Älvdalsbahn

Mora – Älvdalen
Älvdalsbahn near Mora
Route number :	54
Route length:	40.71 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Power system :	Mora – mire edge 15 kV, 16.7 Hz  ~
Top speed:	Bandel 371: (Mora) –Blyberg 40 km / h, (Blyberg) –Mäbäck 10 km / h
Operating points and routes
Legend 40.710 Älvdalen 236  m above sea level Riksväg 70 38.813 Head ramp until January 9, 2014 37.767 Märbäck 36.350 Gåsvarv 255  m above sea level 32,500 End of the route 31,300 Blyberg (formerly Bf.) 241  m above sea level Riksväg 70 28,332 Österdalälven (Oxbergsbron, combined rail-road, 150 m) 27.270 Oxberg 207  m ö.h. 21.650 Gopshus 207  m ö.h. 13.000 Store 207  m ö.h. 8.670 Eldris 205  m above sea level 2.090 Morkarlby 172  m ö.h. Europastraße 45 Inland Railway from Kristinehamn 1.070 Mud edge 171  m ö.h. 0.000 Mora 167  m ö.h. Österdalälven to Östersund Orsa – Falun railway to Rättvik

The Älvdalsbahn ( Swedish : Älvdalsbanan ) is a railway line in the central Swedish province of Dalarnas län that only serves goods traffic .

Mora – Älvdalens Järnvägsaktiebolag (MEJ)

In the early 1890s the Älvdalen municipality invested one million crowns for the preliminary investigation and then the construction of a railway line between Älvdalens kyrkby and Mora Noret station on the existing Falun – Rättvik – Mora Järnvägsaktiebolag (FRMJ) line to Falun . C. H. Öhnell carried out these investigations; then a license was applied for and Mora-Älvdalens Järnvägsaktiebolag (MEJ) was founded. The concession for the line was granted on August 28, 1894. In 1895 the concession for the Mora – Mora Noret section was given to the FRMJ.

Construction work began in 1897. The station building was planned by the architect Ferdinand Boberg. In August 1899 the bridge over the Österdalälven near Oxberg was completed. The first passenger train ran unofficially on October 8, 1899. The operation was carried out by the Mora – Vänerns Järnväg (MVJ). The 40.71 km long route between Älvdalen and Mora was opened to general traffic on November 1, 1900 after three years of work. It branches off the inland railway in Mora and headed west to Älvdalen terminus. Original plans to extend the line to Elverum in Norway were not pursued.

In 1901 it was determined that the one million crowns drawn would not be enough. Therefore, a loan of 800,000 kroner was also taken out with the Stockholms Enskilda Bank with a 40-year term. The financial situation remained bad; until 1904 the 4,000 crowns for the sleepers delivered in 1898 to the Kopparberg-Hofors sawmill company could not be paid. Therefore, in the same year, Gävle-Dala Järnvägsaktiebolag (GDJ) and MVJ were offered to take over the company. However, neither showed any interest.

In 1906 Mora-Älvdalens Järnvägsaktiebolag went bankrupt . At the general meeting of Gävle-Dala Järnvägsaktiebolag in 1907 it was proposed that the FRMJ should buy the MEJ. At the auction of the MEJ on May 26, 1908, the FRMJ was accepted for 480,000 crowns. Formally, the administration and transport operations of the MEJ were taken over by the FRMJ on May 1, 1909.

With the dissolution of the Falun-Rättvik-Mora Järnvägsaktiebolag (FRMJ), the line was transferred to the Gävle-Dala Järnvägsaktiebolag (GDJ) in 1920 . The GDJ was nationalized in 1948 and thus the Statens Järnvägar (SJ) operator of the route.

traffic

The Mora-Älvdalens Järnvägsaktiebolag did not own cars and had them mainly from the Mora-Vänerns Järnväg borrow. In the first years of operation there were two freight trains that also carried passenger cars. Later, two pure passenger trains were added, which had connections to Stockholm in Mora.

In 1940 the first railcars were used for passenger transport. The last passenger train from Älvdalen to Mora ran on June 9, 1954. According to other sources, there should have been passenger traffic from the 1930s to September 1, 1961. The steam locomotives were replaced by diesel locomotives in the 1970s . Especially in summer, locomotives of the Tb series were used in multiple traction, which were used in snow removal service in winter.

In 1982, the ten-kilometer Blyberg – Älvdalen section was closed for ten months for maintenance work. Operations resumed in June 1983. On October 1, 1989, freight traffic between Älvdalen and Blyberg was stopped. The route Älvdalen – Märbäck was dismantled in 1995. Goods traffic to Märbäck was resumed later. In 1997, the freight transport was taken over by private companies. Here Woxna Express first drove wooden block trains on the Märbäck – Mora – Orsa – Bollnäs route . In 1999 Orsatåg took over this transport until 2001. Today, Green Cargo is responsible for the regular wagonload traffic from Mora to Blyberg and uses the T44 series for this .

There was only demand traffic to Märbäck. In December 2013, it was announced that various Swedish rail routes were on the Trafikverket cross-off list . The line between Märbäck and Blyberg also fell victim to the shutdown of operations, so that the line was closed to rail traffic after the 2013/14 Christmas break. Most recently, the maximum speed for the 7.5-kilometer section was only 10 km / h. An official application for decommissioning is not yet known. In the meantime, a buffer stop has been set up at kilometer 32,500 and the remaining stretch has been cut off.

In passenger traffic, special trains ran, especially in connection with the Wasalauf , to Oxberg. On November 2, 2016, it was announced that the Oxberg Bridge will be closed to all traffic with immediate effect due to its poor condition. An alternative plan was not available at the time, but it was assumed that a new building with separate lanes for rail and road could be available by 2020/21. On December 1st, the 23 freight wagons remaining in Blyberg were transferred over the old bridge as the last train journey.

In June 2017, after the old bridge was demolished, a temporary bridge was about to go into operation. The reopening of the railway line to Blyberg took place with a festive opening on July 3, 2017.

Misfortunes

The construction of the route between Gopshus and Oxberg along the Österdalälven resulted in multiple damage from flooding . As early as May 1906, the water masses undermined the track, so that it was only possible to drive as far as the bridge near Oxberg. The passengers had to cross the bridge on foot and were brought to Älvdalen in horse-drawn carts throughout the summer .

In 1928, drift ice washed away the 1.5 km stretch between Gopshus and Oxberg. The ice was blown by the Swedish military. The repair work, which involved 50 to 50 workers, lasted five months during which traffic was still. In 1943 and 1965 this problem was repeated in the same way, but in 1965 only freight traffic was hindered.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ JNB 2020 Bilaga 3 E STH per sträcka. (PDF) Utgåva 2019-06-26. trafikverket.se, June 26, 2019, p. 148 , accessed on July 22, 2019 (Swedish). 
2. ↑ Kilometers according to banvakt.se, Bandel 189 (swed.)
3. ↑ Bilaga 3.5 JNB 2014 STH och Mh per sträcka. (xls) Bandel 371 (Blyberg) –Märbäck, stängs för trafik . www.trafikverket.se, January 9, 2014, archived from the original on September 1, 2014 ; Retrieved January 29, 2014 (Swedish). 
4. ↑ ^{a b} Järnvägsnätsbeskrivning 2020. (PDF) Bandel 371 (Mora) -Märbäck. trafikverket.se, June 26, 2019, p. 36 , accessed on July 22, 2019 (Swedish). 
5. ^ History of the MEJ (swed.)
6. ↑ Järnvägar i historien 1900 chronological table
7. ^ History of the railway using the example of Gopshus station
8. ↑ Source: Gopshusboken
9. ↑ Järnvägar i historien 1961 timeline
10. ↑ Järnvägar i historien chronological table 1989
11. ↑ dt.se: Bro utdömd, pulsåder stängs av of November 2, 2016
12. ↑ Oxbergsbron får en tillf Due ersättare. trafikverket.se, November 29, 2016, accessed December 16, 2016 (Swedish). 
13. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/557508527603002/photos/a.777814462239073.1073741828.557508527603002/1498525996834579/?type=3&theater
14. ↑ Första tåget på nya Oxbergsbron from July 4, 2017 (Swedish)

Web links

• Mora-Märbäck. Älvdalsbanan. In: jarnvag.net. Retrieved February 2, 2016 (Swedish). 
• Photos from a special trip in February 2011 (swedish)
• Eldris Tågstation. Archived from the original on August 23, 2010 ; accessed on February 2, 2016 .