The Leipzig-Dresden railway line through time

Saxony, along with most other European countries, had been severely affected by the Napoleonic Wars that had raged across most of Europe for the best part of a decade and a half. The Peace of Versailles in 1815 had taken two thirds of Saxon territory and transferred it to Prussia. Saxony's support for Napoleon had led to it becoming a mere fraction of its eighteenth century size, and consequently eager to rebuild itself within its new boundaries. With the coming of peace in 1815, the business people of the state were anxious to reconstruct their trade. They were well aware of the industrial developments that were taking place in Britain and the local newspapers kept them in touch with the growing transport revolution.

In Britain the industrial revolution had been transforming the manufacturing process throughout the land and towns were growing rapidly. Accompanying the growth of industry in Britain was a transport revolution. Effective communications were essential for industrial expansion and the previously poor transport facilities of Britain had been transformed. Initially the roads had undergone tremendous improvements, river navigation extended, canals constructed and coastal shipping developed. These transport developments had helped the first stages of the Industrial Revolution. The industrial development had then spawned the railway locomotive. The birth pangs of the new transport had been difficult but by 1825 the first public railway in the world with locomotives was running in the north-east of England. This railway in a coal mining district ran from Stockton to Darlington and was a slow but effective means of moving coal. Other British entrepreneurs appreciated fully the significance of this new form of transport and how it could transform their freight costs, making their factories more profitable. Most industrialists with capital therefore were very willing to invest in the new railway companies.

Saxony's main industry was textile manufacturing. Linen and woollen cloth were exported on a grand scale around the world. The foreign currency paid for goods like coffee, tobacco, cotton and sugar that were imported through the Hanseatic ports to Saxony. After the Napoleonic War, the textile manufacturers of Saxony found themselves fighting against much cheaper products from their competitors. The manufacturers therefore needed to meet the challenge by revolutionising the industry and they looked to Britain for ideas. Steam powered machinery had been first used in textile mills in Saxony in the 1790s'. The manufacturers had seen the quality of Lancashire and other British cotton on display at the 1796 Leipzig Fair and had been extremely worried.

"The Easter fair at Leipzig is justly celebrated for the immense quantities of British manufactures sold there. Towards the latter end of March, numberless bales of printed and other coloured cottons, of the finest cambrics, and of the most beautiful muslins, are sent from Glasgow, Paisley, Rutherglen and other manufacturing places to Hamburg."

Cheaper and more efficient transport means were desperately needed if the industries of Saxony were to compete with Britain. Saxony's poor communications were severely hampering any expansion of trade.