Ruda – Oskarshamn railway line

Ruda-Oskarshamn
Route number :	ROJ
Route length:	33.3 km
Gauge :	891 mm ( Swedish 3-foot track )
Maximum slope :	16  ‰
Minimum radius :	300 m
Top speed:	40 km / h
Operating points and routes
Legend Oskarshamn Hamn 0 Oskarshamn from here three-rail track to the port Railway line Nässjö – Oskarshamn to Berga Narrow-gauge freight yard Depot 3.8 Sörbo (from September 13, 1907) 8.4 Skorpetorp 13.5 Grönskog 15.4 Kopparhäll 19.0 Kumlemar 20.0 Fliseryd Emån 29.8 Kvillegärde (from Nov. 27, 1908) 23.4 Finsjö Industrial track Kvillas 27.8 Ekhult 30.9 To paint 31.1 Målens grusgrop Kalmar – Berga railway from Berga 32.9 Ruda Kalmar – Berga railway to Kalmar Railway line Ruda – Älghult to Älghult

The Ruda – Oskarshamn railway was a narrow-gauge railway in Sweden that connected Oskarshamn and Ruda in Kalmar län . It was opened to public transport on January 11, 1907. Freight traffic on the last section was stopped in 1970.

history

The area in the middle Kalmar Lan and in the eastern Kronoberg Lan was very rich in forests. The possibilities to bring the forest products to a port were very limited and hampered the development of the forest industry.

In the late 1800s, it became increasingly important to solve the transportation problems. In Fliseryd, which was rich in hydropower and had an up-and-coming industrial structure, considerations were made at this time to build a railway line. An industrial company, AB Bankeberg - Finsjö , planned to build a line to Möckhult or Bohult on the Nässjö – Oskarshamn railway line . This met with opposition because the general opinion was that the railway should lead to a port on the coast, either to Mönsterås or to Oskarshamn. The municipality of Mönsterås was very interested in this variant.

In a public session on March 8, 1903, a committee of five people met. Its task was to discuss the various proposals, including the proposal for the Fliseryd kyrkby – Ruda route. The committee decided on the proposed route Oskarshamn – Ruda and commissioned the engineer R. Schwanbom to prepare a cost estimate. Its calculations resulted in 1,030,000 crowns including the vehicles.

In mid-1903 an application was made for a concession for the railway line. The application was signed by District Judge Philip Wester, PL Laurell, Director M. Linder, Consul GL Wijkström and landowner G. Johansson. The plans, profile drawings and cost estimates were made by Lieutenant JA Blomberg. The line should be built in narrow gauge with a gauge of 891 mm and be 33 kilometers long, the cost was estimated at 920,000 crowns including the vehicles. The concession was granted on September 2, 1904 with the requirement to increase the cost estimate to 970,000 crowns. While the concession was being granted, a permit application for the competing railway line Finsjö – Mönsterås was rejected.

Ruda – Finsjö – Oskarshamns Järnvägsaktiebolag

The above persons invited to subscribe for shares. The city of Oskarshamn subscribed for shares for 316,000 crowns and the municipality of Fliseryd for 80,000 crowns. At a meeting from December 27-28, 1903, it was found that 484,100 kroner had been subscribed for. On this basis, the assembly decided to found the Ruda – Finsjö – Oskarshamns Järnvägsaktiebolag or in short Ruda – Oskarshamns Järnvägsaktiebolag (ROJ). The same people who applied for the license were elected to the board. Philip Wester became the speaker. The company also received a government bond of 483,300 kroner.

The company later became heavily involved in extending the route to Älghultsby and the associated establishment of the Ruda-Älghultsby Järnvägsaktiebolag (RÄJ) company. After its establishment, a joint management of the two companies was decided. The ROJ operated the RÄJ route with its personnel and vehicles.

The recession in the 1920s had a major impact on the railroad. For ROJ and RÄJ, the transport of sand and wood saved the situation for a while. In passenger traffic, attempts were made to rationalize traffic in 1924 by buying a railcar. Despite great efforts, both companies went bankrupt in 1931.

Track construction

Master builder PJ Petersson from Skövde and engineer Johan Svensson from Mönsterås were commissioned to build the railway . The track construction began on April 28, 1905 and proceeded without major problems. On December 10, 1906, the entrepreneurs announced that the line was ready for acceptance. This was followed by the opening of the line on January 11, 1907 for public transport.

For Ruda station, an agreement was made with "Föreningen för Kalmar läns östra järnvägs byggand" , which operated the Kalmar – Berga railway to use its station. In agreement with Nässjö-Oskarshamns Järnväg for the Oskarshamn station, the passenger trains went to their station, and a joint transhipment hall for goods was built. About 800 meters from the station, Ruda – Finsjö – Oskarshamns Järnvägsaktiebolag built its own narrow-gauge freight station.

The final bill for the railway construction showed a total of 1,083,000 crowns. The rails weighed 17.7 kg per meter , the steepest incline was 16 ‰ and the smallest radius 300 meters. The maximum axle load was set at 7.2 tons at a maximum speed of 40 km / h. In 1907 the company employed 34 people. The first traffic manager was Axel Tage Richard Wiedeman, who was also the station master for the railway stations on the route.

For the maintenance of the vehicles were roundhouse in Oskarshamn and Ruda built. In 1905, a brick-built round house with two stands and an associated turntable with a diameter of 10.3 meters, a coal container and a coal crane was built in Oskarshamn . A water tower was built next to it. A workshop with two stands was built next to the engine shed. With the takeover of the Ruda – Älghult railway line , the locomotive shed was expanded by two stands. The depot was about 800 meters south of Oskarshamn station. The engine shed was demolished in 1978.

In 1906 a stand-alone locomotive shed with a turntable of 10.3 meters was built in Ruda. This was at the north end of the train station and was demolished in 1967 after traffic ceased.

vehicles

Two steam locomotives were bought during the construction phase of the line, and more vehicles followed over the years:

Steam locomotives, small locomotives, railcars and sidecars

number	design type	Wheel alignment	Manufacturer	Construction year	Whereabouts
1	Tank locomotive	1 C t	Nydqvist och Holm , Trollhättan	806 1905	1932 taken over by Östra Smålands Järnväg , ÖSmJ 1; 1940: SJ S8p 3025 , scrapped in 1953
2	Tank locomotive	1 C t	Nydqvist och Holm, Trollhättan	807 1905	1927 to Dala – Ockelbo – Norrsundets Järnväg , DONJ 13, 1966 scrapped
3	Tank locomotive	1 C t	Nydqvist och Holm, Trollhättan	951 1910	In 1932 taken over by Östra Smålands Järnväg , ÖSmJ 3; 1940: SJ S9p 3026 , 1968 to Museiföreningen Anten – Gräfsnäs Järnväg
4th	Tank locomotive	1 'C 1' t	Henschel , Kassel	17868 1920	Taken over by Östra Smålands Järnväg in 1932 , ÖSmJ 4; 1940: SJ S2p 3038 , scrapped in 1962
5	Tank locomotive	1 'C 1' t	Henschel, Kassel	17869 1920	1932 taken over by Östra Smålands Järnväg , ÖSmJ 5; 1940: SJ S2p 3039 , 1968 to Museiföreningen Anten – Gräfsnäs Järnväg
7th	Diesel railcars	1 A	Kalmar Verkstad , Kalmar	1924	3rd class, 1931 at Hjo – Stenstorps Järnväg

When operations began in 1907, there were four passenger cars and 34 freight cars . Before the Ruda – Älghult railway line was opened by the Ruda – Älghults järnvägsaktiebolag , the two Henschel locomotives were procured in 1920. For passenger transport, the company bought a railcar from Kalmar Verkstad in 1924 , which was sold to Hjo-Stenstorps Järnväg after the bankruptcy in 1931 .

Östra Smålands Järnvägsaktiebolag

Ruda – Finsjö – Oskarshamns Järnvägsaktiebolag went bankrupt in 1931. You and Ruda – Älghults järnvägsaktiebolag (RÄJ), which had also gone bankrupt, were transferred to Östra Smålands Järnvägsaktiebolag (ÖSmJ) on July 1, 1932 , which was a subsidiary of Kalmar – Berga Järnvägsaktiebolag . This subsidiary also went bankrupt in 1936, was dissolved on January 1, 1937 and integrated directly into Kalmar-Berga Järnvägsaktiebolag .

→ Main article : Östra Smålands Järnväg

nationalization

The Kalmar läns östra järnvägsaktiebolag was born on July 1, 1940 as part of the general railway nationalization in Sweden by the State and Statens Järnvägar integrated. Passenger traffic increased during the Second World War , so that passenger trains pulled by steam locomotives were replaced by railcars. The freight traffic continued to be carried out with steam locomotives until the line was closed.

Shutdown

On September 29, 1963, freight traffic between Oskarshamn and Kvillegärde ended.

On July 1, 1966, passenger traffic between Oskarshamn, Kvillegärde and Ruda was discontinued. In 1970, freight traffic between Kvillegärde and Ruda was stopped when Ackumulator AB Jungner stopped transporting goods by rail.

The line was dismantled in 1968 between Oskarshamn and Skorpetorp and the last part between Skorpetorp and Ruda in late 1970 / early 1971.

Remnants of the route

Parts of the embankment are used as a footpath or bicycle path.

Web links

• ROJ, Ruda - Oskarshamns Järnväg Historiskt om Svenska Järnvägar

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Ruda – Oskarshamn. Bandel 548, SJ district 27 bs. In: banvakt.se. Retrieved June 14, 2013 (Swedish).  
2. ^ Oskarshamn station sketch. Retrieved February 9, 2015 (Swedish). 
3. ↑ ^{a b} Bandelsregister 548 Ruda - Oskarshamn. Historiskt om Svenska Järnvägar, accessed on February 9, 2015 (Swedish). 
4. ^ Nydqvist & Holm AB - Bofors-Nohab AB, Trollhättan, Sverige. In: svenska-lok.se. Retrieved February 5, 2015 (Swedish). 
5. ↑ HBJ 11 / Bjurström. In: svenska-lok.se. Retrieved February 5, 2015 (Swedish). 
6. ^ Ruda - Oskarshamns Järnväg (ROJ). In: pospichal.net. Retrieved February 9, 2015 . 
7. ^ Sveriges smalspåriga järnvägar Småland och Östergötland. (PDF) In: 1943 års järnvägskommitte. Kommunikationdepartimentet, 1943, p. 19 , accessed on December 31, 2012 (Swedish). 
8. ↑ Östra Värends och Östra Småland Järnvägar. Cykla Banvall, accessed February 17, 2015 (Swedish).