Chain boat navigation on the Neckar

River The flow conditions of the Neckar varied considerably along its course. On the approximately 113 km long stretch of river from the harbour in Heilbronn to its mouth in the Rhine, sections of the river with a steep gradient of 1:350 alternated with shallow sections with a gradient of only 1:10,000. If sections with a gradient of more than 1:700 are described as rapids, then this applied to around 7 % of the stretch, i.e. around 7840 m. In addition to the difficulties caused by the variation in gradient, there were also strong bends in the course of the river. The river bed consisted mostly of shell limestone and coloured sandstone; however, there were rock sills in some places along the course of the river. The water levels of the Neckar varied greatly depending on the season and the amount of precipitation. The highest water levels were between 6.6 and 14.6 metres, depending on the section of the river, while the Neckar fell to less than 0.56 metres at low water in summer. In the very dry year of 1865, water levels below 0.56 metres were measured on 210 days, whereas this low level was only reached on one day in 1869. The low water levels significantly hindered ship traffic. In winter, frost also hindered navigation for an average of three weeks. It was possible to cover about 20 kilometres a day in 5 hours, so it took about 5.5 days to cover the distance from Mannheim to Heilbronn. The horses had to be transferred from one bank to the other at five points, and additional horses were needed at certain points. The riders' wages were negotiated individually with the shipowner and varied according to water levels and demand. Operating costs were therefore almost impossible to plan. It was not until 1863 that annual contracts were signed. However, this did not prevent costs from rising steadily. In most cases, the income from the freight barely covered the transport costs. In some cases, the uphill journey was loss-making, and the downhill journey was only marginally profitable. == Chain boat navigation ==

Planning and concession Faced with increasing competition from the railways, the merchants of Heilbronn saw their town's importance as a major freight hub at the end of the navigable Neckar River in jeopardy and sought an economical means of water transport. Without shipping as the only competitor to the railways, price increases would have been inevitable. In addition, the danger of a monopoly on rail transport had become apparent during the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1872). The military use of the railways disrupted civilian land transport, which could only be maintained by shipping. On 2 October 1872, the committee applied to the Württemberg government for a concession for chain shipping, which then entered into official negotiations with the governments of the other two riparian states, Baden and Hessen. However, when the concession was in sight at the end of 1873, problems arose in raising the necessary share capital. Due to the general economic development of the previous two years, a lot of free capital was tied up in companies and there was little willingness to invest in new projects. For this reason, the committee asked the Württemberg royal family for a subsidy or at least a state guarantee. In a letter of May 1874, As the company's income increased, the returns paid to shareholders were between 5.5% and 6.6%. In 1884 there was a slight downturn in shipping. Due to a prolonged, extreme drought, water levels were very low throughout the year, reaching a low of only 45 cm on two occasions. Not only the low rainfall, but also the diversion of water by farmers and the damming up of waterworks at night meant that the tugs had to interrupt their voyages repeatedly due to lack of water. As far as possible, coal and hawsers from the chain steamers were transferred to tenders to reduce the draught. This meant that shipping operations could be maintained down to a minimum water depth of 50 cm. At all times, the tug company ensured that its prices were competitive with those of the railway, while maintaining its own profitability, so that boatmen could offer their services at competitive prices and still make a reasonable living. For example, it gave discounts to boatmen when water levels were low. The state of Württemberg itself had a vested interest in promoting trade on the Neckar. The income from the trade in Heilbronn, as well as the income from the towing service, went directly to the state of Württemberg. As a result, shipping was favoured at the same cost and the Württemberg State Railway was instructed to transport its coal to Heilbronn by ship. Three steam cranes were specially built by the Heilbronn tugboat company to unload the ships. After one chamber of the lock, built in 1821, had been enlarged to 48 metres long and 7 metres wide in 1884 to allow the passage of a chain steamer, chain navigation was extended to 12 kilometres upstream of Heilbronn at the suggestion of the supervisory board of the Lauffen cement works. From a technical point of view, the conditions for this additional stretch were simpler than those for individual sections of the river already used for chain navigation. Financially, the company hoped to generate additional income from the prospect of transporting limestone, coal and coke not only on the new route but also on existing sections. In contrast, the investment costs for operating resources were very low. The required length of chain was already in stock. Wear of the chain links at their contact surfaces resulted in elongation of the chain, which was small per link but significant over the total length of the chain. As a result, sections of chain were repeatedly cut out and stored over the years. In addition, the chain was subjected to increased stress and wear in river sections with very strong currents and tight bends. At the same time, a chain break in these sections would have much greater consequences, so the chain had to be replaced earlier. However, these sections of chain could still be used for the new line with a reduced number of towed vessels. The extension of the line to Lauffen therefore paid for itself without a new government guarantee and was completed in 1890 after the concession was extended. In 1890, coal accounted for about two-thirds of the upstream cargo (including deliveries to Lauffen). About three quarters of the downstream cargo was salt, about half of which came from the in Jagstfeld. In 1892/93, the prolonged drought caused serious problems for shipping on the Neckar. In the first year, navigation had to be partially suspended due to low water levels. As the Rhine was unaffected, goods were loaded directly onto the railway at Mannheim. The situation was even worse in 1893. A lack of rain and the irrigation of crops with river water caused the level of the Neckar to fall even further. The low water level was also used for extensive clearing and river engineering work, so that tugboat transport could only be operated about 60% of the time. As a result, the tugboat company had to call on the state guarantee for the first time. During the era of chain boat navigation, the average cargo capacity of towed vessels increased significantly. Whereas in 1878 the average maximum load per vessel was 55 tonnes, by 1892/93 it had risen to around 100 tonnes. The 130-tonne limit was exceeded around 1900. However, due to the narrow bends in the river and the seasonal fluctuations in the water level of the Neckar, most vessels remained below 200 tonnes. == Technical description ==

Engineer , who had previously been appointed as an adviser to the provisional committee, took charge of all technical matters. He drew up plans, procured equipment and supervised technical implementation. He had the Neckar boatmen trained on his chain boats on the Elbe. oval chain links and was tested for a breaking strength corresponding to 2.5 tonnes. == End of chain navigation ==

The shallow water and narrow bends limited the capacity of most vessels to around 200 tonnes. Only by canalising the river could the use of larger ships with a carrying capacity of up to 600 tonnes be achieved on a sustainable basis. In 1897, interested chambers of commerce and local authorities formed the "Committee for the Improvement of Navigation on the Neckar". This committee not only planned the canalisation, but also considered a major shipping link between the Rhine and the Danube along the Neckar, Rems, Kocher and Brenz rivers. As a result, the Chain boat company's licence, which had been granted until 1911, was only extended for a further 10 years, but additional conditions were added. The chain boat company received compensation for the inconvenience caused by the construction work and the locks. They were also granted the exclusive right to tow on the completed dams. After the end of the First World War, the Reichswasserstraßenverwaltung began widening the Neckar to allow ships to be 80 metres long, 10.35 metres wide and 2.3 metres deep, corresponding to a carrying capacity of around 1200 tonnes. As the dams were put into operation, the speed of the river was reduced and the depth of the water increased. Both factors made the chain steamers unprofitable compared to other tugs. To replace the two chain steamers, the Schleppschifffahrt auf dem Neckar AG initially used two screw steam tugs on the dammed sections from 1925. These towed the barges not only upstream but also downstream. In the course of the further development of the Neckar, three motor tugs were added by 1929. At the same time, the number of chain steamers was further reduced. The completion of the Great Waterway on 28 July 1935 marked the end of the last chain steamers on the final stretch between Neckargerach and Kochendorf after a total of 57 years. == Curiosities ==

A humorous historical documentation can be found in Mark Twain, the famous traveller on the Neckar: "It was a tugboat, and one of very curious construction and appearance. I had often watched it from the hotel and wondered how it was propelled, for apparently it had no propeller or paddles. Now it came foaming along, making a lot of noise of various kinds and occasionally increasing it by letting out a hoarse whistle." The transport of heavy loads and the loud whistling earned the chain steamers on the Neckar the nickname "Neckar donkey" among the locals. When Handschuhsheim was still just a farming village, this story was told: one day, the farmers heard a menacing noise in their fields that sounded like the roar of a lion. Armed with flails and scythes, the farmers set out to catch the lion. But the supposed lion's roar turned out to be the signal of the first steam tugboat (1878) on the Neckar, which greeted the astonished neighbours with its ship's horn. The people of Handschuhsheim have been known as "The Lions" ever since. == Exhibitions on chain boat navigation on the Neckar ==

The and the are dedicating their exhibition Heilbronn historisch! Development of a City on the River with various exhibits, including part of the original chain of the Neckar chain boat. The Technoseum (State Museum of Technology and Work in Mannheim) and the Heilbronn Municipal Museums have models of Neckar chain ships. In the shipping museum of the "Schifferverein Germania Hassmersheim 1912 e. V." there is an approximately 4.5 metre long diorama depicting a chain tow. This originally stood in the shipping museum of the city of Heilbronn. == References ==