Royal Westphalian Railway Company
Encyclopedia
The Royal Westphalian Railway , was a German rail company established in 1848 with funding from the Prussia
n government, which later became part of the Prussian State Railways
. The network eventually extended about 315 km from Rheine
via Hamm
to Warburg
and from Welver
(near Hamm) to Oberhausen
.
, connecting the Münster–Hamm line of the Munster–Hamm Railway Company (Münster-Hammer Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft) opened in 1848 with the line being constructed at the same time by the Cologne-Minden-Thuringian Connection Railway Company (Köln-Minden-Thüringischen-Verbindungs-Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft, KMTVEG). The latter company, however, went bankrupt in 1848 and further construction and the line's later operations were taken over by the Prussian government.
The cause of the bankruptcy of the KMTVEG was the difficulty of building a 600 metre-long tunnel at Willebadessen
under the main ridge of the Eggegebirge
range. The tunnel, which was never completed, was designed to avoid bridging the valley at Altenbeken
. The remains of the site are still visible after more than 150 years; these ruins are known as the Old Railway (Alte Eisenbahn).
The main line of the Royal Westphalian Railway ran from Hamm via Soest
, Lippstadt, Paderborn
and Altenbeken to Warburg. It was opened on 4 October 1850 to Paderborn and on 21 June 1853 to Warburg. The line was first railway in western Germany to cross mountainous country. The Altenbeken Viaduct
was a significant achievement of the early German railways.
After the company took over the Münster–Hamm Railway Company in 1855, it extended the Münster–Hamm line to Rheine in 1856. Together with the Royal Hanoverian State Railways
, it built a connection from Rheine to the German ports on the North Sea
. This was a very important connection for Prussia because of the high tariffs charged by the Dutch Rhine ports. The Kingdom of Hanover
was annexed by Prussia after the Austro-Prussian War
of 1866 and two years later this line became part of the Westphalian Railway.
Together with the Rhenish Railway Company
, it built and operated a generally straight line, opened in 1876, from Welver station (between Hamm and Soest), via Unna
-Königsborn to Dortmund South station (which was destroyed in World War II
). The line was extended to the west in 1879 as the Westphalian Emscher Valley Railway (westfälische Emschertalbahn, WfE) via Dorstfeld, Bodelschwingh, Mengede, Herne
, Gelsenkirchen
, Horst to Osterfeld WfE station. Operations on this line proved to be uneconomic and sections of it were soon closed, following the nationalisation of its main competitors.
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...
n government, which later became part of 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...
. The network eventually extended about 315 km from 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...
via Hamm
Hamm
Hamm is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia , Germany. It is located in the northeastern part of the Ruhr area. As of December 2003 its population was 180,849. The city is situated between the A1 motorway and A2 motorway...
to Warburg
Warburg
Warburg is a town in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia on the river Diemel near the three-state point shared by Hessen, Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia. It is in Höxter district and Detmold region...
and from Welver
Welver
Welver is a municipality in the district of Soest, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.-History:The town was once known as Villinghausen or Vellinghausen. The Seven Year's War Battle of Villinghausen was fought nearby.-Geography:Welver is situated approx...
(near Hamm) to 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...
.
History
The Royal Westphalian Railway was initially established only to fill the 32 km-long gap between Hamm and LippstadtLippstadt
Lippstadt is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the largest town within the district of Soest.-Geography:Lippstadt is situated in the Lippe valley, roughly 70 kilometres east of Dortmund and roughly 30 kilometres west of Paderborn...
, connecting the Münster–Hamm line of the Munster–Hamm Railway Company (Münster-Hammer Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft) opened in 1848 with the line being constructed at the same time by the Cologne-Minden-Thuringian Connection Railway Company (Köln-Minden-Thüringischen-Verbindungs-Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft, KMTVEG). The latter company, however, went bankrupt in 1848 and further construction and the line's later operations were taken over by the Prussian government.
The cause of the bankruptcy of the KMTVEG was the difficulty of building a 600 metre-long tunnel at Willebadessen
Willebadessen
Willebadessen is a town in Höxter district and Detmold region in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.- Location :Willebadessen lies on the eastern edge of the Eggegebirge about 25 km southeast of Paderborn, and is crossed by the little river Nethe, which rises in the neighbouring community of Bad...
under the main ridge of the Eggegebirge
Eggegebirge
The Eggegebirge is a range of low, forested mountains in the very east of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.-Geography:The Eggegebirge extends from the southern tip of the Teutoburger Wald range near Horn-Bad Meinberg southwards to the northern parts of the Sauerland near Marsberg...
range. The tunnel, which was never completed, was designed to avoid bridging the valley at Altenbeken
Altenbeken
Altenbeken is a municipality in the district of Paderborn, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.-Geography:Altenbeken is situated in the Eggegebirge, approx. 15 km northeast of Paderborn...
. The remains of the site are still visible after more than 150 years; these ruins are known as the Old Railway (Alte Eisenbahn).
The main line of the Royal Westphalian Railway ran from Hamm via Soest
Soest
-Places:* Soest, Netherlands* Soest, Germany** Soest , a district around the location in Germany-Organizations:*SOEST, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology at the University of Hawaii at Manoa...
, Lippstadt, Paderborn
Paderborn
Paderborn is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pader, which originates in more than 200 springs near Paderborn Cathedral, where St. Liborius is buried.-History:...
and Altenbeken to Warburg. It was opened on 4 October 1850 to Paderborn and on 21 June 1853 to Warburg. The line was first railway in western Germany to cross mountainous country. The Altenbeken Viaduct
Altenbeken Viaduct
The Altenbeken Viaduct is a long and up to high double track limestone railway viaduct. It spans the Beke valley, west of the town of Altenbeken, in the Land of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany....
was a significant achievement of the early German railways.
After the company took over the Münster–Hamm Railway Company in 1855, it extended the Münster–Hamm line to Rheine in 1856. Together 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...
, it built a connection from Rheine to the German ports on the 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...
. This was a very important connection for Prussia because of the high tariffs charged by the Dutch Rhine ports. The Kingdom of Hanover
Kingdom of Hanover
The Kingdom of Hanover was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg , and joined with 38 other sovereign states in the German...
was annexed by Prussia 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 and two years later this line became part of the Westphalian Railway.
Together with the Rhenish Railway Company
Rhenish Railway Company
The Rhenish Railway Company was along with the Cologne-Minden Railway Company and the Bergisch-Märkische 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.-Foundation :The...
, it built and operated a generally straight line, opened in 1876, from Welver station (between Hamm and Soest), via Unna
Unna
Unna is a town of around 67,000 people in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the seat of the Unna district.-Geography:Unna is situated on an ancient salt-trading route, the Hellweg road. Trade on this route and during the period of the Hansa Trade Route came from as far as London...
-Königsborn to Dortmund South station (which was destroyed in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
). The line was extended to the west in 1879 as the Westphalian Emscher Valley Railway (westfälische Emschertalbahn, WfE) via Dorstfeld, Bodelschwingh, Mengede, Herne
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...
, Gelsenkirchen
Gelsenkirchen
Gelsenkirchen is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northern part of the Ruhr area. Its population in 2006 was c. 267,000....
, Horst to Osterfeld WfE station. Operations on this line proved to be uneconomic and sections of it were soon closed, following the nationalisation of its main competitors.
Network
| Opening | Length in km | Course | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 October 1850 | 76.1 | Hamm–Paderborn | |
| 28 March 1851 | 4.6 | Warburg–Haueda | Leased |
| 22 July 1853 | 54.5 | Paderborn–Warburg | Taken over with the Cologne-Minden-Thuringian Connection Railway Company following a new route. |
| 7 May 1855 | 34.9 | Münster–Hamm | Acquisition of Munster–Hamm Railway Company |
| 27 June 1856 | 39.0 | Münster–Rheine | |
| 1 October 1864 | 41.4 | Altenbeken–Höxter | |
| 10 October 1865 | 7.4 | Höxter–Holzminden | Connecting with the Duchy of Brunswick State Railway Duchy of Brunswick State Railway The Duchy of Brunswick State Railway was the first state railway in Germany. The first section of its Brunswick–Bad Harzburg railway line between Brunswick and Wolfenbüttel opened on 1 December 1838.-Opening:... 's Brunswick Southern Railway Brunswick Southern Railway The Brunswick Southern Railway was built by the Duchy of Brunswick State Railway as a link from its Brunswick–Bad Harzburg railway to the Hanoverian Southern Railway. It ran through the northwestern Harz Foreland from Börßum via Salzgitter, Ringelheim and Seesen to Kreiensen... to Kreiensen Kreiensen Kreiensen is a municipality in the district of Northeim, in Lower Saxony, Germany.-Geography:Kreiensen is situated on the river Leine, approx. 20 km north of Northeim, and 35 km south of Hildesheim.... , Jerxheim Jerxheim Jerxheim is a municipality in the district of Helmstedt, in Lower Saxony, Germany.... and Magdeburg Magdeburg Magdeburg , is the largest city and the capital city of the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Magdeburg is situated on the Elbe River and was one of the most important medieval cities of Europe.... |
| 1 January 1868 | 178.4 | Emden–Salzbergen/Rheine | Acquisition of the Emden–Rheine section 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.... of 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... |
| 30 September 1875 | 60.3 | Münster–Enschede | |
| 15 May 1876 | 35.8 | Welver–Dortmund KWE | |
| 15 January 1878 | 64.0 | Ottbergen–Northeim | |
| Summer 1878 | 80 | Emden–Norden–Esens–Wittmund/state border to Oldenburg | Constructed on behalf of the Prussian Ministry of Commerce to create a connection between Emden and Wilhelmshaven for military purposes |
| Summer 1878 | 14 | Abelitz–Aurich | Constructed on behalf of the Prussian Ministry of Commerce |
| 1 September 1878 | 12 | Dortmund KWE–Mengede | |
| 12 November 1879 | ~35 | Bodelschwingh–Osterfeld KWE | |
| 15 March 1880 | 4 | Osterfeld KWE–Sterkrade KWE |