The Urskog–Høland Line ( no, Urskog–Hølandsbanen), also known as Tertitten, is a

narrow gauge railway A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structur ...

between

Sørumsand Sørumsand is a small railway town, situated in Lillestrøm Municipality in Akershus in Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which compris ...

and

Skulerud Skulerud is a village in Akershus, Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandin ...

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 ...

History

The original line was long and was built in three stages: Urskogbanen opened in 1896, running from Bingsfossen to

Bjørkelangen Bjørkelangen is a village of 3,196 inhabitants (January 2015 figures) in the Akershus county of south-eastern Norway. Located immediately north of Lake Bjørkelangen, it became the administrative centre of the Aurskog-Høland municipality in 196 ...

; Hølandsbanen from Bjørkelangen to Skulerud opened in 1898 and finally the line between Bingsfos and

in 1903. Today part of the line is preserved as a museum at Sørumsand in

Lillestrøm Lillestrøm is a municipality in Viken county. It is located in the traditional district of Romerike. With a population of 85,757 inhabitants, it is the fourth most populated municipality in Viken. It was founded on 1 January 2020 as a merger be ...

kommune. The railway company was headquartered at Bjørkelangen. The line was built in the least expensive way as a so-called tertiary railway with a

gauge Gauge ( or ) may refer to: Measurement * Gauge (instrument), any of a variety of measuring instruments * Gauge (firearms) * Wire gauge, a measure of the size of a wire ** American wire gauge, a common measure of nonferrous wire diameter, es ...

track. This gave the line its diminutive, affectionate nickname, "Tertitten". The railway was run as a privately owned joint stock company until 1945 when it was bought by the government and run by the

Norwegian State Railways 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 ...

(NSB) under the name Aurskog-Hølandbanen. The basis for the railway lay mostly in forest and agriculture products.

Lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...

was transported to Skulerud and from there it was rafted to

Halden Halden (), between 1665 and 1928 known as Fredrikshald, is both a town and a municipality in Viken county, Norway. The municipality borders Sarpsborg to the northwest, Rakkestad to the north and Aremark to the east, as well as the Swedish muni ...

. At one time a tour billed as "The Great Roundtrip" was a popular tourist attraction, combining the train ride with a boat ride on the steam ship " DS Turisten" which trafficked the Halden Canal.

The restoration

A cooperative consisting of volunteers was established in 1961 with the aim of securing the line for posterity. A 3-kilometer track at Sørumsand was given to the group along with two

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

s and some other stock. The first run as a heritage railway was undertaken in 1966. This stretch had no buildings or side tracks, and all facilities which meet the present-day visitor was built after becoming a heritage railway. Three of the steam locomotives and two passenger carriages were restored. When the heritage railway was established the terminus was just outside the town center of Sørumsand, with the track leading to the station building already having been removed. In 1987 the line had been extended and the first train could depart from the town center again. After another two years the entire operation, including station building, was finished, and the extended track was officially inaugurated. The entire complex is protected by law. The Urskog–Høland Line is now a museum under the umbrella of Museene i Akershus (MiA) run i cooperation with "Venneforeningen Tertitten".

Locomotives

Steam

Diesel

Rolling stock

Passenger

Freight

External links

photos from Urskog-HølandsbanenUrskog-Høland Line Homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Urskog-Holand Line Heritage railways in Norway Museums established in 1966 Museums in Viken Private railway lines in Norway Railway lines in Viken Railway lines opened in 1896 Railway lines closed in 1961 1896 establishments in Norway 1966 establishments in Norway 750 mm gauge railways in Norway