Geschichte und Betrieb:towing-railroads

Since ancient times shipping on rivers and canals was done by means of the natural current or with the power of wind. Because the wind was not always sufficient most ships were also equipped to be pulled by animals or men. When towing a ship, as this is called, the animals, mostly horses, ran on small paths along the water-edge.
With the invention of the steam-engine and in the following industrialization, self-powered ships where constructed. Over the time various power-systems developed, and the ships became larger and more powerful. On the other hand also the towing-business developed and various mechanical devices were constructed.
One of these newly developed devices made use of rail-roads with a narrow gauge, mostly with 600mm (23-5/8") gauge. These towing-railroads were especially popular in France, but also came to use in Germany and other places around the world.
Towing-railroads in most cases were used to prevent damaged from the bank reinforcements, caused by the waves from the ship's propeller. In addition they had the advantage to keep the width of the canals and locks to a minimum, and helped to cut costs.

In 1873 a french engineer developed a towing-vehicle, being half locomotive and half steam-tractor. But it took until the turn of the century, when the towing-railroads had their breakthrough with the introduction of electric power.

The use of heavy locomotives with a low center of gravity on one hand, and a slight rise of the water facing rail on the other, faciliated running by adhesion, especially when employing electric locomotives. Early tests proved making use of rack and pinion unnecessary. Only at the Panama-Canal still today electrical rack-locomotives are used to tow the large ocean-going ships on heavily inclined tracks through the locks.
The change from horse-power to towing-railroads caused some social problems. In France even attacks and acts of sabotage against the railroads were nothing unusual. In France a total length of over 1000 km (620 mi.) of towing-railroads, employing more than 1000 towing locomotives, mostly on meter-gauge (39-3/8" ga.), were determined after WW-II (1946).
Even after the developement of powerful ship-dieselmotors the use of towing-railroads was justified. Beneath damage-prevention there also was the economic advantage of towing a ship upstream in less time and less effort.
At least in WW-I towing-railroads even hat strategic virtue in transporting military goods.
This caused the Imperial German Army to errect a 2.3 km (1.43 mi.) long test-line near Strasbourg in 1918. On this line they made use of 4- and 6-wheel internal-combustion locomotives, which already had been used successful on various military light railway lines. These tests proved the use of locomotives with internal combustion engines inadequate for towing-railroads, because of heavy wear on the clutches when starting from a stand.

The last french towing-railroad, where I took the photos on this page in 1989, ran along the Marne-Rhine-Canal between Arzviller and Niederviller. The line was constructed with 600 mm (23-5/8") gauge, and was operated as towing-railroad until 1977 over a distance of 4.65 km (2.89 mi.). The layout of the canal, running through narrow cuts and even two tunnels is responsible for the long survival of this line. In the late 1980's the line was still operated with a diesel locomotive as a supply-railroad for maintenance work in the tunnels and the bank reinforcements.

In Germany the first attempt towards a towing-railroad is recorded in 1890, when a steam-powered line was opened along the Oder-Spree-Canal. On this railroad the steam-locomotives were pulling a towing-car, to which the cables from the ships were fastened. The extremely high steam- and power-consumption spell death on this experiment.
It lasted until 1906, when the first successful towing-railroad, an electrical powered system developed by Siemens & Halske along the Teltow-Canal, was constructed in Germany. The unusual feature of this line was, that the tracks ran along both banks of the canal, and by means of connecting bridges at the respective ends allowed for a continous loop operating pattern. In addition this construction faciliated the crossing of two ships without changing the towing locomotives. This operation lasted to the last days of WW-II when it was damaged so badly, that a reconstruction was not considered economical.

Today three towing locomotives are preserved in Germany, two at the Deutsches Technikmuseum (German Technological Museum) in Berlin, and athe third at the bridge of the Koenigsberger Strasse over the Teltow-Canal in Berlin-Lichterfelde.