The recently launched Topothek Pressburgerbahn is the first cross-border topotheque. It is run by the Association of Friends of Urban and Regional Public Transport (Klub priateľov mestskej hromadnej a regionálnej dopravy) in Bratislava, which deals with the rescue and restoration of vehicles on the Bratislava Railway and is also actively involved in current transport projects in Bratislava.
In cooperation with partner organizations in Austria and Hungary, the association collects historical material about the Pressburger Bahn. In order to present a part of this collection, this topotheque was started, which wants to keep the route of the railway and its surroundings in memory.
The long-distance railway between Vienna and Bratislava was put into operation in 1914. It was an independent company that also set up its own railway track. Their specialty was the mixed operation of tram-like vehicles and full-line locomotives. Today the station in Vienna has disappeared without a trace. It was located in the third district next to the Wien Mitte train station at street level in Gigergasse. The station building was behind the former citizens‘ theater and the track ended even without a buffer stop.
The tracks brought the trains to Vordere Zollamtsstrasse, followed the Danube Canal and led to Klein Schwechat, from where on the wagons were pulled by an electric full-line locomotive instead of the tram-like railcar or a street locomotive. In the urban area of Bratislava, it was again switched to road-going towing vehicles. Although the railway had crossings with tram tracks, it was not compatible with the trams in the two cities and therefore had no track connections to the tram network.
It is a very promising initiative to present the history of the railway and its course – the route has been changed several times – in a cross-border project, because a topotheque is ideally suited for such a task. As this Topotheque will grow, it will be possible to find all recordings of every single locomotive as well as every section of the route.
Help to consolidate the chain of historical pearls that is shown on the map. Perhaps you too have a picture from one of the many places the track once ran on which a point on the old route can be recognized – regardless of whether it was in operation or from a later period.