The Heuberg Railway (''Heubergbahn'') was a
standard gauge
A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...
railway line in the German federal state of
Baden-Württemberg. The line operated between 1928 and 1966, and ran from
Spaichingen
Spaichingen ( Swabian: ''Spoachenga'') is a town in the district of Tuttlingen in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated 11 kilometers northwest of Tuttlingen, and 13 km southeast of Rottweil. It is 660 meters above sea level. Populati ...
, past five railway stations and a stop to
Reichenbach am Heuberg
Reichenbach am Heuberg
Reichenbach is a municipality in the district of Tuttlingen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.
Geography
Reichenbach lies on the Heuberg Plateau, a high plateau in the south of the Swabian Jura. The Lower Bära river f ...
. The line was originally planned as a
narrow-gauge line through Reichenbach and
Egesheim
Egesheim is a town in the district of Tuttlingen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.
Geography
Egesheim lies on the Heuberg Plateau in the southwest of the Swabian Jura at an altitude of between and above sea level. The southern branch of the ...
to
Nusplingen
Nusplingen is a municipality of the Zollernalbkreis, Zollernalb district of Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
History
In 1803, Nusplingen became a possession of the Principality of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, who traded the town in 1813 to the Kingdom ...
. It was significant in the development and industrialization of the communities of the
Heuberg plateau.
Building
The first sod was turned on 30 January 1913. The highest point of the railway would be at Gosheim station at 841 metres above sea level. The work should be finished in 1915. Because of World War I work was stopped in November 1916. The work was restarted in 1919. The work was stopped again in April 1920. In 1926 the work was restarted. At this time, 80% of the work was finished. The railway was built only as far as Reichenbach and not to Nusplingen. On 25 May 1928, the railway was opened to Reichenbach (Heuberg).
Operations
Railway operations had stopped by the end of World War II. Railway operations began again on 7 January 1946. From 23 May 1954, only one pair train of trains ran each day from Monday to Friday, but there were additional buses. In March 1964, Deutsche Bundesbahn planned to close the railway. The railway was closed on 23 September 1966.
Planning
In 1908 the government master-builder (''Regierungsbaumeister'') Wallersteiner made plans for a 6000
Goldmark extension to Nusplingen-
Heuberg Training Area-Meßstetten–Ebingen . The cost reached 8000 Goldmark.
Stadtarchiv Pläne Heubergbahn Meßstetten mit Militärbahnhof HR-E 787.11/01-05
/ref>
References
Railway lines in Baden-Württemberg
Railway lines opened in 1928
Railway lines closed in 1966
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