There was even a real steam train in Badenheim. People quickly took hold of the train and gave it the name "Babettche" or "Bawettche". The first woman who rode on it is said to have been called "Babette".
On October 11, 1888, the Sprendlingen Fürfeld branch line was opened, which was "an event that had been eagerly awaited".
In 1925, the Badenheim - Fürfeld route took around 40 minutes. Thanks to timetable improvements, the route was completed in just 30 minutes in 1949. There were also unscheduled stops if someone had missed the train. The winding route meant that the speed was comparable to a carousel, so that you could jump on and off during the journey.
The 1-meter-gauge electric tram from Bad Kreuznach to St. Johann, built in 1911, crossed the Bawettche on its own bridge near Badenheim. The underpass of the A61 motorway from Badenheim to Sprendlingen is now located here.
After the Second World War, many concessions for the railway line expired, but were maintained when the South German Railway Company terminated the contract. In 1953, the branch line was transferred to rail operations by the German Federal Railway. In the same year, passenger traffic was stopped on the line because it was no longer profitable. The line was converted to diesel locomotives. In 1959, the Wöllstein - Fürfeld section of the line was finally closed for freight traffic. The last freight service on the Sprendlingen - Wöllstein line took place on July 31, 1973. The rails were dismantled the following year. It was a farewell that made everyone sad. Time had passed by a great institution created by private initiative! The population was poorer for the leisure-friendly transport options in the "Rhine-Hessian Switzerland". It should be well remembered!
Source: Parts from the book "Chronicle of the Sprendlingen-Wöllstein-Fürfeld branch line; 65 years of steaming Bawettchen by Lutz Ruppersberger; Publisher of the Rheinhessischen Druckwerkstätte Alzey 1982