Bavarian Ludwig Railway

The Royal privileged Louis Railway Company, based in Nuremberg and Fürth received on 19 February 1834 Royal Bavarian concession to build a railway from Nuremberg to Fürth.

Prehistory

The first news from England about the planning of railways in Germany aroused a great sensation. Also in Bavaria, where the road between the important trading cities Franconian Nuremberg and Fürth was the busiest road connection in the UK, these messages were observed. This was also true for the publications of Friedrich List on an all-German railway system and by Joseph von Baader, whom the Bavarian king had sent to study in England. After a discussion of this topic in the Bavarian Parliament, King of Bavaria in 1825 allowed the construction of a test train in the park of Nymphenburg Palace. As well as its call in 1828 to the Frankish merchants to begin the construction of a railway line, elicited no activity, King Ludwig I decided for his pet project, the construction of a canal between the Danube and Main.

Foundation

After the railway system had proven itself in England in the first few years, the Franconian merchants decided yet to build a railway line along the Nuremberg - Fürth road. They founded this on May 14, 1833 a society for the establishment of a railway with steam journey between Nuremberg and Fürth, from which then came the railway company. Within 6 months, reached the two main Nuremberg initiators, the merchant and the market chief Georg Zacharias Platner and the head of the Polytechnic Institute ( forerunner of today's Georg -Simon- Ohm - Fachhochschule ) Johannes Scharrer, the drawing of the estimated share capital in the amount of 132,000 guilders. The case announced return on capital of 12 ⅔ % has been widely doubted. However, the company was able to pay a dividend of 20 % already in 1836.

Railway construction

Platner was looking for a technician for railway construction modeled after the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. Originally his partner Scharrer wanted to send 1833 a German engineer to study the English Railway to England. About the trading house Suse and Libeth in London a contact to the company of Robert Stephenson was tied for cost reasons. However, this demanded for its employees an annual salary of £ 600 (then about 7,200 guilders). For this, the travel and other expenses for an interpreter of about 2,400 guilders had come. Platner was known in 1834 as Member of Parliament in Munich and learned through the mediation of the royal district engineer of the water and road compartment Paul Camille von Denis, who had been traveling through North America and England acquainted with the latest achievements of the railways.

King Ludwig supported because of his fondness for the construction of the Ludwig-Danube- Main Canal from the River Main to the Danube and railway construction rather reluctantly. He allowed to enter the track its name, and authorized his government to buy the symbolic number of two shares for the state. Of great importance for railway construction, however, was that the later builders of the Taunus Railway Paul Camille von Denis was released by the King for the construction of railways. During the construction, he took over the English 1435 mm for the almost dead straight, 6.04 km long, single track next to the Fürth road from Nuremberg to Fürth Plaerrer.

Opening operation

On December 7, 1835, the later of Louis Railway Company Calling private company could Passenger and open the first German railway with steam power for freight before a large audience. The steam locomotive Adler had, along with their engine driver, engineer William Wilson, can come from Stephenson of Newcastle. The 15 foot long rails made ​​of rolled wrought iron provided the company Remy & Co. (now rattle stone) created in Neuwied, the cars were from local farmers cart.

The Bavarian Ludwig Railway was thus the first for the passenger and freight train designed in Germany that used a steam locomotive. The already on September 20, 1831 opened between Hinsbeck an der Ruhr and Nierenhof schmalspurige Prince William Railway was a private horse-drawn coal train, which was not perceived by the public in the form as the steam-operated and passengers carried have normalspurige Ludwig Railway. However, King Ludwig I had until August of the following year time to see the train that bears his name. The estimated 132,000 guilders building actually cost 170,000 guilders. Lack experience in railway construction and by the time not yet existing expropriation laws led to this price increase.

Driving

As of December 8, 1835 now driving a horse -covered hourly train from Nuremberg to Fürth and back. Only 13 clock and 14 clock drew daily the eagle the train. The high price of the coal to be imported from Saxony, initially by cart, prevented in the first years of frequent use of the eagle. Since the acquisition of additional locomotives early and late trains were only operated with horses as draft animals. Only in 1863 was the horse business, among other things, maintenance ( running surface for the horses ), but also for reasons of speed (brake factor horses), abandoned.

Road transport is initially remained in newspaper and beer transports. As of 1836, the railway carried the mail. It was not until 1839 we can speak of a scheduled freight. How active use of the railway was in the early decades, showing the profit situation: to 1855 were never paid less than 12% dividend. A further extension of the line, including to Würzburg, the Company has been denied by the state.

Closure

The construction of the Nuremberg - Fürth horse tramway along the Ludwigsbahn but was significant competition, especially when it was electrified in 1896. Since the partially double-track extension of Ludwig Railway from 1893 was no more. Use and hence the yield now went running back.

The Ludwig Railway ceased its activities on 31 October 1922. Once it emerged that the operation would not be recorded, the equipment was sold and broken the tracks. The old station building in Fürth was only in 1938 that ripped in Nuremberg in 1952 because of road construction in front of the new Plaerrer skyscraper. The line was leased to the Nuremberg - Fürth tram establishing a rapid transit line. The railway company itself was liquidated only in the 1970s during the construction of the Nuremberg U -Bahn.

The route led from the station in the immediate vicinity of Plärrers in Nuremberg about today's Fürth road beyond the city limits to Fürth and followed the presently known as Hornschuchpromenade Allee to Ludwig railway station on the Fürth freedom.

Locomotives and cars

The Ludwigsbahn had during their 87 -year-old driving operation not only the Eagle machine, but a whole series of locomotives. Some of them were bought second-hand, many were sold during decommissioning.

Locomotive Pegnitz 1880

Locomotive Johannes Scharrer 1887

Locomotive Nuremberg -Fürth 1889

The locomotive Adler was lost despite its railway historical significance. She was decommissioned in 1857 and now technically obsolete as sold without wheels for scrap price. The locomotive used in 1935 during the 100th anniversary of the German railways "Eagle " was a new building for this anniversary by old documents. In 2005 she was badly damaged along with many other museum locomotives at the roundhouse fire in the depot Nuernberg West. The reconstruction of the roadworthy replica in the Meiningen Steam Locomotive Works was completed in late 2007. A passenger car of 1835, the second car class remained in their original because Ludwig I. 1836 should be driven with him.

Since April 2008, tours of the Eagle replica will take place irregularly. Often, the train will be between Nuremberg and Fürth, but sometimes also on other routes, as in 2010 on the site of the DB Museum in Koblenz- Luetzel.

When the car was the highest inventory in 1893: 44 passenger cars, one baggage car and 10 freight cars.

Film

  • SWR: Railroad Romance - 100 years Ludwig Railway ( episode 249)
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