Royal Württemberg State Railways
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The Royal Württemberg State Railways (''Königlich Württembergische Staats-Eisenbahnen'' or ''K.W.St.E.'') were the state railways of the
Kingdom of Württemberg The Kingdom of Württemberg ( ) was a German state that existed from 1806 to 1918, located within the area that is now Baden-Württemberg. The kingdom was a continuation of the Electorate of Württemberg, which existed from 1803 to 1806. Geogr ...
(from 1918 the ''People's State of Württemberg'') between 1843 and 1920.


Early history

As in many other states of the
German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...
, there was increasing debate about how to improve transport communications across the country from about 1825. Private interest groups were formed and, from 1834, the state also worked on the question, giving experts the task of finding suitable solutions. After years of preparatory work, it was decided to set up a railway network, the main lines of which would be built by the state. The Railway Bill of 18 April 1843, established the legal foundation for the construction of the railway network; this date is seen as the birthday for the ''K.W.St.E.''. The law expressly envisaged that the construction of branch routes by private companies should also be possible. This law was at the same time the impetus for the foundation of the
Maschinenfabrik Esslingen Maschinenfabrik Esslingen (ME) was a German engineering firm that manufactured locomotives, tramways, railway wagons, roll-blocks, technical equipment for the railways, (turntable (rail), turntables and traverser (railway), traversers), bridges, s ...
('Esslingen Engineering Works'), that played a decisive role in railway construction and railway technology in Württemberg.


Overview of the development of the state railway routes


Main lines

In the
Kingdom of Württemberg The Kingdom of Württemberg ( ) was a German state that existed from 1806 to 1918, located within the area that is now Baden-Württemberg. The kingdom was a continuation of the Electorate of Württemberg, which existed from 1803 to 1806. Geogr ...
the state railway started with the so-called Württemberg main lines. They ran from
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...
, along the River
Neckar The Neckar () is a river in Germany, mainly flowing through the southwestern States of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg, with a short section through Hesse. The Neckar is a major right tributary of the Rhine. Rising in the Schwarzwald-Baar ...
, on one side via Ulm to
Friedrichshafen Friedrichshafen ( or ; Low Alemannic: ''Hafe'' or ''Fridrichshafe'') is a city on the northern shoreline of Lake Constance (the ''Bodensee'') in Southern Germany, near the borders of both Switzerland and Austria. It is the district capital (''K ...
on
Lake Constance Lake Constance (, ) refers to three bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (''Obersee''), Lower Lake Constance (''Untersee''), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Seerhein (). These ...
, on the other side via Bretten to Bruchsal in the
Grand Duchy of Baden The Grand Duchy of Baden () was a German polity on the east bank of the Rhine. It originally existed as a sovereign state from 1806 to 1871 and later as part of the German Empire until 1918. The duchy's 12th-century origins were as a Margravia ...
. From Bietigheim the Lower Neckar Railway (North Railway or ''Nordbahn'') branched off toward
Heilbronn Heilbronn () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, surrounded by Heilbronn (district), Heilbronn District. From the late Middle Ages on, it developed into an important trading centre. At the begi ...
.


Expansion of the main lines

After a pause of several years, work began on the Upper Neckar Railway that ran from Plochingen and reached
Reutlingen Reutlingen (; ) is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is the capital of the eponymous Reutlingen (district), district of Reutlingen. As of June 2018, it had an estimated population of 116,456. Reutlingen has a Reutlingen University, univ ...
in 1859, the bishop's town of Rottenburg am Neckar via
Tübingen Tübingen (; ) is a traditional college town, university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer (Neckar), Ammer rivers. about one in ...
in 1861 and Eyach and the junction of Horb am Neckar in 1864/66. In eastern Württemberg the Rems line was built in 1861, running from Cannstatt via Schorndorf
Aalen Aalen (; Swabian German, Swabian: ''Oole'') is a town located in the eastern part of the German state of Baden-Württemberg, about east of Stuttgart and north of Ulm. It is the seat of the Ostalbkreis district and is its largest town. It is ...
to Wasseralfingen and in 1863 the junction at Nördlingen to the Bavarian railway network was achieved. In 1862, the Kocher Valley line was established. This ran through Heilbronn from ''Hohenloh Land'' and on to Schwäbisch Hall. In 1867 it reached
Crailsheim Crailsheim () is a town in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg. Incorporated in 1338, it lies east of Schwäbisch Hall and southwest of Ansbach in the Schwäbisch Hall (district), Schwäbisch Hall district. The city's mai ...
where trains on the Upper Jagst line from Aalen called and, in 1869, the connection was made with the Tauber Valley Railway to Mergentheim. The Brenz line, which was opened in 1864 to
Heidenheim an der Brenz Heidenheim an der Brenz, or just Heidenheim (; Swabian language, Swabian: ''Hoidna'' or ''Hoirna''), is a town in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is located near the border with Bavaria, approximately 17 km south of Aalen and 33&n ...
, had the potential to provide a link through the ''Ostalb'' from Aalen to Ulm, but did not achieve this aim until 1875/76. The spa town of Wildbad in the
Black Forest The Black Forest ( ) is a large forested mountain range in the States of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is th ...
was linked in 1868 to the Enz Valley Railway at the junction of
Pforzheim Pforzheim () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city of over 125,000 inhabitants in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg, in the southwest of Germany. It is known for its jewelry and watch-making industry, and as such has gained the ...
in Baden. From Heilbronn the Lower Neckar line was extended in 1866 to Jagstfeld and from there 3 years later the line was extended as the ''Lower Jagst Valley Railway'' to Osterburken; in both stations further links to the Baden state railways were made. From Horb, the Upper Neckar line reached Rottweil in 1867/68, and from there in 1869, the Baden town of Villingen in the Black Forest. In the same year the first trains ran on the Upper Danube line from Rottweil to Tuttlingen, from where in 1870 the connexion to Immendingen on the Black Forest line was built. The Danube Valley line was built in 1868 from Ulm in the direction of Blaubeuren-Riedlingen, but only reached Sigmaringen in 1873. It was another six years before the Zollernalb line finished the connexion from Tübingen, that had linked Hechingen in 1869 and Balingen in 1874. The Black Forest line branched off in 1868/69 in Zuffenhausen to Weil der Stadt and got as far as the towns of Calw and Nagold in 1872. In 1874 the Nagold Valley Railway was completed, running through from Pforzheim via Calw-Nagold to Horb. In Herbertingen the Allgäu line branched in 1869 via Saulgau– Aulendorf to Waldsee. There it went in 1870 as far as Kisslegg and in 1872 to Leutkirch im Allgäu; in 1874 Isny received its own railway station. Finally the state railway expanded its network by building the following routes: * 1876–1880 Murr Valley line: Waiblingen–Backnang–Schwäbisch Hall-Hessental as wells as the Backnang–Bietigheim/Ludwigsburg branch * 1878–1880 Kraichgau line: Heilbronn–Eppingen * 1879–1892 Gäu line/ Kinzig Valley line: Stuttgart–Herrenberg–Freudenstadt–Schiltach–Schramberg * 1892–1893 Echaz line Reutlingen–Lichtenstein–Münsingen A detailed article in German on the development of the network is at History of the Railway in Württemberg


Rolling stock

Until about 1865, the ''K.W.St.E.s railway technology was based, not on an English prototype like the majority of German states, but on the United States. As far as rolling stock was concerned, this meant, for example, that locomotives as well as coaches used bogies. This more advanced route was temporarily given up under strong influences, predominantly from Prussia. Responsible for the procurement and conversion of locomotives from 1885 to 1896, amongst others, was chief engineer Adolf Klose. Under his leadership compound locomotives and rack railway engines were procured for the first time. He also built a type of running gear to improve the curve running of locomotives. He was followed by Eugen Kittel. He introduced
superheating In thermodynamics, superheating (sometimes referred to as boiling retardation, or boiling delay) is the phenomenon in which a liquid is heated to a temperature higher than its boiling point, without boiling. This is a so-called ''metastable state ...
into Württemberg. Under his direction were, inter alia, ''Kittel'' steam railbuses, Württemberg C express train locomotives and Württemberg K class goods engines brought into service. He also tested petrol and accumulator cars. In 1913 the statistics showed the following: * Network length (including private lines): * Stations: 639 *
Locomotive A locomotive is a rail transport, rail vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. Traditionally, locomotives pulled trains from the front. However, Push–pull train, push–pull operation has become common, and in the pursuit for ...
s: 855 * Railbuses: 17 * Coaches: 2.394 * Post and luggage vans: 760 *
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 types ...
s (including departmental wagons): 14,565 After defeat in the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, the 1919 Reich Constitution ended the independence of the Württemberg railways. By means of a state agreement between the
German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...
and the states, the Württemberg State Railways (the ''Royal'' title had been dropped after the abdication of King
Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until Abdication of Wilhelm II, his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as th ...
on 30 November 1918) transferred into Reich ownership on 1 April 1920, and, together with the other former state railways of
Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...
,
Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
,
Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...
,
Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in southern Germany. In earlier times it was considered to be on both sides of the Upper Rhine, but since the Napoleonic Wars, it has been considered only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Ba ...
,
Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin, Neubrandenburg, Wismar and Güstrow. ...
and Oldenburg, formed the basis of the
Deutsche Reichsbahn The ''Deutsche Reichsbahn'' (), also known as the German National Railway, the German State Railway, German Reich Railway, and the German Imperial Railway, was the Weimar Republic, German national Rail transport, railway system created after th ...
founded on 1 April 1920.


In popular culture

German landscape painter Hermann Pleuer achieved fame through his impressionistic paintings of the trains and stations belonging to the K.W.St.E. In everyday speech the German abbreviation for the Royal Württemberg State Railways, ''K.W.St.E.'', was jokingly said in the Swabian dialect to stand for „''Komm Weible, Steig Ei''“ or "Come on woman, climb aboard". Their Baden neighbours had a rather less kind interpretation: „''Kein Württemberger Stirbt Ehrlich''“ or "No Württemberger dies an honest man!" The comic song "Auf der schwäb'sche Eisebahne" (On the Swabian railways) has been sung by many artists, and versions can be seen on
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
. It contrasts the rural and frugal country folk travelling on the modern reality of railways.


See also

* History of the railway in Württemberg *
Kingdom of Württemberg The Kingdom of Württemberg ( ) was a German state that existed from 1806 to 1918, located within the area that is now Baden-Württemberg. The kingdom was a continuation of the Electorate of Württemberg, which existed from 1803 to 1806. Geogr ...
* List of Württemberg locomotives and railbuses


References


Literature

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Royal Wurttemberg State Railways History of rail transport in Germany Defunct railway companies of Germany Transport in Baden-Württemberg Kingdom of Württemberg German companies established in 1843 History of rail transport in Baden-Württemberg 19th-century establishments in Württemberg Railway companies established in 1843