page_title: Marsh Railway
section_title: 1920-1926
hierarchical_section_title: Marsh Railway / History / 1920-1926
context_page_description: The Marsh Railway is a main line in the state of Schleswig-Holstein in Germany that links the stations of Elmshorn in the south and Westerland on the island of Sylt in the north. It is part of a 237 kilometre long through route from Hamburg-Altona to Westerland and is listed in the Deutsche Bahn timetables as Kursbuchstrecke 130. The first part of it was opened in 1845 and is one of the oldest lines in Germany.
context_section_description: In 1920 northern Schleswig became part of Denmark, and the border was established between Niebüll and Tønder. This meant that traffic to Sylt had to cross the German-Danish border twice, although the Danish authorities allowed sealed transit trains to operate, avoiding customs inspections of passengers. The operation of transit trains and the Hoyer–Sylt ferry ended with the inauguration of the Hindenburg causeway in 1927.
  Originally, the Marsh Railway ran from Wilster directly to St. Michaelisdonn. During the construction of the Kiel Canal, a swing bridge was built on the line at Taterpfahl near St. Margarethen. During the widening of the canal in 1920, a new high bridge was bridge was built on the geest at Hochdonn on a 5.8 km long bypass route. It was originally initially planned for the line to be built directly from Itzehoe to Meldorf, but because of protests from Wilster and Sankt Michaelisdonn, the line was rerouted on a devious route to include these towns.  The old track was rebuilt to run from Wilster to Brunsbüttelkoog and on the north side to Brunsbüttel Nord.
caption: An ER 20 hauls a NOB Marsh Railway express from Westerland to Hamburg-Altona
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