A few narrow-gauge railway lines were built in

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

, the majority in gauge. Most railway lines in Denmark were built with

standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...

from the beginning, since the country was fairly densely populated in the 19th century.

Metre-gauge railways

Some 350 km of gauge lines were constructed by ten companies, three on the island of

Bornholm Bornholm () is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea, to the east of the rest of Denmark, south of Sweden, northeast of Germany and north of Poland. Strategically located, Bornholm has been fought over for centuries. It has usually been ruled by ...

, the rest in the

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...

Jutland Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...

. Among these railway lines were the

Skagen Line The Skagen railway line ( da, Skagensbanen) is a long standard gauge single track railway line between Skagen and Frederikshavn in Vendsyssel, Denmark. The railway links the fishing port and seaside resort of Skagen with the Danish rail network. ...

(

converted Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series * "The Conversion" ...

in 1924), Amtsbanerne på Als, Apenrader Kreisbahn, Haderslebener Kreisbahn,

Horsens Horsens () is a city on the east coast of Jutland region of Denmark. It is the seat of the Horsens municipality. The city's population is 61,074 (1 January 2022) and the municipality's population is 94,443 (), making it the 8th largest city in De ...

-Tørring, Horsens-Bryrup and Kolding- Egtved.

Agricultural and field railways

Most notably, narrow-gauge railways in Denmark were built and used by De Danske Sukkerfabrikker (Danish Sugar Corporation) to transport juice from

sugar beets Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double s ...

from purpose built "juice stations" to the main sugar factories in towns such as

Nakskov Nakskov is a town in south Denmark. It is situated in Lolland municipality in Region Sjælland on the western coast of the island of Lolland. The town has a population of 12,495 (1 January 2022). To the west is Nakskov Fjord, an inlet from the La ...

, Nykøbing and Assens. Around 660 km of narrow-gauge sugar lines existed in 1941, all were closed in the 1960s. However, a few engines survived with Bloustrød-banen, as well as one engine surviving as a display item in Assens park until the mid-1990s. There were numerous other industrial and agricultural narrow-gauge railways.

Faxe Jernbane, gauge unclear

The Faxe Jernbane, long, was built in 1864 for the transportation of

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

. There is confusion about the

track gauge In rail transport, track gauge (in American English, alternatively track gage) is the distance between the two rails of a railway track. All vehicles on a rail network must have wheelsets that are compatible with the track gauge. Since many d ...

used as various sources mention a track gauge of , but some Krauss steam locomotives delivered in 1927 had the gauge of . Two

Schöma Schöma is a company based in Diepholz, Germany, specialising in the construction of small diesel locomotives. After Christoph Schöttler left his father's business, the :de:Diepholzer Maschinenfabrik Fritz Schöttler, Diepholzer Maschinenfabrik ...

locomotives delivered in 1970 had the gauge of . The railway is now closed.

Preserved

* Hjerl Hede Frilandsmuseum, steam operated peat railway in an open-air museum * Blovstrød Banen, 1,2 km steam operated railway * Hedelands Veteranjernbane, a 5,2 km steam operated in a country park around gravel quarries. A miniature railway is also present. *

Lille Vildmose Lille Vildmose (meaning: “little wild bog”) is a raised bog also known as the East Himmerland Moor in the hinterland in the municipalities of Aalborg and Mariagerfjord, Denmark. It is the largest remaining raised bog in Northwestern Europe. T ...

, 8 km in a former peat extraction area, now a nature reserve. The railroad was dismantled in 2012, but a 0,4 km museum railway has been established at the Lille Vildmose Museum Center ("Vildmosecenteret"). * Mosebrugsbanen, 2,5 km at a peat museum in Stenvad * MuseumsCenter Hanstholm, 1,2 km on a former ammunition railway. Featured in the film The Olsen Gang in Jutland * Mønsted Kalkgruber, in a former limestone quarry.

References

A visitor's guide to Scandinavian (Nordic) narrow-gauge railways
{{Europe in topic, Narrow-gauge railways in Rail infrastructure in Denmark