Ardey Railway

Dortmund–Iserlohn railway
Overview
Locale	North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Line number	2103 (Dortmund–Soest) 2113 (Dortmund-Hörde–Schwerte) 2841 (Schwerte–Iserlohn)
Technical
Line length	38 km (24 mi)
Number of tracks	2: Dortmund Hbf–Schwerte
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Operating speed	Dortmund-Hörde–Schwerte: 90 km/h (56 mph) (max) Schwerte-Iserlohn:: 100 km/h (62 mph) (max)
Route number	433
Route map from Hamm (Westf) 164.4 Dortmund Hbf to Duisburg Osterath–Dortmund Süd railway to DO-Lütgendortmund 170.1 Dortmund Signal-Iduna-Park to Rhenish line Rhenish line Elias Railway Phoenix-West steelworks siding 173.0 0.0 Dortmund-Hörde to Unna 3.8 Dortmund-Aplerbeck Süd 6.0 Schwerte Tunnel (795 m) from Unna 7.5 Heide junction to Schwerte Ost from Arnsberg 10.3 19.7 Schwerte (Ruhr) 19.2 to Hagen 18.6 Schwerte (Ruhr) Swf 16.9 Wandhofen 16.5 Ruhr bridge (198 m) 15.9 Flood channel(110 m) 15.2 Ergste 10.2 Hennen RWE siding 10.0 Hennen 7.7 Kalthof 5.4 Sümmern 4.5 Iserlohnerheide from Iserlohn-Letmathe *) 0.0 Iserlohn Former line to Menden * Planned installation of a shunting connection. Source: German railway atlas

Source: German railway atlas

The Ardey Railway (German: Ardeybahn) is a 38 km long railway line running from Dortmund via Schwerte to Iserlohn (KBS 433) in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

The section between Dortmund Central Station and Dortmund-Horde part of the railway route Dortmund-Soest, is double track and electrified and classified as a mainline railway. The northern part of the Ardey Railway between Dortmund-Horde and Schwerte is a double-track and non-electrified main line. Its maximum speed is 90 km/h. The southern section between Schwerte and Iserlohn is a single-track non-electrified branch line, with a passing loop at Kalthof. Most of this section can be run at 100 km/h.

The Letmathe–Fröndenberg railway has been closed between Iserlohn and Menden and there is currently no connection between the Ardey Railway and the line to Letmathe in Iserlohn. Iserlohn is therefore formally not a Bahnhof (station, which under German regulations must have at least one set of points) but instead a Haltepunkt (halt) on two lines. However, the Zweckverband SPNV Ruhr-Lippe (association for the promotion of public transport in Ruhr-Lippe, ZRL) intends to build a connection between the two lines, including points, which would restore its status as a station.

After Iserlohn had been connected by rail to Letmathe in 1864, the chamber of commerce and industry campaigned in 1882 for the construction of a railway to the north towards Schwerte. Against resistance mainly from businessmen in the Lenne valley, who advocated lines from Letmathe to Schwerte or from Iserlohn to Altena, especially the then owner of the nickel plants in Iserlohn and Schwerte, Dr Theodor Fleitmann. He supported the construction of a railway through the valley of the Elsebach. The district (Landkreis), however, decided that the line should be built along the Baarbach to promote industry in Sümmern, Kalthof and Hennen. After the death of Fleitmann in 1904, the construction started in 1907 and it was completed a year later. Money provided in Fleitmann’s will for the construction of a railway was not used because it had been earmarked for the route favoured by him.

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