Prince William Railway Company
An early German railway company that pioneered coal and passenger transport in the Deilbach valley before becoming part of the Bergisch-Märkische Railway network.
Last updated October 14, 2026
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Overview
The Prince William Railway Company was an early German railway enterprise associated with the beginnings of organized railway transport in the Ruhr and Bergisch regions. It was established in 1828 under the name Deil Valley Railway Company, or Deilthaler Eisenbahn Aktiengesellschaft, and is generally regarded as the first German railway joint-stock company. The enterprise emerged during a period when coal producers, industrialists and local authorities were seeking more efficient ways to move mineral products from the Ruhr district toward the industrial settlements of the Bergisches Land. The company grew out of plans promoted by railway pioneer Friedrich Harkort. After studying British railway developments, Harkort advocated improved transport links for coal and industrial goods. His broader proposals were technically and financially ambitious for the time, and they encountered resistance from existing carriers, uncertainty among investors and limited understanding of railway technology among political decision-makers. A smaller project was therefore selected as a practical starting point. Harkort joined with his brother Ludwig Mohl, Peter Nikolaus Caspar Egen, Dr. Voss and the merchants Reichmann and Meyberg to create the Deil Valley Railway Company. Between 1830 and 1831, the company constructed a narrow-gauge line through the Deilbach valley. The route extended for approximately one Prussian mile, or about 7.5 kilometres, between the area near Kupferdreh Old Station at Hinsbeck and Nierenhof near Langenberg. The railway used an 820-millimetre gauge and a plateway-style track, with iron running surfaces attached to timber supports. It was designed primarily for the movement of coal and operated with horse-drawn wagons. Because of the route's gradients, horses were changed at designated sections, and several animals were required for loaded wagons traveling uphill. The railway was formally opened on 20 September 1831 by Prince William of Prussia, the younger brother of King Frederick William III. The opening ceremony gave the company its better-known name, Prince William Railway. The prince and his family traveled in coal wagons that had been prepared for the occasion. Although freight was the original business, the railway began carrying passengers from 1833, including recreational travelers and people returning from Nierenhof when wagons would otherwise have been empty. This made it an early example of mixed freight and passenger railway operation in Germany. The company later pursued a substantially larger and more modern railway. After satisfactory early operations, shareholders supported an extension toward Steele in the north and Vohwinkel in the south. Permission for the project was obtained in 1844, although raising capital proved difficult and mining companies did not accept the proposed freight-rate incentives. The line was rebuilt to the European standard gauge of 1,435 millimetres, extended to a total route length of about 32 kilometres and converted to steam operation. It opened on 1 December 1847 as the Steele-Vohwinkel Railway. The expanded route connected communities including Überruhr, Kupferdreh, Langenberg, Neviges and Vohwinkel. Its difficult gradient between Neviges and Vohwinkel required a temporary zigzag arrangement, reflecting the engineering limitations of the period. A revised alignment removed that arrangement in 1862. The company's independent existence gradually ended as larger railway systems consolidated regional lines. The Bergisch-Märkische Railway Company assumed operation in 1854 and legally acquired the Prince William Railway Company from 1 January 1863. The route was subsequently connected to the wider Bergisch-Märkische network, which itself entered the Prussian state railway system in 1882. Although the original company disappeared, parts of its corridor became incorporated into modern railway infrastructure and are associated with the Wuppertal-Vohwinkel–Essen-Überruhr line and Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn services.
History
The Prince William Railway Company's origins lay in early nineteenth-century efforts to improve the movement of coal between the Ruhr mining area and industrial centers in the Bergisches Land. Friedrich Harkort became interested in British railway experiments and promoted railway construction as an alternative to traditional road haulage. In 1825 he published an article on railways and subsequently investigated possible routes linking Elberfeld, Langenberg and the Ruhr-side settlements. Surveys were carried out in 1826 and 1827, while Harkort also experimented with a small monorail-like test track based on a design associated with the English engineer Henry Robinson Palmer. The larger proposals were difficult to realize. They required substantial investment, official approval and public confidence in technology that was still unfamiliar in the German states. Carters and horse drivers whose livelihoods depended on coal transport opposed the plans, and neighboring towns pursued competing routes. Harkort and the schoolteacher and railway advocate Peter Nikolaus Caspar Egen also differed over the preferred technical form of the railway. To establish a workable demonstration project, Harkort and his associates created the Deil Valley Railway Company in 1828. Construction took place in 1830 and 1831 along the Deilbach valley. The line ran from Hinsbeck, near present-day Kupferdreh in Essen, to Nierenhof near Langenberg, now within Velbert. It was about 7.5 kilometres long and used an 820-millimetre narrow gauge. The track consisted of timber supports and long wooden members covered with iron running plates. This arrangement was lighter and less expensive than later all-iron railway structures, but it was suitable for the company's initial horse-drawn coal traffic. The line was arranged for relay working. Its route included sections where horses could be exchanged, allowing animals that had hauled loaded wagons uphill to be attached to empty wagons for the return journey. The number of horses varied with the terrain: relatively few were needed on the flatter section near the Ruhr, while several were required for the ascent toward Nierenhof. This operating pattern illustrates that the railway was designed as a practical industrial carrier rather than as a passenger railway in the modern sense. The formal opening occurred on 20 September 1831. Prince William of Prussia attended with his family and traveled in specially prepared coal wagons. Following the event, the railway received permission to use his name. Coal remained the principal traffic until 1844, but passenger transport began in 1833. Some passenger journeys were linked to the availability of wagons on the return route, and coaches were later provided for recreational travel. The company's success encouraged expansion. In 1840 it sought authorization to extend the route, and in 1844 the Prussian Treasury approved extensions toward Steele and Vohwinkel. Financing was not straightforward: the company had to issue additional shares and attempted to attract mining interests with favorable freight terms, but the mining companies declined those arrangements. Sufficient funds were eventually obtained, and construction began in July 1844. The expanded railway represented a major transformation. The original narrow-gauge horse railway was rebuilt to standard gauge, extended in both directions and converted to steam operation. On 1 December 1847 the approximately 32-kilometre route opened as the Steele-Vohwinkel Railway, running from Überruhr through Kupferdreh, Langenberg and Neviges to Vohwinkel. The difficult climb near Vohwinkel initially required trains to use a zigzag arrangement in the Siebeneick valley. A new alignment removed this operating constraint in 1862. Regional railway consolidation then ended the company's independent role. The Bergisch-Märkische Railway Company took over operation on 13 March 1854. Under an agreement concluded in 1862, it legally acquired the Prince William Railway Company effective 1 January 1863. The line was integrated into the Bergisch-Märkische network and connected across the Ruhr to Steele. After the Bergisch-Märkische system was taken over by the Prussian state railways in 1882, the original Kupferdreh station ceased to receive trains. The historic route nevertheless remained important as part of the development of railway links now associated with the Wuppertal-Vohwinkel–Essen-Überruhr corridor and Rhine-Ruhr regional services.
- 1882
Route enters the Prussian state railway system
[1]The Bergisch-Märkische Railway was taken over by the Prussian state railways, completing the line's transition into a larger state-managed network.
- 1863
Legal acquisition by Bergisch-Märkische Railway
[1]Under an agreement made in 1862, the Bergisch-Märkische Railway Company legally acquired the Prince William Railway Company effective 1 January.
- 1854
Bergisch-Märkische Railway assumes operation
[1]The Bergisch-Märkische Railway Company took over operation of the route on 13 March.
- 1847
Steele-Vohwinkel Railway opens
[1]The rebuilt and extended line opened on 1 December as a standard-gauge steam railway of approximately 32 kilometres.
- 1844
Expansion authorization granted
[1]The company received approval to extend its railway toward Steele and Vohwinkel and began organizing the capital required for reconstruction and expansion.
- 1833
Passenger service introduced
[1]Passenger transport was added to the original horse-drawn coal operation.
- 1831
Official opening and renaming
[1]Prince William of Prussia opened the railway on 20 September. The company subsequently adopted the Prince William Railway name.
- 1830
Construction of the Deil Valley line begins
[1]The company began building a narrow-gauge plateway through the Deilbach valley between Hinsbeck near Kupferdreh and Nierenhof near Langenberg.
- 1828
Deil Valley Railway Company founded
[1]Friedrich Harkort and associated industrial, professional and merchant investors established the Deil Valley Railway Company, an early German railway joint-stock company.
Products and positioning
An early regional railway enterprise focused first on improving coal transport and later on providing mixed freight and passenger services through the Deilbach valley and adjoining Ruhr and Bergisch districts.
Narrow-gauge horse railway · 1831
Deil Valley Railway
The company's original railway ran approximately 7.5 kilometres through the Deilbach valley between Hinsbeck near Kupferdreh and Nierenhof near Langenberg. Built to an 820-millimetre gauge, it used a timber-supported iron plateway and was operated primarily with horse-drawn wagons. Coal was the main freight, while passenger services were added from 1833.
Standard-gauge steam railway · 1847
Steele-Vohwinkel Railway
The expanded successor route opened in 1847 after the original railway was rebuilt to standard gauge and extended toward Steele and Vohwinkel. At roughly 32 kilometres, it carried both freight and passengers using steam traction and linked several Ruhr and Bergisch settlements.
Brand decisions
1863
Legal acquisition by Bergisch-Märkische RailwayM&ABackground
After taking over route operations, the Bergisch-Märkische Railway Company formalized control of the railway enterprise.
Action taken
The Prince William Railway Company was legally acquired effective 1 January 1863.
Aftermath
The independent company ceased to operate as a separate railway business, while its route continued within a larger regional network.
1854
Operational transfer to Bergisch-Märkische RailwayM&ABackground
Regional railway consolidation created pressure for smaller railway companies and routes to be integrated into larger networks.
Action taken
The Bergisch-Märkische Railway Company took over operation of the Prince William route.
Aftermath
The transfer preceded the legal acquisition of the company in 1863 and its incorporation into the wider Bergisch-Märkische system.
1844
Rebuild and extend the railwayStrategyBackground
The original horse-operated narrow-gauge line had demonstrated the usefulness of a railway connection, and shareholders sought a larger route serving additional industrial communities.
Action taken
The company secured authorization to extend the line north to Steele and south to Vohwinkel, raised additional capital, rebuilt the route to standard gauge and adopted steam operation.
Aftermath
The expanded Steele-Vohwinkel Railway opened in 1847 and became the company's principal successor operation.
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