Länderbahnen

The Länderbahnen were the various state railways of the German Confederation and the German Empire in the period from about 1840 to 1920, when they were merged into the Deutsche Reichsbahn after the First World War.

The state railways

Railways merged into the Deutsche Reichsbahn

The seven state railways forming the merger were the:

Prussian state railways
Royal Bavarian State Railways
Royal Saxon State Railways
Royal Württemberg State Railways
Grand Duchy of Baden State Railways, 1840–1920
Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg Friedrich-Franz Railway
Grand Duchy of Oldenburg State Railways, 1867–1920
Other state railways

Other state railways that existed during this period, but which later folded or were absorbed, included the:

Royal Hanoverian State Railways, merged with Royal Prussian State Railways in 1866
Nassau State Railway, merged with the K.P.St.E. in 1866
Bebra-Hanau Railway, a Kurhessian state railway, merged with the K.P.St.E. in 1866
Duchy of Brunswick State Railway, merged with the K.P.St.E. in 1870
Anhalt Leopold Railway, merged with the K.P.St.E. in 1882
Grand Duchy of Hesse State Railways, merged with the K.P.St.E. in 1897 to form the Royal Prussian and Grand Duchy of Hesse State Railway
Imperial Railways in Alsace-Lorraine, lost to France after the First World War
KPEV

The so-called Royal Prussian Railway Administration or KPEV did not exist, although some of the rolling stock carried 'KPEV' emblems and the abbreviation is commonly used in railway circles nowadays.