Hultsfred – Västervik railway line

Hultsfred – Västervik
Hultsfred train station
Route length:	71 km
Gauge :	891 mm ( Swedish 3-foot track )
Operating points and routes
Legend Railway line Nässjö – Oskarshamn from Berga Railway line Växjö – Åseda – Hultsfred from Åseda 66.2 Hultsfred Railway line Nässjö – Oskarshamn to Nässjö Stångådalsbanan to Linköping 64.6 Hultsfreds Hembygdspark monastery Kristinebergsbadet 60.8 Idols 55.9 Vena (formerly station, until 1906 Hvena ) 48.509 Väderum (formerly train station) 43.2 Tuna Vimmerby – Spångenäs Järnväg from Vimmerby 1906-1958 40.5 Spångenäs (from 1906) 0 38.6 Blägda 2.7 Yxern Yxern (harbor) 34.6 Totebo (formerly Bhf.) Toteboån 29.1 Hjorted (formerly Bhf.) 26.3 Bresefall (also Bresfall, until 1915) 24.2 Fagersand (from 1944) 23.8 Långsjön Långsjön (22.4) Ankarsrums hamn Ankarsrums bruk 21.2 Ankarsrum 15.8 Tjursbo (from 1944) 13.3 Fårhult (formerly station) 9.1 Valstad 7.9 Gunnebobruk 7.1 Sales Tjustbana from Åtvidaberg 0 114.3 Jenny Three-rail track 118.0 Tjustskolan 118.8 Vastervik

The Hultsfred – Västervik railway is a narrow-gauge railway opened in 1879 (gauge 891 mm, equivalent to three Swedish feet ) in the Swedish province of Kalmar Lan . The 71-kilometer route connects the town of Hultsfred with the port city of Västervik . Scheduled passenger traffic was shut down in 1984. Since 1987 there has been seasonal and museum traffic with interruptions. The line was the last narrow-gauge railway operated by the state railway company SJ and at the same time the first Swedish railway line to be listed as a historical monument.

history

Hultsfred-Westerviks Jernväg

The route was built on the initiative of the city of Västervik by the Hultsfred-Westerviks Jernväg (HWJ) company and opened in sections between 1878 and 1879. Hultsfred had a rail connection on the standard gauge railway line Nässjö – Oskarshamn since November 11, 1874 . Also in 1879 a second narrow-gauge railway was opened from Västervik via Åtvidaberg and Bersbo to Norsholm on the Östra stambana , which was operated by the companies Norsholm-Bersbo Järnväg (NBJ) and Västervik-Åtvidaberg-Bersbo Järnväg (VÅBJ). The two lines met at Jenny train station a few kilometers before Västervik.

Hultsfred-Västervik-Åtvidaberg-Bersbo Järnväg

In 1914, the operating company HWJ was taken over by VÅBJ. The new company operated under the name Hultsfred-Västervik-Åtvidaberg-Bersbo Järnväg.

After many delays, triggered by the outbreak of World War I , the construction of the Växjö – Åseda – Hultsfred railway finally reached Hultsfred in December 1922. This created a continuous, narrow-gauge rail link between Växjö and Västervik.

Norsholm-Västervik-Hultsfreds Järnvägar

In 1924 the NBJ was also taken over, the company was now called Norsholm-Västervik-Hultsfreds Järnvägar (NVHJ).

The Växjö – Hultsfred line was nationalized in 1941 due to its poor economic situation , and the Hultsfred – Västervik line followed in 1949. The Swedish state railway company Statens Järnvägar (SJ) took over the operation .

Between 1959 and 1964 the line from Åtvidaberg to Västervik was widened to standard gauge. Since the line coming from Hultsfred was not widened, a three- rail track was laid between the connecting station Jenny and Västervik .

Blägda – Yxern railway line

Yxern was the end point of a 2.7 km long branch line from Blägda station on the Jenny – Hultsfred line to the southern tip of Lake Yxern.

Both travelers and goods were carried on the lake by steamboat . There was no regular passenger traffic on the railway line, but in the 1920s passenger traffic was carried out with steam trains or motorized trolleys. The line existed between 1879 and 1940.

Decommissioning and privatization

On August 19, 1984, the last passenger train ran on the route. Freight traffic between Västervik and Gunnebobruk continued, but ended on December 13, 1985 after a derailment at Rödsle.

However, after the closure plans were announced, an initiative to save the railway had been formed. A joint-stock company called Växjö-Hultsfred-Västerviks Järnväg (VHVJ) was founded, which in September 1986, a few weeks after all traffic was shut down, bought the Växjö – Hultsfred – Jenny route from SJ. The VHVJ carried out mainly summer tourist traffic, but occasionally also school traffic on behalf of the municipality of Växjö.

bankruptcy

In 1992 the VHVJ went bankrupt. The then Swedish road construction authority Vägverket then bought the Verkebäck – Jenny section from the bankruptcy estate in order to be able to expand the E22 European road unhindered . A newly founded company called Småländska Smalspåret AB (SMAB) took over the Hultsfred – Totebo section, while another company called Förvaltnings AB Smålandsbanan took over the Totebo – Verkebäck section. Even after the bankruptcy, summer traffic was still sporadically operated, especially in connection with the Hultsfred Festival .

Interruption and rebuilding

In 1993 Vägverket interrupted the route between Verkebäck and Jenny in the course of the expansion work on the E22. Against the decision of Vägverkets to build over the railway line here instead of building a bridge, however, an objection was raised and it was lifted by the regional administration. In 1996 the Totebo – Verkebäck section was later placed under monument protection for the entire route. Together, the regional administration and the monument protection authority Riksantikvarieämbetet were finally able to persuade Vägverket to lead the new E22 over a bridge over the railway line. This bridge was completed in 2000, after which work began to restore the entire route to a navigable condition. At the same time, the municipality of Västervik rebuilt the narrow-gauge systems in Västervik station, which were demolished in 1993. In 2002 the connection to the three-rail track to Västervik was re-established and museum railway operations resumed.

Today's operation

Since 2003, the Tjustbygdens Järnvägsförening association has organized museum trips with historic YP type rail buses and occasional special trips with steam locomotives between around mid-June and early September . In the main season between the beginning of July and mid-August the trains run daily, otherwise on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

Web links

• Smalspårsjärnvägen Hultsfred – Västervik. Tjustbygdens Järnvägsförening, accessed on June 11, 2019 (German-language website of the Museumsbahnverein). 

Individual evidence

1. ↑ to banvakt.se, Bandel 471. Accessed June 11, 2019 (Swedish). 
2. ↑ according to banvakt.se, Bandel 469. Accessed June 11, 2019 (Swedish).  
3. ↑ Kjell Byström: 471 Hultsfred – Jenny. inclusive (Blägda) –Yxern. In: historiskt.nu. December 2, 2011, accessed August 15, 2019 (Swedish).  
4. ↑ ^{a b} Åseda-Hultsfred-Västervik. Fact & Historia. In: järnväg.net. Retrieved June 13, 2019 (Swedish). 
5. ↑ (Linköping-) Bjärka Säby-Västervik. Fact & Historia. In: järnväg.net. Retrieved June 13, 2019 (Swedish). 
6. ↑ Yxern. In: banvakt.se. Retrieved August 15, 2019 (Swedish). 
7. ↑ Blägda – Yxern. Bandel 471: 1. In: banvakt.se. Retrieved August 15, 2019 (Swedish). 
8. ↑ ^{a b c d} Rolf Sten: VHVJ, Växjö - Hultsfred - Västerviks Järnväg. In: historiskt.nu. October 14, 2003, Retrieved June 13, 2019 (Swedish).