Nesttun–Os Line
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The Nesttun–Os Line ( no, Nesttun–Osbanen) was 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 Nesttun, now part of
Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...
, and the community of
Osøyro Osøyro is the administrative centre of Bjørnafjorden municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village lies on the southwestern part of the Bergen Peninsula, along the western shore of the Fusafjorden, about south of the city centre of Be ...
in Os municipality,
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 ...
. As the first private railway in Norway, it opened 1 June 1894, designed to connect Os to the
Voss Line The Voss Line ( no, Vossebanen) is a railway line from Bergen to Voss in Vestland, Norway. It opened on 11 July 1883 and was extended to Oslo as the Bergen Line on 27 November 1909. It was built as narrow gauge, but converted to with the conne ...
, allowing for passenger and freight transport to Bergen and
Voss Voss () is a municipality and a traditional district in Vestland county, Norway. The administrative center of the municipality is the village of Vossevangen. Other villages include Bolstadøyri, Borstrondi, Evanger, Kvitheim, Mjølfjell, Opphe ...
. Despite a boom caused by
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, the railway was eventually driven out of business by competition from
road transport Road transport or road transportation is a type of transport using roads. Transport on roads can be roughly grouped into the transportation of goods and transportation of people. In many countries licensing requirements and safety regulations e ...
, which provided faster service. On 2 September 1935, it became the first Norwegian railway to close, and most of the railway was dismantled the following year. Today, only short stretches of the railway and a few stations survive. Much of the former railway line is used as a bicycle path (
rail trail A rail trail is a shared-use path on railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed, but may also share the right of way with active railways, light rail, or streetcar ...
), which makes revival of the Nesttun–Os Railway as a
heritage railway A heritage railway or heritage railroad (US usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) i ...
very difficult. However, a 40 metre long railway stretch remains at Stend Station, the only unaltered remaining station, upon which a
diesel locomotive A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving whee ...
and a
passenger car A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as ...
are placed. The station building itself has been restored and is used as a museum.


History

Proposals to build a railway from Nesttun to Os were first made during the planning of the
Voss Line The Voss Line ( no, Vossebanen) is a railway line from Bergen to Voss in Vestland, Norway. It opened on 11 July 1883 and was extended to Oslo as the Bergen Line on 27 November 1909. It was built as narrow gauge, but converted to with the conne ...
from Bergen to
Voss Voss () is a municipality and a traditional district in Vestland county, Norway. The administrative center of the municipality is the village of Vossevangen. Other villages include Bolstadøyri, Borstrondi, Evanger, Kvitheim, Mjølfjell, Opphe ...
. Initial plans called for slightly longer route via Os, Samnanger, Norheimsund and Granvin. At the time it was required that local municipalities finance 20% of railways, and in 1874,
Os Municipality Os is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Østerdalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Os i Østerdalen. The municipality is located to the west of the municip ...
was encouraged to purchase shares for NOK 8,000. This was rejected by the municipal council, and eventually the Voss Line was instead built via Dale. In 1884, a committee was established in Fana to consider the possibility of building a branch line from Nesttun to Fana. But neither the municipality nor the county were willing to give grants to the line, and, the plans were shelved in 1885. At the same time, the physician Daniel Schumann Krüger started to popularize the possibility of building a connection from Nesttun to Osøren (now Osøyro). At the time it was popular to build tracks along existing roads and use slow locomotives, and Krüger at first proposed such a solution, but later determined to support a conventional railway.Tautra (1996): 11 In 1884, a line from Os to Nesttun was estimated to cost NOK 885,000 plus land acquisition costs. Public meetings were held and in 1885 a committee was established. The following year, an application was sent to the state for NOK 3,000 in grants for preliminary work. It was presumed that the railway would be private, but the committee wanted to receive partial state funding. While the government favored the railway, the grant was a lower priority among the many proposed railway lines at the time. In 1888, an engineer from the state investigated the route, and recommended that the line be built via Rådal to increase the population which it would serve. In addition, Fanahammeren and Stend were regarded as
transport hub A transport hub is a place where passengers and cargo are exchanged between vehicles and/or between transport modes. Public transport hubs include railway stations, rapid transit stations, bus stops, tram stops, airports and ferry slips. F ...
s at the time. Following this, shares were issued for NOK 50,000 in the company, but this was not sufficient to finance the railway.Tautra (1996): 13 Instead of raising more capital, Krüger tried to reduce the cost. He proposed reducing the minimum curve radius from and reduce the gauge from the gauge used on the Voss Line to . This would allow the railway to have sharper curves and allow it to pass around any obstacles and hills, removing the need for cuttings and tunnels. Engineer
Nicolay Nicolaysen Sontum Nicolay Nicolaysen Sontum (1852–1915) was a Norwegian engineer, businessperson and contractor. Sontum was born in Bergen in 1852 and took an engineering degree from Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1874. From 1875 to 1 ...
started planning the cheaper railway in 1889, and he estimated the cost to NOK 500,000. After the project was marketed in the Bergen press, shipowners
Fredrik Georg Gade Fredrik Georg Gade (21 March 1855 – 1 March 1933) was a Norwegian physician. Personal life He was born in Bergen as the son of merchant Fredrik Georg Gade (1830–1905) and his wife Ingeborg Wallem (1830–1902). The family originated in Lün ...
and Johan A. Mowinckel supported it, as did major
Wollert Konow (SB) Wollert Konow (16 August 1845 – 15 March 1924) was the 12th prime minister of Norway from 1910 to 1912. He was the leader of a coalition cabinet. Konow's time as Prime Minister saw the extension of accident insurance to seamen in 1911. Ba ...
. An application for a
concession Concession may refer to: General * Concession (contract) (sometimes called a concession agreement), a contractual right to carry on a certain kind of business or activity in an area, such as to explore or develop its natural resources or to opera ...
was sent on 15 March 1890, in which Gade and Mowinckel guaranteed the necessary capital. This made Nesttun-Os the first railway in Norway to be built without state grants. The construction contract was signed with Sontum on 29 March.Tautra (1996): 14 The concession was granted on 2 February 1891 and had a duration of 40 years from the date the line started operation. The delay was in part because there was a debate about the gauge in the
Parliament of Norway The Storting ( no, Stortinget ) (lit. the Great Thing) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years bas ...
. The company opened for sales of shares on 3 March 1891. The largest owners were Gade (20%), Mowinckel (10%), Os Municipality (5%) and Krüger (2%).Tautra (1996): 15 The municipality used a whole year's budget on the share purchases, and borrowed money to be repaid in 40 years. In addition to the share sales, the railway received free real estate from many farmers.Tautra (1996): 16 The railway was constructed in narrow gauge, the smallest gauge ever built in Norway. The smallest curve radius was 50 metres. This combination made it possible to avoid any tunnels whatsoever and the longest bridge was 8 metres. But it also meant that all goods had to be off-loaded at Nesttun and that the railway had a maximum speed of 25 km/h. The railway was of vast importance for the Os community, as it allowed for day trips to Bergen. The rail trip took only two hours, and was considerably faster and cheaper than travel by steam ship. Despite a boom caused by
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, the railway lost business to road transport, which provided faster service. On 2 September 1935, it became the first Norwegian railway to close, and most of the track was demolished the following year.


Heritage

Most of the right-of-way still exists, although all the tracks were removed in 1936. In 1980, most of the right-of-way within Bergen was converted to a hiking and bicycle trail, and later asphalted. The right-of-way can therefore be walked from Nesttun to Kismul. Along there is a combined path and road, although the latter has little traffic. The section from Selsvik to Ytre Sandvika was converted to a bicycle path in 2002, and in 2008, the path was extended another kilometer (half a mile) past Kismul. The remaining section past Kalandseid has been regulated, but lack of funding has delayed the process. While hiking is possible, the path is overgrown and some places become a swamp. From Kalandseid to Søfteland, the route runs next to
European Route E39 European route E39 is the designation of a north–south road in Norway and Denmark from Klett, just south of Trondheim, to Aalborg via Bergen, Stavanger and Kristiansand. In total, there are nine ferries, more than any other single road in Eu ...
. South from Kalandseid, the route goes through private agricultural land towards Røykenes. In Os there is a section from Tømmernes to Søfteland that has been asphalted as a path. From Storestraumen south of Søfteland, about one kilometer (half a mile) has been converted to a gravel path. On this section is Bergstø Bridge, where of track has been laid. Stend Station has been converted to a
railway museum A railway museum is a museum that explores the history of all aspects of rail related transportation, including: locomotives ( steam, diesel, and electric), railway cars, trams, and railway signalling equipment. They may also operate historic e ...
and is the only station building to remain in its original design. In the 1980s, the building had fallen into disrepair, but from 1987, Friends of the Os Line started renovating it. It has a small display of artifacts from the railway, including old pictures, a film and items, including tools from the workshop. Outside there is a long railway line. On it is a draisine from 1925, a combined third-class and post wagon from 1894. It consists of two half frames that were welded together, with
bogie A bogie ( ) (in some senses called a truck in North American English) is a chassis or framework that carries a wheelset, attached to a vehicle—a modular subassembly of wheels and axles. Bogies take various forms in various modes of transp ...
s bought from Poland. It is the smallest bogies wagon in Norway. The station also features a water station. The museum also has a
diesel locomotive A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving whee ...
which dates from 1967. It was used by Fana and later Bergen Municipality in the sewer tunnels, and was given to the museum in 1995. It features gauge, but otherwise has no resemblance with the material used on the Nesttun–Os Line. Os Station has been preserved and is owned by Os Municipality. Plans exist to renovate and revert it to its look from 1894, but lack of money has only resulted in the station being painted in the original colors. Plans call for a short section of track to be laid on the station area. The workshop has become the location of a sewer pumping station, although the exterior has been renovated to the original. The depot was built with decorative pillars, but there were built over in the 1930s. In the 1990s, these were removed again. Os Cultural Development has the rights to use the municipally owned building, and they have stated that they plan to convert it to a center for art. The building is planned expanded with a glass facade towards the fjord is planned, which would feature art workshops and ateliers. Ulven Station also remains, has been modernized and serves as a private residence. All the buildings at Kalandseid Station have been demolished, except a private residence. The station area of Hamre Station has been converted to a turning spot for buses. Fana Station still stands, but has been renovated and modernized to the unrecognizable, and serves as a private residence. Rådal Station is in use as a private residence. Two passenger cars are displayed at the
Norwegian Railway Museum The Norwegian Railway Museum ( no, Norsk Jernbanemuseum) is located at Hamar in Innlandet county, Norway. It is Norway's national railway museum. History Established in 1896, until 1912 the collection was housed on the second floor of the Hama ...
in
Hamar Hamar is a List of cities in Norway, town in Hamar Municipality in Innlandet Counties of Norway, county, Norway. Hamar is the administrative centre of Hamar Municipality. It is located in the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Hedmarken. ...
, after they had served on the
Urskog–Høland Line The Urskog–Høland Line ( no, Urskog–Hølandsbanen), also known as Tertitten, is a narrow gauge railway between Sørumsand and Skulerud in Norway. History The original line was long and was built in three stages: Urskogbanen opened in 1896, ...
from 1935 to 1960. They are used on the museums ''Tertitt'' train that runs on the museum area. They were renovated in 1994–95. Os Municipality has a dismounted half wagon frame from an Oldbury wagon dating from 1894. A wagon frame built by Skabo in 1907 is in use in a garden at Kismul. It includes some original benches.


See also

* Narrow gauge railways in Norway


References


Bibliography

* * *


External links


Stend Station Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nesttun-Os Line Railway lines in Norway Heritage railways in Norway Transport in Bergen Os, Hordaland Railway lines in Vestland Railway lines opened in 1894 750 mm gauge railways in Norway 1894 establishments in Norway Private railway lines in Norway