Rothaar Railway

Rothaar Railway
Overview
Native name Rothaarbahn
Locale North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Termini Kreuztal
Bad Berleburg
Line number
  • 2870 (Kreuztal–Erndtebrück)
  • 2871 (Erndtebrück–Bad Berleburg)
Technical
Line length 48.5 km (30.1 mi)
Number of tracks 1
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Route number 443
Route map
Ruhr-Sieg Railway from Siegen
0.0
 Kreuztal
Ferndorfbach
Ruhr-Sieg Railway to Hagen
0.8
 Kreuztal Ost
Ferndorfbach
Ferndorfbach
1.7
 Ferndorf (Siegen)
Ferndorfbach
4.5
 Kredenbach
5.7
 Dahlbruch
6.9
 Hillnhütten
8.5
 Stift Keppel-Allenbach
Ferndorfbach
10.0
10.5
 Hilchenbach
Ferndorfbach
11.9
 Vormwald Dorf
12.3
Vormwald Tunnel (188 m)
18.0
 Vormwald
18.6
Schloßberg Tunnel (270 m)
19.5
Kronprinz-Eiche Tunnel (213 m)
22.0
 Lützel
28.8
0.0
 Erndtebrück
Upper Lahn Valley Railway to Marburg
3.6
 Birkelbach
Old line to Altenhundem
Eder
9.1
 Aue-Wingeshausen
Eder
Eder
14.5
 Berghausen
15.8
 Raumland-Markhausen
17.3
Upper Eder Valley Railway to Battenberg
19.7
 Bad Berleburg
Source: German railway atlas[1]
Bad Berleburg railway station

The Rothaar Railway (German: Rothaarbahn) is a 48 km long German branch line running from Kreuztal on the Ruhr–Sieg line to Bad Berleburg via Erndtebrück (KBS 443) with a through connexion to Siegen. The line was opened to Hilchenbach in 1884 and extended to Erndtebrück and Marburg in 1888/89.

The single-tracked line runs between Kreuztal and Hilchenbach along the southern slopes of the Ferndorf valley and winds tightly in order to gain height through the Rothaargebirge mountains using two switchbacks between Hilchenbach and Erndtebrück. The tunnelling under the ruins of Ginsburg castle by the Schloßberg Tunnel, near the long-distance walking trail of the Rothaarsteig, is particularly picturesque.

In Kreuztal-Ferndorf there are still two industrial sidings (Bender Eisen- und Metallwerke Ferndorf and Bandverzinkung der Thyssen Krupp Stahl) which handle a considerable amount of goods traffic. In Dahlbruch, three sidings (Eisenbau Krämer, SMS and a scrap merchant) are regularly worked by Railion. In Erndtebrück-Grünewald and Erndtebrück, the Kreisbahn Siegen-Wittgenstein works two sidings to the Erndtebrück Ironworks from Monday to Friday. Logs are loaded at Erndtebrück station. Trains can cross or pass at Ferndorf, Dahlbruch, Hilchenbach, Lützel and Erndtebrück.

References

  1. ↑ Eisenbahnatlas Deutschland (German railway atlas). Schweers + Wall. 2009. ISBN 978-3-89494-139-0.
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