rates on freight service and to equalize those rates among shippers. Instead of lowering rates as far as possible, the government ran the railways as a profitmaking endeavor, and the railway profits became a major source of revenue for the state. The nationalization of the railways slowed the economic development of Prussia because the state favoured the relatively backward agricultural areas in its railway building. Moreover, the railway surpluses substituted for the development of an adequate tax system. Nebenbahn As the main line network consolidated, railways were driven into the hinterland, serving local needs and commuter traffic. This was the age of the branch line or Nebenbahn (plural: -en), also variously called the Sekundärbahn ("secondary line"), Vizinalbahn ("neighbourhood line") or Lokalbahn ("local line") depending on local laws and usage. Important lines Several states operated their own railways, collectively called the Länderbahnen (state railways). Those created up to 1871 were the: Various Prussian state railway companies, including the Königlich Preußische und Großherzoglich Hessische Staatseisenbahn (K.P.u.G.H.St.E.) Royal Bavarian State Railways (Königlich Bayerische Staatseisenbahn or K.Bay.Sts.B.) Royal Saxon State Railways (Königlich Sächsische Staatseisenbahnen or K.Sächs.Sts.E.B.) Royal Württemberg State Railways (Königlich Württembergische Staatseisenbahn or K.W.St.E.) Grand Duchy of Baden State Railways (Großherzoglich Badische Staatseisenbahn or G.Bad.St.E., 1840–1920) Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg Friedrich-Franz Railway (Großherzoglich Mecklenburgische Friedrich-Franz-Eisenbahn or M.F.F.E.) Grand Duchy of Oldenburg State Railways (Großherzoglich Oldenburgische Staatseisenbahn or G.O.E., 1867–1920) Royal Hanoverian State Railways (Königlich Hannöversche Staatseisenbahnen), from 1866 part of the Prussian state railways Duchy of Brunswick State Railway (Herzoglich Braunschweigische Staatseisenbahn), from 1870 part of the Prussian state railways Nassau State Railway (Nassauische Staatsbahn), from 1866 part of the Prussian state railways Anhalt Leopold Railway (Anhaltische Leopoldsbahn), from 1882 part of the Prussian state railways Bebra-Hanau Railway (Bebra-Hanauer Eisenbahn), a Kurhesse state railway, from 1866 part of the Prussian state railways Imperial Railways in Alsace-Lorraine (Reichseisenbahn Elsaß-Lothringen), founded in 1871 and handed to France at the end of the First World War The Palatinate Railway (Pfalzbahn), formed in 1870, was a private railway company that was nationalised in 1909 and became part of the K.Bay.Sts.B.. In order to enable the free exchange of goods wagons between the different state railway administrations, the German State Railway Wagon Association (Deutscher Staatsbahnwagenverband or DSV) was formed in 1909. The standard wagons that resulted are often referred to as 'DSV wagons'. At the end of the First World War, most of the state railways lost their