The Lauertalbahn

 

The 17-kilometre-long, standard gauge "Lauertalbahn" was built on 6. Opened by the Bavarian State Railways on August 1900. It started at Rottershausen station and followed the main railway station two kilometres in a ^]northerly direction, with which it also ran through the 400 m long Rottershäuser Tunnel^[1]. It only got its own route at the Rannungen junction, where in the Second World War a railwayway to the ammunition depot branched off near the Rottershausen forest settlement; it crossed a ridge until it reached the Lauertal valley at Poppenlauer, which it followed upwards in the foreland of Haßberge mountains. At the end of the line in Stadtlauringen, there was a single locomotive shed with a water house as a branch office of the Schweinfurt depot.

Tunnel near Rannungen (year 1874)

Passenger traffic was always weak and limited itself to three pairs of trains per day for decades. After a railway bus line had already taken over the service on Sundays from 1958, passenger services on the railways were taken by car with the end of the summer timetable in 1959, on the 4th stage of the summer roadmap. October 1959, also closed on weekdays. Its early end is mainly due to the route that was controversial for many years before the opening, which did not meet the need for traffic. The destination of most travellers was the city of Schweinfurt, which had been reachable by buses by buses a shorter route since 1948/49. Freight traffic also ended on the first town. April 1960. The line, on which only steam locomotives were used, was dismantled the following winter. 

Legende

		von Schweinfurt
	0,0	Rottershausen
	0,7	Rottershäuser Tunnel (400 m)
	2,2	Abzw Rannungen
		nach Meiningen
	2,4	Rannungen
	7,0	Poppenlauer
	10,0	Maßbach
	14,3	Rothhausen
	16,9	Stadtlauringen

 The train station was the key factor in Rothhausen's rise as an economic power. In 1900, Archduke Maximilian of Bavaria ceremoniously opened the Stadtlauringen-Rottershausen railway line and because Rothhausen was in the middle of nowhere, it also got a train station. Solidly built, as we know today, with stone foundations and doors that will last another 100 years.

The building structure essentially included a coal cellar at the bottom and a storage room above. The goods could be loaded into the train carriages at the same level via a loading ramp. The station master sat at ground level in the middle area. He sold the tickets for passenger transport and kept records of entries and exits from the warehouse. The room on the right was the waiting room for passengers. The complex was rounded off by a small toilet, which, after being rebuilt, still serves its purpose today.

After the railway line was opened, farmers came from all over the world in horse-drawn carts to deliver their harvest to Rothhausen. The harvest was then transported to larger processing plants. The catchment area stretched from Ebertshausen to Seubrigshausen. In 1960, the railway line was closed because many people had cars or lorries but the station was not demolished.

And so did the companies that had settled in Rothhausen. At times, there were more jobs in Rothhausen than there were working people. Today, it is not just the station company that is happy that the station exists. As a historical relic, the station is considered worth preserving and it also gained world-famous recognition through a model toy kit from the Pola company.

A short history from Klaus Bub

The old train station A relic from the "good old days" when the railway began its triumphal march in the middle of the 19th century. With its speed and high transport volume, it was far superior to horse-drawn carriages, the only means of transport until then. It became the "driving force" of industrialization. Undeveloped areas of land now threatened to become economically marginalized, so these too were developed through small branch lines. In the case of the "Lauertalbahn", the existing potential of the trade relationship was to be improved and social life was to be enriched by passenger transport. The well-paid jobs in the nearby industrial city of Schweinfurt would also be better accessible to the rural population, thus preventing a possible rural exodus. The route was a contentious issue. The region favored the Schweinfurt - Zell - Maßbach - Stadtlauringen railway line. However, in order to get a connection at all, the communities agreed to almost any route, so the state chose the most cost-effective one, the 17km long and cheaper Rottershausen – Stadtlauringen route. The neighboring communities, however, had to provide the land that was still to be acquired free of charge. The Maßbach community therefore had to take out a loan to cover the land transfer tax of 26,800 marks that it had to pay, which it intended to pay off by 1954. In order to reduce this mountain of debt, it even levied a regional "beer tax" in 1912. 

Construction began in 1899, after approval from Prince Regent Luitpold. The stations in Poppenlauer and Maßbach were built on the model of countless small stations, the "Bavarian cube". Built by Italian masons - guest workers. The grand opening ceremony took place on August 2, 1900. The "Bockerle", as the train was affectionately called, now ran three times a day in both directions and in a way determined the daily rhythm in the Lauertal for decades. As early as 1902, 75,181 marks were earned, 136% more than had been calculated. World War I caused major losses. However, in 1936, investments were made again and the tracks were extended by connecting them to the munitions factory (MUNA) near Rottershausen. However, the "Züchle" became the target of many air raids, from which it took refuge in the protective Rotteshäuser tunnel. After the end of the war, all rail traffic was suspended. But soon our railway was able to "pick up steam" again and then celebrate 50 years of existence with a big party. At this point, however, there were already rumours of a possible closure. 

The route, with a journey time of over an hour to Schweinfurt, had become a disadvantage compared to the faster car. The average number of passengers had fallen to 2.4, despite the consumption of one tonne of hard coal per journey. A completely outdated timetable was at odds with the mobility needs of the population. For example, a passenger had to leave Stadtlauringen at 4:30 a.m. to reach Schweinfurt at around 6:00 a.m. The Maßbach business community was particularly hard hit by the closure of the railway line, as most goods were delivered by rail. In my opinion, passenger transport was doomed from the start due to the unfavourable route. For example, a train left Maßbach for Rottershausen at 4:45 a.m. There was a relatively long wait here, and then people arrived at work in Schweinfurt shortly before 6 a.m. A journey to Schweinfurt took over an hour, while with the introduction of motorisation, the bus reduced this journey time to just under an hour. It was the same in the evening. The last train arrived in Maßbach at around 7 to 7:15 p.m. It took the workers, who were mainly employed in the Schweinfurt industry, back to their homes. As the travel times and, above all, the waiting times were too long, most of the employees switched to the faster and more comfortable buses. 

Consequently, passenger traffic was stopped on November 1, 1959 and freight traffic on March 31, 1960. Sleepers, rails and ballast were dismantled and transported away. Today, only the remaining stations remind us of the former Lauertalbahn. However, the cycle path on the former railway embankment to Rothhausen invites you to dream a little of the romance of the railway. If that is not enough, you can travel to Fladungen with the identical locomotive that probably puffed through the Lauertal itself.