The Köping–Uttersberg–Riddarhyttan Railway (Swedish: ''Köping-Uttersberg-Riddarhyttans Järnväg'' or ''KURJ'') was a narrow-gauge railway in central Sweden, long. The railway ran northwest from the port city of

Köping ''Köping'' was a Swedish denomination for a market town since the Middle Ages, derived from the Old Norse word ''kaupang''. The designation was officially abolished with the municipal reform of 1971, when Sweden was subdivided into the Municip ...

to several small industry cities such as Uttersberg and

Riddarhyttan Riddarhyttan is a locality in Skinnskatteberg Municipality, Västmanland County, Sweden, with 431 inhabitants in 2010. It has an old iron mining tradition, which can be followed back to the last centuries before Christ. The last mine was closed ...

. The line operated between 1864 and 1968.

Construction

Gauge incompatibility

The railway was built 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, ...

of . The railway was planned to be constructed to a gauge of , relatively common in Sweden at the time. When the locomotives and rolling stock were ordered, however, there was an error – possibly confusion between the Swedish fot and the English foot, which differ by about 2.7%, or more likely because Köping–Uttersbergs järnvägsaktiebolag assumed the gauge was measured from the centre of the rail to the centre of the rail. It was only when the rolling stock was delivered that the error was noticed. It was decided that moving one rail outwards on the half-built railway would be cheaper than re-gauging the vehicles.

Operation

Freight traffic started on the part-opened line in 1864, and in 1866, the full of the Köping-Uttersberg Railway was officially Opened. In 1880 a new line, the Uttersberg-Riddarhyttan Railway was built by another company, but to the same gauge. This was purchased by the Köping-Uttersberg Company in 1911, and the combined railway became the Köping–Uttersberg–Riddarhyttan Railway.

Closure

Passenger traffic ended in 1952, although a freight service continued until 1968, after which all the track was removed.

References

External links