The Bayreuth Altstadt–Kulmbach railway was a branch line in the Bavarian province of Upper Franconia in southern Germany.

The general management of the Royal Bavarian Transport Institution decided on 16 May 1878 to turn these proposals down, however, on operational grounds.

The aim was to link Thurnau to the trunk route from Bohemia to Thuringia, that was to run from Eger via Kirchenlaibach and Bayreuth.

Three of the larger structures are worth mentioning: Passenger service were closed on the Bayreuth–Neudrossenfeld section on 3 June 1973; and goods traffic followed on 1 January 1983.

The two single-arched stone bridges in the city of Bayreuth (over Bamberger Straße (49°56'12.08"N 11°32'49.65"E) directly northwest of Bayreuth-Altstadt station and over Adlerstraße (49°56'20.39"N 11°32'47.87"E)) were demolished by the mid-1970s.

The railway embankment was turned into a city cycle route and is partly used as an access path to the houses in Lotzbeckstraße built in the 1980s.

The former trackbed from Bayreuth-Oberobsang (the crossroads of the B 85 with Himmelkronstraße) to Heinersreuth (end of Bayreuther Straße shortly before entering the town) was removed in the 1970s to enable the upgrade of the B 85.

The level crossing at the end of the present-day Bayreuther Straße was very dangerous because the road ran uphill and cut the trackbed at a very sharp bend.

Robert Zintl reported[citation needed] that a Lokalbahn line was affectionately called the Bockela or Bockl because most of the trains on these lines "now and then bucked and kicked somewhat obstinately like a stroppy little billy goat" (hie und da etwas eigenwillig bockte und stieß wie ein gereiztes Böcklein).