The train station in Dorlar

Since October 1, 1911, the village of Dorlar was also connected to the railroad network in the Sauerland, when the section of the railroad from Fredeburg to Wenholthausen was put into operation. It was the continuation of the branch line from Altenhundem on the Ruhr - Sieg - line via Wenholthausen to Wennemen on the Upper Ruhrtalbahn. Dorlar received its own station at the end of the village in the direction of Frielinghausen to handle passenger and freight traffic. The station was located at the edge of a large catchment area, which was almost exclusively characterized by agriculture.

Still popularly known as "Hawerland", this area supplied large quantities of grain, potatoes and other agricultural products during the heyday of the railroad in the Leisse Valley, which were shipped from Dorlar station mainly to the Ruhrgebiet. Conversely, loads of fertilizer arrived by rail. The agricultural cooperatives delivered them. Furthermore, for many years, mine timber for mining in the Ruhrgebiet was cut and shipped here as well.

The construction of a cycle path on the railroad line heralded the end of the railroad in the Leiße valley between 2004 and 2006. In the process, two railroad bridges in Dorlar were demolished as former road overpasses. The demolition of the old Dorlar train station took place in March 2010, three years after the opening of the SauerlandRadring.

^{Picture 1: Dorlar with its railroad system in the foreground in the 1950s (Photo: Haymo Wimmershof Collection)
Picture2: View of Dorlar and the railroad in the background in the 1950s (Photo: Haymo Wimmershof Collection)
Picture 3: Diesel locomotive 212 292-7 shunting at Dorlar station in July 1982 (Photo: Klaus Meschede)}