Misplaced Pages

#229770

27-592: On 20 September 1831 the railway was opened by Prince William , the brother of the King of Prussia at the time, and renamed in honour of the prince. It operated as a horse-drawn railway carrying coal until 1844, but from 1833 it also carried passengers. In 1847, it was converted to 1,435 mm ( 4 ft  8 + 1 ⁄ 2  in ) standard gauge , extended north to Steele Süd and south to Vohwinkel (in Wuppertal ), converted to steam operation and renamed

54-455: A Prussian mile (7,532 metres or 8,237 yards), and its gauge was 820 mm ( 2 ft  8 + 9 ⁄ 32  in ) narrow-gauge . The railway was built to be operated by relay. The route was divided into three 700 Prussian rod (3.766 metres or 4.119 yards) long (2.636 kilometres or 1.638 miles in total) relay sections and four 25 rod (94 m or 308 ft 5 in) long transitional sections. The transitional sections were at

81-412: A "railway" because it had iron wheels on iron rails. It was built on oak sleepers , on which two 3.30 m (10 ft 9 + 7 ⁄ 8  in) long planks called Straßbäume, ("street trees") were secured with wooden nails. The Straßbäume were covered with a running surface of 40 mm ( 1 + 9 ⁄ 16  in) thick iron, known, using British terminology as a plateway . The line ran for

108-480: A project using completely new technology. People were reluctant to invest their money in it. Even the king of Prussia who ultimately had to approve any plans, did not understand the proposals. But in order just to make a start, Harkort then proposed a "stripped down" version. He founded the Deil Valley Railway Company , the first German railway joint stock company in 1828 with his brother,

135-749: A prominent role in the transformation of Prussia and its army. During the War of the Sixth Coalition of 1813, he was stationed in Blücher 's headquarters. In the Battle of Lützen (1813) on 2 May, he commanded the reserve cavalry in the left wing of the army and during the Battle of Leipzig , he negotiated the union of the Northern army with Blucher's. Later he led the 8th Brigade of the Yorck 's army corps on

162-686: The Riesengebirge mountains. From 1824 to 1829 he was governor of the Confederate Fortress at Mainz; from 1830 to 1831 he was governor-general of the Rhine Province and Westphalia . In this capacity, on 20 September 1831 he opened the first rail line on German soil from Hinsbeck via the Deilbach valley to Nierenhof. Until then, the line had been called Deilthaler Eisenbahn ("Deil Valley Railway"); after its opening it

189-599: The Steele-Vohwinkler Eisenbahn . Friedrich Harkort had an early interest in improving the transportation of coal from the Ruhr in the Bergisches Land to Wuppertal . He therefore visited England to study the first railway projects and wrote in 1825 in the journal Hermann an article on "Railways". He sought the interest of donors to realise such a project. He finally found interest mainly in

216-814: The Treaty of Paris (1814) , the Prince accompanied the king to London and then attended the negotiations of the Congress of Vienna . In 1815 during the Waterloo Campaign he commanded the reserve cavalry of the Prussian IV Corps ( Bülow's ). After the second Treaty of Paris , he lived mostly in Paris and sometimes at his Fischbach Castle in Kowary in the Riesengebirge mountains. From 1824 to 1829 he

243-559: The "Steele-Vohwinkel Railway" on 1 December 1847 as a steam railway from Überruhr (south of the Ruhr, opposite Steele) to Vohwinkel via Kupferdreh, Langenberg and Neviges. Between Neviges and Vohwinkel the trains had to climb a slope, which at this time could only be climbed with the aid of a zig zag . At the terminal station (German: Kopfstation , literally head station) built in 1847 in the Siebeneick Valley trains had run into

270-501: The Guards from 1799 and fought in 1806 at the head of a cavalry brigade at Battle of Jena and Auerstedt . In December 1807, he traveled to Paris , to try to reduce the war burdens imposed on Prussia by Napoléon Bonaparte ; he only managed to obtain a modest reduction. In 1808, he represented Prussia at the Congress of Erfurt . At the end of 1808, he accompanied his brother, King Frederick William III to St. Petersburg . Later, he had

297-720: The Prince William Railway Company on 1 January 1863. The BME connected the line to its network and extended it over the Ruhr to Steele (now Essen-Steele-Ost). After the BME was taken over by the Prussian state railways in 1882 trains stopped serving the old station at Kupferdreh. 51°18′13″N 7°07′15″E  /  51.30361°N 7.12083°E  / 51.30361; 7.12083 Prince Wilhelm of Prussia (1783%E2%80%931851) Prince Friedrich Wilhelm Karl of Prussia (3 July 1783 – 28 September 1851)

SECTION 10

#1732775457230

324-551: The Rhine and distinguished himself by bravery and military skills at the battles of Château-Thierry , Laon and outside Paris. After the Treaty of Paris (1814) , the Prince accompanied the king to London and then attended the negotiations of the Congress of Vienna . In 1815 during the Waterloo Campaign he commanded the reserve cavalry of the Prussian IV Corps ( Bülow's ). After the second Treaty of Paris , he lived mostly in Paris and sometimes at his Fischbach Castle in Kowary in

351-586: The beginning and end of the line, at "Kupperdrehe" and Eisenhammer in Deilmannhof im Deilbachtal. At these passing places the horses were changed so that the horses that had pulled up the full wagons were unhitched and attached to empty wagons for their return. A total of seven horses were required. On the flat track next to the Ruhr only one or two horses were needed for the coal train. On the uphill route to Nierenhof, in contrast, three or four horses were required. On 20 September 1831 Prince William of Prussia ,

378-404: The construction of a normal rail railway. While Egen and Harkort fought out their differences, and even before an application for a concession was made, opposition began to surface from carters and horse drivers engaged in coal transportation. Meanwhile, the neighboring city of Barmen was also active with its own plans, as it felt disadvantaged by Elberfeld’s plans. The time was not ripe for such

405-423: The following orders and decorations: Prince Wilhelm of Prussia (1783%E2%80%931851) Prince Friedrich Wilhelm Karl of Prussia (3 July 1783 – 28 September 1851) was the son of Frederick William II of Prussia and Frederika Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt . Prince William was the fourth and youngest son of King Frederick William II of Prussia and Princess Frederika Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt . He served in

432-470: The industrialist Ludwig Mohl, Peter Nikolaus Caspar Egen, Dr. Voss (a physician and miner from Steele, now part of Essen ) and Reichmann and Meyberg (merchants from Langenberg ). In 1830 and 1831 the Deil Valley Railway was built up the Deilbach valley from Hinsbeck, a suburb of Kupferdreh (now part of Essen ), to Nierenhof near Langenberg (now part of Velbert ). This line was already called

459-830: The mining trades in the Ruhr . In 1826 he had built a small test track, as a monorail following a design of the Englishman Henry Robinson Palmer . This was a precursor to the Wuppertal Schwebebahn finally built 74 years later. On 9 September 1826 he advised the Elberfeld Council two routes for the construction of such a railway from Elberfeld via Uellendahl, Horath and Herzkamp to Hinsbeck or from Elberfeld via Horath to Langenberg . In 1826 and 1827 surveying were carried out in these districts. Another railway pioneer, school teacher Peter Nikolaus Caspar Egen, however, favoured

486-511: The north to Steele and in the south to Vohwinkel. To get the necessary funds, it needed to issue new shares. It offered purchasers of shares the guarantee of favourable freight rates, but the mining companies rejected this. Eventually it procured sufficient capital and on 29 July 1844 construction started. The line was rebuilt as 1,435 mm ( 4 ft  8 + 1 ⁄ 2  in ) standard gauge and extended in both directions. The 32-kilometre long (20 mi) railway line opened as

513-484: The return journey from Nierenhof to Hinsbeck, for which no cargo was available. By 1833 there were some coaches available for “pleasure”. As the operation of the railway satisfied its shareholders, it was decided to extend it in 1840. On 23 August the company wrote to the district administration to request a concession for the extension. On 29 June 1844 the Treasury gave permission for the company to build an extension in

540-506: The station before reversing on to the other line out of the station. This arrangement was eliminated in 1862 when a new alignment was built, but the whole area still bears the name Kopfstation . On 13 March 1854 the Bergisch-Märkische Railway Company (German: Bergisch-Märkische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft , BME) took over the operation of the route. Under an agreement of 6 December 1862 the BME legally acquired

567-399: The war burdens imposed on Prussia by Napoléon Bonaparte ; he only managed to obtain a modest reduction. In 1808, he represented Prussia at the Congress of Erfurt . At the end of 1808, he accompanied his brother, King Frederick William III to St. Petersburg . Later, he had a prominent role in the transformation of Prussia and its army. During the War of the Sixth Coalition of 1813, he

SECTION 20

#1732775457230

594-558: The youngest brother of King Frederick William III , officially opened the railway. On this day the prince and his family travelled on coal wagons lined with carpets. The railway was allowed to call itself the Prince William Railway afterwards. Until 1844, the Prince William railway was operated by horse-drawn wagons to transport coal. After one year of operation passengers were also transported, in particular on

621-743: Was allowed to call itself Prinz-Wilhelm-Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft . In March 1834 he was appointed general of cavalry and re-appointed as governor of the federal fortress at Mainz. He should not be confused with his nephew of the same name, the future emperor William I , who was governor of the same fortress in 1854. After the death of his wife, Marie Anna, on 14 April 1846, he withdrew from public life at his Fischbach castle. He married his first cousin Landgravine Marie Anna of Hesse-Homburg , daughter of Frederick V, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg , and Caroline of Hesse-Darmstadt (his mother's sister), together they had nine children: He received

648-581: Was appointed general of cavalry and re-appointed as governor of the federal fortress at Mainz. He should not be confused with his nephew of the same name, the future emperor William I , who was governor of the same fortress in 1854. After the death of his wife, Marie Anna, on 14 April 1846, he withdrew from public life at his Fischbach castle. He married his first cousin Landgravine Marie Anna of Hesse-Homburg , daughter of Frederick V, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg , and Caroline of Hesse-Darmstadt (his mother's sister), together they had nine children: He received

675-468: Was governor of the Confederate Fortress at Mainz; from 1830 to 1831 he was governor-general of the Rhine Province and Westphalia . In this capacity, on 20 September 1831 he opened the first rail line on German soil from Hinsbeck via the Deilbach valley to Nierenhof. Until then, the line had been called Deilthaler Eisenbahn ("Deil Valley Railway"); after its opening it was allowed to call itself Prinz-Wilhelm-Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft . In March 1834 he

702-443: Was stationed in Blücher 's headquarters. In the Battle of Lützen (1813) on 2 May, he commanded the reserve cavalry in the left wing of the army and during the Battle of Leipzig , he negotiated the union of the Northern army with Blucher's. Later he led the 8th Brigade of the Yorck 's army corps on the Rhine and distinguished himself by bravery and military skills at the battles of Château-Thierry , Laon and outside Paris. After

729-414: Was the son of Frederick William II of Prussia and Frederika Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt . Prince William was the fourth and youngest son of King Frederick William II of Prussia and Princess Frederika Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt . He served in the Guards from 1799 and fought in 1806 at the head of a cavalry brigade at Battle of Jena and Auerstedt . In December 1807, he traveled to Paris , to try to reduce

#229770