Bad Karlshafen
During the planning of the Hanover–Hann. Münden–Kassel railway (opened from Hanover to Göttingen in 1854 and to Hann. Münden in 1856) options to the west of the town were discussed. In the mid-1860s, a connection between Göttingen and the Frederick William Northern Railway ("Friedrich-Wilhelms-Nordbahn") at Bad Karlshafen via Adelebsen was discussed. This was demanded repeatedly especially in Adelebsen as its quarries had already become important. This line would have been useful for long-distance traffic, as the Halle–Kassel railway was extended via Arenshausen to Göttingen in 1867, but an extension to Kassel was very controversial. Nevertheless, the Arenshausen–Münden link (connecting to Kassel) was completed in 1872. The Solling Railway via Uslar and Hardegsen was opened further north in 1878. This meant that east-west traffic skirted Göttingen and Adelebsen. The construction of another mainline railway in the same general direction was not expected. Demands and discussions followed for three decades. Among other things, the western extension of the narrow-gauge Garte Valley Railway ("Gartetalbahn", connecting Duderstadt and Göttingen) via Adelebsen and Uslar to Schönhagen was planned from 1897 (the last section of this route was similar to the later Uslar–Schönhagen (Han) railway.