Josef built a branch line from the nearby station in Tannwald in order to easily transport the coal from Hostomitz to his works in Polaun. The railway line was completed in 1874 and ran from Tannwald to Eisenbrod (which in turn was connected to the main Bohemian railway network). However, the quality of coal that arrived was disappointing – as such, the main customers for the Hostomitz mines weren't the Riedel factories at all, but a chemical factory in Aussig and several others in Saxony, for which coal was delivered down the Elbe river.