The Leipzig-Dresden railway line through time
The first German long distance railway line
A network of 6000 kilometres of rail track was operational in Germany by 1850 and it continued to expand at a rapid rate. Industrial production doubled during the fifties and the production of iron and coal tripled; at the heart of this growth was the railway. The railway in Saxony was now repaying its shareholders handsomely as they saw their investments increase year by year. Trade on the Leipzig - Dresden railway grew dramatically and although both the political and economic balance was swinging Prussia's way, Saxony prospered. Leipzig and Dresden were growing rapidly.
Population was steadily growing as the workers on the land began to 'drift' to the cities. Leipzig's population grew from 30,000 in 1800 to 63,000 in 1850, while Dresden expanded from 60,000 to 97,000 in the same period. The Leipzig - Dresden railway played a key role in this growth, as industry and commerce grew and factories established themselves at sites along the railway. German population grew at a smaller rate for the same period, illustrating the power of the railway in the regions where it was built, and naturally the Leipzig - Dresden line in its second decade of life was the key stone to Saxony's growing prosperity.
The political supremacy of Prussia was further enhanced when the German Custom Union was renewed in 1853 without Austria having any part in it. Saxony knew that if it was to continue its economic development its links had to be maintained with its northerly neighbour rather than its southerly one. Tariffs for goods transported into Austria were much higher than those going north to Prussia. The railway from Leipzig to Dresden was moving large quantities of goods north and the shareholders of the company were reaping high rewards for their early faith in its building in the 1830s'.