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Hessian Ludwig Railway

TheHessian Ludwig Railway(German:HessischeLudwigsbahn) orHLBwith its network of 697 kilometres of railway was one of the largest privately owned railway companies in Germany.

Station of Hessian Ludwig Railway in Darmstadt

Early history

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The Hessian Ludwig Railway was a product of the failed – or, more accurately, non-existent – railway politics in theGrand Duchy of Hesse.Whilst the province ofStarkenburgwas given a central railway link, theMain-Neckar Railwayvery early on and the province ofUpper Hesseat least had connexions to the railway network through theMain-Weser Railwayat its periphery - the Grand Duchy had shares in both lines and they were operated as joint railways (Kondominalbahnen) – the third province,Rhenish Hesse(Rheinhessen), had no such facilities.

Because the state was not active in this area, there was an opportunity for private involvement in the shape of ajoint stock company(Aktiengesellschaft). The HQ of the Hessian Ludwig Railway was therefore not based in the capital ofDarmstadt,but in the provincial capital for Rhenish Hesse,Mainz.The first impetus for the construction of a line in Rhenish Hesse came not however from local people, but from outside; in particular theBavarian Palatinatewas interested. For military strategic reasons thePrussian statedisapproved of a route running west of the Rhine. TheGrand Duchy of Badensaw the project competing with the Main-Neckar Railway in which Baden also had shares.

When, in 1844, the Bavarian government issued a licence for railway construction in the Bavarian Palatinate, a northern expansion of the railway into Rhenish Hesse appeared attractive. In addition, the pioneer of the German railways,Friedrich List,personally championed the building of a line from Mainz toWorms.The grand ducal government in Darmstadt however, initially remained opposed, especially as it had passed a law in 1842 for a state railway system. From 1845 onwards, however, there were proponents in the government for a private railway for the province of Rhenish Hesse.

Lines

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Mainz – Ludwigshafen – (France) (1853)

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At first, the route to be used was totally unclear. The alternative from Mainz viaAlzeyto Worms was soon discarded in favour of a direct route along the Rhine. On 15 August 1845 a licence was granted to theMainz-Ludwigshafen Railway Company(Mainz-Ludwigshafener-Eisenbahngesellschaft). The company was later renamed to theHessian Ludwig Railway Company(Hessische-Ludwigs-Eisenbahngesellschaft) orHLB– in honour ofLouis III, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine,although he initially opposed the building of the line. In the times following the HLB got increasingly into financial deep water, because several share holders withdrew their money. Construction began in spring 1848. However, as the state purse became empty as a result of therevolution of 1848,the state could no longer be relied on to provide any support and the construction of the line threatened to grind to a halt. Not until August 1852 did the Hesse-Darmstadt government, decided to support the HLB. In addition a treaty was agreed withKingdom of Bavariafor the entireMainz–Ludwigshafen line.

Whilst the city of Worms would have preferred a station in the vicinity of the port, the HLB, after a degree of toing and froing, built it further west where it is today. Thereafter building proceeded apace and the 46 kilometre long route was opened in several sections from Mainz to Worms during the period 23 March (Mainz –Oppenheim) to 24 August 1853. From 15 November 1853 trains ran through from Mainz to Ludwigshafen. Initially there were 6 passenger trains daily (2 of which were expresses) in each direction between Mainz and Worms. In Mainz there was a connexion to the steamships of theCologne and Düsseldorf Company for Steamships on the Rhine River(Kölnische und Düsseldorfer Gesellschaft für Rhein-Dampfschiffahrt).

Rhine-Main-Railway

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Bischofsheim Junction with shunting locomotive "Landskron" and station staff, 1867

On 1 of August 1858 theRhine-Main linefrom Mainz via Darmstadt toAschaffenburgin Bavaria was opened. Initially theRhineriver was crossed by atrain ferryeast of the railway stationMainz Neuthor(today:Mainz Römisches Theater station) until a newly designed Rhine bridge was constructed by MAN-Werk Gustavsburg and given to traffic on 1 of December 1862. This line not only connected Mainz, second in importance after the grand-ducal capital, with Darmstadt. But it enabled also to run trains through from the Bavarian railways up the Rhine valley toCologneand further on toBelgium.

Expansion of the network

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Over the succeeding decades the following lines were added to the network and the HLB became the major provider of rail services within the two southern provinces of the grand-duchy (RheinhessenandStarkenburg) as well as one of the largest privately owned railways of Germany.

Route numbers

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Station bell of HLB. Today in second hand use on the cemetery ofPfungstadt
Bond of the Grand Dutchy of Hesse, issued 3. October 1896; for financing the nationalization of the Hessian Ludwig Railway

In the early 1890s the HLB numbered its routes as follows:

  • Line 1: Frankfurt - Hanau - Eberbach
  • Line 2: Darmstadt - Wiebelsbach-Heubach
  • Line 3: Mainz - Alzey
  • Line 4: Armsheim - Wendelsheim
  • Line 5: Bingen - Alzey - Worms
  • Line 6: Mannheim - Worms über Lampertheim
  • Line 7: Bingen - Mainz - Frankfurt
  • Line 8: Mainz - Worms
  • Line 9: Mainz - Darmstadt - Aschaffenburg
  • Line 10: Frankfurt - Hanau - Aschaffenburg
  • Line 11: Frankfurt - Limburg
  • Line 12: Wiesbaden - Niedernhausen
  • Line 13: Frankfurt - Mannheim
  • Line 14: Darmstadt - Worms
  • Line 15: Bensheim - Worms

Nationalisation

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On 1 April 1897 the HLB was nationalised and became part of thePrussian-Hessian Railway Operating and Financial Association.The abbreviation "HLB" was said by the local people to stand forHoch lebe Bismarck(Long live Bismarck).

Stock

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Locomotives

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Locomotive No. 103,Bismarck,built byMaschinenfabrik Esslingen,1872, for Hessische Ludwigsbahn
Locomotive No. 110,Gonsenheimof Hessische Ludwigsbahn

The Hessian Ludwig Railway began operations with 6steam locomotivesfrom theMaschinenfabrik Esslingen;these sported (as was then common) illustrious names:Schenk(after Freiherr von Schenk, director of the Hessian Finance Ministry),Dalwigk(after Freiherr von Dalwigk, then Hesse'sMinisterialdirektorand exTerritorialkommissärfor Mainz - this engine hauled the first train on the Mainz - Oppenheim line),Gutenberg(afterJohannes GensfleischcalledJohannes Gutenberg,the inventor of theprinting press),Arnold Walpoden(after Arnold Walpoden, the initiator of theRheinische Bundin 1254) as well asMainzandWorms.

At the end of 1895, i.e. one year before the Hessian Ludwig Railway was nationalised, it had 216 locomotives.

Coach fleet

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In addition to 11 1st and 2nd classpassenger coachesthe HLB had 19 3rd class coaches and 36luggage vansandgoods wagonsto begin with (there was no 4th class). In 1861 the HLB had 39 locomotives and in 1864 52.

At the end of 1895 the fleet comprised 544 coaches, 107 luggage vans, 1552 covered and 2240 open wagons.

See also

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Sources

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  • Hans Döhn:Eisenbahnpolitik und Eisenbahnbau in Rheinhessen 1835-1914.Mainz 1957.
  • Ralph Häussler:Eisenbahnen in Worms - Von der Ludwigsbahn zum Rheinland-Pfalz-Takt.Kehl, Hamm/Rheinhessen 2003.ISBN3-935651-10-4
  • Bernhard Hager:’Aufsaugung durch Preußen’ oder ‚Wohltat für Hessen’?. Die preußisch-hessische Eisenbahngemeinschaft von 1896/97.InAndreas Hedwig(ed.),„Auf eisernen Schienen, so schnell wie der Blitz “. Regionale und überregionale Aspekte der Eisenbahngeschichte= Schriften deshessischen Staatsarchivs Marburg19, Marburg 2008.
  • Wolfgang Klee und Günther Scheingraber:Preußische Eisenbahngeschichte(=Preußen-Report.Band 1.2), Teil 2 1870/71 - 1920. Merker, Fürstenfeldbruck 1992.ISBN3-922404-38-3
  • Peter Scheffler:Eisenbahnknotenpunkt Mainz/Wiesbaden.Eisenbahn-Kurier-Verl., Freiburg 1988.ISBN3-88255-620-X
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