Odenwald Railway (Baden)

Odenwald Railway (Baden)
Historical route of the Odenwald Railway

The Odenwald Railway (German: Odenwaldbahn) (sometimes referred to as the Baden Odenwald Railway to distinguish it from the Hessian line of the same name) was the name given to a Baden railway line in southwestern Germany built from between 1862 and 1866. It ran from Heidelberg via Neckargemünd and Meckesheim through the Little Odenwald mountains to Waibstadt, Mosbach, Osterburken and Lauda in Bavarian Würzburg.

History

Lauda station in 1871. Here the Tauber Valley Railway branched off from the Odenwald Railway.

Heidelberg was connected to the railway network by the Grand Duchy of Baden State Railway’s Rhine Valley Railway in 1840. In 1854 the Ludwig's Western Railway was opened from Bamberg in Bavaria to the Hessian border near Kahl am Main through Würzburg. Both Bavaria and Baden saw reasons to build a railway line between Heidelberg and Würzburg: the government of Baden sought a continuation of its main line to the north east and the Bavarian king, Maximilian II, sought a connection with the Palatinate, then a geographically separate part of Bavaria.

The shortest route between the two cities was via Eberbach, Mudau and Miltenberg ran through Hesse, which saw this route as being opposed to its own interests. Instead, after a review of 45 alternative routes and lengthy negotiations, a decision was taken to build a line through Meckesheim, Mosbach, Osterburken and Lauda. This had the advantage for Baden that the line opened up the Baden Bauland and that it could operate entirely within Baden, as it only reached Bavaria at the end of the line. The disadvantages that had to be taken into account, were an unfavourable topography and a route that was 25 km longer than the shortest route. A treaty adopting the agreed route was signed between the two countries was on 27 January 1862. The line was completed on 25 August 1866.

Further information: Neckar Valley Railway, Elsenz Valley Railway, Meckesheim–Neckarelz railway, Neckarelz–Osterburken railway, and Franconia Railway

References

• Scharf, Hans-Wolfgang (2001) (in German). Eisenbahnen zwischen Neckar, Tauber und Main. 1: Historische Entwicklung und Bahnbau. Freiburg: EK-Verlag. ISBN 3-8825-5766-4. 
• Scharf, Hans-Wolfgang (2001) (in German). Eisenbahnen zwischen Neckar, Tauber und Main. 2: Ausgestaltung, Betrieb und Maschinendienst. Freiburg: EK-Verlag. ISBN 3-8825-5768-0. 
• Kuntzemüller, Albert (1953) (in German). Die Badischen Eisenbahnen. Karlsruhe: Verlag G. Braun.