book Eisenbahnchronik Bergisches Land Wuppertal Band 2

The railway in Wuppertal once offered an extraordinary variety and abundance of railway routes, stations and long-distance and local railway companies. Elberfeld and Barmen were the center of early industrialization in Prussia, and as early as 1841 the first long-distance railway lines reached what later became Wuppertal.
Four private railway companies built the main lines that still exist today by 1879. In 1944 Wuppertal had 27 train stations and stops, and by 1953 seven more were added. A horse-drawn tram was opened between Barmen and Elberfeld in 1874 for local transport and was converted to electric operation 22 years later. After the Barmer Bergbahn ran from 1894, it was called the Valley Railway. In 1900, the city's current landmark, the Wuppertal suspension railway, began operations.
This fourth volume of the Bergisches Land railway chronicle shows railway traffic in Wuppertal. When describing railway operations, the two neighboring ramp routes Erkrath - Hochdahl and Schwelm - Martfeld - Haspe block point are also presented in detail, as these had a significant influence on operations. In 1949 regular local transport was already in place, and push-pull train service began a year later. After the trains had to carry more cars, the tractive power of the combustion locomotives used was not enough, so that from 1954 onwards, push-pull train operations were carried out with steam locomotives for ten years. The traffic and operation of small trains, trams and the suspension railway are also taken into account.