 In 1908 this share was bought out by Hugo Stinnes and other industrialists, who founded the Rhine Westphalia Railway Company ("Rheinisch-Westfälische Bahn-GmbH" or "RWB") in 1909, in order to bring together the numerous tramway operations of the Ruhrgebiet.Major shareholders in the RWB included the city of Essen (48%), the district of Essen (27%) and the "Rheinisch-Westfälische Elektrizitätswerk" or "RWE" (25%).The SEG was formed by Hermann Bachstein with the aim of reorganising the railways in the states of Baden and Hesse that were part of the "Hermann Bachstein Branch Line Central Organisation" ("Centralverwaltung für Secundärbahnen Herrmann Bachstein").