150 year old loco running on my local rail line today
#1
Today we celebrate the 150th anniversary of "my" train line - Kongsvingerbanen, which runs from the RR junction town of Lillestrom east of Oslo in Norway to the city of Kongsvinger near the border with Sweden.

The line was completed in 1862 - during the era of the American civil war, and is the second oldest self propelled public railroad line in Norway. The oldest one was the Oslo - Eidsvold line - known as Hovedbanen - "the main line", which was built in 1854 under the direction of Robert Stephenson from the UK, the son of George Stephenson (of "The Rocket" fame).

Today old Caroline - a steam engine built for the opening of the Kongsvinger Line - was put back into service, to pull a train with 250 passengers from Lillestrøm and up the line. In every town along the way there were some kind of public celebration.

Here are some pictures of the train from my local newspaper's website: http://www.rb.no/lokale_nyheter/article6260356.ece

Too bad my knee got wrenched again on Thursday getting off a class 69 train, so I wasn't able to go down there to look. But that's the way it goes. I am enjoying the pictures anyways. And there apparently was quite a crowd at some of the stations - like here at Årnes station:

http://www.rb.no/lokale_nyheter/article6260373.ece

Grin,
Stein
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#2
Now that's something to see. I love those coaches, I'm assuming that the wood seats are for the common folk, plush for those that can afford it. Would love to be there. Thumbsup Thumbsup
Don (ezdays) Day
Board administrator and
founder of the CANYON STATE RAILROAD
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#3
ezdays Wrote:I love those coaches, I'm assuming that the wood seats are for the common folk, plush for those that can afford it.

Absolutely :-)

Another interesting thing - the conductor would walk on the board outside the train to knock on the windows in the doors to collect tickets - an obvious inheritance from British trains. Sometimes a bit of a challenge in poor weather and for late trains on Saturdays, when the people inside might be rather drunk and disorderly - you don't want some fool to give you a shove as you walk past his compartment, sending you careening into the ditch next to the railroad line.

Smile,
Stein
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#4
Stein, I envy you the quality of press here. Though I can't read it, the pictures show the true details of the train. I could build models (if I had the talent) from those photographs. Here we would get one picture showing the smoke coming from the stack or the fireman throwing coal in the firebox.
That train is a beautiful example of craftsmanship, both originally and in the restorations. The entire train has also been maintained they way historical units should be.
Thanks for the post and the link
Charlie
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#5
Here is a youtube video I found of Caroline on an outing two years ago - people took the steam side paddlewheeler Skibladner from Gjøvik on Lake Mjøsa to Hamar on Lake Mjøsa, and then Caroline pulled her caret cars from Hamar to Elverum:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dd3YTEUglUU

If you want to skip the boat ride, the train trip starts at about 2:40 into the clip. At about 4:09 you can see her being uncoupled from her cars, turned on an armstrong type turntable, before running around her passenger cars for the return journey - with film from the cab showing how the locomotive is being operated,

Smile,
Stein
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#6
Thanks for the great pictures! Those plush seats really are luxurious. What a way to ride a train! Hope your knee is better.
Ralph
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#7
Charlie B Wrote:Stein, I envy you the quality of press here. Though I can't read it, the pictures show the true details of the train. I could build models (if I had the talent) from those photographs. Here we would get one picture showing the smoke coming from the stack or the fireman throwing coal in the firebox.

Well, it is the web edition of a regional paper (Romerikes Blad). The paper edition (which has a circulation of 32 000 copies or so), probably only has a one page article with maybe two-three pictures of the event at most (plus a reference to the web edition).

My even more local paper (Indre Akershus Blad, circulation about 7900 copies) also covered the event, and their local photo-journalist in this area got a great picture of normal gauge "Caroline" running on the main on the right, and a double headed narrow gauge passenger train pulled by steam engines "Setskogen" and Prydz on the narrow gauge museum line below and to the left, just outside my home town:

http://www.indre.no/lokale_nyheter/article6260731.ece

The local newspaper further up along the river (Glomdalen, circulation about 18 000) also covered the event when the train came into their district - including a video showing the train in some of the towns further up the line.

http://www.glomdalen.no/kultur/article6260919.ece

The railroad is important to the population in our district - lots of us commute by train into Oslo to work, and there is a need for more capacity. Norwegian State Railroads also took the opportunity to show off their new class 75 commuter trains, which will start running on our line in December this year.

Ralph Wrote:Thanks for the great pictures! Those plush seats really are luxurious. What a way to ride a train!

That's what the mayor of Kongsvinger said too - he said (and got quite a few laughs from experienced commuters) that they were better than the modern commuter trains. I believe him - modern commuter trains are mostly glorified trams on railroad tracks. Efficient, but they lack soul.


Smile,
Stein
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