TheMagdeburg–Halberstadt Railway Company(German:Magdeburg-Halberstädter Eisenbahngesellschaft,MHE) was a railway inPrussia.It was nationalized in 1879.
This articlerelies largely or entirely on asingle source.(March 2018) |
History
editTheMagdeburg-Halberstadt Railway Companyreceived a concession on 14 January 1842 from the Prussian government to build the 58 km long railway line fromMagdeburg–Oschersleben–Halberstadt line,which opened on 15 July 1843. Under a treaty between Prussia and theKingdom of Hanover,it had already secured the right to continue the line toBrunswickandHanover.The MHE was one of the most profitable German private railways, and two-digit dividends were the rule in the 1860s; it even paid dividends to its shareholders of over 20 percent at times.
The expansion phase of the railway began in 1863 when—at first as a defence against growing competition—it acquired the adjacent lines of theMagdeburg-Wittenberge Railway(Magdeburg-Wittenbergesche Eisenbahn). Critical to the competitiveness of the railway within Prussia was the connection fromBerlintoHamburgandBremen.In 1867, it obtained the concession for the construction of a line from Berlin viaStendaltoLehrte,known as theLehrter Bahn(Lehrte Railway). It completed the line on 1 December 1871, including theLehrter Bahnhof(station) in Berlin. Acquisition of theHanover-Altenbeken Railway Company(Hannover-Altenbekener Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft) gave the MHE access to theWestphalian lineand thus to theRuhr.With the purchase of more railways—including the highly profitableMagdeburg-Leipzig Railway—the line grew to a length of 1,024 kilometres in 1879. Thus theMagdeburg-Halberstadt Railwaywas at the time of its nationalization the largest private railway company in Germany.
In 1870, the MHE together with theBerlin-Potsdam-Magdeburg Railway Companyand theMagdeburg-Leipzig Railway Companyacquired 55-hectares of land for the construction ofMagdeburg station.The western entrance building built by theBerlin-Potsdam-Magdeburg Railwaywas shared by the MHE.
In 1873, the MHE opened theUelzen–Stendal sectionof theAmerica Line,and assumed responsibility for the management of the whole line. The MHE acquired of theMagdeburg-Leipzig Railway Companyon 17 March 1876.
In December 1879 theMagdeburg-Halberstadt Railway Companywas acquired by the Prussian state after shareholders had approved the takeover bid with the necessary two-thirds majority (13,140 to 6,441 votes).
See also
edit- Adolph von Hansemann,who directed the construction of theBerlin–Lehrte railway
References
edit- Klee, Wolfgang (1982).Preußische Eisenbahngeschichte (Prussian Railway History)(in German). Stuttgart: Kohlhammer Edition Eisenbahn.ISBN3-17-007466-0.