Rhenish Railway Company
Encyclopedia
The Rhenish Railway Company (German
: Rheinische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft, RhE) was along with the Cologne-Minden Railway Company
(CME) and the Bergisch-Märkische Railway Company (BME) one of the railway companies that in the mid-19th century built the first railways in the Ruhr
and large parts of today's North Rhine-Westphalia
.
and the Bergisches Land
, then part of Prussia
, sought to avoid paying the high tolls for using the Rhine imposed by the Netherlands
and very early in its development, saw the possibility of the new means of transport, the railway. As early as the 1830s committees were established the cities of the Rhineland to promote proposals for building railways.
Some of the members of the Cologne
committee under David Hansemann
(1790–1864)—a merchant and banker from Aachen
—and the Aachen Committee favoured a railway line through Belgium to the seaport of Antwerp via Liege. Belgium
, which had been established as recently as 1830, was interested in trade relations with Prussia, which then included most of the Rhineland. Not having access to the Rhine, Belgium was at a commercial disadvantage to the Netherlands and therefore moved faster than any other country on the continent to build a rail network. The supporters of the line to Antwerp founded the Rhenish Railway Company on 25 July 1835 in Cologne. Its first president was Ludolf Camphausen
, who a few years later in 1848 was briefly Prime Minister of Prussia. From 1844 until the company’s nationalisation in 1880, Gustav Mevissen
was president of the RhE.
A connection with the German North Sea
ports was not achieved until years later. The Cologne-Minden Railway Company was founded in 1843 and in 1847 the line to Minden was finished. Connection with the Royal Hanoverian State Railways
provided links to other German seaports. A direct rail connection between the Rhineland-Westphalian industrial belt and the German North Sea ports was established in 1856 with the opening of the Hanoverian Western Railway
to Emden
and in 1873/74 with the opening of the Hamburg-Venlo railway to Bremen
and Hamburg
.
and Aachen to the Belgian border, a distance of 86 kilometres. The first seven kilometres of track from Cologne to Müngersdorf was opened in 1839. Two further sections to Lövenich and from Düren to Aachen were completed in 1840 and 1841. This included the 1,632 m long Königsdorfer Tunnel, which has now been opened to create a cutting. The last section to the Belgian border at Herbesthal was opened to traffic on 15 October 1843. There was a grade of 1:38 between Aachen and Ronheide (the Ronheide ramp). Until 1855, cable-haulage powered by a stationary steam engine assisted trains up the slope. The line was the first line linking Germany with a non-German country.
The opening of the line created further connections as the already well-developed Belgian network had two connections with northern France
, but the routes to Paris
was only finished in 1846, on 16 June from Valenciennes
, and on 20 June 1846 from Lille
.
s along with its 45 km long route from Cologne (St. Pantaleon station) to Bonn
and Rolandseck
, beginning its development of railways along the Rhine. By 1859, it had extended the West Rhine line (or Left Rhine line, Linke Rheinstrecke) 107 kilometres via Koblenz
to Bingerbrück
, where it connected with the Hessian Ludwig Railway
to Mainz and Ludwigshafen as well as the Nahe Valley Railway to Saarbrücken
and its coal mines. In addition, in 1864 the Pfaffendorf bridge was built over Rhine at Koblenz and connected with the Nassau State Railways in Oberlahnstein
. The Prussian state helped finance the construction of the Pfaffendorf bridge and its connection with the Nassau State Railways.
After the takeover of the BCE, Hermann Otto Pflaume completed plans for a new RhE Central Station
in Cologne. The station and the Cathedral Bridge
(Dombrücke) were opened in 1859. The Central Station was a combined terminal and through station: it included four terminal tracks for the RhE running to the west, while the CME had two through tracks connecting to its line on the eastern side of the Rhine by the Cathedral Bridge.
. In 1863 this line was extended more than 65 km via Goch to Kleve. From there it built a railway line in 1865 over the Griethausen railway bridge to the Spyck–Welle train ferry over the Rhine, connecting to Elten
and Zevenaar
in the Netherlands.
This line gave the RhE not only a connection to the Dutch North Sea ports but also part of a lucrative transit route from the Netherlands to Southern Germany and Switzerland
. On 9 September 1865 the RhE opened a line from Cleves to Nijmegen, providing another route to Netherlands. In 1878 a new station was opened in Goch as a common station with the intersecting line of the North Brabant-German Railway Company (Dutch
: Noord-Brabantsch-Duitsche Spoorweg-Maatschappij) from Boxtel
to Wesel
.
The RhE’s Kempen–Venlo line, opened in 1868, provided another link to the Netherlands, which ran parallel with the Viersen–Venlo railway
of the Bergisch-Märkische Railway Company from Kaldenkirchen
.
and Gerolstein
to Trier
, which cost more than 16 million Prussian thaler
s. The line was completed on 15 July 1871. This gave the RhE a second line to the Saar coalfields and convenient connections to the iron ore mines of Lorraine
now controlled by Germany as a result of the Franco-Prussian War
of 1870-71. After the Austro-Prussian War
of 1866, the company sought to supplement its Eifel line and the planned East Rhine Railway by taking over and the Nassau State Railways lines between Wiesbaden
, Oberlahnstein
and Wetzlar
, now controlled by the Prussian government. However, since it was required to take over the loss-making Nahe Valley Railway in return it lost interest. A takeover of Nahe Valley Railway would have limited the profitability of the Eifel line. On 1 October 1875 a more direct route was opened from Kalscheuren
on the West Rhine line to Euskirchen.
via Uerdingen
, Rheinhausen
, the Rheinhausen–Hochfeld train ferry
across the Rhine, Duisburg
-Hochfeld, Mülheim
-Speldorf, Mülheim (RhE)
, Mülheim-Heißen to Essen
Nord (RhE).
It built sidings to the many coal mines in this region, generally free of charge. In 1874 the line was continued to Bochum
Nord, Langendreer
Nord to Dortmund
Süd. In the same year, the train ferry was replaced by a solid bridge across the Rhine (Duisburg-Hochfeld rail bridge), with the ferry wharf on the right bank replaced by facilities for loading coal on barges.
On 15 February 1870 a three-kilometre branch line was opened from Hochfeld train ferry station to (old) Duisburg, which was the starting point of a line to Quakenbrück completed on 1 July 1879.
Some sections of the Rhenish Ruhr line are now closed and where trains runs it is mostly used by freight trains, the only passenger trains on the route are the line S4 S-Bahn trains through southern Dortmund. The section of line between Duisburg-Neudorf and Essen Nord is now closed and has been converted into a cycling and hiking trail.
to Neuwied
. On 11 July 1870 the section of line was opened from Neuwied to Oberkassel, where the Bonn–Oberkassel train ferry
provided a connection between the West Rhine and East Rhine lines. The section from Oberkassel
to Troisdorf
opened in 1871. The continuation of the line from Troisdorf
to Mülheim
-Speldorf was completed on 18 November 1874, opening a cheap route for the shipping coal from the Ruhr to the south.
The Ruhr route ran largely parallel to the Bergisch-Märkische Railway Company’s existing Duisburg–Dortmund line and was quickly connected with many mines. The coal shipments grew enormously from the start, as the new railway launched its "one pfennig
" tariff to compete for the coal business. As a result of coal prices in Germany and neighboring countries fell by 10% to 15%.
, Schwelm
Nord, Gevelsberg
, Hagen
, Herdecke
and Hörde
, which was completed on 19 September 1879. This line also competed with a BME line
.
The line is currently used from Düsseldorf to Mettmann by line S28 S-Bahn trains and by freight trains from Dornap-Hahnenfurth. Most of the section east of Dornap-Hahnenfurth is closed, although the section from Gevelsberg West
to Hagen-Heubing is used by line S8 trains and Regionalbahn
RB 52 line uses the line from Hagen to Dortmund Signal-Iduna-Park
.
ports. The Cologne-Minden Railway Company had completed its line on 18 June 1874 from Wanne
through Haltern
, Münster
, Osnabrück
and Bremen
to Hamburg. The RhE gained a concession for its own route north from the Prussian government on 9 June 1873, which it completed within six years. On 1 July 1879 it opened the 175 km long Duisburg–Quakenbrück line via Oberhausen
West, Bottrop
Nord, Dorsten
and Rheine
to Quakenbrück
. It connected with the network of the Royal Westphalian Railway Company
to Emden
in Rheine and of to the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg State Railways
to Wilhelmshaven
in Quakenbrück.
were not well connected to economic centres due to the relatively late construction, especially since they had been planned primarily for the transport of coal. This explains why most lines of these lines are no longer in operation. By contrast, its lines in the Rhineland and the Rhine Valley are still vital for rail transport.
. Also involved at an early stage were other bankers such as William Deichmann (of A. Schaaffhausen & Co.
) and J. H. Stein & Co., and later Abraham Oppenheim (Sal Oppenheim jr
) and J. D. Herstatt. The RhE was at that time the largest private company in Prussia with an initial share capital of three million Prussian thaler
s.
Originally the banker Abraham Oppenheim, held almost a quarter of the share capital, and another six Cologne bankers held another third. Six months later, Oppenheim together with the Belgian banker Bischoffsheim held a majority of shares.
To meet the high capital requirements of the railway company, the bankers developed new forms of cooperation such as national consortia (underwriters
) and later joint-stock
banks. Initially some of the Cologne banks which had acquired shares had found it difficult to sell them due to poor economic conditions and attempted to return their shares to the railway company. Finally in 1840 the Belgian government bought the unsaleable shares.
In the course of Bismarck
's nationalisation policy the nationalisation of the RhE was announced on 14 February 1880. At that time, the Prussian state held 42% of its share capital. The Prussian state railways
created the Royal Directorate of the Rhenish railways at Cologne (German: Königliche Eisenbahn-Direktion zu Köln linksrheinisch) for the management and operation of the network taken over, with effect from 1 January 1880. On 23 February 1881 this was renamed the Royal directorate of left Rhine railways at Cologne (Königliche Eisenbahn-Direktion zu Köln linksrheinisch). The east bank were combined with those of the Cologne-Minden Railway Company which had also nationalised with effect from 1 April 1881 in the newly established Royal directorate of right Rhine railways at Cologne (Königliche Eisenbahn-Direktion zu Köln rechtsrheinisch).
At its nationalisation the Rhenish Railway Company had 507 locomotives, 862 carriages and 13,572 freight wagons. It operated a rail network of 1,356 km length. The purchase price was financed by government bonds worth 591,129,900 marks
. The company was formally dissolved on 1 January 1886.
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
: Rheinische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft, RhE) was along with the Cologne-Minden Railway Company
Cologne-Minden Railway Company
The Cologne-Minden Railway Company was along with the Bergisch-Märkische Railway Company and the Rhenish Railway Company one of the railway companies that in the mid-19th century built the first railways in the Ruhr and large parts of today's North Rhine-Westphalia.-Founding :The founding of the...
(CME) and the Bergisch-Märkische Railway Company (BME) one of the railway companies that in the mid-19th century built the first railways in the Ruhr
Ruhr
The Ruhr is a medium-size river in western Germany , a right tributary of the Rhine.-Description:The source of the Ruhr is near the town of Winterberg in the mountainous Sauerland region, at an elevation of approximately 2,200 feet...
and large parts of today's North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...
.
Foundation
The industrialists of the RhinelandRhineland
Historically, the Rhinelands refers to a loosely-defined region embracing the land on either bank of the River Rhine in central Europe....
and the Bergisches Land
Bergisches Land
The Bergisches Land is a low mountain range region within the state of Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany, east of Rhine river, south of the Ruhr. The landscape is shaped by woods, meadows, rivers and creeks and contains over 20 artificial lakes...
, then part of Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
, sought to avoid paying the high tolls for using the Rhine imposed by the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and very early in its development, saw the possibility of the new means of transport, the railway. As early as the 1830s committees were established the cities of the Rhineland to promote proposals for building railways.
Some of the members of the Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
committee under David Hansemann
David Hansemann
David Justus Ludwig Hansemann was a Prussian politician and banker, serving as the Prussian Minister of Finance in 1848.- Life :...
(1790–1864)—a merchant and banker from Aachen
Aachen
Aachen has historically been a spa town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aachen was a favoured residence of Charlemagne, and the place of coronation of the Kings of Germany. Geographically, Aachen is the westernmost town of Germany, located along its borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, ...
—and the Aachen Committee favoured a railway line through Belgium to the seaport of Antwerp via Liege. Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, which had been established as recently as 1830, was interested in trade relations with Prussia, which then included most of the Rhineland. Not having access to the Rhine, Belgium was at a commercial disadvantage to the Netherlands and therefore moved faster than any other country on the continent to build a rail network. The supporters of the line to Antwerp founded the Rhenish Railway Company on 25 July 1835 in Cologne. Its first president was Ludolf Camphausen
Gottfried Ludolf Camphausen
Gottfried Ludolf Camphausen In 1848, Ludolf Camphausen stepped suddenly from his banker's deskat Cologne to the presidential chair of the Ministry of State at Berlin,...
, who a few years later in 1848 was briefly Prime Minister of Prussia. From 1844 until the company’s nationalisation in 1880, Gustav Mevissen
Gustav von Mevissen
Gustav Mevissen, after 1884 Gustav von Mevissen was a German businessman and politician.Mevissen was born in Dülken, Rhine Province. He started by investing in textile industry and later in railway construction and heavy industry. He founded numerous banks, including the Darmstädter Bank, and...
was president of the RhE.
A connection with the German North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
ports was not achieved until years later. The Cologne-Minden Railway Company was founded in 1843 and in 1847 the line to Minden was finished. Connection with the Royal Hanoverian State Railways
Royal Hanoverian State Railways
The Royal Hanoverian State Railways existed from 1843 until the annexation of the Kingdom of Hanover by the Kingdom of Prussia in 1866...
provided links to other German seaports. A direct rail connection between the Rhineland-Westphalian industrial belt and the German North Sea ports was established in 1856 with the opening of the Hanoverian Western Railway
Hanoverian Western Railway
The Hanoverian Western Railway was a line from the Löhne to Emden, built by the Royal Hanoverian State Railways in the mid-19th century in the west of the Kingdom of Hanover in the modern German states of Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia....
to Emden
Emden
Emden is a city and seaport in the northwest of Germany, on the river Ems. It is the main city of the region of East Frisia; in 2006, the city had a total population of 51,692.-History:...
and in 1873/74 with the opening of the Hamburg-Venlo railway to Bremen
Bremen
The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...
and Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
.
Construction of lines
Cologne–Aachen–Belgium line
On 21 August 1837 the Company received a concession from the Prussian government to build the railway line from Cologne via DürenDüren
Düren is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, capital of Düren district. It is located between Aachen and Cologne on the river Rur.-Roman era:Celts inhabited Düren's area before the Romans. They called their small settlement Durum . After the Celts other Germanic tribes settled this area...
and Aachen to the Belgian border, a distance of 86 kilometres. The first seven kilometres of track from Cologne to Müngersdorf was opened in 1839. Two further sections to Lövenich and from Düren to Aachen were completed in 1840 and 1841. This included the 1,632 m long Königsdorfer Tunnel, which has now been opened to create a cutting. The last section to the Belgian border at Herbesthal was opened to traffic on 15 October 1843. There was a grade of 1:38 between Aachen and Ronheide (the Ronheide ramp). Until 1855, cable-haulage powered by a stationary steam engine assisted trains up the slope. The line was the first line linking Germany with a non-German country.
The opening of the line created further connections as the already well-developed Belgian network had two connections with northern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, but the routes to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
was only finished in 1846, on 16 June from Valenciennes
Valenciennes
Valenciennes is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.It lies on the Scheldt river. Although the city and region had seen a steady decline between 1975 and 1990, it has since rebounded...
, and on 20 June 1846 from Lille
Lille
Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...
.
West Rhine line and Cologne Central Station
On 1 January 1857, the Company acquired the Bonn-Cologne Railway Company (Bonn-Cölner Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft, BCE) for 1.05 million Prussian thalerPrussian thaler
The Thaler was the currency of Prussia until 1857. From 1750, it was distinct from north German Reichsthaler unit of account in that it contained 1/14 of a Cologne mark of silver, rather than 1/12, and was minted as a coin...
s along with its 45 km long route from Cologne (St. Pantaleon station) to Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
and Rolandseck
Rolandseck
Rolandseck is a borough of Remagen in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.The place consists almost entirely of villas and is a favorite summer resort. Crowning the vine-clad hills behind it lie the ruins of the castle, a picturesque ivy-covered arch, whence a fine view is obtained of the Siebengebirge...
, beginning its development of railways along the Rhine. By 1859, it had extended the West Rhine line (or Left Rhine line, Linke Rheinstrecke) 107 kilometres via Koblenz
Koblenz
Koblenz is a German city situated on both banks of the Rhine at its confluence with the Moselle, where the Deutsches Eck and its monument are situated.As Koblenz was one of the military posts established by Drusus about 8 BC, the...
to Bingerbrück
Bingerbrück
Bingerbrück is a Stadtteil of Bingen am Rhein, on the opposite side of the river Nahe from the old town of Bingen. It was self-administering until 1969.- Binger Mäuseturm :...
, where it connected with the Hessian Ludwig Railway
Hessian Ludwig Railway
The Hessian Ludwig Railway or HLB with its network of 697 kilometres of railway was one of the largest privately owned railway companies in Germany.- Early history :...
to Mainz and Ludwigshafen as well as the Nahe Valley Railway to Saarbrücken
Saarbrücken
Saarbrücken is the capital of the state of Saarland in Germany. The city is situated at the heart of a metropolitan area that borders on the west on Dillingen and to the north-east on Neunkirchen, where most of the people of the Saarland live....
and its coal mines. In addition, in 1864 the Pfaffendorf bridge was built over Rhine at Koblenz and connected with the Nassau State Railways in Oberlahnstein
Oberlahnstein
Oberlahnstein is a part of the city of Lahnstein in Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany. It lies on the right bank of the Rhine, at the confluence of the Lahn 4 m. above Koblenz, on the Right Rhine railway from Cologne to Frankfurt-on-Main...
. The Prussian state helped finance the construction of the Pfaffendorf bridge and its connection with the Nassau State Railways.
After the takeover of the BCE, Hermann Otto Pflaume completed plans for a new RhE Central Station
Köln Hauptbahnhof
Köln Hauptbahnhof is the central railway station in Cologne, Germany.The station is an important local, national and international hub, with many ICE, Thalys and Intercity trains calling there, as well as regional RegionalExpress, RegionalBahn and local S-Bahn trains...
in Cologne. The station and the Cathedral Bridge
Cathedral Bridge
The Cathedral Bridge was a railway and street bridge crossing the river Rhine in the German city of Cologne. It was owned by the Cologne-Minden Railway Company and named after the Cologne Cathedral, which is located on the same longitudinal axis...
(Dombrücke) were opened in 1859. The Central Station was a combined terminal and through station: it included four terminal tracks for the RhE running to the west, while the CME had two through tracks connecting to its line on the eastern side of the Rhine by the Cathedral Bridge.
Cologne–Kleve–Netherlands line
1 June 1860, the Rhenish Railway Company took over the Cologne-Krefeld Railway Company (German, old spelling: Cöln-Crefelder Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft), including its 53 km long line from Cologne to KrefeldKrefeld
Krefeld , also known as Crefeld until 1929, is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located northwest of Düsseldorf, its centre lying just a few kilometres to the west of the River Rhine; the borough of Uerdingen is situated directly on the Rhine...
. In 1863 this line was extended more than 65 km via Goch to Kleve. From there it built a railway line in 1865 over the Griethausen railway bridge to the Spyck–Welle train ferry over the Rhine, connecting to Elten
Elten
Elten is a small German town located in Northrhine-Westfalia. It has a population of around 4,500. Since 1975, it is part of the town Emmerich am Rhein. Between 1949 and 1963, Elten was part of the Netherlands . There is a substantial minority of Dutch citizens.- External links :*...
and Zevenaar
Zevenaar
Zevenaar is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands, near the border with Germany.- Population centres :*Angerlo*Babberich*Giesbeek*Lathum*Ooy*Oud Zevenaar*Zevenaar...
in the Netherlands.
This line gave the RhE not only a connection to the Dutch North Sea ports but also part of a lucrative transit route from the Netherlands to Southern Germany and Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. On 9 September 1865 the RhE opened a line from Cleves to Nijmegen, providing another route to Netherlands. In 1878 a new station was opened in Goch as a common station with the intersecting line of the North Brabant-German Railway Company (Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
: Noord-Brabantsch-Duitsche Spoorweg-Maatschappij) from Boxtel
Boxtel
Boxtel is a municipality and a town in the southern Netherlands.This is the origin of the van Boxtel family, which has numerous descendants in North Brabant....
to Wesel
Wesel
Wesel is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the Wesel district.-Division of the town:Suburbs of Wesel include Lackhausen, Obrighoven, Ginderich, Feldmark,Fusternberg, Büderich, Flüren and Blumenkamp.-History:...
.
The RhE’s Kempen–Venlo line, opened in 1868, provided another link to the Netherlands, which ran parallel with the Viersen–Venlo railway
Viersen–Venlo railway
The Viersen–Venlo railway is a railway line running from Viersen in Germany to Venlo in the Netherlands. The line was opened in 1866 by the Bergisch-Märkische Railway Company. Formerly used by international passenger trains between The Hague and Cologne, it is now only used by the...
of the Bergisch-Märkische Railway Company from Kaldenkirchen
Kaldenkirchen (Germany)
Kaldenkirchen is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany, situated close to the Dutch border at Venlo. It is part of the municipality of Nettetal.- History :...
.
Eifel line
In 1864 work began on the construction of the 170 km long Eifel line from Düren via EuskirchenEuskirchen station
Euskirchen station is an important transport hub with heavy commuter traffic in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is it situated on Cologne–Trier, Bonn–Euskirchen, Euskirchen–Bad Münstereifel and the Euskirchen–Düren lines...
and Gerolstein
Gerolstein
Gerolstein is a town in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the seat of the like-named Verbandsgemeinde. Gerolstein is headquarters to a large mineral water firm, Gerolsteiner Brunnen...
to Trier
Trier Hauptbahnhof
is the Hauptbahnhof for the city of Trier, in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It is a through station located about east of the inner city and the Porta Nigra.-History:...
, which cost more than 16 million Prussian thaler
Prussian thaler
The Thaler was the currency of Prussia until 1857. From 1750, it was distinct from north German Reichsthaler unit of account in that it contained 1/14 of a Cologne mark of silver, rather than 1/12, and was minted as a coin...
s. The line was completed on 15 July 1871. This gave the RhE a second line to the Saar coalfields and convenient connections to the iron ore mines of Lorraine
Lorraine (région)
Lorraine is one of the 27 régions of France. The administrative region has two cities of equal importance, Metz and Nancy. Metz is considered to be the official capital since that is where the regional parliament is situated...
now controlled by Germany as a result of the Franco-Prussian War
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...
of 1870-71. After the Austro-Prussian War
Austro-Prussian War
The Austro-Prussian War was a war fought in 1866 between the German Confederation under the leadership of the Austrian Empire and its German allies on one side and the Kingdom of Prussia with its German allies and Italy on the...
of 1866, the company sought to supplement its Eifel line and the planned East Rhine Railway by taking over and the Nassau State Railways lines between Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden is a city in southwest Germany and the capital of the federal state of Hesse. It has about 275,400 inhabitants, plus approximately 10,000 United States citizens...
, Oberlahnstein
Oberlahnstein
Oberlahnstein is a part of the city of Lahnstein in Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany. It lies on the right bank of the Rhine, at the confluence of the Lahn 4 m. above Koblenz, on the Right Rhine railway from Cologne to Frankfurt-on-Main...
and Wetzlar
Wetzlar station
Wetzlar station is a through station in the city of Wetzlar in the German state of Hesse on the Dill and Lahn Valley Railways. It is the most important public transport node in Wetzlar together with the adjacent bus station.-History:...
, now controlled by the Prussian government. However, since it was required to take over the loss-making Nahe Valley Railway in return it lost interest. A takeover of Nahe Valley Railway would have limited the profitability of the Eifel line. On 1 October 1875 a more direct route was opened from Kalscheuren
Hürth
Hürth is a town in the Rhein-Erft-Kreis, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Hürth shares borders with the city of Cologne.-Geography:Hürth is situated about 9 km to the southwest of Cologne city centre, at the northeastern slope of the natural preserve Kottenforst-Ville.The town, consisting of...
on the West Rhine line to Euskirchen.
Ruhr line
The company, which had previously operated only on the western side of the Rhine, opened a route across the Rhine on 1 September 1866 to connect with its Ruhr line from OsterathMeerbusch
Meerbusch, a town in Rhein-Kreis Neuss, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, has been an incorporated city since 1970. Meerbusch is the municipality with the second most income millionaires in North Rhine-Westphalia.- Geography :...
via Uerdingen
Uerdingen
Uerdingen is a district of the city of Krefeld, Germany, with a population of 18,507, though Uerdingen received its charter as a city as early as 1255, well before Krefeld. Uerdingen was merged with Krefeld in 1929, after which the term “Krefeld-Uerdingen” was used, until, eventually, the use of...
, Rheinhausen
Rheinhausen
Rheinhausen is a district of the city of Duisburg in Germany, with a population of 79,566 and an area of 38.68 km². It lies on the left bank of the river Rhine....
, the Rheinhausen–Hochfeld train ferry
Rheinhausen–Hochfeld train ferry
The Rheinhausen-Hochfeld train ferry was a German train ferry on the Rhine between Rheinhausen and Hochfeld, now districts of Duisburg. It was built by theRhenish Railway Company and commenced operations on 23 August 1866.-History :...
across the Rhine, Duisburg
Duisburg
- History :A legend recorded by Johannes Aventinus holds that Duisburg, was built by the eponymous Tuisto, mythical progenitor of Germans, ca. 2395 BC...
-Hochfeld, Mülheim
Mülheim
Mülheim an der Ruhr, also called "City on the River", is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. It is located in the Ruhr Area between Duisburg, Essen, Oberhausen and Ratingen...
-Speldorf, Mülheim (RhE)
Mülheim (Ruhr) Hauptbahnhof
is the Hauptbahnhof for the city of Mülheim in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It was renamed as a Hauptbahnhof in 1974 at the time of the rebuilding of the Dortmund–Duisburg line as part of the establishment of the Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn....
, Mülheim-Heißen to Essen
Essen
- Origin of the name :In German-speaking countries, the name of the city Essen often causes confusion as to its origins, because it is commonly known as the German infinitive of the verb for the act of eating, and/or the German noun for food. Although scholars still dispute the interpretation of...
Nord (RhE).
It built sidings to the many coal mines in this region, generally free of charge. In 1874 the line was continued to Bochum
Bochum
Bochum is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, western Germany. It is located in the Ruhr area and is surrounded by the cities of Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Herne, Castrop-Rauxel, Dortmund, Witten and Hattingen.-History:...
Nord, Langendreer
Langendreer
Langendreer is the most populous district of the city of Bochum in the Ruhr area in Germany. Langendreer is between Dortmund, the largest city of Westphalia and Langendreer-Alter Bahnhof, another district of Bochum. Langendreeer includes Kaltehardt, a mainly residential area. Langendreer is in the...
Nord to Dortmund
Dortmund
Dortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union....
Süd. In the same year, the train ferry was replaced by a solid bridge across the Rhine (Duisburg-Hochfeld rail bridge), with the ferry wharf on the right bank replaced by facilities for loading coal on barges.
On 15 February 1870 a three-kilometre branch line was opened from Hochfeld train ferry station to (old) Duisburg, which was the starting point of a line to Quakenbrück completed on 1 July 1879.
Some sections of the Rhenish Ruhr line are now closed and where trains runs it is mostly used by freight trains, the only passenger trains on the route are the line S4 S-Bahn trains through southern Dortmund. The section of line between Duisburg-Neudorf and Essen Nord is now closed and has been converted into a cycling and hiking trail.
East Rhine line
The Rhenish Railway Company opened the East Rhine line (or Right Rhine line, Rechte Rheinstrecke) on 27 October 1869 from Ehrenbreitstein near KoblenzKoblenz
Koblenz is a German city situated on both banks of the Rhine at its confluence with the Moselle, where the Deutsches Eck and its monument are situated.As Koblenz was one of the military posts established by Drusus about 8 BC, the...
to Neuwied
Neuwied
Neuwied is a town in the north of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, capital of the District of Neuwied. Neuwied lies on the right bank of the Rhine, 12 km northwest of Koblenz, on the railway from Frankfurt am Main to Cologne...
. On 11 July 1870 the section of line was opened from Neuwied to Oberkassel, where the Bonn–Oberkassel train ferry
Bonn–Oberkassel train ferry
The Bonn–Oberkassel train ferry was a German train ferry operated by the Rhenish Railway Company from 1870 to connect its right and left Rhine railways...
provided a connection between the West Rhine and East Rhine lines. The section from Oberkassel
Oberkassel (Bonn)
Oberkassel is a suburb in the Bonn municipal district of Beuel and lies on the right bank of the Rhine on the edge of the Siebengebirge mountains. Oberkassel has about 7,200 inhabitants.-History :...
to Troisdorf
Troisdorf
Troisdorf is a town in the Rhein-Sieg-Kreis , in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.-Geography:Troisdorf is located approx. 22 kilometers south of Cologne and 13 kilometers north east of Bonn.-Division of the town:...
opened in 1871. The continuation of the line from Troisdorf
Troisdorf
Troisdorf is a town in the Rhein-Sieg-Kreis , in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.-Geography:Troisdorf is located approx. 22 kilometers south of Cologne and 13 kilometers north east of Bonn.-Division of the town:...
to Mülheim
Mülheim
Mülheim an der Ruhr, also called "City on the River", is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. It is located in the Ruhr Area between Duisburg, Essen, Oberhausen and Ratingen...
-Speldorf was completed on 18 November 1874, opening a cheap route for the shipping coal from the Ruhr to the south.
The Ruhr route ran largely parallel to the Bergisch-Märkische Railway Company’s existing Duisburg–Dortmund line and was quickly connected with many mines. The coal shipments grew enormously from the start, as the new railway launched its "one pfennig
Pfennig
The Pfennig , plural Pfennige, is an old German coin or note, which existed from the 9th century until the introduction of the euro in 2002....
" tariff to compete for the coal business. As a result of coal prices in Germany and neighboring countries fell by 10% to 15%.
Bergisch Land line
In 1873 the company continued its policy of aggressive competition in its decision to build a 75 km long railway line through the Bergisches Land from Düsseldorf to Dortmund Süd via ElberfeldElberfeld
Elberfeld is a municipal subdivision of the German city of Wuppertal; it was an independent town until 1929.-History:The first official mentioning of the geographic area on the banks of today's Wupper River as "elverfelde" was in a document of 1161...
, Schwelm
Schwelm
Schwelm is a town in the district of Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis in the administrative region of Arnsberg within the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.It's a town that's noted for the famed basketball player Virgil Matthews.-Geography:...
Nord, Gevelsberg
Gevelsberg
Gevelsberg is a town in the district of Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis, in North Rhine-Westphalia, .- Geography :The city extends from the wooded mountainous south up, into the narrow valley of the Ennepe with Route 7 up to the hilly northern part...
, Hagen
Hagen
Hagen is the 39th-largest city in Germany, located in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located on the eastern edge of the Ruhr area, 15 km south of Dortmund, where the rivers Lenne, Volme and Ennepe meet the river Ruhr...
, Herdecke
Herdecke
Herdecke is a town in the district of Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis, North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. Its located south of Dortmund in the Ruhr Area and is known as Die Stadt zwischen den Ruhrseen ....
and Hörde
Hörde
Hörde is a Stadtbezirk and also a Stadtteil in the south of the city of Dortmund, in Germany.Hörde is situated at 51°29' North, 7°30' East, and is at an elevation of 112 metres above mean sea level.It situated in southern part of Dortmund, a major town in the Ruhrgebiet.It is made up of the...
, which was completed on 19 September 1879. This line also competed with a BME line
Elberfeld–Dortmund railway
The Elberfeld–Dortmund railway is a major German railway. It is part of a major axis for long distance and regional rail services between Wuppertal and Cologne, and is served by Intercity Express, InterCity, Regional Express, Regionalbahn and S-Bahn trains....
.
The line is currently used from Düsseldorf to Mettmann by line S28 S-Bahn trains and by freight trains from Dornap-Hahnenfurth. Most of the section east of Dornap-Hahnenfurth is closed, although the section from Gevelsberg West
Gevelsberg West station
Gevelsberg West station is a through station in the town of Gevelsberg in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The station was opened with the Witten–Wengern Ost/Schwelm railway from Witten-Höhe to Schwelm that was opened by Deutsche Reichsbahn on 15 May 1934...
to Hagen-Heubing is used by line S8 trains and Regionalbahn
RegionalBahn
The Regionalbahn is a type of local passenger train in Germany.-Service:Regionalbahn trains usually call at all stations on a given line, with the exception of RB trains within S-Bahn networks, these may only call at selected stations...
RB 52 line uses the line from Hagen to Dortmund Signal-Iduna-Park
Dortmund Signal-Iduna-Park station
Dortmund Signal-Iduna-Park is a railway station on the Dortmund–Soest railway situated in close proximity to Signal Iduna Park stadion in Dortmund in western Germany. The station was called Dortmund Westfalenhalle before December 2006. It is served by regional railway lines of Deutsche Bahn.-...
.
The North Sea
The Rhenish Railway Company still lacked a connection to the German North SeaNorth Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
ports. The Cologne-Minden Railway Company had completed its line on 18 June 1874 from Wanne
Herne, Germany
Herne is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the Ruhr area directly between the cities of Bochum and Gelsenkirchen.- History :Like most other cities in the region Herne was a tiny village until the 19th century...
through Haltern
Haltern
Haltern is a town and a municipality in the district of Recklinghausen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated on the Lippe and the Wesel–Datteln Canal, approx...
, Münster
Münster
Münster is an independent city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also capital of the local government region Münsterland...
, Osnabrück
Osnabrück
Osnabrück is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, some 80 km NNE of Dortmund, 45 km NE of Münster, and some 100 km due west of Hanover. It lies in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest...
and Bremen
Bremen
The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...
to Hamburg. The RhE gained a concession for its own route north from the Prussian government on 9 June 1873, which it completed within six years. On 1 July 1879 it opened the 175 km long Duisburg–Quakenbrück line via Oberhausen
Oberhausen
Oberhausen is a city on the river Emscher in the Ruhr Area, Germany, located between Duisburg and Essen . The city hosts the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen and its Gasometer Oberhausen is an anchor point of the European Route of Industrial Heritage. It is also well known for the...
West, Bottrop
Bottrop
Bottrop is a city in west central Germany, on the Rhine-Herne Canal, in North Rhine-Westphalia. Located in the Ruhr industrial area, Bottrop adjoins Essen, Oberhausen, Gladbeck and Dorsten. The city had been a coal-mining and rail center and contains factories producing coal-tar derivatives,...
Nord, Dorsten
Dorsten
Dorsten is a town in the district of Recklinghausen in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and has a population of just below 80,000.Dorsten is situated on the western rim of Westphalia bordering the Rhineland. Its historical old town lies on the south bank of the river Lippe and the Wesel–Datteln...
and Rheine
Rheine
Rheine is a city in the district of Steinfurt in Westphalia, Germany. It is the largest city in the district and the location of Rheine Air Base.-Geography:Rheine is located on the river Ems, approx. north of Münster, approx...
to Quakenbrück
Quakenbrück
Quakenbrück is a town in the district of Osnabrück, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Hase. It is part of the Samtgemeinde of Artland....
. It connected with the network of the Royal Westphalian Railway Company
Royal Westphalian Railway Company
The Royal Westphalian Railway , was a German rail company established in 1848 with funding from the Prussian government, which later became part of the Prussian State Railways...
to Emden
Emden
Emden is a city and seaport in the northwest of Germany, on the river Ems. It is the main city of the region of East Frisia; in 2006, the city had a total population of 51,692.-History:...
in Rheine and of to the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg State Railways
Grand Duchy of Oldenburg State Railways
The Grand Duchy of Oldenburg Railway was the railway company that was run as a state railway for the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg , part of the German Empire....
to Wilhelmshaven
Wilhelmshaven
Wilhelmshaven is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea.-History:...
in Quakenbrück.
Operational lines
The Rhenish Railway Company’s lines in the RuhrRuhr
The Ruhr is a medium-size river in western Germany , a right tributary of the Rhine.-Description:The source of the Ruhr is near the town of Winterberg in the mountainous Sauerland region, at an elevation of approximately 2,200 feet...
were not well connected to economic centres due to the relatively late construction, especially since they had been planned primarily for the transport of coal. This explains why most lines of these lines are no longer in operation. By contrast, its lines in the Rhineland and the Rhine Valley are still vital for rail transport.
Business development and nationalisation
The founder of the Rhenish Railway Company was the leading banker and merchant Ludolf CamphausenGottfried Ludolf Camphausen
Gottfried Ludolf Camphausen In 1848, Ludolf Camphausen stepped suddenly from his banker's deskat Cologne to the presidential chair of the Ministry of State at Berlin,...
. Also involved at an early stage were other bankers such as William Deichmann (of A. Schaaffhausen & Co.
A. Schaaffhausen'scher Bank Association
The corporation of A. Schaaffhausen'scher Bank Association was a bank based in Cologne and was the first joint stock company legally recognised as a Bank in Germany.-Company history:...
) and J. H. Stein & Co., and later Abraham Oppenheim (Sal Oppenheim jr
Sal. Oppenheim
Sal. Oppenheim jr. & Cie. AG & Co. KGaA is a European Private Bank, currently headquartered in Cologne, Germany. It manages and administers €138 billion of assets and employs around 3,800 employees in more than 30 sites in Germany and Europe...
) and J. D. Herstatt. The RhE was at that time the largest private company in Prussia with an initial share capital of three million Prussian thaler
Prussian thaler
The Thaler was the currency of Prussia until 1857. From 1750, it was distinct from north German Reichsthaler unit of account in that it contained 1/14 of a Cologne mark of silver, rather than 1/12, and was minted as a coin...
s.
Originally the banker Abraham Oppenheim, held almost a quarter of the share capital, and another six Cologne bankers held another third. Six months later, Oppenheim together with the Belgian banker Bischoffsheim held a majority of shares.
To meet the high capital requirements of the railway company, the bankers developed new forms of cooperation such as national consortia (underwriters
Underwriting
Underwriting refers to the process that a large financial service provider uses to assess the eligibility of a customer to receive their products . The name derives from the Lloyd's of London insurance market...
) and later joint-stock
Joint stock company
A joint-stock company is a type of corporation or partnership involving two or more individuals that own shares of stock in the company...
banks. Initially some of the Cologne banks which had acquired shares had found it difficult to sell them due to poor economic conditions and attempted to return their shares to the railway company. Finally in 1840 the Belgian government bought the unsaleable shares.
In the course of Bismarck
Otto von Bismarck
Otto Eduard Leopold, Prince of Bismarck, Duke of Lauenburg , simply known as Otto von Bismarck, was a Prussian-German statesman whose actions unified Germany, made it a major player in world affairs, and created a balance of power that kept Europe at peace after 1871.As Minister President of...
's nationalisation policy the nationalisation of the RhE was announced on 14 February 1880. At that time, the Prussian state held 42% of its share capital. The Prussian state railways
Prussian state railways
The term Prussian state railways encompasses those railway organisations that were owned or managed by the State of Prussia...
created the Royal Directorate of the Rhenish railways at Cologne (German: Königliche Eisenbahn-Direktion zu Köln linksrheinisch) for the management and operation of the network taken over, with effect from 1 January 1880. On 23 February 1881 this was renamed the Royal directorate of left Rhine railways at Cologne (Königliche Eisenbahn-Direktion zu Köln linksrheinisch). The east bank were combined with those of the Cologne-Minden Railway Company which had also nationalised with effect from 1 April 1881 in the newly established Royal directorate of right Rhine railways at Cologne (Königliche Eisenbahn-Direktion zu Köln rechtsrheinisch).
At its nationalisation the Rhenish Railway Company had 507 locomotives, 862 carriages and 13,572 freight wagons. It operated a rail network of 1,356 km length. The purchase price was financed by government bonds worth 591,129,900 marks
German gold mark
The Goldmark was the currency used in the German Empire from 1873 to 1914.-History:Before unification, the different German states issued a variety of different currencies, though most were linked to the Vereinsthaler, a silver coin containing 16⅔ grams of pure silver...
. The company was formally dissolved on 1 January 1886.