 The area of Nierenhof station was the location of the terminus of the Deil Valley Coal Railway ("Deilthaler Kohlenbahn"), the line of the first German railway company (founded in 1828 by Friedrich Harkort and later renamed the Prince William Railway Company ("Prinz-Wilhelm-Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft"), which was laid next to the Deilbach from Nierenhof to Hinsbeck to serve the coal mines in the Deilbach valley, including the mine in Nierenhof.The narrow-gauge railway with iron rails was to be steam-powered, which would have made it the first steam railway in Germany.Nevertheless, the concession issued by the district government did not initially allow steam operation, even though successful trial runs were carried out.