1955: Last run of the local railroad
Despite the late hour, hundreds flocked to Bahnhofstrasse to say their goodbyes. The Bundesbahn had brought the steam locomotive "Lisbeth" from the Odenwald especially for the last journey. Special tickets were printed with the inscription "April 16, 1848 - October 1, 1955" and a picture of the first train from back then. The engine driver and fireman were dressed in frock coats and top hats.
A contingent of railroad police tried to control the crowds at Sachenhausen local station. Although a train of modern express railcars had been provided, people wanted to take the decorated steam train on the nine-minute route to Offenbach. Some climbed into the carriages through the windows. "If we had always had a service like this, we wouldn't have had to close the local line because it was unprofitable." Dr. Rudolf Streit, Vice President of the Frankfurt Federal Railway Directorate, was stunned.
In Oberrad, the train met the oncoming empty train, which greeted it with the sound of sirens. Where the tracks crossed roads, people stood waving. The "Lisbeth" thanked them with her steam whistle. All the windows on Offenbach's Bahnhofstrasse were full. The railroad police cut lanes through the crowds of people getting off the train. A red rocket whizzed skywards. Police officers helped reporter Anneliese Aulbach from Hessischer Rundfunk to reach the train driver with her microphone. The people of Offenbach grumbled: "The city council didn't even organize a band." Free Äppelwoi was also only available in Frankfurt.
A popular uproar had already marked the beginning of the local railroad's history. In March 1848, the year of the revolution, Offenbach citizens forced the commissioning of the line. It had been delayed by a dispute with the authorities over the operating regulations. For days, no user paid a fare until the staff had obtained a kind of bell pouch to collect money.
In 1849, the line was extended from the Sachsenhausen local station to the Main-Necker-Bahn. It was cut again when the Frankfurt-Offenbach-Hanau-Bebra mainline line was completed in 1873. In the end, the local line was reduced to a function as the "Äppelwoi-Express".
It transported Offenbach revellers to Sachsenhausen's pubs in a matter of minutes. It had long since become history that the local train also carried a "standing car" for the less well-off and thrifty in its younger years. There wasn't a single seat in it.
The train then became a mass experience again in 1948 for its centenary, this time with a brass band. They played music when Offenbach's Lord Mayor Johannes Rebholz received his Frankfurt colleague Walter Kolb on the platform. There was not only an anniversary to celebrate, but also a new beginning. In 1944, the war year, operations had been forced to cease.
The station, where celebrations had been held once again in 1955, quickly degenerated into an eyesore. In 1960, the demolition excavators ate it up. The city of Offenbach had bought the local railroad line in order to build Berliner Straße on it. A parking deck was built on the site of the station.
