Hell Station ( no, Hell stasjon) is a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

located in the village of

Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hell ...

in the Municipality of Stjørdal in the

Trøndelag Trøndelag (; sma, Trööndelage) is a county in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County ( no, Trondhjems Amt); in 1804 the county was split into Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag by the King of Denmar ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. It is located at the intersection of the

Nordland Line The Nordland Line ( no, Nordlandsbanen, ) is a railway line between Trondheim and Bodø, Norway. It is the longest in Norway and lacks electrification. The route runs through the counties of Trøndelag (formerly Sør-Trøndelag and Nord-Trønd ...

and the

Meråker Line The Meråker Line ( no, Meråkerbanen) is a railway line which runs through the district and valley of Stjørdalen in Trøndelag county, Norway. The line branches off from the Nordland Line at Hell Station and runs eastwards to the Norway–Swed ...

Information

Hell Station serves: * the

between the cities

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

( station) and

Bodø Bodø (; smj, Bådåddjo, sv, Bodö) is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Salten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Bodø (which is also the capital of Nordland count ...

( station). * the

between the village

and

Storlien Storlien is a village and ski resort located in Åre municipality in Jämtland, Sweden, two kilometres from the Swedish-Norwegian border. The primary bases of the settlement are tourism and outdoor life – alpine skiing, snowmobiling, cross ...

( station) in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. * the

Trøndelag Commuter Rail The Trøndelag Commuter Rail ( no, Trønderbanen, ) is a commuter train service operating in Trøndelag county, Norway. It was operated by Vy (formerly Norwegian State Railways (NSB)) with Class 92 diesel multiple units, until 7 June 2020 when ...

system Both services are operated by Class 92 units by the Vy.

History

Planned by architect

Paul Armin Due Paul Armin Due (1870–1926) was a Norwegian architect Paul Franz Wilhelm Armin Due was the son the renowned architect Paul Due. He graduated from Leibniz University Hannover in 1896 and spent two years working in Germany before returning to ...

, the present station building at Hell Station was opened in 1902. It replaced an older building of 1881, whose architect was

Peter Andreas Blix Peter Andreas Blix (4 November 1831 – 31 January 1901) was a Norwegian architect and engineer best known for designing railway stations and villas in Swiss chalet style. He was also occupied with the conservation of Norwegian stave churches and ...

. The restaurant was taken over by

Norsk Spisevognselskap Norsk Spisevognselskap A/S, often abbreviated NSS or shortened to Spisevognselskapet (Norwegian for "The Dining Car Company"), was a Norwegian state enterprise which operated restaurant carriages on Norwegian trains and restaurants at railway ...

on 1 October 1922, but returned to private operation in 1934.

Tourist attraction

Due to its name, Hell Station has become a tourist attraction. While associated with the religious concept

by English-speakers, the name Hell derives from

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

', which means cave. The Norwegian equivalent to English ''hell'' is ''hel'' or, more commonly, ''helvete'' (compare with

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

''hellewīte''). The station's freight building still bears the old sign saying '. In Norwegian, ''Gods-Expedition'' (archaic) or ''godsekspedisjon'' (modern) means ''freight service'' or ''cargo handling''. This sign is a popular photo opportunity for foreign English-speaking tourists. Especially in the summer months, it is not unusual for foreigners, when discovering the sign, to disembark the train in order to get a photo. The building is not used for freight anymore. All light freight is handled through post offices or competing companies.

References

{{end Railway stations in Stjørdal Railway stations on the Meråker Line Railway stations on the Nordland Line Railway stations opened in 1881 1881 establishments in Norway National Romantic architecture in Norway Art Nouveau railway stations Buildings and structures completed in 1902