South German Railway Company
Encyclopedia
The South German Railway Company (Süddeutsche Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft AG) or SEG was founded on 11 February 1895, in Darmstadt
Darmstadt
Darmstadt is a city in the Bundesland of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine Main Area.The sandy soils in the Darmstadt area, ill-suited for agriculture in times before industrial fertilisation, prevented any larger settlement from developing, until the city became the seat...

 by the railway entrepreneur, Herrmann Bachstein, and several bank managers.

The SEG as the Bachstein Railway

The majority of shares were owned by the Bank für Handel und Industrie in Darmstadt. In 1908 this share was bought out by Hugo Stinnes
Hugo Stinnes
-Life and career:Stinnes was born in Mülheim, in the Ruhr Valley, North German Confederation. His father was also named Hugo, and his grandfather Matthias Stinnes had founded a modest enterprise in Mülheim....

 and other industrialists, who founded the Rhine Westphalia Railway Company (Rheinisch-Westfälische Bahn-GmbH or RWB) in 1909, in order to bring together the numerous tram
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...

way operations of the Ruhrgebiet. Major shareholders in the RWB included the city of Essen
Essen
- Origin of the name :In German-speaking countries, the name of the city Essen often causes confusion as to its origins, because it is commonly known as the German infinitive of the verb for the act of eating, and/or the German noun for food. Although scholars still dispute the interpretation of...

 (48%), the district of Essen (27%) and the Rheinisch-Westfälische Elektrizitätswerk
RWE
RWE AG , is a German electric power and natural gas public utility company based in Essen. Through its various subsidiaries, the energy company contributes electricity and gas to more than 20 million electricity customers and 10 million gas customers, principally in Europe...

or RWE (25%).

The SEG was formed by Herrmann Bachstein with the aim of reorganising the railways in the states of Baden
Baden
Baden is a historical state on the east bank of the Rhine in the southwest of Germany, now the western part of the Baden-Württemberg of Germany....

 and Hesse
Hesse
Hesse or Hessia is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.* The cultural region of Hesse includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse in the neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state...

 that were part of the Hermann Bachstein Branch Line Central Organisation (Centralverwaltung für Secundärbahnen Herrmann Bachstein).

Of these, Bachstein initially brought the following Hessian railways into the new company in 1895:
  • Osthofen
    Osthofen
    Osthofen is a Verband-free town – one belonging to no Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the middle of the Wonnegau in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...

     – Westhofen
    Westhofen
    Westhofen is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Location :...

  • Reinheim
    Reinheim
    Reinheim is a town in the Darmstadt-Dieburg district, in Hesse, Germany. It is situated 14 km southeast of Darmstadt.-Twin towns - Sister cities:...

     – Reichelsheim
    Reichelsheim
    Reichelsheim is the name of two communes in Hesse, Germany*Reichelsheim *Reichelsheim...

  • Sprendlingen
    Sprendlingen
    Sprendlingen is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Location :...

     – Wöllstein
    Wöllstein
    Wöllstein is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Location :...

     (extended to Fürfeld
    Fürfeld
    Fürfeld is a municipality in the district of Bad Kreuznach in Rhineland-Palatinate, in western Germany.-External links:*...

     in 1898)
  • Worms
    Worms, Germany
    Worms is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Rhine River. At the end of 2004, it had 85,829 inhabitants.Established by the Celts, who called it Borbetomagus, Worms today remains embattled with the cities Trier and Cologne over the title of "Oldest City in Germany." Worms is the only...

     – Offstein
    Offstein
    Offstein in the Wonnegau is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Location :...

     (Lower Eis
    EIS
    EIS may refer to:* Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport, an airport in the British Virgin Islands which has IATA airport code EIS* Eastern Independent Schools of Melbourne, a group of schools in Australia...

     Valley Railway)
    .


Also included were the steam tramways in in Darmstadt
Darmstadt
Darmstadt is a city in the Bundesland of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine Main Area.The sandy soils in the Darmstadt area, ill-suited for agriculture in times before industrial fertilisation, prevented any larger settlement from developing, until the city became the seat...

, Mainz
Mainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...

 and Wiesbaden-Biebrich
Wiesbaden-Biebrich
Biebrich is a borough of the city of Wiesbaden, Hesse, Germany. With over 36,000 inhabitants, it is the most-populated of Wiesbaden's boroughs. It is located south of the city center on the Rhine River, opposite the Mainz borough of Mombach...

, that provided suburban services, as well as the electric tramway in Essen on the Ruhr, the Pferdebahn in Mainz and the Nerobergbahn
Nerobergbahn
The Nerobergbahn is a funicular railway in the city of Wiesbaden, Germany. The line links the city with the Neroberg hill to its north, where visitors may view a panorama of the city....

 in Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden is a city in southwest Germany and the capital of the federal state of Hesse. It has about 275,400 inhabitants, plus approximately 10,000 United States citizens...

.

Three lines in Thuringia
Thuringia
The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....

 also now belonged to the SEG:
  • Arnstadt
    Arnstadt
    Arnstadt is a town in Ilm-Kreis, Thuringia, Germany, situated on the Gera River. It is one of the oldest towns in Thuringia and is nicknamed Das Tor zum Thüringer Wald, The Gate to the Thuringian Forest....

    -Ichtershausen
    Ichtershausen
    Ichtershausen is a municipality in the district Ilm-Kreis, in Thuringia, Germany....

     Railway
  • Hohenebra-Ebeleben
    Ebeleben
    Ebeleben is a town in the Kyffhäuserkreis district, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated 13 km southwest of Sondershausen....

     Railway and the
  • Ilmenau
    Ilmenau
    Ilmenau is a town located in the district of Ilm-Kreis, Thuringia, Germany.Ilmenau is situated in the valley of the Ilm river, at an altitude of 431 metres above sea level, and is the biggest town in Ilm-Kreis district, with 6,200 students studying at the Technische Universität Ilmenau. The...

    -Großbreitenbach
    Großbreitenbach
    Großbreitenbach is a town in the Ilm-Kreis district, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated 13 km southeast of Ilmenau. It has about 8000 inhabitants. Major industries are glass manufacturing and tourism....

     Railway.

However these were operated by the Branch Line Central Organisation not by the SEG itself.

On 8 December 1897, the SEG was expanded again with the following Bachstein railways the Grand Duchy of Baden
Grand Duchy of Baden
The Grand Duchy of Baden was a historical state in the southwest of Germany, on the east bank of the Rhine. It existed between 1806 and 1918.-History:...

:
  • Mannheim
    Mannheim
    Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....

     - Heidelberg
    Heidelberg
    -Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...

     – Weinheim
    Weinheim
    Weinheim is a town in the north west of the state of Baden-Württemberg in Germany with 43 000 inhabitants, approximately 15 km north of Heidelberg and 10 km northeast of Mannheim. Together with these cities, it makes up the Rhine-Neckar triangle...

     triangle railway (later the OEG)
  • Karlsruhe
    Karlsruhe
    The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states...

     branch line
  • Breg
    Breg
    Breg may refer to:* Breg , a river in Germany.* Breg a settlement in the Majšperk municipality in Slovenia.* Breg a settlement in the Mežica municipality in Slovenia.* Breg, Sevnica a settlement in the Sevnica municipality in Slovenia....

     Valley Railway, Donaueschingen
    Donaueschingen
    Donaueschingen is a German town in the Black Forest in the southwest of the federal state of Baden-Württemberg in the Schwarzwald-Baar Kreis. It stands near the confluence of the two sources of the river Danube ....

     – Furtwangen
  • Kaiserstuhl
    Kaiserstuhl
    The „Kaiserstuhl“ is a relatively low mountain range – a Mittelgebirge – with a maximal height of 556.6 m above sea level. It is of volcanic origin and located in the South West of Baden-Württemberg, Germany in the districts of Emmendingen and Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald...

     Railway, Breisach
    Breisach
    Breisach is a town with approximately 16,500 inhabitants, situated along the Rhine in the Rhine Valley, in the district Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about halfway between Freiburg and Colmar — 20 kilometres away from each — and about 60 kilometres north of Basel near the...

     – Endingen am Kaiserstuhl – Gottenheim
    Gottenheim
    Gottenheim is an independent village at the northern tip of the Tuniberg, 15 km west of Freiburg im Breisgau. It is located in the administrative region Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany....

     and the
  • Upper Wiesen
    Wiesen
    Wiesen can mean several places:* Wiesen, Switzerland* Wiesen, Bavaria* Wiesen, Austria, a town in the district of Mattersburg in Burgenland* Wiesen...

     Valley Railway, Zell
    Zell
    -Austria:*Zell am See, in Salzburg state*Zell am Ziller, in Tyrol*Zell, Carinthia, in Carinthia*in Upper Austria:**Bad Zell**Zell am Moos**Zell an der Pram**Zell am Pettenfirst-Germany:...

     – Todtnau
    Todtnau
    Todtnau is a town in the district of Lörrach in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. As of 2009 its population was of 4,932.-Geography:It is situated in the Black Forest, on the river Wiese, 20 km southeast of Freiburg....

    .


After the Mainz Tramway had been sold to the city in 1904, the electric tramway networks in Essen and Wiesbaden remained with the SEG.

In the same year the railway network grew with the addition of the:
  • Hetzbach–Beerfelden
    Beerfelden
    Beerfelden is a town in the Odenwald in the Odenwaldkreis in Hesse, Germany, 28 km northeast of Heidelberg. The region around Beerfelden has for touristic reasons been dubbed the Beerfelder Land.-Location:...

     Railway and the
  • Selz
    Selz
    The Selz is a river in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, a left tributary to the Rhine. It flows through the biggest German wine region, which is called Rheinhessen....

     Valley Railway, Ingelheim – Jugenheim - Partenheim
    Partenheim
    Partenheim is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Location :...

    .


On the other hand several railways were hived off by the SEG to other newly founded companies in the following years as follows:
  • In 1911 the "Triangle Railway" to the Oberrheinische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft (OEG), with the SEG retaining a 26% share, and
  • In 1912 the suburban lines of Darmstadt to the Hessian Railway (Hessische Eisenbahn-AG, into which the city tramways were merged (SEG share 38%).
  • In 1914 the Karlsruhe branch lines were sold.
  • In 1915 the Central Organisation gave its share to the SEG and Herrmann Bachstein left the Board of Directors.

Essen Tramways Dominate


At this time – on 1 April 1916 - the SEG firm owned branch line
Branch line
A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line...

s totaling 216 km (134.2 mi) in length, of which 37 km (23 mi) were narrow gauge. In addition it owned two important tramway operations in Essen (71 km (44.1 mi)) and Wiesbaden (48 km (29.8 mi)) with a total of 119 km (73.9 mi) of metre gauge
Metre gauge
Metre gauge refers to narrow gauge railways and tramways with a track gauge of . In some African, American and Asian countries it is the main gauge. In Europe it has been used for local railways in France, Germany, and Belgium, most of which were closed down in mid 20th century. Only in Switzerland...

 lines. In 1919 the Mainz Suburban Line was transferred to the city of Mainz.

Whilst the SEG began to gradually close its tram lines in 1929 due to differences with the city of Wiesbaden, the Essen tramway remained at the heart of the SEG, in which the city of Essen in 1933 had 66% of the shares.

Although early on buses were used as a backup for rail services and to extend the branch lines, they only produced meagre profits compared with the tramways, so that the SEG endeavoured not to renew concessions when they expired. They invited the German Reich to take over the Worms
Worms, Germany
Worms is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Rhine River. At the end of 2004, it had 85,829 inhabitants.Established by the Celts, who called it Borbetomagus, Worms today remains embattled with the cities Trier and Cologne over the title of "Oldest City in Germany." Worms is the only...

-Offstein
Offstein
Offstein in the Wonnegau is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Location :...

 Railway, because its concession was running out on 1 December 1936. This offer was answered with a Reich
Reich
Reich is a German word cognate with the English rich, but also used to designate an empire, realm, or nation. The qualitative connotation from the German is " sovereign state." It is the word traditionally used for a variety of sovereign entities, including Germany in many periods of its history...

 law, according to which the Reich Minister of Transport decree that operations were to continue after the end of the concession period. So the SEG had to carry on supporting all its railways. That said, it was able to improve the profitability of them by and by.

After the end of the Second World War, the SEG was dispossessed of the three railways in Thuringia (AIE, HEE, IGE). In West Germany the branch lines could continue to be operated thanks to the revenue from Essen Tramway operations.

In 1952/53 the SEG came to agreements with the states in which SEG branch lines operated:
  • Baden-Württemberg
    Baden-Württemberg
    Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...

     took over the Breg
    Breg
    Breg may refer to:* Breg , a river in Germany.* Breg a settlement in the Majšperk municipality in Slovenia.* Breg a settlement in the Mežica municipality in Slovenia.* Breg, Sevnica a settlement in the Sevnica municipality in Slovenia....

     Valley Railway, Kaiserstuhl
    Kaiserstuhl
    The „Kaiserstuhl“ is a relatively low mountain range – a Mittelgebirge – with a maximal height of 556.6 m above sea level. It is of volcanic origin and located in the South West of Baden-Württemberg, Germany in the districts of Emmendingen and Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald...

     line and Wiesen
    Wiesen
    Wiesen can mean several places:* Wiesen, Switzerland* Wiesen, Bavaria* Wiesen, Austria, a town in the district of Mattersburg in Burgenland* Wiesen...

     Valley Railway, which went into the state-owned Mittelbadische Eisenbahnen AG.
  • Rhineland-Palatinate
    Rhineland-Palatinate
    Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of and about four million inhabitants. The capital is Mainz. English speakers also commonly refer to the state by its German name, Rheinland-Pfalz ....

     let the Deutsche Bundesbahn
    Deutsche Bundesbahn
    The Deutsche Bundesbahn or DB was formed as the state railway of the newly established Federal Republic of Germany on September 7, 1949 as a successor of the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft '...

     continue to run the lines, but quickly introduced bus services as well.
  • Hesse
    Hesse
    Hesse or Hessia is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.* The cultural region of Hesse includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse in the neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state...

     took over the Reinheim
    Reinheim
    Reinheim is a town in the Darmstadt-Dieburg district, in Hesse, Germany. It is situated 14 km southeast of Darmstadt.-Twin towns - Sister cities:...

    -Reichelsheim
    Reichelsheim
    Reichelsheim is the name of two communes in Hesse, Germany*Reichelsheim *Reichelsheim...

     Railway, whilst the Hetzbach-Beerfelden
    Beerfelden
    Beerfelden is a town in the Odenwald in the Odenwaldkreis in Hesse, Germany, 28 km northeast of Heidelberg. The region around Beerfelden has for touristic reasons been dubbed the Beerfelder Land.-Location:...

     Railways was closed.


Because now only the tramways, whose network at times was over 100 km (62.1 mi) long, and buses in Essen belonged to the SEG, the company was renamed on 29 September 1954, as the Essener Verkehrs-AG (EVAG). This company exists to the present day with standard and metre gauge tramways of 74 km (46 mi) length.

SEG Railways

a) Tramways
  • Essen Tramways, today Essener Verkehrs-AG (EVAG)
  • Wiesbaden Tramways


b) Private Lines for Public Services
  • Arnstadt
    Arnstadt
    Arnstadt is a town in Ilm-Kreis, Thuringia, Germany, situated on the Gera River. It is one of the oldest towns in Thuringia and is nicknamed Das Tor zum Thüringer Wald, The Gate to the Thuringian Forest....

    -Ichtershausen
    Ichtershausen
    Ichtershausen is a municipality in the district Ilm-Kreis, in Thuringia, Germany....

     Railway
  • Breg
    Breg
    Breg may refer to:* Breg , a river in Germany.* Breg a settlement in the Majšperk municipality in Slovenia.* Breg a settlement in the Mežica municipality in Slovenia.* Breg, Sevnica a settlement in the Sevnica municipality in Slovenia....

     Valley Railway, (Donaueschingen - Furtwangen)
  • Hetzbach-Beerfelden
    Beerfelden
    Beerfelden is a town in the Odenwald in the Odenwaldkreis in Hesse, Germany, 28 km northeast of Heidelberg. The region around Beerfelden has for touristic reasons been dubbed the Beerfelder Land.-Location:...

     Railway
  • Hohenebra–Ebeleben
    Ebeleben
    Ebeleben is a town in the Kyffhäuserkreis district, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated 13 km southwest of Sondershausen....

     Railway: Operated by: Branch Line Central Organisation (Herrmann Bachstein)
  • Ilmenau
    Ilmenau
    Ilmenau is a town located in the district of Ilm-Kreis, Thuringia, Germany.Ilmenau is situated in the valley of the Ilm river, at an altitude of 431 metres above sea level, and is the biggest town in Ilm-Kreis district, with 6,200 students studying at the Technische Universität Ilmenau. The...

    -Großbreitenbach
    Großbreitenbach
    Großbreitenbach is a town in the Ilm-Kreis district, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated 13 km southeast of Ilmenau. It has about 8000 inhabitants. Major industries are glass manufacturing and tourism....

     Railway
  • Kaiserstuhl
    Kaiserstuhl
    The „Kaiserstuhl“ is a relatively low mountain range – a Mittelgebirge – with a maximal height of 556.6 m above sea level. It is of volcanic origin and located in the South West of Baden-Württemberg, Germany in the districts of Emmendingen and Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald...

     Railway, (Riegel DB - Endingen - Breisach and Riegel Ort - Gottenheim)
  • Upper Wiesen
    Wiesen
    Wiesen can mean several places:* Wiesen, Switzerland* Wiesen, Bavaria* Wiesen, Austria, a town in the district of Mattersburg in Burgenland* Wiesen...

     Valley Railway, (Zell im Wiesental
    Zell im Wiesental
    Zell im Wiesental is a town in the district of Lörrach in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated in the Black Forest, on the river Wiese, 26 km northeast of Basel, and 32 km south of Freiburg....

    -Todtnau
    Todtnau
    Todtnau is a town in the district of Lörrach in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. As of 2009 its population was of 4,932.-Geography:It is situated in the Black Forest, on the river Wiese, 20 km southeast of Freiburg....

     Railway)
  • Osthofen
    Osthofen
    Osthofen is a Verband-free town – one belonging to no Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the middle of the Wonnegau in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...

    -Westhofen
    Westhofen
    Westhofen is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Location :...

     Railway
  • Reinheim
    Reinheim
    Reinheim is a town in the Darmstadt-Dieburg district, in Hesse, Germany. It is situated 14 km southeast of Darmstadt.-Twin towns - Sister cities:...

    -Reichelsheim
    Reichelsheim
    Reichelsheim is the name of two communes in Hesse, Germany*Reichelsheim *Reichelsheim...

     Railway
  • Selz
    Selz
    The Selz is a river in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, a left tributary to the Rhine. It flows through the biggest German wine region, which is called Rheinhessen....

     Valley Railway (Frei-Weinheim - Ingelheim - Jugenheim-Partenheim)
  • Sprendlingen
    Sprendlingen
    Sprendlingen is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Location :...

    Fürfeld
    Fürfeld
    Fürfeld is a municipality in the district of Bad Kreuznach in Rhineland-Palatinate, in western Germany.-External links:*...

  • Lower Eis
    EIS
    EIS may refer to:* Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport, an airport in the British Virgin Islands which has IATA airport code EIS* Eastern Independent Schools of Melbourne, a group of schools in Australia...

     Valley Railway (Worms
    Worms, Germany
    Worms is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Rhine River. At the end of 2004, it had 85,829 inhabitants.Established by the Celts, who called it Borbetomagus, Worms today remains embattled with the cities Trier and Cologne over the title of "Oldest City in Germany." Worms is the only...

    -Offstein
    Offstein
    Offstein in the Wonnegau is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Location :...

    Railway)


In addition the following formerly belonged to the SEG:
  • Mannheim-Heidelberg-Weinheim-Mannheimer Railway, later Oberrheinische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft (OEG)
  • Darmstadt-Griesheim-Eberstadt, later Hessische Eisenbahn-Aktiengesellschaft (HEAG)
  • Karlsruhe Branch Line

Sources

  • Walter Borchmeyer: 40 Jahre Süddeutsche Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft, Essen 1935 (Nachdruck Darmstadt 1995)

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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