The Linzer Lokalbahn (LILO) is a network of three standard-gauge, single-track railway lines in Upper Austria. It originally consisted only of the line opened in 1912 from the provincial capital Linz via the district town of Eferding to Waizenkirchen. In 1998 the existing line from Neumarkt-Kallham (on the Wels–Passau railway) to Waizenkirchen, together with its branch to Peuerbach, was incorporated into the Linzer Lokalbahn. With approximately 1.6 million passengers per year (2011 figures), the Linzer Lokalbahn is the most important of the railways operated by Stern & Hafferl. It serves the agriculturally and touristically significant area west of the city of Linz on the Danube.
Since 11 December 2016 the section Linz–Eferding has been served by line S5 of the S-Bahn Upper Austria.
History
Origins One of the earliest railway projects after the construction of Upper Austria's main lines aimed to connect the regions of Eferding, Aschach an der Donau, Waizenkirchen and Peuerbach with the provincial capital Linz. As early as the 1880s there were efforts to build such a local railway. After the opening of the Western Railway, planning quickly began for additional local railways radiating from Wels. The line from Wels via Haiding to Aschach an der Donau was completed on 20 August 1886. Operation of this railway was entrusted to the Gmunden-based firm Stern & Hafferl. This local railway branched from the state railway to Passau at Haiding station and connected the fertile Eferdinger Becken and the Aschach region with the Austrian state railway network and the town of Wels.
Because this local railway already existed and because of disagreements between Wels and Linz, the project could not be realised for many years. An action committee was therefore formed under the chairmanship of imperial councillor Mathias Poche. Twenty-four other prominent figures, including the mayor of Linz and the deputy governor of Upper Austria, joined the committee, which set itself the task of establishing a rail link between Linz and Eferding. An extension to Waizenkirchen and possibly as far as Neumarkt-Kallham, with a branch to Peuerbach, was also considered.
After fierce opposition from the town of Wels, the committee presented an alternative plan: a local railway branching at Eferding, running in one direction via Haiding (near Aschach) to Aschach an der Donau and in the other via Waizenkirchen to Peuerbach. No objections were raised to this proposal. On 6 and 7 July 1900 the route inspection and station committee met to discuss the project. Although representatives of Wels and Linz supported it, the plan foundered on the veto of the Welser Lokalbahngesellschaft. Representatives of Waizenkirchen then decided to pursue an independent line from Waizenkirchen to Neumarkt-Kallham parallel to the Wels–Passau state railway, with a branch to Peuerbach. Another committee was formed to develop the project. As no objections were raised, the authorities granted a concession on 13 October 1907 for the "construction and operation of a standard-gauge local railway to be operated by electric power from the state railway station Neumarkt-Kallham to Waizenkirchen, with a branch to Peuerbach".Karl Zwirchmayr: 75 Jahre Linzer Lokalbahn, 1987, p. 8.
Neumarkt–Waizenkirchen–Peuerbach local railway
This concession led in the same year to the founding of the Neumarkt–Waizenkirchen–Peuerbach AG. Construction began in May 1908. Stern & Hafferl handled planning and construction supervision and erected station buildings at Waizenkirchen, Peuerbach and Niederspaching. Vehicle sheds were built at Niederspaching and Peuerbach, and a substation at Niederspaching provided the power supply. All electrical equipment was supplied by AEG-Union, and the rolling stock for opening came from the Grazer Waggonfabrik. After several months of construction, the line opened on 18 December 1908.Karl Zwirchmayr: 75 Jahre Linzer Lokalbahn, 1987, pp. 28–31Handel, Industrie, Verkehr und Landwirtschaft. (Bahneröffnung.) Wiener Zeitung, 19 December 1908 .
In 1919 an extension from Peuerbach to Neukirchen am Walde and Engelhartszell was planned. A Mr Fuchsing from Schärding formed an action committee, and a meeting with around 300 participants took place on 24 February 1927. The necessary funding could not be raised, and the project was abandoned.
Linz–Eferding–Waizenkirchen local railway In 1907 the original action committee reconvened. Engineer Josef Stern persuaded the committee to adopt electric traction instead of the originally planned steam operation and offered to prepare a detailed project at his own risk and expense. After review by the k.k. Staatsbahn directorate in Linz, the project received funding of 3.5 million kronen (approximately €9.5 million in today's money). Stern's proposals were accepted at a meeting on 4 May 1909, and a financing plan was drawn up that would allow the railway to operate without state subsidies. Financing was to consist of a 1.2 million kronen in bonds, 200,000 kronen in ordinary shares and 2.1 million kronen in preference shares. Following a municipal council resolution on 17 November 1909, the city of Linz purchased preference shares worth 1.5 million kronen. Further shares were taken by neighbouring municipalities and the Allgemeine Sparkasse Linz; the provincial diet supported the project with 200,000 kronen in ordinary shares.
Stern & Hafferl agreed to construct the line and operate it for twelve years at a rate of 50 heller per train-kilometre. With all conditions met, the k.k. Railway Ministry was able to grant the concession.
Political route inspections took place from 6–17 October and 9–15 December 1908. Two years later the ministry ordered concession negotiations.
Construction and opening
After the concession for the "standard-gauge local railway from Linz via Eferding to Waizenkirchen" was published in the Reichsgesetzblatt on 25 January 1911, construction of the railway began on 1 December of the same year.
The Stern & Hafferl company paid in bonds worth 1.2 million crowns, in addition to which a number of priority shares were also purchased. The bonds were converted into shares after the local railway opened. The limited investment capital forced the construction management team, led by engineer Josef Stern, to carry out the construction as economically as possible. For this reason, the starting point of the local railway in Linz, the local railway station, was built on land leased from the state railway. A terminus station with two platform tracks and a side track was built. Remarkably, this temporary facility remained in use until 2005. After a police inspection on December 22, 1911, the first section between Linz and Eferding was put into operation on March 21, 1912. There was no official inauguration ceremony. Further stations were built in Alkoven, Eferding, Prambachkirchen, and Waizenkirchen. Wooden waiting rooms were also built at 15 stops.
Rotary converter substations in Dörnbach, Eferding and Waizenkirchen supplied the railway with 750 V direct current. A depot with workshop for maintenance and repairs of the electric multiple units was built in Eferding. Throughout the route, Vignole rails were laid on wooden sleepers and wooden poles carried the overhead line. All electrical equipment was supplied by the Siemens-Schuckert works in Vienna. The line was originally designed for a maximum axle load of 11 tonnes and a top speed of .Heinrich Marchetti: Stern & Hafferl – Visionen mit Tradition, 2003, pp. 61–62.
Construction of the extension Eferding–Waizenkirchen did not proceed entirely smoothly. A rainy summer and difficult terrain caused numerous problems. Despite these difficulties, the section was completed on schedule. The official inspection took place on 10 December 1912.Statistics on traffic volumes of the Stern & Hafferl railways.
The Linzer Tages-Post of 13 December 1912 reviewed the construction and reported on the completion:
Early years of operation
For operation of the line, four motor cars, four trailer cars, four works vehicles, 16 goods wagons and one electric locomotive were ordered from the Grazer Waggonfabrik. After completion of the second section, the Linz–Eferding–Waizenkirchen local railway was ceremonially opened on 16 December 1912. On 1 January 1913 Stern & Hafferl took over operations, including the supply of electricity. The operating headquarters were located in Eferding.Heinrich Marchetti: Stern & Hafferl – Visionen mit Tradition, 2003, pp. 61–62.
In 1912 a journey from Linz to Waizenkirchen took approximately 130 minutes. A comprehensive tariff table was published that year listing fares for all classes of passenger and goods traffic. A single third-class ticket from Linz to Eferding cost 1.50 kronen and to Waizenkirchen 2.50 kronen; second class cost double. Return tickets were twice the single fare. Goods traffic had numerous rate classes; a wagon-load of timber or stone to Eferding cost 32 kronen. In the first full operating year of 1913 the railway carried 202,445 passengers and 11,825 tonnes of freight – regarded as an economic success.
In 1919 another motor car, identical to the original units despite their wooden construction having proved unsatisfactory, was ordered from the Grazer Waggonfabrik and numbered 23.001. Two additional passenger coaches (designated Cl 4 and Cl 5) were also purchased. Due to hyperinflation, the three vehicles together cost four million kronen.
In 1926 the Eferding depot was extended to accommodate the enlarged fleet. In the 1930s a sharp increase in goods traffic revealed a shortage of powerful locomotives; the tractive effort of the existing locomotive No. 1 was no longer sufficient. For this reason the four-axle locomotive Wöllsdorf III was acquired in 1935 and entered service from 1937 as EL 51.01 on the Linz–Eferding–Waizenkirchen line.Karl Zwirchmayr: 75 Jahre Linzer Lokalbahn, 1987, pp. 34–38. From 1933 journey times between Linz and Eferding were gradually reduced again, reaching 66 minutes before 1945. From 1936 it was once again possible to operate additional train pairs.Karl Zwirchmayr: 75 Jahre Linzer Lokalbahn, 1987, pp. 43–50.
In 1935 the city of Linz held an ideas competition for the redevelopment of the Lokalbahnhof; like many other projects, the resulting proposals were never realised. The line's 25th anniversary was celebrated in 1937. In 1939 the operating company Lokalbahn Linz–Eferding–Waizenkirchen AG was renamed Linzer Lokalbahn AG.Karl Zwirchmayr: 75 Jahre Linzer Lokalbahn, 1987, p. 27.
At the beginning of the 1940s, activities in preparation for war caused a sudden surge in traffic volumes in both passenger and freight services. The shortage of multiple units even led to consideration of hiring steam locomotives. All attempts to procure new vehicles failed. In 1939 only 50-year-old former Vienna Stadtbahn cars could be taken over from the Deutsche Reichsbahn. For war-economy reasons broken windows could not be repaired and were merely boarded over with plywood. Eventually electric locomotives were also acquired, followed three years later by two multiple units and two further coaches. These vehicles, however, had different couplers from the original fleet and initially could only run singly. In 1940 Stern & Hafferl purchased another four-axle locomotive, Wöllsdorf IV, which became EL 51.02. From 21 April 1943 the Stern & Hafferl numbering scheme still in use today was introduced on the Linzer Lokalbahn.