The Bergisch-Markisch Railway Company (German: Bergisch-Märkische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft, BME), also referred to as the Berg-Mark Railway Company or, more rarely, as the Bergisch-Markische Railway Company, was a German railway company that together with the Cologne-Minden Railway (Cöln-Mindener Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft, CME) and the Rhenish Railway Company (Rheinische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft, RhE) was one of the three (nominally) private railway companies that in the mid-19th century built the first railways in the Ruhr and large parts of today's North Rhine-Westphalia. Its name refers to Bergisches Land and the County of Mark.
Network of the Bergisch-Markisch Railway Company shortly before its nationalisation in 1882
The Bergisch-Markisch Railway Company was founded on 18 October 1843 in Elberfeld (today a city district of Wuppertal). Since the Cologne-Minden Railway Company had decided to build its route via Duisburg rather than through the valley of the Wupper river, the Bergisch-Markisch Railway Company (German: Bergisch-Märkische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft, BME) determined to build its own line through the Wupper valley, to create a link between the highly industrialised area of the Bergisches Land with the east, particularly to connect with the Märkische coal fields, near Dortmund. The required concession for the railway was Granted by the Prussian government on 12 July 1844. A link to the Rhine in the west had already been completed in 1841 by the Düsseldorf-Elberfeld Railway Company, which had been founded in 1837.
Its original, 56 km long main line ran from Elberfeld to Dortmund via Barmen (since 1929 part of Wuppertal), Schwelm, Hagen, Wetter and Witten and was completed in 1849. In the following years the company built other main and branch lines in the Ruhr along the Hellweg an ancient highway and the Ruhr and Rhine rivers. In 1862 it opened a profitable east-west trunk line between Dortmund and Witten through Bochum-Langendreer, Essen, Mülheim an der Ruhr to Duisburg. The development of the Ruhr valley was largely a result of the opening of the BME’s trunk line.
The company’s development was characterised by the acquisitions of many smaller railway companies to round out its network. However, its energetic board of directors and its chairman Daniel von der Heydt (1802–1874, later a member of the Prussian House of Lords), despite years of effort, were not able to take over the Prussian government-owned Royal Westphalian Railway Company. Such a takeover would have allowed the BME to develop a connection via Hamm to a German seaport via Rheine.
Expansionedit
Major expansion began in 1859 with the construction of the 106 km long Ruhr–Sieg from Hagen to Siegen and its mines. The line opened on 6 August 1861 and cost 12.9 million thalers. In 1858 it started to build its Witten–Duisburg trunk line through the Ruhr. The first section was opened between Duisburg and Hochfeld for freight trains only on 19 August 1859. The 52 km line from Bochum-Langendreer to Steele, Essen and Mülheim an der Ruhr, with connections to various coal mines, was completed on 1 May 1862. At Steele it also connected with the northern end of the Steele–Vohwinkel railway, which had been rebuilt in 1847 from the Prince William Railway (opened as the first horse-powered railway in Germany in 1831) and acquired by the BME in 1854 for 1.3 million thalers.
Railway map of the Rhein Province and Westfalen (ca. 1880), shortly before nationalisation
The act for the nationalisation of the Bergisch-Markisch Railway Company was promulgated on 28 March 1882. At that time, the Prussian government held 64 percent of the share capital of the Company. The Prussian state railways's Royal directorate of railways at Elberfeld (German: Königliche Eisenbahn-Direction zu Elberfeld) took over its management with effect from 1 January 1882.
At its nationalisation the company had 768 locomotives and 21,607 wagons. Its rail network was 1,336 km long, including 720 km of double track railway. The purchase price was financed by government bonds worth 633,847,500 marks. The company was dissolved on 1 January 1886.
Referencesedit
Das Bergisch-Märkische Eisenbahn-Unternehmen in seiner Entwicklung während der ersten 25 Jahre des Betriebe [The Bergisch-Markisch railway company in its development during the first 25 years of operations)] (in German). Elberfeld: Bergisch-Markisch Railway Company. 1875.
(in German) Annual Reports of the Bergisch-Markisch Railway Company
Regierungsassessor Waldeck (1910). "Die Entwicklung der Bergisch-Märkischen Eisenbahnen (The development of Bergisch-Markisch Railways)". Archiv für Eisenbahnwesen (Archive ofRailway Engineering) (in German). Vol. 3–5. Berlin.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
Die Deutschen Eisenbahnen in ihrer Entwicklung 1835–1935 (The German railways in its development 1835-1935) (in German). Berlin: Deutsche Reichsbahn. 1935.
Rolf, Ostendorf (1979). Eisenbahn-Knotenpunkt Ruhrgebiet, Die Entwicklungsgeschichte der Revierbahnen seit 1838 (Ruhr rail hub, the history of the area's line since 1838 (in German). Stuttgart.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
Saling, A. (1869). Die norddeutschen Börsen-Papiere 2. Jg. 1868-1869 (The North German stock exchange papers) (in German). Berlin.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
May 05, 2024
bergisch, markisch, railway, company, german, bergisch, märkische, eisenbahn, gesellschaft, also, referred, berg, mark, railway, company, more, rarely, bergisch, markische, railway, company, german, railway, company, that, together, with, cologne, minden, rail. The Bergisch Markisch Railway Company German Bergisch Markische Eisenbahn Gesellschaft BME also referred to as the Berg Mark Railway Company or more rarely as the Bergisch Markische Railway Company was a German railway company that together with the Cologne Minden Railway Coln Mindener Eisenbahn Gesellschaft CME and the Rhenish Railway Company Rheinische Eisenbahn Gesellschaft RhE was one of the three nominally private railway companies that in the mid 19th century built the first railways in the Ruhr and large parts of today s North Rhine Westphalia Its name refers to Bergisches Land and the County of Mark Network of the Bergisch Markisch Railway Company shortly before its nationalisation in 1882 Contents 1 History 1 1 Foundation 1 2 Trunk routes 1 3 Expansion 1 4 Opening and acquisition of lines 2 Nationalisation 3 ReferencesHistory editFoundation edit The Bergisch Markisch Railway Company was founded on 18 October 1843 in Elberfeld today a city district of Wuppertal Since the Cologne Minden Railway Company had decided to build its route via Duisburg rather than through the valley of the Wupper river the Bergisch Markisch Railway Company German Bergisch Markische Eisenbahn Gesellschaft BME determined to build its own line through the Wupper valley to create a link between the highly industrialised area of the Bergisches Land with the east particularly to connect with the Markische coal fields near Dortmund The required concession for the railway was Granted by the Prussian government on 12 July 1844 A link to the Rhine in the west had already been completed in 1841 by the Dusseldorf Elberfeld Railway Company which had been founded in 1837 Trunk routes edit nbsp Line at Schwelm in 1861 Its original 56 km long main line ran from Elberfeld to Dortmund via Barmen since 1929 part of Wuppertal Schwelm Hagen Wetter and Witten and was completed in 1849 In the following years the company built other main and branch lines in the Ruhr along the Hellweg an ancient highway and the Ruhr and Rhine rivers In 1862 it opened a profitable east west trunk line between Dortmund and Witten through Bochum Langendreer Essen Mulheim an der Ruhr to Duisburg The development of the Ruhr valley was largely a result of the opening of the BME s trunk line The company s development was characterised by the acquisitions of many smaller railway companies to round out its network However its energetic board of directors and its chairman Daniel von der Heydt 1802 1874 later a member of the Prussian House of Lords despite years of effort were not able to take over the Prussian government owned Royal Westphalian Railway Company Such a takeover would have allowed the BME to develop a connection via Hamm to a German seaport via Rheine Expansion edit Major expansion began in 1859 with the construction of the 106 km long Ruhr Sieg from Hagen to Siegen and its mines The line opened on 6 August 1861 and cost 12 9 million thalers In 1858 it started to build its Witten Duisburg trunk line through the Ruhr The first section was opened between Duisburg and Hochfeld for freight trains only on 19 August 1859 The 52 km line from Bochum Langendreer to Steele Essen and Mulheim an der Ruhr with connections to various coal mines was completed on 1 May 1862 At Steele it also connected with the northern end of the Steele Vohwinkel railway which had been rebuilt in 1847 from the Prince William Railway opened as the first horse powered railway in Germany in 1831 and acquired by the BME in 1854 for 1 3 million thalers Logically then its next step in 1866 was to cross the Rhine via the Ruhrort Homberg train ferry with the goal of connecting with Belgium and Netherlands through the purchase of the Aachen Dusseldorf Ruhrort Railway Company s lines for seven million thalers In 1870 it completed the Hamm railway bridge across the Rhine in Dusseldorf Hamm and opened the line from Dusseldorf to Neuss This created a second connection between its networks on the east and west banks of the Rhine In addition the construction of several smaller routes followed up to 1876 an extension in an easterly direction the Upper Ruhr Valley Railway to Arnsberg Bestwig Brilon Wald and Warburg and Holzminden on the Weser river Here it connected with the line to Kassel of the Frederick William Northern Railway Company which it took over on 17 April 1868 with its 130 kilometer line from Gerstungen via Bebra and Kassel to Bad Karlshafen for eight million thalers After 1870 the network was extended on the west bank of the Rhine with the 66 km long line from Rheydt Odenkirchen to Aue and Duren During the nationalisation of the company in 1880 the company took over the 78 km railway network of the Dutch Westphalian Railway Company from Gelsenkirchen Bismarck to Dorsten Borken to Winterswijk in the Netherlands with a branch from Borken to Bocholt Opening and acquisition of lines edit Dates Lines Route 1847 1849 Elberfeld Dortmund Trunkline Elberfeld Oberbarmen Schwelm Milspe Hagen Witten Dortmund 1855 Dortmund Soest Dortmund Horde Unna Soest 1857 Dusseldorf Elberfeld acquisition of the Dusseldorf Elberfeld Railway Company 1859 1861 Ruhr Sieg Hagen Letmathe Finnentrop Kreuztal Siegen 1859 1862 Witten Dortmund Oberhausen Duisburg Witten Dortmund Langendreer Essen Mulheim Ruhr Mulheim Styrum Oberhausen Duisburg 1863 Wuppertal Vohwinkel Essen Uberruhr acquisition of the Prince William Railway Company 1864 Aachen Monchengladbach acquisition of the Aachen Dusseldorf Railway Monchengladbach Dusseldorf Duisburg Ruhrort Monchengladbach 1866 Viersen Venlo Viersen Kaldenkirchen Venlo 1866 7 Hagen Hamm Unna Hamm 1866 Hagen Herdecke 1867 1867 8 Gruiten Koln Deutz Elberfeld Gruiten Solingen Opladen Koln Deutz Cologne 1868 Friedrich Wilhelms Northern Railway acquisition of the Friedrich Wilhelms Northern Railway Company 1868 81 Wuppertal Oberbarmen Opladen Remscheid Oberbarmen Lennep Remscheid 1868 Lennep Wermelskirchen 1876 Wermelskirchen Opladen 1881 1870 Hamm railway bridge Neuss Dusseldorf 1870 73 Schwerte Warburg Schwerte Arnsberg 1870 Arnsberg Meschede 1871 Meschede Bestwig 1872 Bestwig Warburg 1873 1872 Dusseldorf Schwerte Dusseldorf Essen Kettwig Essen Kupferdreh Herdecke Schwerte 1873 Hochneukirch Stolberg Rheydt Odenkirchen Julich Duren Julich Weisweiler Aue 1876 Mulheim Styrum Essen Kettwig Mulheim Styrum Essen Kettwig 1876 Scherfede Holzminden Scherfede Beverungen Holzminden 1877 Essen Werden Essen Essen Werden Essen 1879 Iron Rhine Rheydt Dalheim D NL border at Vlodrop 1880 Gelsenkirchen Bismarck Winterswijk acquisition of Dutch Westphalian Railway CompanyNationalisation edit nbsp Railway map of the Rhein Province and Westfalen ca 1880 shortly before nationalisation The act for the nationalisation of the Bergisch Markisch Railway Company was promulgated on 28 March 1882 At that time the Prussian government held 64 percent of the share capital of the Company The Prussian state railways s Royal directorate of railways at Elberfeld German Konigliche Eisenbahn Direction zu Elberfeld took over its management with effect from 1 January 1882 At its nationalisation the company had 768 locomotives and 21 607 wagons Its rail network was 1 336 km long including 720 km of double track railway The purchase price was financed by government bonds worth 633 847 500 marks The company was dissolved on 1 January 1886 References editDas Bergisch Markische Eisenbahn Unternehmen in seiner Entwicklung wahrend der ersten 25 Jahre des Betriebe The Bergisch Markisch railway company in its development during the first 25 years of operations in German Elberfeld Bergisch Markisch Railway Company 1875 in German Annual Reports of the Bergisch Markisch Railway Company Regierungsassessor Waldeck 1910 Die Entwicklung der Bergisch Markischen Eisenbahnen The development of Bergisch Markisch Railways Archiv fur Eisenbahnwesen Archive ofRailway Engineering in German Vol 3 5 Berlin a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint location missing publisher link Die Deutschen Eisenbahnen in ihrer Entwicklung 1835 1935 The German railways in its development 1835 1935 in German Berlin Deutsche Reichsbahn 1935 Rolf Ostendorf 1979 Eisenbahn Knotenpunkt Ruhrgebiet Die Entwicklungsgeschichte der Revierbahnen seit 1838 Ruhr rail hub the history of the area s line since 1838 in German Stuttgart a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint location missing publisher link Klee Wolfgang Scheingraber Gunther 1992 Preussische Eisenbahngeschichte Prussian Railway History Part 1 1838 1870 Preussen Report Prussian report in German Vol 1 Furstenfeldbruck Saling A 1869 Die norddeutschen Borsen Papiere 2 Jg 1868 1869 The North German stock exchange papers in German Berlin a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint location missing publisher link Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Bergisch Markisch Railway Company amp oldid 1208663997, 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