Erbach railway bridge (Dreisbach)

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Erbach railway bridge (Dreisbach)
GeoStation at the GeoRoute Tertiär - Industrie - Erlebnis Stöffel-Route
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A masterpiece of its time!

The Erbach Railway Bridge is considered a technical masterpiece of its era. In popular parlance, it was also called the "Westerwald Wonder of the World." It was inaugurated on August 31, 1911, after only six months of construction. Due to a lack of local skilled labor, workers from Italy, Poland, and Croatia were employed during the construction. The bridge spans the Nister Valley over a length of more than 300 meters and reaches a height of almost 40 meters at its center. It consists of eleven arches, supported by ten pillars and two end supports.

The choice of the route for the railway was influenced by unfavorable geological conditions. Therefore, a direct alignment along the right bank of the river Nister was not possible. The significant gradient of 1:30 also posed a challenge for rail traffic.

Technically remarkable is the use of unreinforced concrete. This construction method using rammed concrete was chosen due to the availability of sand and gravel from nearby basalt quarries at Stöffel. A total of 15,000 cubic meters of concrete were required. The transportation of construction materials was carried out via narrow-gauge railway. The concrete was partly lifted to its destination with the help of a winch operated by a horse. Another technical highlight is the slender piers, which are anchored in the swampy ground of the Nister Valley with foundations up to 11 meters deep to ensure stability. In 1957, the bridge was extensively renovated. During this process, the decaying concrete railing was replaced with a steel railing. Additionally, the bridge was given an aluminum foil seal beneath the track bed to prevent erosion damage from seepage water.

When passenger traffic on the line ceased in 1971, the bridge lost its significance. However, it has remained preserved to this day as an impressive technical monument and an important testament to the railway and industrial history of the Westerwald.