Tinnsjø railway ferry was a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

railway ferry A train ferry is a ship (ferry) designed to carry railway vehicles. Typically, one level of the ship is fitted with railway tracks, and the vessel has a door at the front and/or rear to give access to the wharves. In the United States, train ...

service on

Lake Tinn A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

that connected the

Rjukan Line , logo = , logo_width = , logo_alt = , image = , image_name = , image_width = , image_alt = , caption = SF ''Ammonia'', at Mæl, where the rail ...

and

Tinnoset Line , logo = , logo_width = , logo_alt = , image_name = MF-Storegut Tinnoset 2004 SRS.jpg , image_width = , image_alt = , caption = The railway ferry MF ''Storegu ...

. The long ferry trip made it possible for

Norsk Hydro Norsk Hydro ASA (often referred to as just ''Hydro'') is a Norwegian aluminium and renewable energy company, headquartered in Oslo. It is one of the largest aluminium companies worldwide. It has operations in some 50 countries around the world an ...

to transport its

fertilizer A fertilizer (American English) or fertiliser (British English; see spelling differences) is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from ...

from the plant at

Rjukan Rjukan () is a town and the administrative centre of Tinn municipality in Telemark, Norway. It is situated in Vestfjorddalen, between Møsvatn and Lake Tinn, and got its name after Rjukan Falls west of the town. The Tinn municipality council grant ...

to the

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

Skien Skien () is a city and municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county in Norway. In modern times it is regarded as part of the traditional region of Grenland, although historically it belonged to Grenmar/Skiensfjorden, while Grenland referred the Norsj ...

. The ferry services were operated by the company's subsidiary

Norsk Transport Hydro Transport AS was a railway company, railway- and List of ship companies, shipping company responsible for the transport of chemicals from Norsk Hydro Rjukan. A subsidiary of Norsk Hydro, the company was founded in 1907, operations ceased in ...

from 1909 to 1991, when the plant closed. One of the ferries was in 1944 the target of the

Norwegian heavy water sabotage The Norwegian heavy water sabotage ( nb, Tungtvannsaksjonen; nn, Tungtvassaksjonen) was a series of Allied-led efforts to halt German heavy water production via hydroelectric plants in Nazi Germany-occupied Norway during World War II, involvi ...

when it was sunk to depth to prevent

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

from developing

nuclear weapon A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bom ...

History

was founded in 1905 by engineer and industrialist

Sam Eyde Samuel Eyde (29 October 1866 – 21 June 1940) was a Norwegian engineer and industrialist. He was the founder of both Norsk Hydro and Elkem. Personal life Eyde was born in Arendal in Aust-Agder, Norway. He was a son of ship-owner Samuel Eyde (181 ...

as a fertilizer manufacturer. The first factory was opened at

Notodden Notodden () is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city and List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold og Telemark Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Øst-Telemark. ...

in 1907. Fertilizer factories need a lot of energy, making it beneficial to locate the plants near

hydroelectric power plants Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...

. At Rjukan there was a large waterfall capable of supporting a hydroelectric plant. By 1911 Rjukan Salpeterfabrikk was opened. The Tinnsjø railway ferry service was opened in 1909 along with the Tinnoset Line and Rjukan Line. After the

Thamshavn Line , logo = , logo_width = , logo_alt = , image_name = Bårdshaug stasjon.jpeg , image_width = , image_alt = , caption = Passenger train at Bårdshaug Station in 191 ...

, these two lines were the second railway line in Norway to be electrified in 1911. The railway service used Telemark Canal until 1919 when the

Bratsberg Line The Bratsberg Line ( no, Bratsbergbanen) is a railway line between Eidanger and Notodden in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. It opened in 1917, connecting the Tinnos Line, the Sørland Line and the Vestfold Line; allowing Norsk Hydro to tran ...

opened from Notodden to Skien. The railway was used both to transport raw materials to the factory and to transport the finished fertilizer to the harbour at Skien. There was also passenger trains that ran. In 1929 Norsk Hydro also establish itself at

Herøya Herøya is a peninsula in the municipality of Porsgrunn, Norway. It is located between the fjords of Frierfjord to the west and Gunneklevfjord to the east, at the River mouth, mouth of Telemarksvassdraget. The name stems from the Old Norse word "h ...

Porsgrunn is a city and municipality in Telemark in the county of Vestfold og Telemark in Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Grenland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Porsgrunn. The municipality of Porsgrunn was ...

, and in 1991 the factory in Rjukan, and therefore also the railway line, was closed. The passenger trains, operated by

Norges Statsbaner Vygruppen, branded as Vy, is a government-owned railway company which operates most passenger train services and many bus services in Norway. The company is owned by the Norwegian Ministry of Transport. Its sub-brands include Vy Buss coach s ...

, had been discontinued already in 1970. In 1997 the ownership of the track was transferred to Stiftelsen Rjukanbanen, a foundation that started

heritage Heritage may refer to: History and society * A heritage asset is a preexisting thing of value today ** Cultural heritage is created by humans ** Natural heritage is not * Heritage language Biology * Heredity, biological inheritance of physical c ...

operation of the line in 1999.

Ferries

The

service was provided by four different ships, SF ''Rjukanfoss'', SF ''Hydro'', SF ''Ammonia'' and MF ''Storegut''. The three first were

steam ship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ca ...

s, and the latter two are still docked at Mæl. The service was the only ever railway ferry service on a

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

in Norway, and D/F ''Ammonia'' is the only remaining railway ferry steam ship in the world.

SF ''Rjukanfos''

SF ''Rjukanfos'', built in 1909, was the first railway ferry on Lake Tinn. The

was long and wide and measured . It operated up to two daily departures each way, with a capacity of 120 passengers. The ship was rebuilt in 1946 to but taken out of services and

scrapped Scrap consists of recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap has monetary value, especially recovered me ...

in 1969.

SF ''Hydro''

SF ''Hydro'' was the next ship to operate as railway ferry, entering service in 1914. It was slightly larger than ''Rjukanfoss'', at , long and with two engines. On February 20, 1944 the ship was blown up by the

Norwegian resistance movement The Norwegian resistance (Norwegian: ''Motstandsbevegelsen'') to the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany began after Operation Weserübung in 1940 and ended in 1945. It took several forms: *Asserting the legitimacy of the exiled government, ...

at Lake Tinn's deepest point, with a load of heavy water onboard heading for

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. It is believed that 18 people were killed while 29 survived the

sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. One who engages in sabotage is a ''saboteur''. Saboteurs typically try to conceal their identitie ...

SF ''Ammonia''

In 1929 Norsk Hydro expanded their plant, and there was need for a third ferry. SF ''Ammonia'' was built the same year and was the largest of the three steam ships at , two engines and a length of . It had a capacity of 250 passengers. From 1957 it was made a reserve ferry when ''Storegut'' was for service. It was taken out of service in 1991 when the railway closed, but can still be seen docked at Mæl. It is the only remaining steam powered railway ferry in the world.

MF ''Storegut''

MF ''Storegut'' is the last ferry and the only

motor ship A motor ship or motor vessel is a ship propelled by an internal combustion engine, usually a diesel engine. The names of motor ships are often prefixed with MS, M/S, MV or M/V. Engines for motorships were developed during the 1890s, and by t ...

to operate on the lake. Built in 1956, it measures , is long with three diesel engines. The passenger traffic with the ship terminated in 1985, and it was taken out of service in 1991 and is docked at Mæl.

References

External links

Web site on Rjukanbanen

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tinnsjo railway ferry Rail transport in Vestfold og Telemark Ferry transport in Vestfold og Telemark Train ferries