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}} }} The Ruhr–Sieg railway is a 106 km long double-track, electrified main line from Hagen to Siegen via Iserlohn-Letmathe, Finnentrop and Kreuztal in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The line, which has many tunnels, runs primarily through the valley of the Lenne. South of Altenhundem it crosses the watershed between the Lenne and the Sieg. The line was opened between 1859 and 1861 and is one of the oldest railways in Germany. ==History== In 1835 a committee was established in Siegen to promote the construction of a horse-drawn railway from Siegen to the Ruhr. The goal was better and faster transport of coal from the Ruhr for smelting in the Siegen area. Iron production in the Siegen country was very important for Prussia. It produced over 23 percent of the country’s total pig iron production and 85 percent of its crude steel production. During the lengthy approval process, the committee, which was based in Hagen from 1851, changed the proposal to a steam railway, rather than a horse-drawn railway. There was a dispute for a long time about exactly where the line should run. A line from Hagen via the Volme valley was favoured initially. Later a line running along the Lenne and the Hundem valley was preferred. An interest group from Olpe wanted the main line to run through the Bigge valley. The committees in both Siegen and Hagen selected a more easterly route through the Hundem valley because it would be shorter and therefore cheaper. Construction was finally approved in 1856 with a state guarantee of interest payments. Because the line promised economic growth above all for the iron works along it, they took part in financing the line, for instance the Meggen works and the Würdinghausen iron works invested 1,000 thalers each, the Carolinen iron works invested 5,000 thalers and the town of Kirchhundem invested 2,100 thalers. The hoped-for traffic was not achieved at first because charcoal could be brought especially from the Sauerland to the Siegen area. The highest point of the railway line between Hagen and Haiger is Welschen Ennest at almost 411 m above sea level. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Ruhr–Sieg railway」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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