Complex sentence: He therefore laid the foundations for what subsequently became the routine tasks of a "Bahnbetriebswerk", although it was several years before they were divided into "Bahnbetriebswerke" and "Ausbesserungswerke" or repair shops.
Split into simpler sentences: He therefore laid the foundations for what subsequently became the routine tasks of a "Bahnbetriebswerk". However it was several years before they were divided into "Bahnbetriebswerke" and the so-called "Ausbesserungswerke" or repair shops.