The Soltau–Neuenkirchen railway 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 ...

line built for 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'' or ''OHE'') in North

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 ...

History

An extension of the ''

Kleinbahn The term ''Kleinbahn'' (literally 'small railway', plural: ''Kleinbahnen'') was a light railway concept used especially in Prussia for a railway line that "on account of its low importance for general railway transport" had less strict requirements ...

'' from Lüneburg to Soltau to Neuenkirchen or Rotenburg was contemplated even during its construction, and in 1913 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 and the district of Soltau set aside funding to enable the Soltau–Neuenkirchen Light Railway Company to be established. Construction began in 1914, but it could not be completed during 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 ...

. That said, there was a provisional service from the beginning of 1917, but it was not until 15 May 1920 that the line was officially opened. Running powers on the line were granted to the

Lüneburg–Soltau light railway The Lüneburg–Soltau Light Railway Company (german: Kleinbahn Lüneburg–Soltau GmbH) was founded on 15 February 1911 by the Prussian state, the Province of Hanover and the districts of Lüneburg and Soltau in North Germany. It opened its only li ...

, which provided locomotives and, later, staff. On 1 June 1923 responsibility for operations on both lines was transferred to the state light railway office in Hanover. By 1928 the few passenger services were withdrawn, because only around 5,300 passengers were recorded annually. In fact statistics showed that small numbers of passengers continued to use the line even after that date, because clearly it was possible to travel in the

guard's van Brake van and guard's van are terms used mainly in the UK, Ireland, Australia and India for a railway vehicle equipped with a hand brake which can be applied by the guard. The equivalent North American term is caboose, but a British brake van ...

goods train Rail freight transport is the use of railroads and trains to transport cargo as opposed to human passengers. A freight train, cargo train, or goods train is a group of freight cars (US) or goods wagons (International Union of Railways) hauled ...

s. On 1 January 1944 the two ''

s'' merged into the Lüneburg-Soltau Railway Company, which in turn became part of the East Hanover Railways on 6 June 1944. After the Second World War regular passenger services started up again on 1 April 1947; five to six pairs of trains ran daily on work days and three to four pairs on Sundays. These services ceased on 28 May 1961 when the passenger station at Soltau Süd was closed. Whilst the OHE trains from Lüneburg and Celle were still able to run into the DB station, this would only have been possible for trains from Neuenkirchen if they reversed in and out again. Goods traffic was always moderate; it was limited mainly to agricultural products and supplies for country traders. On 15 January 1986 all services were withdrawn; on 1 April 1996 the line was officially closed and it was lifted in 2006.

References

Footnotes

Sources

* Gerd Wolff: ''Deutsche Klein- und Privatbahnen. Band 10: Niedersachsen 2. Zwischen Weser und Elbe.'' EK-Verlag, Freiburg 2007, S. 344–349, {{DEFAULTSORT:Soltau-Neuenkirchen railway Railway lines in Lower Saxony Soltau Railway lines opened in 1920 1920 establishments in Germany