Flekkefjord Line
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Character | Passenger and freight | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Electrification | No | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Flekkefjord Line (
The line opened in 1904 as a 64-kilometre (40 mi) extension of the narrow gauge
History
Construction
The first committee that looked into the possibility of a railway to Flekkefjord was created in 1875.
The coast between Egersund and Flekkefjord would give a very difficult route to build, so it was decided to build a more inland line.
All the stations along the line were designed by Paul Armin Due, with all but the terminal station built in wood. Flekkefjord Station was built as a three-story brick building in Art Nouveau. In addition, there was construction a depot and a wharf at Flekkefjord. Passengers could transfer to steam ship services that operated eastwards along the south coast towards Oslo.[4]
Pre-war operations
The first part of the line to open for temporary operation was between Flekkefjord and Moi on 1 October 1904.[3] For the official opening, the town of Flekkefjord was adorned with Norwegian flags. A train departed to Egersund on 31 October 1904 with several notable passengers: Prime Minister Francis Hagerup, State Railways director Elias Sunde and board member Sven Aarrestad, director of traffic Jens Christian Mellbye, Flekkefjord's mayor and city council as well as other mayors of the district. Festivities continued on the next day, when the train returned from Egersund to Flekkefjord.[1]
Initially there were four services in each direction each day, with three services on holy days. The train that connected with the steam ship would wait up to 45 minutes in case of delays, to allow connection. Until 1927, the routes remained the same. That year, the
Until 1927, all trains were operated with steam locomotives. NSB introduced the first diesel multiple unit with the introduction of "lightning trains" that corresponded with coach services that connected with the Kragerø Line. The first were Class 14 railcars. These reduced travel time from Flekkefjord to Stavanger by 50 minutes to 3 hours 15 minutes. In addition to passengers, major cargo were herring and lumber.[4]
Connecting the coast
In 1923, it was decided by parliament that the Sørland Line, that would connect Oslo, Kristiansand and Stavanger, would follow an inner route.[2] The section of the Flekkefjord Line from Egersund to Sira would become part of that line, while the eastern 17.1 km (10.6 mi) from Sira to Flekkefjord would become a branch line, retaining the Flekkefjord Line name. Since the Sørland Line needed to be built from the east, construction along the Flekkefjord Line did not start until 1940. After the German occupation of Norway during World War II, the German occupation forces were rebuilding the narrow gauge railways to standard gauge. In 1940–41, the Flekkefjord and Jæren Lines were rebuilt to dual gauge. Not until 1944 was the Flekkefjord Line only standard gauge.[4]
Due to limited funds, and unlike the rest of the Jæren Line, the profile of the Flekkefjord Line was not changed during the conversion of gauge. This gave a speed limit of 40 kilometres per hour (25 mph), and creative solutions such as lowering height of the ballast by 20 cm (7.9 in). The route from Egersund to Sira received a better upgrade, since it was to become part of the main line through Southern Norway. The route between Sira and Sirnes was completely rebuilt.[4] This gave severe limits to the use of the section between Flekkefjord and Sirnes; most classes of trains could not run on the line, as were freight trains.[5]
Post-war operations
After the line had been relegated to a branch line, traffic fell considerably.
Closing
The line had major limitations on speed, and also served the "wrong direction", heading westwards into less populated areas instead of the populated parts of Agder in the east. Major investments would be needed to upgrade the line to a suitable speed, and through the 1970s this became an important issue of debate.[2] On the other hand, the line had among the highest ridership of the branch lines, with 120,000 passengers per year, which was for instance 50% higher than the Arendal Line, which was not closed.[7] However, parliament decided to close the line, along with several other branch lines, in 1988, with effect from 1990. The last scheduled train ran on 31 December 1990.[2]
There were plans to establish private operations along the line. Continental Railway Systems was established by Rasmus Surdal. The company would be allowed to use the rolling stock and infrastructure, and two of the trains were painted white. However, it was not possible for the company to get the necessary bank surety demanded by NSB, and nothing came of the plans.[5]
The line has been suggested preserved as a
See also
- Narrow gauge railways in Norway
References
- Bibliography
- ISBN 82-91448-00-0.
- Notes
- ^ a b c d Ringard, Morten (1942). Flekkefjords historie (in Norwegian). Flekkefjord: Flekkefjord Municipality. pp. 171–172.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Flekkefjordbanens Venner. "Flekkefjordbanen en kort historikk" (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
- ^ a b c d Aspenberg (1994): 217
- ^ a b c d e f g h Thor Bjerke (2000). "En stasjon i Norge: Flekkefjord". På Sporet. 101: 43–47.
- ^ a b Aspenberg (1994): 218
- ^ Aspenberg (1994): 45
- ^ Aspenberg (1994): 219
- ^ Flekkefjordbanens Venner. "Dresinutleie" (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on December 26, 2008. Retrieved 2009-01-10.
Further reading
- Owen, Roy (1996). "Chapter 8: Sørlandsbanen and branches". Norwegian Railways: From Stephenson to High-speed. Hitchin: Balholm Press. ISBN 0-9528069-0-8.
External links