Bremer Staatsbahn
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Bremen State Railway () was a railway line built by the
Free Hanseatic City of Bremen Bremen (), officially the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (; ), is the smallest and least populous of Germany's 16 states. It is informally called ('State of Bremen'), although the term is sometimes used in official contexts. The state consists ...
on
Prussian state Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, the House of Hohenzoller ...
territory. In spite of its name and although owned by the state it was operated under Prussian law as a
private railway A private railway is a railroad run by a private business entity (usually a corporation but not need be), as opposed to a railroad run by a public sector. Japan In Japan, , commonly simply ''private railway'', refers to a public transit railway o ...
. Constructionally it formed the 97 km long
Uelzen–Langwedel railway The Uelzen–Langwedel railway runs through the Lüneburg Heath in north Germany in an east-west direction. The line became known as part of the so-called America Line. History Imperial era The '' Bremen State Railway'', as it was first cal ...
, the western section of the
America Line The America Line (German: ''Amerikalinie'') is the official name of a railway line in northern Germany which is mainly of regional importance today. It runs in an east-west direction and links Stendal in Saxony-Anhalt with the Hanseatic city of Br ...
. After the
annexation Annexation, in international law, is the forcible acquisition and assertion of legal title over one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. In current international law, it is generally held t ...
of the
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 Wars, Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Hanover, and j ...
by Prussia and the foundation of the
North German Confederation The North German Confederation () was initially a German military alliance established in August 1866 under the leadership of the Kingdom of Prussia, which was transformed in the subsequent year into a confederated state (a ''de facto'' feder ...
Bremen had a major interest in a shorter railway link to Berlin, in order to improve the competitiveness of its ports. After Prussia had refused to pay a proportion of the costs, Bremen decided to construct the line at its own expense. The obligatory state treaty with Prussia was concluded on 17 July 1870. Because funding from Bremen's national budget was not immediately available as a result of the cost of the recently completed Weser diversion, the Union Bank in Berlin was engaged and they had the line built at a cost of 2 million talers. The Magdeburg-Halberstadt Railway Company was contracted to operate the railway, the contract being signed on 20 May 1870, i.e. before the state treaty. The company had also been given running powers on the Stendal–Salzwedel–Uelzen line. Construction could not start until after
Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...
. The line was taken into service for goods traffic on 15 April 1873; passenger services began a month later. The freight rates for transportation between Berlin and Bremen over this route were the same as on the Berlin-Hamburg line. Passengers generally had to change at Stendal however. Up to the end of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
D-Zug A ''Schnellzug'' is an express train in German-speaking countries. The term is used both generically and also as a specific Train categories in Europe, train type. In Germany and Austria it is also referred to colloquially as a ''D-Zug'', a short ...
express trains ran on the Berlin–Bremen–
Wilhelmshaven Wilhelmshaven (, ''Wilhelm's Harbour''; Northern Low Saxon: ''Willemshaven'') 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, and has a population of 76,089. Wilhelmsha ...
route over this line and also on the Norddeich-Berlin route. Connexions between Bremen and Berlin via Hamburg or Hanover were much quicker. The line was nicknamed the
America Line The America Line (German: ''Amerikalinie'') is the official name of a railway line in northern Germany which is mainly of regional importance today. It runs in an east-west direction and links Stendal in Saxony-Anhalt with the Hanseatic city of Br ...
because there were connexions to emigration ships from Bremerhaven to the United States. In 1883 the Bremen State Railway and the Bremen sections of the old Hanoverian railway network were transferred to the ownership of the
Prussian state railways The term Prussian state railways (German: ''Preußische Staatseisenbahnen'') encompasses those railway organisations that were owned or managed by the state of Prussia. The words "state railways" are not capitalized because Prussia did not have a ...
for a one-off cost of 36 millionen
mark Mark may refer to: In the Bible * Mark the Evangelist (5–68), traditionally ascribed author of the Gospel of Mark * Gospel of Mark, one of the four canonical gospels and one of the three synoptic gospels Currencies * Mark (currency), a currenc ...
s. As a result of the
division of Germany Division may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting of 10,000 to ...
the railway link from Bremen to Stendal via Uelzen was severed between Bergen an der Dumme and
Salzwedel Salzwedel (, officially known as Hansestadt Salzwedel; ) is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is the capital of the district (''Kreis'') of Altmarkkreis Salzwedel, and has a population of approximately 21,500. Salzwedel is located on the Ger ...
from the end of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
to 1999. The Bremen-Langwedel–Uelzen line is worked today by ''
Regionalbahn The ''Regionalbahn'' (; lit. Regional train; abbreviated ''RB'') is a train categories in Europe, type of Regional rail, local passenger train (stopping train) in Germany. It is similar to the Regionalzug (R) and Regio (Swiss railway train), R ...
'' trains that shuttle between Bremen and Uelzen. Since 2005 more modern passenger shelters and station signs have been installed at several stations. The line is still waiting for a comprehensive overhaul however.


Literature

* Hartmut Roder (Hrsg.): ''Verkehr in Bremen'', Steintor-Verlag, Bremen, 1987,


External links


The Heath Railway(s) - Langwedel-Uelzen sectionMore on the Langwedel-Uelzen line
{dead link, date=November 2016 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes
1944 timetable with express train connexions
Defunct railway companies of Germany Railway lines in Lower Saxony Transport in Bremen (state)