The Leipzig-Dresden railway line through time

The renowned engineer, Walker, embarked on his journey to Saxony and arrived in Leipzig on 13 October 1835 with his assistant, John Hawkshaw. They spent nearly two weeks looking over the countryside between Leipzig and Dresden. Their chosen route was one that went north-east from Leipzig to the Elbe at Riesa before heading south east to Dresden. This route involved gentle gradients and little major earth moving. This was contrary to the original plans that involved a more hilly route through the town of Meissen on the Elbe, with its important state pottery works. Walker believed that the flatter routes were always more cost effective for railway companies. His advice was:

"..if it is built via Meissen as suggested by Oberingenieur Lohrmann, nothing like this has ever been achieved in railway terms not only in the difficult terrain but many houses would have to be demolished and the track would be close to other houses and gardens. This also would increase the cost."

Walker had designed and surveyed similar routes for railways in Britain, notably the Leeds to Selby line in Yorkshire, which adopted his principles of flat, low operating cost routes. One short tunnel would be required at Oberau, a cutting at Machern and all the hills of List's planned route through Meissen were avoided. Walker returned to Britain on 22 October 1835, leaving John Hawkshaw to survey the route in detail and draw up the plans for the railway construction.

The engineer wrote in his diary on his return:

" Mr Hawkshaw, then in our works employ, surveyed the Country for me and between us, the line was recommended and adopted. I believe it is a profitable and useful line. I went over the country only once - I had always work enough in Britain and Ireland and did not court foreign work so that this is the only foreign working I have been employed on."

Hawkshaw, who had only just returned from working for three years in Venezuela in charge of the Bolivar Mining Association's copper mines on the River Aroca, 200 miles south west of Caracas. There he had acted as doctor, priest and engineer to a group of Cornish miners employed on mining copper and exporting the ore downriver in flat bottomed boats to the coast. On returning to Britain in 1834 he worked for Jesse Hartley, constructing Albert Docks in Liverpool. At the end of the year he was taken on at the age of 23 by James Walker to work in his offices. Following his work on the Leipzig to Dresden Railway he became chief engineer to many railway companies in Britain and built tunnels (including the Severn Rail Tunnel), viaducts, harbours and town drainage systems (Brighton's main sewer system). He was also involved in preparatory work for a proposed Channel Tunnel in1872-1886, but decided against the idea on political grounds.

He travelled extensively, reporting on the Moscow to Koursk railway, Madras Railway in India, and was invited by Said Pasha, the vice-royal of Egypt, to report on the commercial prospects for the Suez Canal. His report based on 27 days in Egypt in 1863, complimented the work and reported:

"...that there were no works on the canal presenting any unusual difficulties and that no obstacles would be met with that would prevent the work when completed being maintained."

At the opening of the Canal in 1869, M. de Lesseps the French promoter, commented:

" It is to him (Sir John Hawkshaw) that I mainly owe the accomplishment of this great enterprise."

He was knighted in 1873, had estates in Lyme Regis and Hollycombe in Sussex and died 2 June 1891.

Following the guidance of his employer, the young Hawkshaw set about the detailed route planning for the Leipzig - Riesa - Dresden route. Hawkshaw's plans for the route were accepted by the Company that appreciated the considerable financial saving that the Walker/Hawkshaw route involved. The detailed route plans were drawn up back at the offices of James Walker in London and the completed plan sent to Leipzig to enable construction to start.

Work soon started on the building of the line at a cost of 1 million Thaler, and within a short time the first 9.2 kilometres were opened on 24 April 1837 from Leipzig to Althen. Some land had to be bought by compulsory purchase as landowners were reluctant to allow the railway through their land. At Riesa, the principal land owner refused to permit the line into the village centre and the station was originally built in Gröba and was only reached by a narrow path through deep gorges. The construction of the line was a major engineering feat and thousands of people worked on the construction. They came mainly from nearby villages, and were expected to work for twelve hours a day. The cuttings were all excavated with pick, shovel and wheelbarrow and earth removed by cart until the arrival of the first British locomotives.

Because no locomotives were being constructed in Germany at the time, the directors went to Britain to purchase the locomotives. Through a intermediary, W.F.Reuss, based in Liverpool, they approached Peter Rothwell & Co in Bolton and ordered three four wheeled locomotives to be named "Komet", "Blitz" and "Windsbraut". Rothwell had already made locomotives for use on British lines and had successfully exported to America as early as 1832.

The first locomotive, Komet, cost 1383 English pounds and was shipped to Germany in 15 boxes, by cart and boat. The locomotive was loaded on a ship at Liverpool Docks. It was then shipped down the Irish Sea up the English Channel and into the North Sea. It was unloaded at the Hanseatic port of Hamburg, taken by barge down the Elbe before being loaded onto a series of wagons for the final overland stage to Leipzig. It was accompanied by a locomotive driver, John Robson and arrived in the town at the end of November 1836. Robson was paid £3 a week to help assemble and drive the locomotive. The locomotive was built and then put on blocks so it could be run without rails for the benefit of the railway officials' support fund!

Locomotive driver Robson, had been working on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway since 1830 and had been the driver of the engine, Comet, on the opening day of that railway on 15 September 1830. Along with many other drivers working in Lancashire he had been recruited from colliery rail lines of North-East England by Stephenson to work on the Liverpool and Manchester locomotives. In March 1832, he had been suspended following an accident, where his locomotive, Vesta, crashed into wagons in the Manchester Station. Following an enquiry he had been reinstated, but in June 1834 he had appeared again in front of the Committee over a dispute with another locomotive driver over Sunday working. The Committee Report recounted the following:

Board Room Liverpool 12 June 1834
" Mr Melling attended and Robson and Scott, enginemen, respecting a quarrel between the two latter at Newton Race Course. It appeared that Scott had used improper language towards Robson - and on the other hand Scott complained that Robson would not exchange Engines when they met at Newton on Sundays as authorised, by the Directors in order that each Engineman spend his Sunday in the place where he resided -Scott was admonished by the Committee; and Robson was informed that Enginemen must change engines when they met halfway on Sundays, unless it was by MUTUAL CONSENT that each engineman remained with his own Engine."

In September 1835, all the locomotive drivers had been part of a dispute over their pay and many left the Liverpool and Manchester Railway Company. It was at this time Robson made his mind up to seek alternative employment. John Robson was the first locomotive driver to drive the Komet locomotive the short distance from Leipzig to Althen on the opening day, Coincidentally the locomotive had the same name as the one he drove on the first day of the Liverpool to Manchester Railway in 1829. In 1835 the same had happened with the Nürnburg - Fürth Railway when a British locomotive driver, Wilson, had accompanied the locomotive 'Adler' from Stephenson's factory, driven it on the first run on December 7 1835 and worked for the company in Bavaria for many years.

Robson was not the only British worker on the Leipzig-Dresden railway line. Thomas Wordsell, the coach builder of the tender for Rocket at the Rainhill Trials and in charge of the Carriage Building Department of the Liverpool - Manchester Company, had informed the Board of Directors in January 1837 that he had received a job offer from the Leipzig - Dresden Railway Company. The Committee of the Liverpool - Manchester railway recorded the following on 16 January 1837:

" The Treasurer informed the Board that Thomas Wordsell, the Company Superintendent of the Coach Building and Repairing Shops, had given notice of his intentions to leave his present employ, as he had had some proposals which he considered advantageous and was desirous to accept. Mr Wordsell expressed himself grateful to the Directors for the encouragement and kindness he had received at their hands. "

Travelling to Leipzig in February, he set up a provisional coachbuilding factory in Spring 1837. In Spring 1838 there were 50 workers in the factory working at nine ovens for the smithies. Two British men were among the fifty journeymen employed to build the carriages for the Leipzig - Dresden Company. On 15 June 1839, Wordsell went back to Britain. Herr Schmidt, a Saxonian, was put in charge at the works, with a British man, called Wood as his technical assistant. The coach building works became an important industry in the town as demand for wagons and coaches for use on the railway line continued to grow.

At least one other locomotive driver, John Greener, joined the other two British men in Saxony during 1837 from the Liverpool -Manchester Company. Greener was a well-known family name in the North -East, where two brothers, John and Thomas Greener, were heavily involved in the Stockton to Darlington Railway. Other skilled British workers arrived over the first few years and this caused some understandable friction with the Saxon workers. The local newspaper reported several times on these disputes over the employment of foreigners on the railway. The Saxon Trade Guild was particularly incensed by this importation of skilled labour from abroad and felt that their members were having work taken away from them.