Frövi – Ludvika railway line

Frövi – Ludvika
Lindesberg train station (around 1940)
Route number :	10
Course book range :	53
Route length:	100 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Power system :	15 kV 16 2 / 3 Hz  ~
Maximum slope :	16.67  ‰
Top speed:	Bandel 325 (Ludvika) –Ställdalen (via Hörkenspåret): 140 km / h Bandel 391 (Frövi) - (Grängesberg) (via Silverhöjden): 115 km / h
Legend from Falun by Vansbro 70.125 Ludvika Railway line Kolbäck – Ludvika to Fagersta C 71 Asea (1950-1965) 74 Våghalsgruvan (until 1921) 74 Våghalsen (1940–1950 / 1952) 75 Kärrgruvan (until 1921) 75 Gonäs 78 Blötberget 78.417 Klenshyttan (formerly P-Halt) BJ 80 Bjornhyttan 80 Björkås (1944–?) Norra Berget 85,440 Grängesberg C Grängesberg mbg 94 Silverhöjden Silverhöjden – Mossgruvan railway line Narrow-gauge railway to Sävsnäs (802 mm) 94.610 Listen BJ 100 Stallberg BJ 105.510 463.093 Ställdalen BJ after Kil 455.283 Kopparberg (originally Nya Kopparberg ) Bånghammar – Kloten railway line 453.105 Bånghammar 451,436 Bångbro Rällsälven 444.161 Rällså (formerly P-Halt) Stora Masugn 438.296 Vasselhyttan Storån 434.258 Storå Storå – Guldsmedshyttan railway line Storå – Stråssa railway line Bjornaboda 424,412 Gusselby Borsån 419.210 Lindesberg (until 1909 Linde ) Borsån 418.100 Dalkarlshyttan 410.179 Vedevåg (formerly P-Halt) 0 Röjen junction to Fagersta 1 ¼ Vanneboda to Köping 400,000 Frövi to Hallsberg
Explanations: “Hpr” = Rälsbusshållplats / stop for rail buses only BJ = station of the former mountain camps järnväg Swell:

The Frövi – Ludvika line is a standard-gauge Swedish railway line . The route via Silverhöjden is the main route of Frövi – Ludvika Järnväg (FLJ). The company was originally based in London and the company was called The Swedish Central Railway . The Trafikaktiebolaget Gränges – Oxelösund (TGO) leased the route from its English owners in 1900 and took it over completely in 1925.

history

As part of the construction work on the Köping – Hult railway line, attempts were made to build a branch line from the planned station in Frövi to Lindesberg and Ludvika through the ore mining area of ​​Grängesberg. In the Swedish Reichstag in 1853 and 1854 two applications for its establishment were rejected. Other motions in the election periods 1856–1858 and 1859–1860 were also rejected. A new attempt was only made in 1863 when the owner of the Schisshyttan pushed onto a railway line from Frövi via Ludvika to Falun . An investigation, in which the English were also involved, lasted until 1865. It came to the conclusion that the development of the large, rich ore fields would make a lasting contribution to improving the economic situation of the province and the whole country. In addition, it was announced that any future company would bring some foreign capital of around ten to eleven million crowns into the country. The total cost of the railway line was estimated at 16½ million crowns. A request for the remaining amount in the form of a state loan in the amount of about 5 ½ million crowns was made by King Carl XV. declined.

Svenska Centraljärnvägsaktiebolaget

Nevertheless, the railway company Svenska Centraljärnvägsaktiebolaget was founded in the autumn of 1865 with the aim of building a railway line from Frövi to Falun along the Siljan . The establishment was approved by the state on December 21, 1865 and subscription lists were laid out for the shares. Great publicity for the company was made at the Stockholm Industrial Exhibition in 1866. The driving force behind the realization of the railway company was the hut owner Harald Ericsson from Ramsberg , whereby the industrial exhibition attracted a lot of attention but showed little success. Ericsson's work was noted, however, and in 1866 he became a member of the second chamber of the Reichstag for the Lindes domsaga area .

In the first meeting in 1867, Ericsson applied for state funding for the construction of the Frövi – Falun line. However, his reasons were not taken into account, and the motion was ignored. In 1869 the city of Örebro and Stora Kopparbergs län again submitted an application for state support for the construction, which suffered the same fate and was rejected.

Then a new application for a license came from people who offered to build the railway without any significant cost to the state. In the winter of 1868–1869 discussions took place with donors in England , who were supported by Ericsson, who otherwise saw no other chance for the railway construction. The envoy from the English embassy, Audley Gosling, applied for a concession for a route between Frövi and Ludvika . But because the application did not contain any guarantee that the building would continue to Falun, it was also rejected.

Swedish Central Railway Co. Ltd

Another application was made in the autumn of 1869 - this time for the route from Frövi and Lindesberg via Grängesberg to Ludvika, as well as with the option of extending it to Falun. On September 22, 1869 this application was successful and the license was granted. Associated with this was the deposit of a deposit of 200,000 Reichstalers as well as other demands from the licensing authority to ensure that the route was built according to the same criteria as a route built by a domestic company. October 1, 1873 was requested as the opening date of the line.

Many observers did not believe the line would be built, but Audley Gosling raised the £ 25,000  necessary to set up a company in England. The Swedish Central Railway Co. Ltd was founded under English law with a capital of 165,000 pounds. The construction contract was awarded to Wythes & Longridge, the construction costs were estimated at 631,700 pounds. To this end, further bonds were issued in England. This attracted attention in Sweden, as it was felt that an English company did not necessarily have to build a railway line in the rich mining area. Under these conditions the railway was built economically for Sweden.

Walmsley Stanley was brought to Sweden in 1869 to build the railway line . He visited all places and communities to inform them of the conditions for the construction of the railway. This led to discussions in politics and the press, as the Swedes were of the opinion that patriotic undertakings such as building a railway should not be left to foreigners.

The conditions were: free land and the right to use roads, free delivery of ballast to the construction sites, free delivery of wood for the construction of the stations and other buildings, and a fixed fee ( royalty ) for every hundredweight of ore transported from all Ore mines over a ten year period. The fees in particular sparked discussion. However, a group of people around Audley Gosling managed to agree on these conditions for everyone involved. The most difficult were the negotiations with the Lindesberg community. After an agreement with the municipality, a necessary guarantee of 200,000 Reichstalers was deposited with the state bank on March 1, 1870.

Construction began around Midsummer Night 1870 under Walmsley Stanley. Starting from Frövi, the line should be built in several stages, which should be opened to traffic after each completion. Claes Adolf Adelsköld took over state supervision of the building .

All building materials except the sleepers were supplied from England. In the winter of 1871 there were also four steam locomotives and 40 freight wagons that were used in the construction. Four more steam locomotives followed in 1872.

Steam locomotives

number	Surname	design type	Wheel alignment	Manufacturer	Fabr.-No./ year of construction	Special
1	HARALD ERICSSON	Supporting tender locomotive	C.	Sharp Stewart , Manchester	2071 1871	1911 to LKAB, there No. 7 († 1925?)
2	FREDRIKA	Supporting tender locomotive	C.	Sharp Stewart, Manchester	2072 1871	1904 to LKAB, there No. 4
3	PERSEVERANDO	Supporting tender locomotive	C.	Sharp Stewart, Manchester	2073 1871	1914: Fagersta; 1929: Horndal
4th	ROSINA	Supporting tender locomotive	C.	Sharp Stewart, Manchester	2074 1871	1914 to LKAB, there No. 9
5	NERIKE	Tank locomotive	C.	Manning Wardle , Leeds	408 1872	1920 to LKAB, there No. 4 (possibly second occupation)
6th	DALARNE	Tank locomotive	C.	Manning Wardle, Leeds	409 1872	1928 to SSA Köpingebro, retired in 1938
7th	CARL XV	Tank locomotive	C.	Manning Wardle, Leeds	410 1872	1931 to TGOJ, there No. 7, retired in 1937
8th	OSCAR II	Tank locomotive	C.	Manning Wardle, Leeds	411 1872	1922 to N&H, there No. 8

The first bogie passenger cars were built in the workshop in Kopparberg in 1895. They had first and second class as well as luggage compartments and were classified in the BCFo type. Later vehicles were built without a luggage compartment and were run under the BCo type.

Frövi – Ludvika Järnväg (FLJ)

The entire construction management consisted of English people, so many English terms were adopted by the population of the region. In addition to the Swedish name Svenska Centralbanan, the line received the name Swedish Central Railway . It was not until 1875 that the line was called Frövi – Ludvika Järnväg .

The work on the section between Frövi and Lindesberg continued throughout the winter of 1870/71. After completing the detailed plans for the Grängesberg – Ludvika section , Stanley proposed increasing the maximum gradient of the line from the original 14.28 ‰ to a maximum of 16.67 ‰. This made it possible to reduce the number of curves and thus the construction costs.

In March 1871 Stanley applied for the concession for the route between Ludvika and Falun. However, the newly formed Bergslagernas järnvägsaktiebolag had already applied for a concession for this section of the route, which it received as part of the construction of its route between Gothenburg and Falun. This led to the creation of two parallel railway lines between Ställdalen and Ludvika.

Opening of the company

For the Frövi – Lindesberg section, six passenger cars and 50 freight cars as well as the inventory for the stations were delivered in the summer of 1871. After the operating license was granted on November 11th, train traffic began on November 16th. The extension of the line to Ställdalen took place on January 1, 1872 with the preliminary commissioning. After disputes between Bergslagernas järnvägsaktiebolag and Walmsley Stanley, corrections had to be made to the route between Ställdalen and Ludvika, and the station in Ludvika had to be relocated. For this reason, Stanley requested that the start of operations be postponed.

On December 3, 1873, the line was extended to Grängesberg. The final acceptance of the line took place on October 2, 1874. This means that the line was put into operation after around 20 years of preparation and construction.

Problems after commissioning

The English shareholders Bischoffsheim & Goldschmidt, L. Thomson T. Bonar & Co. and Geo. Wyhtes were keen to get the highest possible return. Therefore, savings were made when operating the railway. There were often shortcomings in terms of care and maintenance. The wagons were poorly heated and dirty compared to other railways. The maintenance of the route was saved. The net profit could not be improved further. When the manager of the Nässjö – Oskarshamnsbanan , George Goslett, also became the manager of the FLJ, he tried to form a new joint company to improve the finances. This should be called the Swedish Central Association . Goslett found support in Ch. Weguelin.

The largest smelter in the region was Klotenverken under the leadership of S. Heijkenskjöld. When he died, Carl Fredrik Liljevalch (dj) took over the company. In 1876, he was the managing director of Klotens Aktiebolag . Shareholders became the same people who, in addition to FLJ, had a large share in Oxelösund-Flen-Västmanlands järnväg .

The Swedish Association

The association was founded in 1877 to bring all companies in the region under one management. The company, also based in London, had a share capital of £ 715,000. It contained 16,493 shares in The Swedish Central Railway Co. Ltd (only seven missing), 45,000 shares in Oxelösund-Flen-Västmanlands järnväg and 2,900 shares in Klotens Aktiebolag . Nevertheless, further losses were generated over the next few years, and no dividend could be paid to the shareholders. In 1883 a new company of its own, the Grängesbergs gruvaktiebolag, was founded to manage the Klotens Aktiebolag .

In 1879 John Johnson became the new head of the FLJ. He managed to improve the cooperation between the railway companies and the mining companies. For the FLJ his ventures were pointless, the company went into liquidation in March 1879 . It was taken out of liquidation on July 25, 1885 through various financial reallocations, new bonds with a longer term and the exchange of old shares for new ones.

Röjen – Vanneboda railway line

In connection with the sale of the Frövi – Örebro line by Örebro-Köpings Järnväg to SJ , a new line was built between Vanneboda and the existing Frövi – Ludvika line. As a result, the ore trains from Grängesberg no longer had to be turned in Frövi and could drive directly towards Köping . Vanneboda station was rebuilt and was named after the nearby Vanneboda Gård . The license for the 1 ¼ km long route was applied for on November 3, 1899, the opening for passenger traffic on May 1, 1901 and for general traffic on July 23, 1901.

The previous route from Röjen to Frövi was no longer used by passenger trains from 1906. These trains, operated by the FLJ, now ran from Lindesberg to Vanneboda. However, by order of the state, the previous route had to be maintained for military trains.

For Vanneboda, which initially only had a wooden hut as a station building, this meant an enormous economic boom. From 1901 to 1930, all traffic passed through the new station, in some cases up to 30 freight trains per day. Around 300 freight wagons were relocated in the station, which was equipped with nine tracks. Almost all trains found one locomotive change place since the bridge the route using larger locomotives Oxelösund-Flen-Västmanland Järnväg not allow (OFWJ). From 1930, however, the traffic was shifted back to Frövi. The locomotive changes became superfluous with the electrification of the line on June 9, 1947 . Nevertheless, Vanneboda remained a place of use for steam locomotives for a few years.

In 1962 the train protection and the signal box were switched to remote control, the station was no longer manned from this point in time. In 1967 the station building was demolished and replaced by a smaller functional building. Today Vanneboda is operationally part of the Frövi station; the track systems were reduced to two tracks. Frövi station has not been staffed since June 5, 1998.

Lease to Trafikaktiebolaget Grängesberg – Oxelösund (TGO)

On February 10, 1900, the railway line including the rolling stock was leased to Trafikaktiebolaget Grängesberg – Oxelösund (TGO) for 50 years . The rent was £ 33,500 a year. The construction costs were put at 12,286,114 crowns, thus 125,369 crowns per kilometer. This took into account the maintenance costs for 30 years. This ended the rail operation by The Swedish Central Railway Co. Ltd in Sweden. The company existed until 1925, when it went bankrupt . From this point on, the route was transferred to the Trafikaktiebolaget Grängesberg – Oxelösund and the lease was canceled.

The construction of the line was under the maxim of achieving possible quickly and with minimal cost, the operating recording. Work on improvements had to start as early as 1880. The simple iron rails with a meter weight of approx. 20 kg were exchanged for steel rails with a weight of 27.2 kg / m. The work went very slowly for cost reasons and was not completed until 1890.

After the lease, the rails were again exchanged for those with a meter weight of 41 kg / m until 1907, and the gravel base was replaced by gravel . There were also new safety systems with signals .

The section between Ställdalen and Falun was electrified in 1946.

Current condition

In 1931, the line merged with Trafikaktiebolaget Grängesberg – Oxelösund and other companies into Trafikaktiebolaget Grängesberg – Oxelösunds Järnvägar (TGOJ). Today it is part of the so-called Bergslagsbanan . However, this current name is an art term that was given when Banverket renamed the Swedish railway lines in 1990 .

The section between Ludvika and Grängesberg was closed in the 1980s, only the route of the former Bergslagsbanan is used there. Between Grängesberg and Ställdalen, the lines built by the FLJ and the BJ are operated in parallel, with the BJ line being today's main line and the former FLJ line being the alternative line.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ JNB 2018 Bilaga 3rd E STH och medelhastighet per sträcka. (PDF) Utgåva 2017–12–08. trafikverket.se, March 12, 2018, pp. 135-136 , accessed on March 31, 2018 (Swedish). 
2. ↑ Kopparberg – Ställdalen – Grängesberg – Ludvika. Bandel 257. In: banvakt.se. Retrieved March 30, 2017 (Swedish). Asea hpr, Bandel nr 257. In: banvakt.se. Retrieved March 30, 2017 (Swedish). 
    
3. ↑ Historiskt om Svenska Järnvägar (Swedish)
4. ^ Locomotives from Sharp Stewart in Historiskt om Svenska Järnvägar (swed.)
5. ^ Locomotives by Manning Wardle in Historiskt om Svenska Järnvägar (swed.)
6. ↑ Data on Järnvägar i Örebro län
7. ↑ Historiskt om Svenska Järnvägar (Swedish)
8. ↑ New construction of the line
9. ↑ Opening dates
10. ↑ Data about the route. froviforsmuseet.com, archived from the original on December 3, 2013 ; Retrieved February 1, 2017 (Swedish). 

Web links

Commons : Frövi-Ludvika Järnväg  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Frövi-Ställdalen-Borlänge-Storvik-Gävle. Route description. In: jarnvag.net. Retrieved February 18, 2015 (Swedish). 
• Frövi – Ludvika Järnväg
• Route map
• Station plans of the FLJ ( Memento from August 18, 2010 in the Internet Archive )