Once, the whisper of electric engines echoed through these parts. This is the story of the Elektrische Kleinbahn Alt-Rahlstedt–Volksdorf–Wohldorf. It was a small electric railway. It once connected Hamburg’s exclaves to the main rail line. Imagine a time when this railway was the lifeblood of these communities.
The Hamburg Senate sought to develop its distant exclaves for residential purposes. They wanted to retain taxpayers within Hamburg’s boundaries. In February 1897, they commissioned a plan for a streetcar line. It would run from downtown via Barmbek and Bramfeld to Sasel. From there, three branches would extend to Poppenbüttel, Bergstedt–Wohldorf, and Volksdorf. However, this plan never came to fruition.
Instead, the idea arose to build a branch line. It would connect the closer Rahlstedt station to Volksdorf. The Hamburg Senate granted the concession to Gebrüder Körting from Hanover in 1899. The company already supplied electricity to Rahlstedt. The final concession agreement was signed in 1906.
The Elektrische Kleinbahn Alt-Rahlstedt–Volksdorf AG was officially named in 1912. The Hamburg state held 770000 marks in common stock. Kommerzienrat Körting held 770000 marks in preferred shares.
The section between Rahlstedt and Volksdorf opened in 1904. Initially, there were 13 daily trips. The journey took 18 minutes on the six-kilometer section. In 1907, an extension to Wohldorf was inaugurated. The total length then reached 12.963 kilometers. A single trip cost 20 pfennigs. The Wohldorf forest became a popular destination for Hamburg residents.
In 1921, a branch was completed near Oberförsterei. This 3182-meter line was solely for freight transport. It served the loading ramp in Oldenfelde. Plans for the Walddörferbahn to Farmsen and Berne existed since 1912. After the cessation of freight traffic in 1934, this route became a test track for the subway.
The EKV owned two streetcar-like railcars. They were ordered from Waggonfabrik Busch in Hamburg-Eimsbüttel. By 1914, the EKV boasted six railcars and ten trailer cars for passenger transport. For freight, there were four small two-axle electric locomotives.
The Walddörferbahn presented competition. The Kleinbahn’s passenger numbers declined after its opening. Passenger service on the Alt-Rahlstedt–Volksdorf route ceased in 1923. In 1924, the HHA took over operations between Volksdorf and Wohldorf. With the opening of the Walddörferbahn’s western branch in 1925, the Kleinbahn operated only between Ohlstedt and Wohldorf.
Freight traffic expanded. A new line ran parallel to the subway tracks from Volksdorf almost to Farmsen. This freight service ended in 1934. Today, the section between Farmsen and Berne is used for testing subway trains. After 1934, all Kleinbahn tracks south of Ohlstedt were dismantled.
Until 1961, the Kleinbahn ran only on the two-kilometer stretch from Ohlstedt to Wohldorf. The Hochbahn designated it as a streetcar line. In 1959, the Kleinbahn switched to one-man operation. Due to changing regulations and profitability concerns, operations ceased in 1961.
The line became a hiking trail in 1964. The Kleinbahn Museum Wohldorf opened in 1999 in the former station building. The building closed due to structural damage in 2019. After extensive renovation, it reopened at Easter 2023. Gedenksteine mark the location of some former stops along the hiking trail.