Torved – Gullspång railway line
| Gullspång – Torved | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Route length: | 20 km | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gauge : | 891 mm, from 1964/65: 1435 mm | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operating points and routes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Torved – Gullspång railway is a 1917 from Västergötland – Göteborgs järnvägsaktiebolag (VGJ) put into operation narrow-gauge railway line between Torved and Gullspång in Västra Götalands län in Sweden . It was one of the few lines that VGJ built itself.
The line was converted to standard gauge in 1964/65. Since the cessation of operations, the route has been used for tourist traffic with draisines .
history
Before the turn of the 20th century, the idea arose of connecting the narrow-gauge networks in Västergötland and Göteborgs och Bohus län in order to upgrade the entire network and open up the hinterland of the city of Gothenburg . This resulted in the establishment of the VGJ, which built the railway lines itself and connected numerous narrow-gauge island networks by renting or buying them. On January 1, 1900, the Gothenburg – Skara line and the Pedersbacke (Tumleberg) –Håkantorp line were opened to public transport.
From Skara, the line on the Vänern was extended by the purchase of the Skara – Hönsäters hamn railway line built by the Skara – Kinnekulle – Vänerns Järnväg (SKWJ) on January 1, 1904.
After VGJ had bought SKWJ and integrated it into its own operations, the next step was to merge VGJ and Mariestad – Kinnekulle järnvägsaktiebolag (MKJ), which operated the Mariestad – Gössäter railway line . The initiative came from KG Wallenius. The aim was to reach Mariestad by a direct route under the same administration from Gothenburg via Skara.
On August 22, 1908, the deed of purchase was signed, with which VGJ acquired MKJ for 445,136 crowns and 85 ore. This company's route has been fully integrated into the operations. This provided the basis for VGJ to build a line from Mariestad via Torved to Gårdsjö or alternatively via Torved to Gullspång. With the purchase agreement, the entire MKJ staff was taken over. The rolling stock was integrated into the VGJ numbering scheme.
The planned extension to Gullspång
When in 1905 the plans for a line Skara – Timmersdala – Mariestad were discussed, an extension of the VGJ from Mariestad via Lyrestad to Gullspång was discussed. This year VGJ applied for a concession for this route to Gullspång's station owned by Nora Bergslags Järnväg (NBJ). The license was granted on September 28, 1906.
In the second half of 1907 the Mariestad – Torved section was marked out. In the meantime there was no longer any interest in building the line to Gullspång. The reason for this was that NBJ had received a concession for a standard gauge line between Otterbäcken and Töreboda. This would have run almost parallel to the VGJ's approved Torved – Gullspång route.
The Torved – Gårdsjö route
Since the VGJ had the concession for the route Mariestad – Torved – Gullspång since 1906, there were a number of interested parties, including the governor of Skaraborgs län, F. de Geer, who applied for a concession for the route Gårdsjö – Torved. Drawings and cost estimates for this route had already been made by the engineer JA Jonzon in Leksberg. After negotiations with these interested parties, VGJ took over this concession on October 30, 1908.
Now VGJ had the concession for the entire route. With the engineer JA Jonzon as the responsible site manager, the work began in early 1908. On January 1, 1910, the 39-kilometer route was opened to public transport. The train station in Gårdsjö was financed by VGJ and later used by Statens Järnvägar . The Göta Canal was crossed with a swing bridge at Lyrestad north of Mariestad .
Construction of the Torved – Gullspång line
Nora Bergslags Järnväg planned the expansion of the line from Otterbäcken via Torved to Töreboda. NBJ did not carry out this expansion. In December 1913, a number of interested parties again applied for a concession for the Torved – Gullspång line. This application was approved on August 19, 1914 because VGJ had let its old concession from 1906 for the same route expire. The new concession was transferred back to the VGJ on November 5, 1915 with the stipulation that “ in the case of Statens Järnväger, the Otterbäcken – Töreboda line would be built in the future, the state would have the right to buy the narrow-gauge section” .
JA Andersson began construction on September 29, 1915. The drawings were made by Nyström and the cost was estimated at 610,000 crowns. On January 1, 1917, the line was opened for public transport.
The total length of the VGJ route Gothenburg – Skara – Mariestad – Gårdsjö with the branches Tumleberg – Håkantorp and Torved – Gullspång was now 259.8 km. The length of the other tracks such as the loading and sidings were 41 km. This was the largest expansion of the VGJ's own route network, which took over other companies in later years, but left them to exist independently.
nationalization
Like other narrow-gauge lines in Västra Götalands län and Skaraborgs län, the line was taken over by Statens Järnvägar in 1948 as part of the general nationalization of the railway and integrated into their network and organization.
On the Torved – Gullspång section, passenger traffic was practically suspended on June 11, 1945, after having been insignificant since May 22, 1932. The official shutdown took place on June 1, 1956. On the Torved – Skagersvik section there has been no freight traffic since 1961. The official setting took place in 1965.
For military reasons, the line was converted to standard gauge in 1964/65. The freight traffic between Gullspång and Skagersvik was taken care of by the NBJ until 1983. Freight traffic on the Gullspång – Skagersvik section ceased in March 1983. The rails between Torved and Gullspång are still there. Draisine traffic takes place on them at times.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Torved – Gullspång. Bandel 433, SJ district 36 bs. Retrieved June 5, 2016 (Swedish).
- ↑ Järnvägar i historian 1948
- ↑ Traffic VGJ / NBJ with photos (swed.)
- ↑ Trampa dressin in Gullspång. vastsverige.com, accessed May 4, 2018 (Swedish).
Web links
- Line map at Stig Lundin (swed.)
- Map at historiskt.nu (swed.)
- Torved-Gullspång. Sidobanan till Gullspång. In: jarnvag.net. Retrieved January 13, 2019 (Swedish).