The Setesdal Line () was a

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

between

Kristiansand Kristiansand is a city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality is the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 116,000 as of January 2020, following th ...

and Byglandsfjord in southern

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 ...

, long. It was built with a narrow

gauge Gauge ( ) 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, especia ...

of , and opened to Hægeland 26 November 1895, and to Byglandsfjord 27 November 1896. Stations along the line included Mosby,

Vennesla Vennesla is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Sørlandet. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Venn ...

, Grovene ( Grovane),

Iveland Iveland is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder County, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Setesdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Birketvei ...

and Hægeland. Today, only the stretch between Grovane and

Røyknes Røyknes is a village in Vennesla municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located along the west side of the river Otra, about northeast of the village of Skarpengland. The municipal border between Vennesla and Iveland is the river ...

of the original line is preserved as a

heritage railway A heritage railway or heritage railroad (U.S. 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) ...

History

When the

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 in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...

Sørlandet Line The Sørlandet Line () is a railway line between Drammen (though this is connected to Oslo by means of the Drammen Line) via Kristiansand to Stavanger. The line is long between Oslo and Stavanger. History The railway was constructed in several ...

was opened to Kristiansand in 1938, Grovane became the new terminal station for the Setesdal Line, with connection to the Sørlandet Line. The Setesdal Line was suspended from 1 September 1962, and the track was lifted between Byglandsfjord and Beihølen. The line between Beihølen and Grovane was, however, preserved by local enthusiasts. The Setesdal Line Hobby Club was already established in 1964. Today, the Setesdal Line is a railway museum with steam trains serving the line between Grovane and

. Four steam locomotives from 1894-1902 are preserved, along with a number of passenger and freight cars.

The preserved locomotives

Narrow gauge steam locomotives

* Class XXI number 1, built at

Dübs and Company Dübs & Co. was a locomotive manufacturer in Glasgow, Scotland, founded by Henry Dübs in 1863 and based at the Queens Park Works in Polmadie. In 1903 it amalgamated with two other Glasgow locomotive manufacturers to create the North British Loc ...

in 1894. * Class XXI number 2, built at

in 1894. * Class XXI number 5, built at Thunes Mekaniske Værksted in 1901. * Class XXII number 6, built at Thunes Mekaniske Værksted in 1902.

Narrow gauge diesel locomotives

* SJ Class Z4t number 227, built in 1950. Bought from the SJ in 1976. * SJ Class Z4t number 307, built in 1952. Bought from the SJ in 1981.

Narrow gauge railcars

* Cmbo-1 number 2672, built in 1932 at

Strømmens Værksted Strømmens Værksted A/S was an industrial company based in Skedsmo, Norway, specialising in the production of rolling stock. Founded in 1873, it remains as a part of Bombardier Transportation. The plant is located just off Hovedbanen west of S ...

. 56 passengers. *Cmdo Sulitelma, built in 1957 at

. 56 passengers. Transferred to the Setesdal Line after the closure of Sulitjelma Line.

Standard gauge diesel locomotives

These locomotives are only used for shunting at areas with

dual gauge Dual gauge railroad track has three or four rails, allowing vehicles of two track gauges to run on it. Signalling and sidings are more expensive to install on dual gauge tracks than on two single gauge tracks. Dual gauge is used when there i ...

track. * Skd 206 number 39, built in 1936. * Skd 206 number 44, built in 1936.

Heritage railway stations and stops

The following stations and stops exist at the current railway museum:

Setesdal Line 1896 - 1938

Connection with

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. The term ''steamboat'' is used to refer to small steam-powered vessels worki ...

on Lake

Byglandsfjorden Byglandsfjorden is a lake in Agder county, Norway. The lake lies on the river Otra, primarily in the municipality of Bygland, but the far southern tip of the lake extends into the neighboring municipality of Evje og Hornnes. The river flows ou ...

from Byglandsfjord Station. The railway line was closed in 1962, but parts of the railroad have been preserved. It is a current narrow-gauge heritage railroad between

and Grovane and the current standard gauged track from Grovane Station to Kristiansand Station is a part of the current

. Several of the station buildings along the former railroad are still preserved. Rail passengers had to change trains at Grovane Station from 1938 to 1962 due to different track widths, narrow-gauge to normal gauge.

Route

References

External links

Official site

Official YouTube Channel

Vest-Ager Museum, Setesdal Line
(Optional languages)
Google map location
{{coord, 58.2936, N, 7.9808, E, source:wikidata, display=title Railway lines in Norway Railway lines in Agder Heritage railways in Norway 3 ft 6 in gauge railways in Norway Sørlandet Line Setesdal Museums in Agder Tourist attractions in Agder Railway lines opened in 1895 1895 establishments in Norway Railway lines closed in 1962 Museums established in 1964 1964 establishments in Norway Vennesla Bygland