Lokalbahn

Under a secondary path or local path, originally written Secundärbahn or local course, meant a primarily local transport serving line on the transport network of rural areas. Lokalbahnen erected in the late 19th century, ie before the spread of the automobile. Since railway construction and the relevant legislation for the operation in the 19th century were still countries sovereignty and this is historical terms, there was the German-speaking various uses of the terms. Thus in Prussia secondary sheets were general branch lines. For a simplified operation, the light railway law was created later. However, this concerned mainly private companies. In Saxony, however, one called minor importance as secondary paths (state ) branch lines. The local railways in Bavaria were officially newly created public or private routes that were operated according to principles analogous to the Prussian light railway law. Since these were widespread, naturalized there in the population, the term as a synonym for local railway branch line a.

Development

As the construction and operation of the main paths is not always covered by the income, they began to look for simplifications. In 1865 the company had set up principles for secondary paths, the Technician Meeting of the Association of German Railway Administrations. These were implemented in 1878 with the track order for German railways minor importance in legal principles. The jobs created with these matters regulated relief routes have been mentioned in the Saxon State Railway secondary sheets. 26 routes with a total length of 453 kilometers were operated immediately as secondary paths. 1879 went with the Leipzig suburb route Plagwitz - Lindenau Gaschwitz the first newly -Saxon secondary railway in operation. Since the secondary sheets did not provide the desired savings in each case, began in 1881 with the construction of the first Saxon narrow gauge railways, as the narrow track still has further potential for savings. Although it was initially intended for a general secondary railway operation, you had but on many routes soon to differ with regard to vehicle parking and operation thereof.

Regulated with similar legal frameworks, financing, construction and operation, the foundations for the development of the area have been created by inexpensive rail networks from the end of the 19th century in several European countries. In Austria - Hungary, this was the original time-limited local railway law for the Austrian half of the Dual Monarchy of 25 May 1880 which was extended several times. In addition, the Crown Lands permitted to create its own national railway organizations, such as the Lower Austrian State Railways and the still existing Styrian Railways. In the United Kingdom was adopted in 1896 with the Light Railways Act, a law regulating the construction and operation of railways simplified design.

Characteristics

Typically, the secondary railway line begins at a railway station of the main track and performs as a side rail to nearest large town. The surface state of Bavaria, for example, many market towns and cities were connected by local railways in the form of spurs on the railway network. But this is also a major reason why the former local railways are largely disappeared from the map route today. A settlement had to be happy if they had ever gotten a rail connection - some Bavarian towns and cities they never succeeded. A continuous side rail network would, however, means competition for its own main lines and this one really wanted to avoid. Back then you could it still allow the customer oriented after the offering of the company in which you exacted them a long way round and this could also pay well, because there were few alternatives.

According to the secondary path order and comparable regulations were approved following simplifications compared with the main lines to increase efficiency:

• Lower axle loads, narrower track widths and lower speeds
• Reduced rules, simplified signal being
• Mixed traffic (passengers and freight cars in a train )

The increasing bus and car traffic resulted from the 1950s to the setting of branch lines, including many of the established as local railways tracks. Some routes are continued today as museum railways. Sometimes, however, were also routes which still bear the name " local train " expanded into modern modes of transport and transport means. Among the local railway Vienna -Baden, the Salzburg local train or the Linz local train.