The station Fredeburg

On May 1, 1887, passenger service was opened on the railroad line from Altenhundem to Schmallenberg. In Fredeburg, however, one had to wait more than two years until finally on November 15, 1889, the connection to the "big, wide world" was realized with the extension from Schmallenberg. The terminus was at the so-called "old station", whose building still exists today. Its location testifies to the fact that at that time people still hoped for a continuation of the railroad via Bödefeld and Ramsbeck with its ore mining to Bestwig on the Upper Ruhrtalbahn, but this was not realized.
The Fredeburg station was now the final stop for 22 years. It was not until October 1, 1911 that the connection to the Ruhrtal to Wennemen was finally established. Since the line was built through the Leiße and Wennetal valleys, the station in Fredeburg had to be relocated to the "Am Donscheid" site.

This is how Fredeburg came to have the two station buildings that still exist today. The tracks to the "Old Station" were still used for freight traffic of slate, coal and heavy goods until 1918. The "Old Station" was remodeled in 1973 - 74 and is now used as a residential and office building. In addition to passenger traffic, the new station was also used from 1911 for freight traffic, mainly for slate mining and the shipment of agricultural products from the far surrounding countryside. After the Second World War, the Liedtke wire works were located at the station itself. For this company, wire was delivered by rail and finished products were shipped until the 1980s.

The company BURG - Badmöbel is still located above the station area. After passenger traffic had already been discontinued on May 30, 1964, freight traffic then came to an end on December 31, 1994. The construction of a cycle path on the railroad line heralded the end of the railroad in the Leisse Valley between 2004 and 2006.

^{Picture 1: A special train with the diesel locomotive V 200 033 in front of the townscape of Fredeburg in March 1991 (Photo: Klaus Meschede)
Picture2: The first station of Fredeburg shortly after the opening of the line (Photo: Archive Museum Eslohe)
Picture 3: Fredeburg with its railroad layout in the foreground around 1930 (Photo: Haymo Wimmershof collection)}