The Sulitjelma Line ( no, Sulitjelmabanen) was a

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in Track (rail transport), tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the ...

line that ran between

Finneid Finneid is a small town with a population of 210 (2016 census) that lies southeast of Fauske in Nordland county, Norway. Finneid was the port for shipping out the ore that came from the mine in Sulitjelma. The town formerly had hotels, boarding ...

in the town of Fauske to the village of

Sulitjelma , , or is a village in the municipality of Fauske in Nordland county, Norway. Sulitjelma is situated in a lush inland valley at an elevation of above sea level. It is located on the shore of Langvatnet lake, about southeast of the town of Fa ...

near the border with Sweden.For a history of the line see Bjerke, Thor, "Sulitjelmabanen" (1983, Norsk Jernbaneklubb)(). The railway line was entirely inside the municipality of

Fauske or is a municipality located in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Salten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Fauske. Some of the villages in Fauske include Nystad, Venset, Straumsn ...

Nordland Nordland (; smj, Nordlánnda, sma, Nordlaante, sme, Nordlánda, en, Northland) is a county in Norway in the Northern Norway region, the least populous of all 11 counties, bordering Troms og Finnmark in the north, Trøndelag in the south, ...

county,

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 ...

. The line was built in 1891, over time it was lengthened until 1958 when it was connected to the

Nordland Line The Nordland Line ( no, Nordlandsbanen, ) is a railway line between Trondheim and Bodø, Norway. It is the longest in Norway and lacks electrification. The route runs through the counties of Trøndelag (formerly Sør-Trøndelag and Nord-Trøndel ...

(having a different rail gauge) and the sea port at Finneid. It existed as a branch of the Nordland Line from 1958 until 1972 when the line was closed and removed. The railway line followed the path of the present-day

Norwegian County Road 830 County Road 830 ( no, Fylkesvei 830) is a road in the municipality of Fauske in Nordland County, Norway. It runs between Finneid, where it branches off from European route E6, and the village of Sulitjelma, where it continues as County Road 543. ...

History

Construction of the line started in May 1891 when the mining company in

decided to build a railway between

Sjønstå Sjønstå is a settlement in Norway and was officially a village during a brief time when Sulitjelma Mines carried out activity in the area, 1890 to 1956. Before this time, Sjønstå comprised the Sjønstå farm, which is located on '' Øvervatne ...

and Fossen. Sjønstå is located on the shore of the lake

Øvrevatnet Øvrevatnet or Øvervatnet is a lake that lies in Fauske Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The lake lies about east of the town of Fauske. The lake flows out into the neighboring lake Nedrevatnet to the west. See also * List of lake ...

, close to sea level. The track was immediately extended along the

Sjønstå River The Sjønstå River ( no, Sjønståelva, known as the ''Langvasselva'' in its upper course) is a river in the municipality of Fauske in Nordland county, Norway. The river is located in the valley between the town of Fauske and the village of ...

to Hellarmo the following year. Hellarmo is a small village area that sits on the western edge of the lake Langvatnet higher up the valley, about from Sjønstå. It was the first railway line to be built in

Northern Norway Northern Norway ( nb, Nord-Norge, , nn, Nord-Noreg; se, Davvi-Norga) is a geographical region of Norway, consisting of the two northernmost counties Nordland and Troms og Finnmark, in total about 35% of the Norwegian mainland. Some of the la ...

. The mining products were transported by barges on the lakes. This was not possible when ice covered the lakes, so in the winter the mining products were stored. The

mine Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging * Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun ...

was expanded into the mountains at Fagerli in 1912, and at the same time the

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, es ...

was increased from to . The line also was extended all the way to the mine in Sulitjelma. The official opening of the renovated and extended line was on 15 July 1915. The track between Sandnes and Fagerli (in the village of Sulitjelma) was removed in 1950. In 1953, work began on extending the line from Sjønstå on the lake Øvrevatnet all the way to Finneid on the coast of the

Skjerstad Fjord Skjerstad FjordWelle-Strand, Erling. 1988. ''2500 Miles on the Coastal Steamer''. Narvik: Notrabooks, p. 31. ( no, Skjerstadfjorden) is a fjord in the municipalities of Bodø, Fauske, and Saltdal in Nordland county, Norway. It is a long arm off ...

in the town of Fauske. The new extension would connect the line to the main

in Fauske. Three tunnels,

Grønnlifjell Tunnel The Grønnlifjell Tunnel ( no, Grønnlifjelltunnelen) is a road tunnel that is part of Norwegian County Road 830 in the municipality of Fauske in Nordland county, Norway. It is located between Finneid in the town of Fauske and the village of ...

Hårskolten Tunnel The Hårskolten Tunnel ( no, Hårskolttunnelen) is a road tunnel that is part of Norwegian County Road 830 in the municipality of Fauske in Nordland county, Norway. It is located between Finneid in the town of Fauske and the village of Sulitje ...

and

Sjønståfjell Tunnel The Sjønståfjell Tunnel ( no, Sjønståfjelltunnelen) is a road tunnel that is part of Norwegian County Road 830 in the municipality of Fauske in Nordland county, Norway. It is located between Finneid in the town of Fauske and the village of ...

, each with a length of were built. The reason was that the lake barge transport had difficulties in the winter. Operation of the line all the way to Finneid started in December 1956. Another new tunnel through the small Stokkviknakken mountain was opened on 30 November 1962. After this, the railway had a total length of . The line closed on 22 July 1972 and it was rebuilt, including the tunnels, as

. This work was completed in 1975.

Stations

* Finneid * Solvik *

* Ågifjellet * Tveråmo * Fossen * Hellarmo *

* Langvatnet * Sandnes (Lomi) * Fagerli (until 1950)

References

{{authority control Railway lines in Norway Railway lines in Nordland Railway lines opened in 1892 750 mm gauge railways in Norway 3 ft 6 in gauge railways in Norway 1892 establishments in Norway Fauske Private railway lines in Norway