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Railway Museum Bochum-Dahlhausen

The main reason why the Bergisch-Märkische Railway Company decided to build the branch line between Essen (Steele) and Bochum (Dahlhausen/Ruhr) in 1863 was to link it with a number of collieries in the region. In 1868 the line was extended to the Henrichshütte in Hattingen and in 1874 it was completed to run all the way through the Ruhr Valley to Hagen. Another stretch of the line opened at the same time downstream along the Ruhr via a bridge to Altendorf and other branch lines. The branch line between Dahlhausen and Laer (both in Bochum) opened as early as 1870. Following the nationalisation of the private railway system in 1880 in Prussia, Dahlhausen soon became an important junction for freight and passenger traffic in the Ruhr valley. A two track stretch of the line was completed as early as 1910 and it now became imperative to rebuild the station. The depot, the shunting yard and the new passenger station with its entrance building constructed in the local Bergisch style were all built between 1912 and 1918, partly by prisoners-of-war.

During the whole of their lifetime the depot was mainly used for goods vehicles. At first locomotives from neighbouring depots were inspected and overhauled and it was not until 1925 that the Dahlhausen/Ruhr station was given its own locomotives and staff. The steam locomotives stationed here were mainly used for carrying heavy goods, most particularly coal. When the nearby depot in Essen (Steele-Nord) was closed in 1931 – and that in Hattingen/Ruhr in 1949 – the number of staff and locomotives rose rapidly, culminating in 1957 with a total staff of 522 and 35 steam locomotives. The site also contained a repair shed full goods wagons.

The workers in the depots were expected to work take the locomotives coming out of service and equip and overhaul them in such a way that they would be ready for the next shift. To do this they needed the water tower and water crane, a coal depot, a slack pit, and a standing site, as well as tall buildings like the workshop, the administrative and management buildings, a material store, and accommodation buildings.
The post-war era created a short-lived boom until the pits began to die off in the early 1960s. The closing down of the "Dahlhausen Deep Pit" also signalled the end of Dahlhausen station, which finally ceased operations in 1969. When the S-Bahn was opened in 1974, normal passenger services here also came to an end, and in 1979 the ticket office was closed.

The Bochum-Dahlhausen Railway Museum has been situated on the old railway site since 1977. It is run by members of the German Railway Historical Society who have been building it up step by step since 1968. The passenger station was restored in the 1990s with some of their rooms in their original state.