Erzbahntrasse

An absolute tip - for me the Erzberg route is one of the most beautiful routes I have driven in the "Pott". Great asphalt surface, no traffic, no traffic lights - and all in the middle of the Ruhr area. For me a MUST for the next tour.

The railway line was built in several sections south of the Rhine-Herne Canal; the bridges along the railway line provide an insight into the respective bridge construction technology over a period of 30 years. Construction began in 1901 and, among other things, the Schalker Verein steelworks was connected to the rail. Due to the numerous existing transport connections in an east-west direction along the ore railway, the line was laid on an approximately 15-meter-high embankment with 15 bridges. With the construction of the pillar bridge in 1918/19, the Alma mine in Gelsenkirchen received a rail connection. It was not until the last expansion stage in 1930 that the line was extended to the Bochumer Verein steelworks and used to transport ore. At the same time, via the Gelsenkirchen-Wanne-Eickel freight line, it was an important rail connection for the Carolinenglück mine and its coking plant, which was located just 1.5 kilometers north of the Bochumer Verein blast furnaces.Source: de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erzbahn_(Bochum)

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