The station Harxheim-Lörzweiler
From 1896 to 1985, a railroad branch line existed from Bodenheim to Alzey. It was affectionately called the Amiche and also led past Harxheim. Even today, the station buildings erected along the line, which are now privately owned and most of which are listed monuments, bear witness to this route through the hilly countryside of Rheinhessen.
The idea of building a railroad connection that would link traffic in the Selz Valley to the larger cities of Rheinhessen emerged as early as the construction of the Mainz-Worms (1853) and Mainz-Alzey via Saulheim (1871) railroad lines. The commissioning of a so-called “branch line” from Bodenheim to Alzey at the end of the 19th century represented a quantum leap with regard to the economic development of the community of Harxheim. The line was opened on September 28, 1896, and the actual commissioning dates back to October 1, 1896.
The 30.9 km long connection between Bodenheim and Alzey was adapted to the topography of the Rhine-Hessian hill country and was accordingly characterized by numerous curves and sometimes challenging inclines. In the run-up to the project, there were numerous controversial debates and long arguments about the planned route. Since the respective station area was to be made available free of charge, the communities located along the railroad line had to dig deep into their budgets to realize the line.
A total of eight stations and two additional stops were built along the train route. Additional loading sidings were provided for tradesmen and farmers. The station on the then outskirts of Harxheim was initially called Harxheim (Rheinh.) and was not renamed Harxheim-Lörzweiler until 1910.
Course of the Amiche branch line
Image: Wikimedia Commons
Until the completion of this branch line, the agricultural products, these were mainly grain and wine, but also livestock and milk – Harxheim had over 200 cows at that time – had to be brought to market by cart over poor gravel roads quite laboriously. The transport of sugar beet could now be done more effectively and faster. In addition, the opportunity to travel to Alzey for school opened up.
Station Harxheim-Lörzweiler 1948, view from the front
Image: Willi Buchert
The stations were built in the so-called type construction. They are similar except for a few details. They are designed either in two parts with a boarded freight shed or in three parts with a separate freight shed. In the case of the two-part structures, the design can also be laterally reversed. On the first floor were the service rooms and on the second floor was the apartment of the railroad employee.
In the edition of the Landeskrone one could read the following on the opening of the route: “Bodenheim was festively decorated…, present were His Excellency Minister of State…, His Excellency Minister of Finance…, the Herr Provinzialdirektor…, the Herr Kreisrat…, the Herr Oberbürgermeister of Mainz…, who greeted those present and raised a toast to the Grand Duke. All stations Bodenheim, Gau-Bischofsheim, Harxheim-Lörzweiler, Mommenheim, Selzen-Hahnheim, Köngernheim-Undenheim, Bechtolsheim, Gau-Odernheim, GauKöngernheim, Framersheim, Schafhausen and Alzey were festively decorated. Warrior, gymnastics and singing clubs with their flags, the fire department, the schools and residents of the respective communities welcomed the participants of the procession with gunshots, singing, cheers, music and waving of cloths. The mayors of the individual towns gave speeches. The opening of the railroad was greeted everywhere with great joy and visible gratitude”.
Harxheim-Lörzweiler station on a postcard from 1917
Image: Willi Buchert
At that time, four three-axle tender locomotives (Henschel und Sohn, Kassel) pulled twelve passenger cars, two mail and baggage cars (Gebr. Gastell, Mainz-Mombach) and thirty freight cars (Talbot, Aachen) over the line. In the beginning, five passenger trains ran daily in both directions on the entire line, as well as an early morning train from Undenheim/Köngernheim to Alzey. Later, there were also through train connections from Alzey to Mainz. The personnel was provided by the government. There was only a stationmaster at the Gau-Odernheim station. Undenheim-Köngernheim got a station assistant, the stations Selzen-Hahnheim and Framersheim each got a stop supervisor; the simple stops were unmanned, all other stations got dispatching (freight receiving and dispatching) station attendants.
Schoolchildren at Harxheim-Lörzweiler train station 1938
Image: Willi Buchert
Giving a pet name to the passenger train – everyone called it the Amiche – is typical of Rhinehesse. It was supposedly named after a messenger named Annemarie, who regularly took the train to Mainz to run errands. In the process, she also took orders from other people and gained a certain degree of notoriety as a result. The “Annemarieche” then became the “Amiche” over time. The use of the neuter article corresponds to the Rhenish usage, in which the article “das” is used when addressing the female gender or when mentioning the name of a woman or girl.
After less than 100 years, the end of the branch line came and with it the end for the station Harxheim-Lörzweiler. Due to lack of profitability, the line was closed to passenger traffic in June 1985. The last transport of beets took place in November 1992. The four Rhine-Hessian communities of Mommenheim, Harxheim, Selzen and Gau-Bischofsheim joined forces in 1994 and shared the costs of land acquisition and construction of a bike path on the former railroad track. Today, this bike path is an integral part of the inter-regional bike path network in Rhineland-Palatinate.
Railroad line with sugar beet transport in 1986 before dismantling
Image: Willi Buchert
References:
Fillinger, Gerhard; Hinkel, Manfred (2006): The branch line Bodenheim – Alzey. Erfurt.
Marschall, Bernhard (2007): Geschichten und Geschichte einer Selztalgemeinde. Selzen.
