Landshut–Rottenburg railway

Route number:

932

Line length:

27.46 km (17.06 mi)

Track gauge:

1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in)

Maximum incline:

2.5 %

Minimum radius:

300 m (984 ft)

Route

391,7 m

3,0

6,5

Pfettrach

7,7

Arth

10,2

Weihmichl

14,2

Neuhausen

17,0

Zornhof

20,2

Pfeffenhausen

24,3

Oberhatzkofen

27,5

Rottenburg an der Laaber425,5

The Landshut–Rottenburg railway was a German branch line in the southern state of Bavaria. It was a stub line, about 27.5 kilometres long, from Landshut to Rottenburg an der Laaber, and was known by the locals as the Rottenburger Bockerl (‘Rottenburg Goat’). Although the line is now closed, there is a plan to establish a museum railway on the remaining section from Landshut to Unterneuhausen.

As early as 1867 and 1878, options were explored for linking the towns of Landshut and Ingolstadt with of a railway, not least for military reasons. These investigations showed, however, that there was no widespread desire for through services. So in 1890 the Landshut town council awarded a contract for the assessing the construction of a railway from Landshut to Pfeffenhausen and a second one from Pfeffenhausen to Eggmühl.

In September 1891 the Munich-based Lokalbahn AG gave its report. This envisaged a 20.09 kilometre-long route to Pfeffenhausen at a cost of 1,250,000 marks. However it concluded that the construction of a route from Pfeffenhausen to Eggmühl would not have met the transportation interests of the upper Laaber Valley, which was aligned with the county capital of Landshut.

So the Royal Bavarian State Government decided, in the supplement to the draft of the Lokalbahn ('local line') law of 12 December 1895, that a Lokalbahn from Landshut to Pfeffenhausen with an extension to Rottenburg would be the most appropriate course. The option of extending it to Ingolstadt was left open. Land required for the construction of the line was transferred to the Bavarian state at no cost. On 17 June 1896 the "Landshut–Rottenburg Localbahn project" was approved under a Lokalbahn law. It was promised that this would deliver advantages, especially for local farmers, not just for the growing of cereals and farming of cattle but also for hop cultivation in the Hallertau.

At that time it was common for many Italian workers to be employed when a railway was being built. The greatest inclines were the ramp at Arth (20‰), the watershed between Pfettrach and Laber (23‰) and the high ridge of Pfeffenhausen in the direction of Rottenburg (25‰). The terminal station in Rottenburg was 1.1 kilometres from the market, which was 20 metres above the level of the station.

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Wikipedia