Tool Line

The roots of Remscheid’s tool industry lie among the numerous streams in the valley. High-grade steel was once forged and machined there using the power of water. With the invention of the steam engine in 1850, a source of energy that was not dependent on location became available. Industrial companies expanded on the hills and wrapped themselves around the city centre like a belt.
A new era began with the railway: Once the Hastener Trasse line was built in 1883, many companies began benefitting from their own siding. Goods and raw materials were then transported by rail.

Today, the tool line has been converted into an artistically designed footpath and cycle path. The companies’ products were used for marking and design in the surface of the three-metre-wide path.