Aller Valley Railway
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The Aller Valley Railway () was a railway line of regional importance in
Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...
. It ran along the River
Aller Aller may refer to: Places Rivers *Aller (Germany), a major river in North Germany * Aller (Asturian river), a river in Asturias, Spain * River Aller, a small river on Exmoor in Somerset, England * Aller Brook, a small river in Devon, England Inh ...
and linked
Gifhorn Gifhorn () is a town and capital of the district of Gifhorn (district), Gifhorn in the east of Lower Saxony, Germany. It has a population of about 42,000 and is mainly influenced by the small distance to the more industrial and commercially import ...
with
Verden (Aller) Verden an der Aller (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Veern''), also called Verden (Aller) or simply Verden, is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, on the river Aller. It is the district town of the district of Verden in Lower Saxony and an independent mun ...
via
Celle Celle () is a town and capital of the district of Celle (district), Celle in Lower Saxony, in north-central Germany. The town is situated on the banks of the river Aller (Germany), Aller, a tributary of the Weser, and has a population of about ...
,
Schwarmstedt Schwarmstedt is a Municipalities of Germany, municipality in the Heidekreis in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated near the confluence of the rivers Aller (Germany), Aller and Leine, approx. 20 km south of Bad Fallingbostel, and 30 km e ...
, Rethem (Aller) and Wahnebergen. The line approached and departed from Celle station in a southerly direction, so that through trains had to reverse their direction there. As a result, the Aller Valley Railway was divided into 2 branches without any through
passenger trains A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line, as opposed to a freight train that carries goods. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) push-pull train, ...
, which in turn meant that the eastern section from Gifhorn had route number 1724, and the western section to Wahnebergen had route number 1721. In Celle there were connexions to the
East Hanoverian Railways The Osthannoversche Eisenbahnen AG (OHE) is a Celle based transportation company with railway network in North-eastern Lower Saxony around the Lüneburg Heath area of over 250 km. The OHE's main business is the transportation of freight ...
, the
Hanover–Hamburg railway The Hanover–Hamburg railway is one of the most important railway lines in Lower Saxony and Germany. It links the Lower Saxon state capital of Hanover with Hamburg, running through Celle, Uelzen and Lüneburg. History The main section of th ...
, the
Celle–Brunswick railway The Celle–Plockhorst–Brunswick railway is a partly closed railway in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is now only used for freight between Brunswick and Wendezelle. It was opened from Celle to Uetze on 1 September 1920 and extended to Plo ...
and the Kreuzbahn from Celle to Lehrte.


History

The first railway from
Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...
to
Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...
was to run through the Aller valley based on a plan by Taylor- Vignoles. In the event, however, the railway was built in 1847 along the present-day route via Nienburg. Later plans to build a line from
Magdeburg Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...
to
Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...
through the Aller Valley existed from as early as 1866. However, no concrete efforts were made to build the line until the 1890s. The western section from Verden via Wahnebergen and Schwarmstedt to Celle was opened between 1903 and 1905, the eastern section from Celle to Gifhorn followed in 1913. At Oldau station an industrial siding branched off eastwards to the ''Einigkeit II (Prinz Adalbert)'' potash works in
Ovelgönne Ovelgönne () is a municipality in the district of Wesermarsch, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 27 km northeast of Oldenburg, and 40 km northwest of Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), offic ...
. The mine operated from 1905 to 1925. At Südwinsen station another siding branched off west to the Steinförde potash works which operated in Wietze-Steinförde from 1907 to 1923. In the course of building the I/XI Hambühren air force munitions depot in 1939, a siding was built to transport the raw materials and finished munitions. It left the line in a south-southeasterly direction and ran in a tight curve towards the west. This siding was removed in 1945. During the
Berlin Airlift The Berlin Blockade (24 June 1948 – 12 May 1949) was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, roa ...
in 1948 a branch was built at Wietzenbruch to the then ''Royal Air Force Celle'', now the
Celle Air Base Celle Air Base German language, German: ''Heeresflugplatz Celle'' is a military airbase of the German Army. The airfield is situated southwest of the city of Celle, Lower Saxony, Germany. It was opened in 1934 and has been in military use ever s ...
. At the end of the 1950s there were regular train crossings at Schwarmstedt station. Four
steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...
-hauled trains passed through the station, enabling connexions to be made. That required numerous points, signals and level crossings to be worked in rapid succession. Luggage, post bags and express goods were transshipped. Passenger services were discontinued on the western section after 25 September 1966, and goods traffic from Wietzenbruch to Schwarmstedt ceased on 31 January 1985. Goods trains continued to run from Verden as far as Rethem until 28 May 1994, and from Schwarmstedt to Gilten until 31 December 1993. Other parts of the railway line were completely lifted when it was fully closed in 1995. Between
Ahlden (Aller) Ahlden is a municipality in the Heidekreis district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Aller, approx. 15 km southwest of Bad Fallingbostel, and 30 km southeast of Verden. Ahlden is located in the Samtgemeinde ("coll ...
and
Dörverden Dörverden is a municipality in the district of Verden, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the right bank of the Weser, approx. 8 km south of Verden, and 40 km southeast of Bremen. Dörverden belonged to the Prince-Bishopric ...
the railway embankment was turned into a cycle path which now forms part of the Aller Cycle Way. The eastern section was closed in 1981. This line too had been largely dismantled. The section from Celle station to the
military airfield An airbase (stylised air base in American English), sometimes referred to as a military airbase, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base, is an aerodrome or airport used as a mi ...
in Wietzenbruch was operated by
East Hanoverian Railways The Osthannoversche Eisenbahnen AG (OHE) is a Celle based transportation company with railway network in North-eastern Lower Saxony around the Lüneburg Heath area of over 250 km. The OHE's main business is the transportation of freight ...
from 1998 until 2005. The track from Celle station to the Airbridge Memorial in Wietzenbruch and from there with a switchback to the airfield was lifted in 2007. The tracks on the
Deutsche Bahn (, ; abbreviated as DB or DB AG ) is the national railway company of Germany, and a state-owned enterprise under the control of the German government. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG). DB was fou ...
land are still there but there is no link to the public railway network.


External links

* Martin Hoffmann u. a.
Development of the Historic Atlas of Railway Routes in Germany
Accessed on 29 May 2005.

{{coord missing, Lower Saxony Railway lines in Lower Saxony Closed railway lines in Germany Buildings and structures in Verden (district) Buildings and structures in Heidekreis Buildings and structures in Celle (district) Buildings and structures in Gifhorn (district)