Bruchsal and Menzingen. The line was initially operated by the Westdeutsche Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft (West German Railway Company, WeEG). In the first years of operation, there was a high level of passenger traffic and some growth in freight traffic. Therefore, the municipalities of Tiefenbach, Eichelberg, Elsenz and Hilsbach were also interested in being connected to the line. In the longer term, the line was to be extended even towards Sinsheim. The years under the BLEAG (1898–1931) In October 1898, the WeEG operations on the Katzbach and the Kraich Valley Railways were transferred to its subsidiary, the Badische Lokal-Eisenbahnen Aktiengesellschaft (Baden Local Railway Company, BLEAG). An extension to Hilsbach was approved on 7 September 1899. However, the work required was very difficult because the terrain there was much hillier than between Bruchsal and Odenheim. Between Tiefenbach and Elsenz alone there was a height difference of about seventy metres. It was therefore necessary, for example, to build a three-span viaduct between Elsenz and Eichelberg. It was also necessary to demolish some houses in Odenheim for the extension. On 3 September 1900, the Katzbach line was extended from Odenheim to Hilsbach, with the intention of continuing the line to Sinsheim, but this was never implemented. The Kraich Valley and the Katzbach Railways were the two most profitable lines operated by BLEAG in the early years of the twentieth century. After the First World War, both lines were caught in a crisis because BLEAG had run out of funds for the maintenance of its lines. After the district of Karlsruhe agreed to contribute the funding of various BLEAG routes, the lines were temporarily saved. In subsequent years, normal operations were restored. In 1931, BLEAG had to file for bankruptcy during the Great Depression. The years under the DEBG (1932–1963) In the wake of the bankruptcy, both of the BLEAG lines in the Kraich Valley and the Katzbach were taken over by the German Railway Operating Company (Deutsche Eisenbahn-Betriebs-Gesellschaft, DEBG) on 1 January 1932. DEBG managed to restore operations on the two lines. The outbreak of the Second World War meant that the passenger numbers increased significantly since private transport was restricted due to the war. Because of the fighting, however, operations had to be closed on 2 April 1945. Unlike the experience of many other rail lines, war damage on the two lines was limited. This allowed operations between Bruchsal and Odenheim to be resumed on