Around 1825 Andreas Polke from Ratibor took up residence in the town and founded a pin factory. The nearby region around Aachen was a leading light in this trade at the time. In 1841 Polke employed 73 workers in his factory, of whom 36 were child workers under 14; for those of school age he ran a factory school. Pins were made in Erkelenz until about 1870. In 1852 Erkelenz was connected to the Aachen–Mönchengladbach railway and, in addition to a railway station for passenger services, was also given a goods station with marshalling sidings, a hump and a turntable. The increased volume of traffic into Erkelenz station necessitated an upgrade of the four roads radiating from the town to something like "chaussee" standard and in the succeeding decades a development of the town beyond its medieval town boundaries along the present "Kölner Straße" towards the station.