Krøderen Line
Krøderen Line | |
---|---|
standard gauge | |
Preserved electrification | None |
Commercial history | |
Opened | 28 November 1872 |
Closed to passengers | 1958 |
Closed | 1 March 1985 |
Preservation history | |
2011 | Reopened |
The Krøderen Line (
As of 2011[update], the Krøderen Line Foundation and the Norwegian Railway Club jointly operate steam train services on the line from May to October. In addition to the termini at Vikersund and Krøderen there are intermediate stations at Snarum, Sysle, and Kløftefoss.
History
In the beginning of the 19th century, horse carriages and ships were used for passenger transport in the Buskerud area. There were three government subsidized coaching inns in Krødsherad, which were popular amongst travellers.[1] In 1853, a committee was established, which aimed at improving the passenger transport between Drammen and the rest of Buskerud.[2]
Following the opening of the
The construction of the line started in the spring of 1870. The terrain was difficult for railway construction; the right-of-way had sixteen sharp curves and the gradient from Vikersund was 1:45.
There were in the beginning halts at Hære, Jemterud, Hole, Lofthus, Gubberud and Uhla. Jemterud and Hole were replaced by Sysle in 1894; Lofthus had its name changed to Snarum in 1874.[8] In 1891, a pulp mill was established at Ramfoss, which became connected to the line with a side track from the newly created Kløftefoss Station.[9] There were in the first years two trains per day on the Krøderen Line, which corresponded with trains on the Randsfjord Line at Vikersund.[10] In the first year of operation, the ridership from Vikersund to Lofthus (later Snarum) was at 11 persons per day, whilst it from Lofthus to Krøderen was 5 to 6 persons.[9] The ridership increased in the following years, with a peak of 16.544 passengers in 1874.[10]
The line's main traffic and the principal source of its revenue was
On 5 August 1908, the Railway Committee of the Norwegian Parliament decided to upgrade the track gauge of the Krøderen Line to standard gauge.[12] In August 1910, a train derailed approximately 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) from Sysle Station because a creek had flooded and taken away all the ballast underneath the tracks. Three persons were killed in the accident, whilst six survived.[13] On 9 May 1948, diesel powered trains were put in operation on the Krøderen Line. The diesel-powered trains were faster than the steam-powered; a steam-powered train travelled from Vikersund to Krøderen in 55 minutes, whilst the new diesel-powered trains only used 35 minutes.[14] Owing to low passenger traffic, passenger trains on the Krøderen Line were decided to be replaced with buses in 1956. The last passenger train travelled in 1958, and the roads around the line were improved.[5] The freight traffic on the line continued, although the last steam-powered freight train travelled on 1 November 1967,[15] since the floating of timber in the waterways of Hallindalen was ceased in the same year.[3] On 28 February 1985, the last diesel-powered freight train travelled on the Krøderen Line.[15]
Gathering inspiration from the Urskog–Høland Line, the Norwegian Railway Club lobbied to preserve the Krøderen Line as a heritage railway. In the autumn of 1973, the club sent a letter to the state railways' department in Drammen, in which it stated that the Krøderen Line was well-suited for tourist traffic with heritage trains. The department supported the proposal, and in September 1977 the Norwegian Railway Club invited the heritage committee of Buskerud to an inspection.[16]
Passenger services on the line were withdrawn in 1958, and in 1985 freight traffic too was discontinued. Two years later the
At
See also
- Narrow gauge railways in Norway
Notes
- ^ Berntsen 1997, p. 10.
- ^ Berntsen 1997, p. 25.
- ^ a b c d Krøderen Line Museum 2009, p. 2.
- ^ Berntsen 1997, p. 32.
- ^ a b c Norwegian Railway Club 2011a.
- ^ Berntsen 1997, pp. 35–37.
- ^ Berntsen 1997, p. 38–39.
- ^ Berntsen 1997, p. 60.
- ^ a b c Berntsen 1997, p. 44.
- ^ a b c Berntsen 1997, p. 103.
- ^ a b Berntsen 1997, p. 47.
- ^ Berntsen 1997, p. 57.
- ^ Berntsen 1997, p. 163.
- ^ Berntsen 1997, p. 104.
- ^ a b Berntsen 1997, p. 111.
- ^ Lunner 1997, pp. 180–181.
References
- Berntsen, Ulf; Lund, Thure; Lunner, Dagfinn (1997). På sporet med Krøderkippen (in Norwegian). ISBN 82-90286-20-1. Chapters:
- Berntsen, Ulf. "Del III – av Ulf Berntsen". In Berntsen, Lund & Lunner (1997), pp. 9–177.
- Lund, Thure. "Del I – av Thure Lund". In Berntsen, Lund & Lunner (1997), pp. 178–217.
- Lunner, Dagfinn. "Del II – av Dagfinn Lunner". In Berntsen, Lund & Lunner (1997), pp. 225–277.
- Krøderen Line Museum (June 2009). "Velkommen til Krøderbanen!" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-06-16. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
- Norwegian Railway Club (2011a). "Krøderbanens historie" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 28 June 2011.
- Norwegian Railway Club (2011b). "Welcome to Krøderbanen" (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 29 September 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
External links
- Official museum web site (in Norwegian)
- Krøderbanen site at the Norwegian Railway Club
- photos from Krøderbanen