Altona-Kiel Railway Company

The Altona-Kiel Railway Company (German: Altona-Kieler Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft, AKE) was a joint-stock company, established under the law of Denmark in personal union with the Duchy of Holstein, that built and operated an 105 km railway line between Altona and the Baltic Sea port city of Kiel.

Altona was at that time the second largest city under Danish rule and the railway line was the first built in Danish-controlled territory.

The participants sought to improve the transport of their goods to markets by connecting the North and Baltic Seas and they agreed to promote this objective as members of the Altona-Kiel railway committee.

In 1833, the economist Friedrich List had proposed a network of railways in Germany, including a rail link between the Hanseatic cities of Hamburg and Lübeck.

In 1835, this proposal was rejected by the Royal Railway Commission, established by the King of Denmark, Frederick VI, as the heir to the throne, later Christian VIII, would only agree to a rail link between the Elbe and the Baltic Sea on Danish-only territory, for fiscal reasons.

As a result of the influence of Klaus Panje, Elmshorn offered to increase its shares in the enterprise if the line took a more westerly course, which a general meeting of the company agreed to in May 1842.

In the plan of 1844, other stations would be built in Pinneberg, Tornesch, Elmshorn, Wrist, Neumünster and Bordesholm; and there would be halts in Stellingen, Eidelstedt, Halstenbek, Priesdorf, Horst, Dauenhof, Siebenecksknöll, Brockstedt, Pahdenstedt, Fohrde and Meimersdorf.

Construction of the 105 km long line started in March 1843, originally as single-track except in Kiel, Neumünster and Altona to let two trains in opposite directions pass.

Five steam locomotives with an 1A1 wheel arrangement were built by the companies of Kitson, Thompson & Hewitson of Leeds and R and W Hawthorn of Newcastle.

This line, which was opened in 1845, involved the haulage of wagons by cable up a 210-metre-long steep slope to overcome a height difference of 30 metres.