Misplaced Pages

Hürth-Kalscheuren–Ehrang railway

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.

#35964

72-637: The Hürth-Kalscheuren–Ehrang railway (also known in German as the Eifelstrecke —Eifel Railway) is a non-electrified line in the German states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate running from Hürth -Kalscheuren via Euskirchen and Gerolstein to Trier -Ehrang through the Eifel hills. The line is predominantly duplicated north of Densborn . Today it is only served by trains running as far as Köln Messe/Deutz station or Trier Hauptbahnhof . In 1864,

144-534: A border with North Rhine-Westphalia: North Rhine-Westphalia has a population of approximately 18.1 million inhabitants (more than the entire former East Germany , and slightly more than the Netherlands ) and is centred around the polycentric Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region , which includes the industrial Ruhr region with the largest city of Dortmund and the Rhenish cities of Bonn , Cologne and Düsseldorf . 30 of

216-487: A central lock for the smokebox door. The first locomotives had gas lighting on delivery; from 01 010 they had electrical lighting and the last few batches were given a third headlight. The Class 01s were equipped with 2'2 T 30, 2'2' T 32 or 2'2' T 34 tenders . Their coal capacity was 10 tons of stone coal, and the water tank held either 30, 32 or 34 cubic metres of water. The prototype locomotives, 01 001 to 01 010, were supplied with

288-758: A deep of 293 m below sea level. At the same time, this is the deepest human-made dip in Germany. The most important rivers flowing at least partially through North Rhine-Westphalia include: the Rhine , the Ruhr , the Ems , the Lippe , and the Weser . The Rhine is by far the most important river in North Rhine-Westphalia: it enters the state as Middle Rhine near Bad Honnef, where still being part of

360-549: A framework of a federal parliamentary representative democratic republic. The two main parties are, as on the federal level, the centre-right Christian Democratic Union and the centre-left Social Democratic Party . From 1966 to 2005, North Rhine-Westphalia was continuously governed by the Social Democrats or SPD-led governments. The state's legislative body is the Landtag ("state parliament house"). It may pass laws within

432-531: A general election to elect at least 181 members of the Landtag. Only parties who win at least 5% of the votes cast may be represented in parliament. The Landtag, the parliamentary parties and groups consisting of at least 7 members of parliament have the right to table legal proposals to the Landtag for deliberation. The law that is passed by the Landtag is delivered to the Minister-President, who, together with

504-501: A part from the Dresden shop could be used as all of the engines, parts, and workings were exactly the same and produced nationwide. Thus it was a "standard" product for engine shops. The firms of AEG and Borsig , who were the main manufacturers of these engines, together with Henschel , Hohenzollern , Krupp and BMAG previously Schwartzkopff , delivered a total of 231 examples of this Einheitsdampflokomotive between 1926 and 1938 for

576-611: A relatively small part of Westphalia, consisting instead mostly of Hessian and Eastphalian regions. After the Congress of Vienna , the Kingdom of Prussia received a large amount of territory in the Westphalian region and created the province of Westphalia in 1815. The northernmost portions of the former kingdom, including the town of Osnabrück , had become part of the states of Hanover and Oldenburg . The flag of North Rhine-Westphalia

648-534: A western bypass of the rail nodes at Cologne and Düsseldorf to accelerate military mobilisation, although only the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen was ever completed). By the end of World War II , the entire line was duplicated. After the war, the second track in the south was largely dismantled on the orders of the French occupation forces and the track material was taken to France. In the northern section (which

720-553: Is a state ( Land ) in Western Germany . With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the most populous state in Germany. Apart from the city-states ( Berlin , Hamburg and Bremen ), it is also the most densely populated state in Germany. Covering an area of 34,084 km (13,160 sq mi), it is the fourth-largest German state by size. North Rhine-Westphalia features 30 of the 81 German municipalities with over 100,000 inhabitants, including Cologne (over 1 million),

792-621: Is below the national average in GRDP per capita . The state of North Rhine-Westphalia was established by the British military administration 's "Operation Marriage" on 23 August 1946 by merging the province of Westphalia and the northern parts of the Rhine Province , both being political divisions of the former state of Prussia within the German Reich . On 21 January 1947, the former state of Lippe

SECTION 10

#1732875834036

864-553: Is divided almost equally between Catholicism and Protestantism. After the defeat of the Prussian Army at the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt , the Treaty of Tilsit in 1807 made the Westphalian territories part of the Kingdom of Westphalia from 1807 to 1813. It was founded by Napoleon and was a French vassal state . This state only shared the name with the historical region; it contained only

936-505: Is green-white-red with the combined coats of arms of the Rhineland (white line before green background, symbolizing the river Rhine), Westfalen (the white horse) and Lippe (the red rose). After the establishment of North Rhine-Westphalia in 1946, the tricolor was first introduced in 1948, but was not formally adopted until 1953. The plain variant of the tricolor is considered the civil flag and state ensign, while government authorities use

1008-580: Is hosted in Cologne . It is the largest video game convention in Europe. North Rhine-Westphalia has always been Germany's powerhouse with the largest economy among the German states by GDP figures . In the 1950s and 1960s, Westphalia was known as Land von Kohle und Stahl ( Land of Coal and Steel ). In the post-World War II recovery, the Ruhr was one of the most important industrial regions in Europe, and contributed to

1080-421: Is now Rhineland-Westphalia and neighbouring Belgium and the Netherlands . In spite of its dismembered condition and the sufferings it underwent at the hands of its French neighbours in various periods of warfare, the Rhenish territory prospered greatly and stood in the foremost rank of German culture and progress. Aachen was the place of coronation of the German emperors, and the ecclesiastical principalities of

1152-506: Is the NRW-Nordpunkt near Rahden in the northeast of the state. The Nordpunkt has located the only 100 km to the south of the North Sea coast. The deepest natural dip is arranged in the district Zyfflich in the city of Kranenburg with 9.2 m above sea level in the northwest of the state. Though, the deepest point overground results from mining. The open-pit Hambach reaches at Niederzier

1224-490: The 80 largest cities in Germany are located within North Rhine-Westphalia. The state's capital is Düsseldorf; the state's largest city is Cologne. In 2022, there were 164,496 births and 234,176 deaths. The following table shows the ten largest cities of North Rhine-Westphalia: The following table shows the population of the state since 1930. The values until 1960 are the average of the yearly population, from 1965

1296-698: The Cugerni were later settled on the west side of the Rhine in the Roman province of Germania Inferior . Julius Caesar conquered the tribes on the left bank, and Augustus established numerous fortified posts on the Rhine, but the Romans never succeeded in gaining a firm footing on the right bank, where the Sugambri neighboured several other tribes including the Tencteri and Usipetes . North of

1368-496: The DR under the direction of the research and trials division VES-M Halle . Like the DB, they selected only those locomotives with more powerful brakes (from 01 102). All these locos were fitted with new Witte smoke deflectors with tapered edges, a new driver's cab and a new boiler, positioned higher on the frame. The boiler had a combustion chamber, a mixer preheater and a continuous cover for

1440-606: The DRG Class 01.10 . In addition a new mixer preheater system was installed in the smokebox and numerous friction bearings were replaced by roller bearings . Changes to the cylinder block, running board, a shorter chimney, front apron ( Frontschürze ) and locomotive frame , as well as the missing feedwater dome, all gave the locomotives a different external appearance. From 1962, the Reichsbahn repair shop ( Reichsbahnausbesserungswerk ) at Meiningen rebuilt 35 Class 01 engines for

1512-497: The Deutsche Reichsbahn era, especially the heavy class 44s . They were gradually replaced by steam locomotives of class 50 and 86 . Passenger locomotives of class 23 were added from the 1950s. With the onset of dieselisation of the line locomotives of class 211 and 216 were usual and from the 1970s until 2001 class 215 locomotives operated on the line. Between 2001 and 2009 some class 218 diesel locomotives ran on

SECTION 20

#1732875834036

1584-619: The Mittelrhein wine region . It changes into the Lower Rhine near Bad Godesberg and leaves North Rhine-Westphalia near Emmerich at a width of 730 metres. Almost immediately after entering the Netherlands, the Rhine splits into many branches. The Pader , which flows entirely within the city of Paderborn , is considered Germany's shortest river. For many, North Rhine-Westphalia is synonymous with industrial areas and urban agglomerations. However,

1656-887: The North German Plain . A few isolated hill ranges are located within these lowlands, among them the Hohe Mark, the Beckum Hills , the Baumberge and the Stemmer Berge . The terrain rises towards the south and in the east of the state into parts of Germany's Central Uplands . These hill ranges are the Weser Uplands – including the Egge Hills , the Wiehen Hills , the Wesergebirge and

1728-687: The Prussian railway administration planned that the Eifel line would be one of the first lines in Germany to be electrified. But this failed because of the opposition from the military on the ground that the line was too close to the French border. Also, a connection of the Eifel line with the Bonn–Koblenz line near Sechtem was planned, which was also never implemented (this was part of the Strategischer Bahndamm —"Strategic railway embankment"—a plan to build

1800-796: The Randstad , the Flemish Diamond and the Frankfurt Rhine-Main Region . North Rhine-Westphalia was established in 1946 after World War II from the Prussian provinces of Westphalia and the northern part of Rhine Province ( North Rhine ), and the Free State of Lippe by the British military administration in Allied-occupied Germany and became a state of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949. The city of Bonn served as

1872-647: The Rhenish Railway Company began construction of the Eifel line from Düren via Euskirchen and Gerolstein to Trier. The section from Düren to Euskirchen is now known as the Börde Railway ( Bördebahn ). On 1 October 1875, it was connected from Euskirchen with the Left Rhine line at Kalscheuren. Numerous bridges and tunnels on the line as well as the stations at Euskirchen, Weilerswist and Kierberg were built by Hermann Schmalenbach . Before World War I

1944-793: The Teutoburg Forest in the east, the Sauerland , the Bergisches Land , the Siegerland and the Siebengebirge in the south, as well as the left-Rhenish Eifel in the southwest of the state. The Rothaargebirge in the border region with Hesse rises to height of about 800 m above sea level. The highest of these mountains are the Langenberg , at 843.2 m above sea level, the Kahler Asten (840.7 m) and

2016-621: The Thirty Years' War . The concept of nation-state sovereignty resulting from the treaty became known as " Westphalian sovereignty ". As a result of the Protestant Reformation , there is no dominant religion in Westphalia. Catholicism and Lutheranism are on relatively equal footing. Lutheranism is strong in the eastern and northern parts with numerous free churches. Münster and especially Paderborn are thought of as Catholic. Osnabrück

2088-536: The boilers . Finally the conversion was rounded off with the replacement of the original smoke deflectors by Witte deflectors, which in spite of their considerably smaller size were just as effective as their larger predecessors. Four of the five modified locomotives remained in service until 1968. From 1957 the Deutsche Bundesbahn rebuilt a further 50 vehicles. These engines were given welded, high-performance, steam boilers, which had already been used on

2160-604: The state flag ( Landesdienstflagge ) which is defaced with the state's coat of arms . The state ensign can easily be mistaken for a distressed flag of Hungary , as well as the former national flag of Iran (1964–1980). The same flag was used by the Rhenish Republic (1923–1924) as a symbol of independence and freedom. The horse on the coat of arms is a reference to the Saxon Steed , a heraldic motif associated with both Westphalia and Lower Saxony . The horse first featured in

2232-625: The 15th century coat of arms of the Duchy of Westphalia, before being inherited by the Prussian province of Westphalia and finally the modern state of North Rhine-Westphalia. North Rhine-Westphalia encompasses the plains of the Lower Rhine region and parts of the Central Uplands ( die Mittelgebirge ) up to the gorge of Porta Westfalica . The state covers an area of 34,083 km (13,160 sq mi) and shares borders with Belgium ( Wallonia ) in

Hürth-Kalscheuren–Ehrang railway - Misplaced Pages Continue

2304-994: The 1930s the employment of Class 01s was limited to the relatively few routes that had already been modified to take a 20-ton axle load. From Berlin outwards they were the Anhalt , Lehrte and Hamburg lines. The Berlin City Railway had first to be strengthened by reinforcing the viaduct arches. Up to 1930, the first 90 engines were stationed at the locomotive depots of Essen , Nuremberg , Erfurt P, Berlin Ahb, Hamm , Magdeburg Hbf, Kassel , Hanover , Hamburg Altona , Bebra and Offenburg . From 1931 they were also stabled at Frankfurt (M) 1, Berlin Leb, Braunschweig , Berlin Pog, Schneidemühl , Königsberg , Göttingen P, Paderborn , Dresden Alt, Breslau , Cologne Deutzerfeld, Hof and Halle P. Originally,

2376-512: The Class 01's top speed was restricted to 120 km/h. In order to raise this to 130 km/h, the diameter of the leading wheels was changed from its original 850 mm to 1,000 mm on locomotives from operating number 01 102 onwards and brake effort was increased by installing double-sided working of the brake shoes on the coupled wheels and by braking the trailing wheels . The air and feed pumps were located in smokebox recesses behind

2448-563: The Clemensberg (839.2 m). The planimetrically determined centre of North Rhine-Westphalia is located in the south of Dortmund- Aplerbeck in the Aplerbecker Mark (51° 28' N, 7° 33' Ö). Its westernmost point is situated near Selfkant close to the Dutch border, the easternmost near Höxter on the Weser . The southernmost point lies near Hellenthal in the Eifel region. The northernmost point

2520-535: The Eifel line from Saarbrücken to Cologne. This project failed due to technical problems with the vehicles, so the RE trains from Saarbrücken continue to operate to Koblenz with a connection in Trier to diesel trains over the Eifel line to Cologne. Until the 1970s haulage of express trains was dominated by steam locomotives of class 39 and 01 , while freight traffic was operated by all classes of Prussian freight locomotives used in

2592-425: The German Wirtschaftswunder . As of the late 1960s, repeated crises led to contractions of these industrial branches. On the other hand, producing sectors, particularly in mechanical engineering and metal and iron working industry, experienced substantial growth. Despite this structural change and an economic growth which was under national average, the 2018 GDP of 705 billion euro (1/4 of the total German GDP) made NRW

2664-469: The Moselle line. Now all long-distance services run on the Moselle line. Regional services running at hourly intervals were introduced on the Eifel line in 1991 with additional trains north of Gerolstein or Jünkerath . Approximately every two hours express trains or Regional-Express (RE) trains also ran between Cologne and Trier. In 1996 the line was upgraded for tilting trains so that RE services operated by class 611 diesel multiple units could run over

2736-425: The Rhine bulked largely in German history. Prussia first set foot on the Rhine in 1609 by the occupation of the Duchy of Cleves and about a century later Upper Guelders and Moers also became Prussian. At the peace of Basel in 1795, the whole of the left bank of the Rhine was resigned to France, and in 1806, the Rhenish princes all joined the Confederation of the Rhine . After the Congress of Vienna, Prussia

2808-417: The Ruhr to the Saar and on to Lorraine via Koblenz . On 28 December 2001 the last freight train of DB Cargo (now DB Schenker Rail ) ran on this route. Long-distance express trains used to run from Saarbrücken and Trier to Cologne via the Moselle line via Koblenz or via the Eifel line, often continuing to Münster . After the electrification of the Mosel line in 1974, most long-distance trains ran on

2880-449: The Sigambri and the Rhine region were the Bructeri . As the power of the Roman empire declined, many of these tribes came to be seen collectively as Ripuarian Franks and they pushed forward along both banks of the Rhine, and by the end of the fifth century had conquered all the lands that had formerly been under Roman influence. By the eighth century, the Frankish dominion was firmly established in western Germany and northern Gaul, but at

2952-468: The area of Westphalia. Charlemagne is thought to have spent considerable time in Paderborn and nearby parts. His Saxon Wars also partly took place in what is thought of as Westphalia today. Popular legends link his adversary Widukind to places near Detmold , Bielefeld , Lemgo , Osnabrück, and other places in Westphalia. Widukind was buried in Enger , which is also a subject of a legend. Along with Eastphalia and Engern , Westphalia ( Westfalahi )

Hürth-Kalscheuren–Ehrang railway - Misplaced Pages Continue

3024-434: The competency of the state, e.g. cultural matters, the education system, matters of internal security, i.e. the police, building supervision, health supervision and the media; as opposed to matters that are reserved to Federal law. North Rhine-Westphalia uses the same electoral system as the Federal level in Germany: " Personalized proportional representation ". Every five years the citizens of North Rhine-Westphalia vote in

3096-422: The districts and municipalities, while the Landschaftsverband has a directly elected assembly. The five government regions of North Rhine-Westphalia each belong to one of the two Landschaftsverbände : The state's area covers a maximum distance of 291 km from north to south, and 266 km from east to west. The total length of the state's borders is 1,645 km. The following countries and states have

3168-404: The economically strongest state of Germany by GRP figures , as well as one of the most important economical areas in the world. Of Germany's top 100 corporations, 37 are based in North Rhine-Westphalia. On a per capita base, however, North Rhine-Westphalia remains one of the weaker among the Western German states. North Rhine-Westphalia attracts companies from both Germany and abroad. In 2009,

3240-409: The fast passenger services of the Deutsche Reichsbahn . To begin with, 10 locomotives of this class were built with two- cylinder engines for comparison purposes alongside a similar batch of 10 engines of their sister Class 02 , which had four-cylinder compounding . Extensive measurement and trial runs were conducted, but after lengthy discussions the controversial decision finally fell in favour of

3312-400: The federal capital until the reunification of Germany in 1990 and as the seat of government until 1999. Culturally, North Rhine-Westphalia is not a uniform area; there are significant differences, especially in traditional customs, between the Rhineland region on the one hand and the regions of Westphalia and Lippe on the other. Its economy is the largest among German states by GRDP but

3384-501: The interior ministry of North Rhine-Westphalia reported that the number of mosques with a Salafist influence had risen from 3 to 9, which indicated both an actual increase and improved reporting. According to German authorities, Salafism is incompatible with the principles codified in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany , in particular: democracy , the rule of law , and political order based on human rights . The politics of North Rhine-Westphalia takes place within

3456-541: The kingdom of Lotharingia . By the time of Otto I (d. 973), both banks of the Rhine had become part of the Holy Roman Empire , and the Rhenish territory was divided between the duchies of Upper Lorraine on the Moselle and Lower Lorraine on the Meuse. The Ottonian dynasty had both Saxon and Frankish ancestry. As the central power of the Holy Roman Emperor weakened, the Rhineland split into numerous small, independent, separate vicissitudes and special chronicles. The old Lotharingian divisions became obsolete, although

3528-421: The large Wagner smoke deflectors , which had been fitted from 01 077 onwards. (Earlier models were also refitted with Wagner type deflectors later). This made access to the pumps for maintenance purposes more difficult and later Einheitsloks had their pumps located in the middle of the vehicle on delivery. The Deutsche Bundesbahn converted their engines to the smaller Witte smoke deflectors and moved

3600-455: The large Soviet DR Class 132 diesel locomotives arrived, the Class 01 express train locomotives were finally forced out of scheduled services in the GDR after almost 50 years. In 1950 and 1951, the Deutsche Bundesbahn converted locomotives 01 042, 01 046, 01 112, 01 154 and 01 192. They were enhanced with a Heinl mixer preheater by Henschel and a turbo feed pump. In addition combustion chambers were installed in

3672-432: The largest part of the state is used for agriculture (almost 52%) and forests (25%). The state consists of five government regions ( Regierungsbezirke ), divided into 31 districts ( Kreise ) and 23 urban districts ( kreisfreie Städte ). In total, North Rhine-Westphalia has 396 municipalities (1997), including the urban districts, which are municipalities by themselves. The government regions have an assembly elected by

SECTION 50

#1732875834036

3744-524: The line. In addition, from 1964 to 1980 class 624 diesel multiple unit operated over the line. Up in the 1950s, trains with Prussian compartment coaches ran on regional services. These were replaced by Silberling carriages hauled by class 215 diesel locomotives, which were later superseded by class 218 locomotives running on the Eifel line along with class 644 diesel multiple units until 2009. Some trains were at this time operated with class 612 and 628 railcars . No trains hauled by class 218s ran after

3816-559: The many routes with axle load restrictions too low for Class 01 service, in the early 1930s, a third variant was created: the Class 03 designed with a two-cylinder engine and axle load of 18 ton, of which no less than 298 were built. Launched in 1939, the three-cylinder DRG Class 01.10 was a further development of the 01. A total of five series or batches were delivered, each with minor variations: 01 001–010 (1926), 01 112–076 (1927–28), 01 077–101 (1930–31), 01 102–190 (1934–1936), 01 191–232 (1937–1938). Even in

3888-658: The ministers involved, is required to sign it and announce it in the Law and Ordinance Gazette. These are the minister-presidents of North Rhine-Westphalia : For the current state government, see Wüst cabinet . The state has Aachen Cathedral , the Cologne Cathedral , the Zeche Zollverein in Essen , the Augustusburg Palace in Brühl and the Imperial Abbey of Corvey in Höxter which are all World Heritage Sites . North Rhine-Westphalia hosts film festivals in Cologne , Bonn, Dortmund , Duisburg , Münster , Oberhausen and Lünen . Other large festivals include Rhenish carnivals , Ruhrtriennale . Every year Gamescom

3960-417: The name survives for example in Lorraine in France, and throughout the Middle Ages and even into modern times, the nobility of these areas often sought to preserve the idea of a preeminent duke within Lotharingia, something claimed by the Dukes of Limburg , and the Dukes of Brabant . Such struggles as the War of the Limburg Succession therefore continued to create military and political links between what

4032-472: The necessary axle load of 20 tons nor sufficiently large turntables . Not until the beginning of the 1930s did the Class 01 become the predominant express train locomotive of the Deutsche Reichsbahn. By 1938 there were 231 Class 01 locomotives available for the prestigious express train duties. Another 10 four-cylinder Class 02 locomotives (01 111, 01 233–241) were converted to two-cylinder Class 01 models between 1937 and 1942. To accommodate for

4104-448: The only ones used during the war years and after the Second World War , because they had a larger water capacity. Class 01 locomotives remained in service with the Deutsche Bundesbahn until 1973. In the DR, they were still working up to the early 1980s, largely in their original state with large smoke deflectors . They were legendary in their last years for hauling the D-Zug services on the Berlin-Dresden route up to autumn 1977. Only when

4176-441: The population at year end is used. Source: Statistische Ämter des Bundes Und der Länder As of 2020 , 50% of the population of the state adhered to the Roman Catholic Church , 25% to the Protestant Church in Germany , and 28% of the population is irreligious or adheres to other denominations or religions. North Rhine-Westphalia ranks first in population among German states for both Roman Catholics and Protestants. In 2016,

4248-406: The pumps to the running board in the centre of the vehicle. The Deutsche Reichsbahn in East Germany shied away from such major changes to the load distribution, so that only minor modifications in appearance can be seen even in their last years. From the third series (01 077 et seq.) the boilers were delivered with longer smoke tubes and thus a shorter firebox . All engines originally had

4320-420: The republican rule of the French. In 1920, the districts of Eupen and Malmedy were transferred to Belgium (see German-speaking Community of Belgium ). Around AD 1, numerous incursions occurred through Westphalia and perhaps even some permanent Roman or Romanized settlements. The Battle of Teutoburg Forest took place near Osnabrück and some of the Germanic tribes who fought at this battle came from

4392-406: The same time, to the north, Westphalia was being taken over by Saxons pushing south. The Merovingian and Carolingian Franks eventually built an empire which controlled first their Ripuarian kin, and then the Saxons. On the division of the Carolingian Empire at the Treaty of Verdun , the part of the province to the east of the river fell to East Francia , while that to the west remained with

SECTION 60

#1732875834036

4464-483: The smaller 2'2 T 30 tenders, because there were not enough large turntables around. Later these tenders were only used if they were absolutely necessary, e.g. in cross-border services with the Netherlands . From the second series (01 012 et seq.) on, the Class 01 was furnished with rivetted 2'2' T 32 tenders. The welded tenders, class 2'2' T 34, appeared only by way of exchange (mainly from brand new Class 44 ) locomotives. Thereafter they were almost

4536-412: The southwest and the Netherlands ( Limburg , Gelderland and Overijssel ) in the west and northwest. It has borders with the German states of Lower Saxony to the north and northeast, Rhineland-Palatinate to the south and Hesse to the southeast. Approximately half of the state is located in the relative low-lying terrain of the Westphalian Lowland and the Rhineland , both extending broadly into

4608-420: The state capital Düsseldorf (630,000), Dortmund and Essen (about 590,000 inhabitants each) and other cities predominantly located in the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan area , the largest urban area in Germany and the fourth-largest on the European continent . The location of the Rhine-Ruhr at the heart of the European Blue Banana makes it well connected to other major European cities and metropolitan areas like

4680-438: The state had the most foreign direct investments ( FDI ) anywhere in Germany. Around 13,100 foreign companies from the most important investment countries control their German or European operations from bases in North Rhine-Westphalia. DRG Class 01 The Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft 's BR 01 steam locomotives were the first standardised ( Einheitsdampflokomotive ) steam express passenger locomotives built by

4752-526: The timetable change in December 2009. Instead, they were operated by class 628 multiple units. Class 54 and 81 LINT railcars have been used since December 2013. The Eifel line is served daily by following Regional-Express and Regionalbahn services: These services are operated by DB Regio NRW , using Alstom Coradia LINT 54 or 81 diesel multiple units the timetable change in December 2013. North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia , commonly shortened to NRW ,

4824-418: The two-cylinder configuration, which was simpler to maintain but less powerful and less economical than the four-cylinder compounds. The first Class 01 locomotive that went into service was not 01 001, but 01 008, which is preserved today in the Bochum-Dahlhausen Railway Museum . The mass production of Class 01s was somewhat delayed at first because in the 1920s there were neither enough routes with

4896-403: The unified German railway system. They were of 4-6-2 "Pacific" wheel arrangement in the Whyte notation , or 2′C1′ h2 in the UIC classification . The idea of standardisation was that it would reduce maintenance costs; i.e. if a BR 01 whose engine shop was in, say, Berlin broke down in Dresden , instead of having to ship the necessary part from Berlin and take the locomotive out of service,

4968-429: Was awarded the entire Rhineland , which included the Grand Duchy of Berg , the ecclesiastic electorates of Trier and Cologne , the free cities of Aachen and Cologne, and nearly a hundred small lordships and abbeys. The Prussian Rhine province was formed in 1822 and Prussia had the tact to leave the lower Rhenish districts in undisturbed possession of the liberal institutions to which they had become accustomed under

5040-408: Was in the British zone), the second track remained in place over almost its entire length, while the southern section continues to be mainly single track. Today the reconstruction of the second track in many places is difficult since its location has been put to other uses, often as a bicycle path parallel to the railway. The Eifel track is still not electrified. This means that freight trains run from

5112-422: Was merged with North Rhine-Westphalia. The constitution of North Rhine-Westphalia was then ratified through a referendum . The first written account of the area was by its conqueror, Julius Caesar , the territories west of the Rhine were occupied by the Eburones and east of the Rhine he reported the Ubii (across from Cologne) and the Sugambri to their north. The Ubii and some other Germanic tribes such as

5184-611: Was originally a district of the Duchy of Saxony . In 1180, Westphalia was elevated to the rank of a duchy by Emperor Barbarossa . The Duchy of Westphalia comprised only a small area south of the Lippe River . Parts of Westphalia came under Brandenburg-Prussian control during the 17th and 18th centuries, but most of it remained divided duchies and other feudal areas of power. The Peace of Westphalia of 1648, signed in Münster and Osnabrück, ended

#35964