Wolfratshausen station

On 24 October 1886 the Bavarian government issued a concession for the building of a metre-gauge railway from Munich via Wolfratshausen to Rottmannshöhe on Lake Starnberg. Its proponent, Siegfried Klopfer had proposed to build the line to standard gauge in 1885. It was proposed that the Wolfratshausen station would be built on the heights at Dorfen to the northwest of the town, which was said to be about three quarters of an hour away from Wolfratshausen marketplace. Wolfratshausen protested this situation, because it feared that its population would continue to decline as other communities with a direct rail link would have an advantage over Wolfratshausen. The company responsible for the construction of the line, Aktiengesellschaft Isarbahn, said that building the station in the valley of the Loisach in central Wolfratshausen would cost up to 80,000 gold marks more than building at the proposed site. Wolfratshausen offered 60,000 marks for the construction of the station in the valley and founded on 26 September 1888 the Bahnverein München–Wolfratshausen (Munich–Wolfratshausen Railway Company) to promote the relocation of the station. On 27 September 1888, Wolfratshausen came to an agreement with the railway company, which promised to build a road between the station and the marketplace. On 6 November 1889, responsibility for the construction and operation of the line was taken over by Lokalbahn AG (LAG). At the same time it was decided to abandon the terminus at Rottmannshöhe and to instead build the line from Wolfratshausen via Eurasburg to Bichl. This created an opportunity for Wolfratshausen to request the location of the station in the Loisach valley again. After the mayor of Wolfratshausen confirmed, on 23 November 1889, that the land required for the rail project would be transferred free, it was decided to build Wolfratshausen station in the valley. Construction work began on 27 May 1890, but the construction of the Ebenhausen–Wolfratshausen section was delayed by landslides at Schlederleite to the north of Wolfratshausen. On 27 July 1891, the Isar Valley Railway was finally opened to Wolfratshausen.[7]

The goods shed opposite the station building in 2012

On 27 July 1891, Wolfratshausen station was opened as the terminus of the Isar Valley Railway. The reception building was built to the west of the tracks. Opposite the station building, on the other side of the station forecourt, there was a station restaurant. As the terminus of the line, a depot with three track was built to the north of the station. To the west of the depot there was a roundhouse with one stall.[8] This had a Pulsometer steam pump for lifting water. Shortly before the roundhouse there was a coal shed, where coal was stored for the steam locomotives. The station had three platform tracks and another, which was intended for the carriage of freight. The freight facilities were at the southern end of the fourth track. There was a freight shed, with ramps at the side and at the front for loading freight, and a weighbridge with a capacity of 20 tonnes.[9][10]

Construction began on 25 August 1896 on the extension of the Isar Valley Railway to Bichl. The line to Eurasburg was opened on 1 June 1897 and it extended to Bichl to connect with the State Railway from Tutzing to Kochel on 23 May 1898. Wolfratshausen station continued to be significant for railway operations, since carriages were detached from trains coming from Munich and added to trains returning to Munich.[11] The extension of the line to Eurasburg also led to the development of the tracks within the station area. So an additional siding was built to the west of the freight shed. No later than 1909, a turntable with a diameter of 6.5 metres was built on the first track from the carriage house. In addition, the capacity of the carriage weighbridge in front of the freight shed was raised from 20 to 30 tons. Also later than 1909 a watering point was established, which was connected at both ends to allow the operation of through passenger trains; this was supplied from the local water supply. East of the wagon shed, a rail connection was built to the icehouse of the Eberl-Faber brewery. From 1909, track 3 was no longer used for passenger trains, but on the Munich side of the station building an additional bay track was built.[12]

Wolfratshausen station had no importance in the First World War and so it was not damaged. Only the ever-increasing losses of the LAG after 1915 affected operations on the Isar Valley Railway. Thus from 1915 fewer trains were run on the railway and only third class accommodation was offered between Wolfratshausen and Munich. Eleven pairs of trains did not run each day between Munich and Wolfratshausen again until the end of 1933; this was made possible by financial support from the municipalities and the reduction the parallel bus services. On 1 August 1938, the nationalisation of the LAG was agreed and it was then acquired by Deutsche Reichsbahn.[13]

In the Second World War from 1940 to 1941 a siding was built that branched off the Isar Valley Railway at Wolfratshausen station to a munitions factory in Geretsried. Deutsche Reichsbahn planned to build its own freight yard south of Wolfratshausen for munition shipments, but this was never put into effect.[14] As the destruction of Munich increased, Deutsche Reichsbahn established a connection from the siding to the south, producing a triangular junction in Wolfratshausen, allowing freight trains to run via Bichl and Tutzing.[11][15] Wolfratshausen station was still responsible for the assembly of the trains, and for shunting, which was needed in Geretsried and Wolfratshausen. As part of the Isar Valley Railway was destroyed between 1943 and 1944 by air raids, regular passenger services could not be resumed until 1946. The depot was probably destroyed in World War II. Also, the roundhouse was demolished after the last class 64 steam locomotive used the Isar Valley Railway.

On 31 May 1959, Deutsche Bundesbahn closed the Beuerberg to Bichl section due to low patronage and the poor condition of the track. In May 1960, the Isar Valley Railway was electrified to Wolfratshausen. On 29 June 1960, electrical operations commenced from Munich to Wolfratshausen and the first electric "glass trains" arrived in Wolfratshausen station. A substation was established for the supply of the overhead power in Wolfratshausen on a power line from Kochel to Holzkirchen for supplying power to the railways at 16⅔ Hz. Henceforth, operations between Wolfratshausen and Beuerberg were carried with Uerdingen railbuses, with passengers changing trains at Wolfratshausen station.[11] Finally, on 27 May 1972, the section from Wolfratshausen to Beuerberg was closed and Wolfratshausen station became the terminus of the Isar Valley Railway again.[16]

On 28 May 1972, the opening of the Munich S-Bahn transformed the station fundamentally. Among other things, a new 76 centimetre high central platform was built, which now has a barrier-free even-height level crossing over track 1. The entrance building was also renovated. The northern pavilion and the waiting area were demolished and replaced by a flat building, which adjoins the north of the southern pavilion, which still exists. No later than 1972, general freight traffic was stopped so that the crossovers to the freight shed were demolished. The rail connection to the brewery was also shut down and is no longer available.[17]

S-Bahn line S10 service from Wolfratshausen to Holzkirchen wing station (Holzkirchner Flügelbahnhof) of Munich Central Station (Hauptbahnhof) could not yet continue through the S-Bahn trunk line tunnel because the so-called southern lines tunnel (Südstreckentunnel), which passes under the long-distance tracks towards Pasing and the S-Bahn trunk line, was not yet available. With the opening of the southern lines tunnel on the S-Bahn route on 31 May 1981, the S-Bahn line from Wolfratshausen continued on the S-Bahn trunk line; as a result it was renamed as line S 7.[18]

Station building and bus station

The station building was built in 1891 for the opening of the Isar Valley Railway. It originally consisted of pavilions of different sizes in the north and south, between which there was an open concourse. Such buildings still exist on the Isar Valley Railway at Grosshesselohe Isartal station, Pullach station and Ebenhausen-Schäftlarn station. The southern, three-story main building contained the ticket office. The northern two-storey pavilion hosted railway service rooms and toilets. The open waiting area was supported by three pillars. In 1972, the station was transformed radically in preparation for S-Bahn operations. The northern pavilion and the waiting area were demolished and replaced by a flat building, which adjoins the northern end of the southern pavilion, which still exists. The new annex houses a waiting room and a McDonald's restaurant, while the old building contains DB's travel centre.[21]

Wolfratshausen station is now the terminus of the Munich S-Bahn line S 7 from Wolfratshausen to Kreuzstraße, which every 20 or 40 minutes alternatively. It is used daily by about 50 S-Bahn trains operated with class 423 sets.

The freight shed, which was opposite the station building, was used until about 1972. There, piece goods and other freight from the region were shipped to the ramps. Wolfratshausen station formerly had a rail connection to the icehouse of the Eberl-Faber brewery, but this has been closed and demolished. Today the station only operates wagon-load freight over a siding to Geretsried for delivery to companies in Geretsried, requiring shunting in Wolfratshausen.[22]

In the south of the station building is the Wolfratshausen bus station, which forms the central hub for buses in Wolfratshausen. This stop is served by the MVV regional bus lines (as of 2013), 301, 302, 370, 372, 373, 374, 375, 376, 377, 378, 379 and 975. Lines 301, 302 and 370 serve the residential areas within the towns of Wolfratshausen and Geretsried. Line 372 runs along the former Isar Valley Railway to Penzberg. Line 373 runs along Lake Starnberg to Seeshaupt. The 374 bus runs from Wolfratshausen via Geretsried to Beuerberg and line 375 runs to Egling. Lines 376 and 379 both run from Wolfratshausen via Geretsried to Bad Heilbrunn or Bad Tölz. Line 377 runs via Egling to Bad Tölz and line 975 runs to Starnberg.[23]