Heuberg Railway

The Heuberg Railway (Heubergbahn) was a 17.9 kilometres (11.1 mi) standard gauge railway line in the German federal state of Baden-Württemberg. The line operated between 1928 and 1966, and ran from Spaichingen, past five railway stations and a stop to Reichenbach am Heuberg. The line was originally planned as a narrow-gauge line through Reichenbach and Egesheim to Nusplingen. It was significant in the development and industrialization of the communities of the Heuberg plateau.

Heuberg Railway
Overview
Native name	Heubergbahn
Line number	4601
Locale	Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Termini	Spaichingen Reichenbach am Heuberg
Service
Route number	274d / 318g / 308c
History
Opened	1928
Closed	1966
Technical
Line length	17.9 km (11.1 mi)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Old gauge	narrow gauge
Route map Stuttgart–Hattingen railway from Stuttgart 0.000 Spaichingen 669 m Stuttgart–Hattingen railway to Singen (Hohentwiel) 0.450 Obere Bahnhofstraße 0.680 Prim (Neckar) 1.000 B 14 Hauptstraße / Balgheimer Straße L 431 Dreifaltigkeitsbergstraße 2.080 Spaichingen Nord 5.020 Denkingen 741 m L 433a Klippeneckstraße 7.300 Schweinebrunnen Viaduct (52 m) 7.580 Setze Viaduct (150 m) 8.330 Wettbachtal Viaduct (300 m) Wettbach 8.700 Au Tunnel (126 m) 9.390 L 433 Austraße 9.540 Hauptstraße 9.640 Gosheim 841 m 9.790 Wehinger Straße 10.200 13.600 L 435 Deilinger Straße 13.700 Mühlbach 13.930 Wehingen 779 m 16.090 Harras-Obernheim 768 m K 5906 Obernheimer Straße 17.610 L 433 17.710 Reichenbach (Heuberg) 745 m 17.900 Streckenende 1. Bauabschnitt 20.00 Egesheim 728 m (construction not carried out) 25.90 Nusplingen 715 m (construction not carried out) Source: German railway atlas[1]

Building

The first sod was turned on 30 January 1913. The highest point of the railway would be at Gosheim station at 841 metres above sea level. The work should be finished in 1915. Because of World War I work was stopped in November 1916. The work was restarted in 1919. The work was stopped again in April 1920. In 1926 the work was restarted. At this time, 80% of the work was finished. The railway was built only as far as Reichenbach and not to Nusplingen. On 25 May 1928, the railway was opened to Reichenbach (Heuberg).

Operations

Railway operations had stopped by the end of World War II. Railway operations began again on 7 January 1946. From 23 May 1954, only one pair train of trains ran each day from Monday to Friday, but there were additional buses. In March 1964, Deutsche Bundesbahn planned to close the railway. The railway was closed on 23 September 1966.

Planning

In 1908 the government master-builder (Regierungsbaumeister) Wallersteiner made plans for a 6000 Goldmark extension to Nusplingen-Heuberg Training Area-Meßstetten–Ebingen .[2] The cost reached 8000 Goldmark.[3]

References

1. Eisenbahnatlas Deutschland (German railway atlas). Schweers + Wall. 2009. ISBN 978-3-89494-139-0.
2. Wilfried Groh: Stuttgart stoppt Träume Archived 2014-06-06 at the Wayback Machine In: Zollern-Alb-Kurier. 3. Juni 2014.
3. Stadtarchiv Pläne Heubergbahn Meßstetten mit Militärbahnhof HR-E 787.11/01-05