Mågelibanen was a
funicular
A funicular ( ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep grade (slope), slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to ...
with double track line arranged on a timber
trestle work in Skjeggedal in
Odda
Odda () is a list of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in the old Hordaland counties of Norway, county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1913 until its dissolution in 2020 when it was merged into Ullensvang Municipality i ...
,
Hordaland
Hordaland () was a county in Norway, bordering Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Telemark, and Rogaland counties. Hordaland was the third largest county, after Akershus and Oslo, by population. The county government was the Hordaland County Munici ...
,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
. From the station close to the
Ringedals Dam and the lake Vetlavatn, the funicular ascended to the top station Mågelitopp,
above sea level
Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...
. The Mågelibanen was part of an industrial landscape connected to the listed hydroelectric power station in
Tyssedal
Tyssedal is a village in Ullensvang municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the shore of the Sørfjorden about north of the town of Odda. Tyssedal is located in an environment in a valley between the fjord to the wes ...
and the industry in the city of Odda.
History
Mågelibanen was built 1911-1912 by
AS Tyssefaldene for transportation of workers and equipment to the mountains in connection with the building of a long transfer
tunnel
A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two portals common at each end, though there may be access and ve ...
between the lakes Øvre and Nedre Bersåvatnet in the Tyssedalsfjellene mountains. The funicular was later used for supervision and maintenance of mountain installations. The funicular has also been used for new hydroelectric constructions in the area.
Upgrading
In connection to the 50th anniversary of AS Tyssefaldene in 1956 the funicular was upgraded and given as gift from the company to the people of Tyssedal. When the funicular opened, it made the spectacular rock formation
Trolltunga
Trolltunga ("the troll tongue") is a rock formation situated about above sea level in Ullensvang Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The cliff juts horizontally out from the mountain, about above the north side of the lake Ringedalsvatne ...
and the attractive mountain plateau of
Hardangervidda
Hardangervidda () is a mountain plateau ( Norwegian: ''vidde'') in central southern Norway, covering parts of Vestland, Telemark, and Buskerud counties. It is the largest plateau of its kind in Europe, with a cold year-round alpine climate, and o ...
accessible to the public.
Recent history
The funicular was modernized in 1988. From the late 1990s to the beginning of the 2000s the funicular was also used for tourist transportation. A road to Mågelitopp was planned which conflicted with the track line of Mågelibanen. The transportation license ended in 2010 and the funicular closed permanently. The middle section of track has been removed and the remainder is in a poor state of repair. The road consists of a series of switchbacks, several of which cross the former location of the rails.
Technical data
*Track length: '
*Height: '
*Horizontal length: '
*Maximum
steepness: ''42°''
*Configuration: ''
Two parallel straight tracks ''
*Journey time: ''12 minutes''
*Speed: '' ''
*Cars: ''2''
*Car weight: '' ''
*Capacity: ''9 passengers or per car''
*
Track gauge
In rail transport, track gauge is the distance between the two rails of a railway track. All vehicles on a rail network must have Wheelset (rail transport), wheelsets that are compatible with the track gauge. Since many different track gauges ...
: '
*Traction: ''Electricity''
See also
*
List of funicular railways
This is a list of funicular railways, organised by place within country and continent. The funiculars range from short urban lines to significant multi-section mountain railways.
A funicular railway is distinguished from the similar incline elev ...
External links
Mågelibanen - Roller coaster from wildernessMovieStatkraft
{{DEFAULTSORT:Magelibanen
Odda
1912 establishments in Norway
800 mm gauge railways in Norway
Funicular railways in Norway
Railway lines opened in 1912