods wagon
Goods wagons or freight wagons (North America: freight cars), also known as goods carriages, goods trucks, freight carriages or freight trucks, are unpowered railway vehicles that are used for the transportation of cargo. A variety of wagon type ...
s to begin with (there was no 4th class). In 1861 the HLB had 39 locomotives and in 1864 52.
At the end of 1895 the fleet comprised 544 coaches, 107 luggage vans, 1552 covered and 2240 open wagons.
See also
*
Grand Duchy of Hesse
The Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine (german: link=no, Großherzogtum Hessen und bei Rhein) was a grand duchy in western Germany that existed from 1806 to 1918. The Grand Duchy originally formed from the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt in 1806 ...
*
Prussian-Hessian Railway Company
The Royal Prussian and Grand-Ducal Hessian State Railways (German: ''Königlich Preußische und Großherzoglich Hessischen Staatseisenbahnen'' or ''K.P.u.G.H.St.E.'') was a state-owned network of independent railway divisions in the German states o ...
Sources
*Hans Döhn: ''Eisenbahnpolitik und Eisenbahnbau in Rheinhessen 1835-1914''. Mainz 1957.
*Ralph Häussler: ''Eisenbahnen in Worms - Von der Ludwigsbahn zum Rheinland-Pfalz-Takt.'' Kehl, Hamm/Rheinhessen 2003.
*Bernhard Hager: ''’Aufsaugung durch Preußen’ oder ‚Wohltat für Hessen’?. Die preußisch-hessische Eisenbahngemeinschaft von 1896/97''. In
Andreas Hedwig
Andreas Hedwig (born in 1959) is a German archivist and since 2014 the head of the Hessian State Archive.
Life
Born in Leverkusen, Hedwig completed a and completed this in 1986 with a second Staatsexamen. He then received his doctorate in 1989. ...
(ed.), ''„Auf eisernen Schienen, so schnell wie der Blitz“. Regionale und überregionale Aspekte der Eisenbahngeschichte'' = Schriften des
hessischen Staatsarchivs Marburg 19, Marburg 2008.
*Wolfgang Klee und Günther Scheingraber: ''Preußische Eisenbahngeschichte'' (=''Preußen-Report.'' Band 1.2), Teil 2 1870/71 - 1920. Merker, Fürstenfeldbruck 1992.
*Peter Scheffler: ''Eisenbahnknotenpunkt Mainz/Wiesbaden.'' Eisenbahn-Kurier-Verl., Freiburg 1988. {{ISBN, 3-88255-620-X
External links
More information on the Hessian Ludwig Railway
Defunct railway companies of Germany
Transport in Hesse
Transport in Rhineland-Palatinate