The Friedberg–Mücke railway is a railway that was opened in 1890/97 in the Wetterau and Vogelsberg regions in the German state of Hesse. Sections of the line are also called the Horlofftalbahn (Horloff Valley Railway) and the Seentalbahn (Seen Valley Railway). It originally connected three major railways that run from Giessen, namely:
The Wetterau is a fertile undulating tract, watered by the Wetter, a tributary of the Nidda River, in the western German state of Hesse, between the hilly province Oberhessen and the north-western Taunus mountains.
The Vogelsberg (help·info) is a large volcanic mountain range in the German Central Uplands in the state of Hesse, separated from the Rhön Mountains by the Fulda river valley. Emerging approximately 19 million years ago, the Vogelsberg is Central Europe's largest basalt formation, consisting of a multitude of layers that descend from their peak in ring-shaped terraces to the base.
Hesse or Hessia, officially the State of Hesse, is a federal state (Land) of the Federal Republic of Germany, with just over six million inhabitants. The state capital is Wiesbaden; the largest city is Frankfurt am Main.
The Main–Weser Railway is a railway line in central Germany that runs from Frankfurt am Main via Gießen to Kassel. it is named after the railway company that built the line and also operated it until 1880. It was opened between 1849 and 1852 and was one of the first railways in Germany.
The Gießen–Gelnhausen railway is a single-track, non-electrified mainline in the German state of Hesse. It runs from Gießen via Nidda to Gelnhausen.
The Vogelsberg Railway is a single-track main line from Gießen via Alsfeld to Fulda in the German state of Hesse.
Today only the eleven kilometre-long section to Wölfersheim operates as a feeder line to the regional node of Friedberg, where it connects to the rest of the railway network and, importantly for commuters from the Wetterau, Frankfurt.
Wölfersheim is a municipality in the Wetteraukreis in Hessen, Germany. It is located approximately 34 kilometers north of Frankfurt am Main.
Friedberg station is the station of Friedberg, Germany, on the Main-Weser Railway.
Frankfurt (Main) Hauptbahnhof, often abbreviated as Frankfurt (Main) Hbf and sometimes translated as Frankfurt central station, is the busiest railway station in Frankfurt, Germany. The affix "Main" comes from the city's full name, Frankfurt am Main. Because of its location in the middle of Germany and usage as a hub for long and short distance travelling, Deutsche Bahn refers to it as the most important station in Germany.
The Beienheim–Schotten railway, also called the Horlofftalbahn, which branches off in Beienheim to Nidda, opened on the same day and is still operating.
The Beienheim–Schotten railway is a railway in the Horloff and the Nidda valleys in the Wetteraukreis in the German state of Hesse. Its western section is also called the Horlofftalbahn.
Nidda station is a station on the Gießen–Gelnhausen railway in the town of Nidda in the German state of Hesse. It is also at the end of the Beienheim–Schotten railway from Friedberg station. The station is classified by Deutsche Bahn (DB) as a category 4 station.
Sections
The line is divided into four sections and a branch line:
Passenger traffic was abandoned on 4 April 2003, while freight traffic had already ended on 31 December 1997. The closure process, which started in the spring of 2004 was interrupted by a contract to preserve the infrastructure. Thus, the line was preserved, but for the time being without a network operator and without an operating license. Reactivation is planned (see #Prospects section).
Hungen–Laubach
1890
1959
12.7km
Freight traffic was suspended on 31 December 1997. It was closed in 1999 and the tracks were dismantled around 2007. A cycle path was built on the line in the Hungen area in the spring of 2010.
Laubach–Mücke
1890
1958/59
13.1km
Traffic between Freienseen and Mücke stopped on 31 May 1958, while passenger traffic between Hungen and Freienseen and freight traffic between Laubach and Freienseen were discontinued in 1959. The Laubach–Mücke section, also known as the Seental-Eisenbahn (Seen valley railway), was then closed and dismantled.
Villingen–Friedrichshütte branch line
1896
1959
4.1km
Originally a narrow-gauge connecting line, mainly for freight to the Friedrichshütte iron foundry. Connection to the main line in Villingen, on the Hungen–Laubach section.
For the Friedberg–Beienheim–Nidda–Schotten line, which was built at the same time, see the Beienheim–Schotten railway article.
History
The line was originally planned and operated by the Grand Duchy of Hesse State Railways (Großherzoglich Hessische Staatseisenbahnen), which was later merged into the Prussian-Hessian Railway Company (Preußisch-Hessische Eisenbahngemeinschaft). The Hungen–Laubach section was opened on 1 June 1890 and the Friedberg–Hungen section was opened on 1 October 1897. The whole line could be operated from 1 November 1903.
The Grand Duchy of Hesse State Railways belonged to the Länderbahnen at the time of the German Empire. In the 19th century, the Grand Duchy of Hesse consisted of three provinces. Between the rivers Rhine, Main and Neckar the province of Starkenburg embraced the Odenwald and the Hessian Ried. It also included the ducal residence of Darmstadt. West of the Rhine, was the province of Rhenish Hesse (Rheinhessen) with the towns of Mainz, Worms and Bingen. The province of Upper Hesse (Oberhessen), which included the Vogelsberg and the Wetterau was not directly linked by land to the others. As a result of its lack of territorial integrity, the state did not initially build its own state railway. Rather it took part in joint state railway projects with its neighbouring states: These were the:
The Royal Prussian and Grand-Ducal Hessian State Railways was a state-owned network of independent railway divisions in the German states of Prussia and Hesse in the early 20th century. It was not, as sometimes maintained, a single state railway company.
Former line near Laubach
From 1936, the line was to be upgraded to two tracks as a main line. This did not happen, however, because of the outbreak of war. A second tunnel with a length of 196 metres had already been built in the immediate vicinity of the existing Freienseen Tunnel (146 metres).
In 1968, the line between Inheiden and Berstadt-Wohnbach had to be relocated to allow lignite mining. This also caused Obbornhofen-Bellersheim station to be relocated on 9 June 1968.[2] The old line is now dismantled, but still recognisable from the air.
Villingen–Ruppertsburg–Friedrichshütte branch line
The branch line to Ruppertsburg was initially built by the Grand Duchy of Hesse State Railways from Villingen (Oberhessen) station as a narrow gauge horse-hauled line to the Friedrichshütte iron foundry and later rebuilt under Prussian direction as standard gauge. This conversion went into operation on 1 April 1896. The line was used for the carriage of freight and employees for the Friedrichshütte foundry, but it never used for public transport. The branch line was closed in 1959.
Route
The halt of Obbornhofen-Bellersheim on the section disused since 2003
The route is now only in operation from Friedberg to Wölfersheim-Södel. The trains continued to Hungen until 2003 and to Mücke via the Vogelsberg until 1958/59. It was possible to transfer to the line to Nidda in Beienheim.
Originally, the tracks of Laubach station were on the eastern side of the road. When the line was extended to Mücke the track infrastructure was relocated to the other side of the station and only a loading track was preserved on the eastern side of the road. The station had a two-story entrance building with a goods shed as an annex. The station building is currently (as of 2011) used by a youth centre.[3]
Operations
The line is in the area of the Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund (Rhine-Main transport association, RMV). Until the 2004/2005 timetable change, public transport services on the two branches of the line were operated by the Butzbach-Lich Railway Company; since the 2005/2006 timetable change services have been operated by Hessische Landesbahn, its parent company. In the peak hour, trains on the line run to and from Friedberg. In the 2012 timetable, seven train pairs a day ran between Beienheim and Wölfersheim-Södel and nine train pairs between Friedberg and Wölfersheim-Södel from Monday to Friday.
There are hardly any freight operations left.
Prospects
Buffer stop in Wölfersheim-Södel
There are plans to reactivate the decommissioned Wölfersheim-Hungen section. The tracks are complete and apart from minor weathering still in relatively good condition. Despite the blockage of the line at the termini, the signal technology was still in operation; for example, the Wölfersheim semaphore signals were still actively lit until Wölfersheim was rebuilt into a halt in 2008. Nevertheless, at many of the already neglected level crossings, the safety technology and tracks would have to be fundamentally renewed or relocated.
Related Research Articles
Hungen is a town in the district of Gießen, in Hesse, Germany. It is situated 20 km southeast of Gießen, and 18 km northeast of Friedberg. Surrounding towns are Laubach to the north, Nidda to the east, Wölfersheim to the south, and Münzenberg and Lich to the west.
Schotten is a town in the middle of Hesse, Germany. Larger towns nearby include Alsfeld in the north, Fulda in the east, Friedberg in the south and Gießen in the west.
The Wetter is a 69 kilometres (43 mi) long river in the state of Hesse, Germany. It is a right tributary to the Nidda which itself is a right tributary of the Main.
Grünberg (Oberhess) is a station in the town of Grünberg in the German state of Hesse. The stations of Lehnheim and Göbelnrod are also in Grünberg. It is located 23.2 kilometres from Gießen station on the Vogelsberg Railway (Vogelsbergbahn), which continues to Fulda. In the past, the Lumda Valley Railway (Lumdatalbahn) to Londorf and Lollar branched off here and the Butzbach–Lich railway to Butzbach via Lich and Münzenberg.
Mücke (Hess) is a Keilbahnhof and along with Nieder Ohmen station is one of two remaining stations in the municipality of Mücke in the German state of Hesse. It is located between the two Mücke districts of Flensungen and Merlau, 28.9 kilometres from Gießen on the Vogelsberg Railway (Vogelsbergbahn), which continues to Fulda. Previously, the Friedberg–Mücke railway branched off here via Laubach and Hungen to Friedberg.
The Friedberg–Hanau railway is a 32.2 km long double-track, electrified mainline in the German state of Hesse. It connects Friedberg and Hanau. The line has the timetable number of 633 and it is integrated in the Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund as Regionalbahn service RB 49.
Butzbach station is a station in the town of Butzbach in the German state of Hesse on the Main–Weser Railway. Formerly the station was the starting point of the Butzbach–Lich railway leading to Lich and Grünberg.The station is classified by Deutsche Bahn (DB) as a category 4 station.
Glauburg-Stockheim station is a station on the Gießen–Gelnhausen railway in the town of Glauburg in the German state of Hesse. It is also at the end of the Nidda Valley Railway from Bad Vilbel. The Oberwald Railway (Oberwaldbahn) to Lauterbach began here from 1 October 1888 until 1 June 1984. The station is classified by Deutsche Bahn (DB) as a category 5 station.
Hungen station is a station on the Gießen–Gelnhausen railway in the town of Hungen in the German state of Hesse. From 1 June 1890 to 4 April 2003, the Friedberg–Mücke railway branched off to Mücke via Laubach and to Friedberg via Wölfersheim and Beienheim. The station is classified by Deutsche Bahn (DB) as a category 6 station.
Burg- und Nieder-Gemünden station is, along with Ehringshausen (Oberhess) station, one of two stations in the municipality of Gemünden (Felda) in Vogelsbergkreis, Hesse, Germany. It lies at kilometer 38.0 of the Vogelsberg Railway (Gießen–Fulda). From 1901 to 1991, Kirchhain–Burg- und Nieder-Gemünden railway branched off here to Kirchhain via Homberg (Ohm). It is listed as a cultural monument under the Hessian Monument Protection Act, but the station building itself is in a neglected state.
Beienheim station is a junction station in the Reichelsheim (Wetterau) suburb of Beienheim in the German state of Hesse. It is located on the outskirts of Beienheim.
The Bad Vilbel–Glauburg-Stockheim railway is a non-electrified branch line in the Wetterau and the Main-Kinzig districts of the German state of Hesse. It connects the Main-Weser Railway in Bad Vilbel with the Gießen–Gelnhausen railway in Glauburg-Stockheim.
↑ Andreas Christopher (2004). Butzbach-Licher Eisenbahn (in German). Cologne. p.158.
↑ "Laubach - Mücke" (in German). www.vergessene-bahnen.de. Archived from the original on 27 July 2016. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
Sources
Landesamt für Denkmalpflege Hessen, ed. (2005). Eisenbahn in Hessen. Kulturdenkmäler in Hessen. Denkmaltopographie Bundesrepublik Deutschland (in German). 2.2. Stuttgart: Theiss Verlag. pp.787ff. ISBN3-8062-1917-6. (line 070)
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