Local images

Local images of Oberfranken - Peter König, Aue

The Seekuh 

The Erlangen–Eschenau railway line was a secondary railway in Bavaria . It ran from Erlangen via Neunkirchen am Brand to Eschenau . Originally, it continued to Gräfenberg . The Eschenau–Gräfenberg section is now operated as part of the Gräfenberg Railway ; the rest of the line is closed and dismantled.

The nickname used by the local population for the railway ( Seku or Sea Cow ) is explained by the following anecdote: The painter who was supposed to put up the sign "Restauration zur Sekundärbahn" (Restaurant at the Secondary Railway) on the station restaurant didn't quite finish in the evening, so for a weekend the sign on the building read "Restauration zur Seku…" (Restaurant at the Seku…). Passing students made fun of the fragment and ensured the rapid spread of the nickname.

The unique feature of this line lay in its route, which, unlike typical mainline railways, did not run on its own right -of-way but on or directly alongside the road. The tracks ran right through the city of Erlangen and through some very narrow village streets. Only in Neunkirchen am Brand was this not possible due to the densely built old town center with its fortifications.

The Seekuh