The Budweis–Linz–Gmunden Horse-Drawn Railway (German: Pferdeeisenbahn Budweis–Linz–Gmunden; Czech: Koněspřežná dráha České Budějovice–Linec–Gmunden) was the second public railway line to be opened in mainland Europe (after the Saint-Étienne–Andrézieux railway). It opened in stages between 1827 and 1836, and principally served the transport of salt from the Upper Austrian Salzkammergut to Bohemia.
In 1855 and 1856, the stretch between Linz and Gmunden was changed to a steam service. This switch over was not possible in the mountainous stretch between Linz and Budweis (České Budějovice) due to tight curvature radii and steep climbs. By 1873, a replacement line between Linz and České Budějovice was built, mostly along another route, and allowed for a steam service. The horse-drawn service was closed in December 1872.
Early history
The first plans The salt trade between the Salzkammergut, or rather Salzburg, and the inhabitants of the Bohemian basin can be traced back to the Bronze Age. The important mineral, which was initially carried on the back, was later towed by horses along narrow mountain paths such as the Goldenen Steig (The Golden Path) or the Linzer Steig (The Linzer Path) on the Vltava River.Schefold 1986, p. 9. In the Middle Ages, as the need for salt grew, roads were built. In 1530, the House of Habsburg banned the hitherto dominant salt import from the Prince-Archbishopric of Salzburg in the Austrian hereditary lands, as they wanted to promote the production from the imperial salt works in the Salzkammergut. Moreover, since the salt trade was brought under state control, the "White Gold" marketed in České Budějovice in the 17th and 18th centuries also came predominantly from the salt works at Hallstatt, Bad Ischl and Ebensee. From there it was transported by water along the Traun and the Danube to Linz and Mauthausen, where it was loaded onto horse-drawn carts of the (mostly Bohemian) Salt Farmers (Salzbauern) and taken via Freistadt to the depot at České Budějovice. With an annual transport volume of 17,000 tonnes, by the end of the 18th century there were around 350 vehicles in operation every day. From České Budějovice, most of the salt reached Prague and sometimes beyond along the cost-effective waterway via the Vltava and the Elbe.Salzburger Landesausstellungen (Hrsg.): Salz. Begleitbuch der Landessausstellung 1994. Salzburg 1994, pp. 142–145.
Since transporting the product by horse-drawn wagon made the product much more expensive, there were already plans in the Middle Ages to link the Vltava and Danube with a navigable canal.
The possible solution The reasons for the failure of the historic canal project were due not least to it being difficult to exactly calculate the costs of such a project in a mountainous region. To correct this shortcoming, the Bohemian Hydrotechnic Society (Bömische Hydrotechnische Gesellschaft) was founded in 1807, and the professor of higher mathematics in Prague, Franz Josef Ritter von Gerstner, was given the task of making more precise level calculations and presenting a solution for the route with cost estimates. After many months, Gerstner came to the conclusion that a canal system would be uneconomical, even along the most reasonable route proposed by Josef Walcher. He suggested instead to make the Vltava navigable from České Budějovice to Joachimsmühle and from there to make a railway leading to Katzbach (near Linz).
More than a decade passed before the Viennese Kommerz-Hofkommission (i.e. the Ministry of Economy) took up this transport project again. The reason for this was a petition from ten states along the Elbe, which asked the Emperor to build a Vltava-Danube canal, after they had agreed on free navigation on the Elbe. Franz Anton Ritter von Gerstner, the son of Franz Josef von Gerstner, was issued with the task of realising this project in 1820. Gestner firstly resigned from his professorship at the Vienna Polytechnic Institute. After he had familiarised himself with the conditions at the site, he took an educational trip to Great Britain in order to learn more about the latest in canal and railway construction from the then leading industrial nation.Peter Csendes: Österreich 1790–1948. Vienna 1987, p. 206. In his report to the Imperial Court, he dismissed all canal projects, just as his father had. Likewise, he suggested constructing a railway. In 1824, he requested a concession for the construction and operation of a Holz- und Eisenbahn (Wood and Iron Railway) from České Budějovice to Mauthausen, which would be granted to him for a period of 50 years. In order to generate interest in co-financing this innovative project, he published a brochure.Franz A. Gerstner (1824), Über die Vortheile einer Anlage einer Eisenbahn zwischen Moldau und Donau. Vienna. Moreover, he had a 225m long test track erected in the Viennese Prater park, which attracted great interest from the public and the press. It also succeeded in winning the bank houses Geymüller, Sina and Stametz for the project, which led to the founding of the k.k. privilegierten Ersten Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft (lit. Imperial-Royal Privileged First Railway Company) as a joint-stock company in 1825. The company was able to raise 850,000 guilders, which was just under the estimated construction cost of 900,000 guilders. The equivalent of one guilder from that time is around 15 euros.Old Currency Table from Statistik Austria.
Construction
The České Budějovice–Linz route
The groundbreaking ceremony took place at Netřebice (German: Netrowitz) on July 25, 1825, the same month as the opening of the first horse-drawn railway in France.Bulletin d'Industrie agricole et Manufacture, publié par la Société d'Agriculture, Arts et Commerce de l'arrondissement de Saint-Étienne. Saint-Étienne 1826, p. 178. Canaux – Chemins de Fer. Google Books. Gerstner and the almost 6,000 workers were faced with many problems. Besides overcoming technical difficulties and negotiating a height difference of 540 metres, they had to live with resistance from the local population who, for the most part, were directly or indirectly involved in transporting salt with horse-drawn carts and were concerned about their source of income. Furthermore, there were tensions between the project leadership and the builders.
The Linz–Gmunden route
Since the maintenance of the Traun waterway for salt transportation consumed a considerable amount of resources every year, the court chancellery, in 1814, considered the construction of a shipping canal from Stadl bei Lambach to Zizlau (St. Peter, Linz) at the mouth of the Traun. However, the plan was abandoned due to the high costs, and the saltern department suggested a horse-drawn railway instead. In 1818, the k.k. Baudirektor (Construction Director) Ferdinand Mayr (1767–1832) presented a corresponding design to the state government, which would cost 285,000 guilders. However, the money necessary could not be raised.Walter Brummer: In: wabweb.net.
In 1829, Francoise Zola (1795–1847), an engineer of Franz Anton Gerstner and the father of the author Émile Zola, was awarded the privilege of the construction of the Linz-Gmunden route.
Zola drew up the Linz-Gmunden line at his own expense, however he didn't find any financial backers within two years and so the privilege expired. Disappointed, Zola left Austria for the south of France. After this, the investors in the České Budějovice-Linz railway applied for the concession and were awarded the contract in 1833. Surveying was carried out in spring 1834, and construction began in summer of the same year.
In order to link the new line with the route to České Budějovice, tracks were laid on the wooden bridge over the Danube to Linz Hauptmauthaus in 1835. By 1836, the route to Gmunden, including a 2.5 km branch line to the port at Zizlau, was completed.
The rail operation After the official opening of the railway on August 1, 1832, traffic initially remained limited to freight operations.
The transportation of people started off with just the occasional journey. The first scheduled service began in 1834 with special trains to Urfahr for the Easter market, which carried 2379 passengers. Official approval for a passenger service came on May 10, 1836. From then, "long distance trains" left at 05:00 from both end stations. Around noon, the trains met at the highest point of the route, Kerschbaum; here, passengers had an hour to have a meal at the first train station restaurant in Europe.Riehs 1970, p. 177. Passengers reached the final station at 19:00. In 1840, 10,000 passengers were transported on the railway - a number which rose to 16,000 in 1848. During passenger transit, the average speed was between 10 and 12 km/h, though it could reach up to 15 km/h on downhill stretches. Passenger trains only ran from April to October.
The triumph of steam-powered railways also inspired the Erste Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft. Since it was not possible to convert the České Budějovice-Linz route, the conversion had to be limited to the Linz-Gmunden stretch. The first test journeys in 1854 showed that the flat rails used up to that point were not able to carry the weight of steam locomotives and often broke. Nevertheless, the Gmunden line was converted to a steam service using locomotives. As rail breakages become more frequent during the steam service and accidents occurred, the decision was finally taken to convert from flat rails to higher rail profiles and steel sleepers.
Shallow grooved rails were also used on paved roads in the cities (Linz and České Budějovice).Rillenschiene der Pferdeeisenbahn Linz-Budweis technischesmuseum.at, Inv.Nr. 40081/1, retrieved November 6, 2016.
The end of the horse-drawn railway The construction of the Empress Elisabeth Railway (German: Kaiserin Elisabeth-Bahn; modern-day Westbahn) led to the slow end of the horse-drawn railway.
Traces and memorials
Museums Here are some permanent memorials worth noting:
Pferdeeisenbahnmuseum Budweis (Czech: Muzeum koněspřežky): Exhibition in an old signalman's house Bujanov (Angern): Small museum in a signal boxMuseum der Pferdeeisenbahn in Bujanov. In: encyklopedie.ckrumlov.cz. Město Český Krumlov (Stadtverwaltung Krummau) retrieved 1 January 1900 (Exhibition in Bujanov/Angern). Kerschbaum: Museum in the old station stables, with 500m rebuilt stretch of trackAusstellung und Museumsfahrten in Kerschbaum from pferdeeisenbahn.at. Maxlhaid (Wels): Pferdeeisenbahnmuseum Bahnzeit-Stall (in an annex of the Gasthof Maxlhaid)Pferdeeisenbahnmuseum in Wels from bahnzeit.at. The passenger car Hannibal can be seen at the Vienna Technical Museum. In the Deutsches Museum in Munich, there is a stand in the new Verkehrszentrum (Transport Centre) dedicated to the České Budějovice-Linz Horse-Drawn Railway, including faithfully rebuilt passenger cars, and reproduced pictures .
Besides these, there is a well-preserved station in Lest.
Monuments In 1970, the remaining parts of the horse-drawn railway in Austria were listed as cultural monuments. In addition to dams, bridges (or bridge foundations) and routes along old tracks, there are many signal boxes as well as station sites. Of the old stations, Lest (near Kefermarkt) and Kerschbaum are well preserved. There is a museum in the restored station building in Kerschbaum.