Varberg – Ätran railway line

Varberg – Ätran
Remains of the 2011 railway line near Varberg
Route length:	49 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Maximum slope :	16.67  ‰
Top speed:	55 km / h
Legend Västkustbanan from Göteborg C and Lund C Viscadalsbanan from Borås 0 Varberg 1 Varberg Norra (1911-1914) 1 Industrial connection Susvind 5 Träslöv 7th Hunnestad 10 Grimeton 14th Rolfstorp 17th Obbhult 21st Åkulla 26th Skinnarlyngen Hjärtaredsån 10 m Falkenberg – Limmared railway line from Falkenberg 31 Ullared Falkenberg – Limmared railway line to Limmared Högvadsån 16 m 38 Spetsebo 41 Gallared 45 Silvergärde Ätran 45 m 49 Ätran Railway line Fegen – Ätran to Fegen

The Varberg – Ätran railway was a 49-kilometer standard-gauge railway in Halland in Sweden . It opened in 1911 and closed in 1961. The line was not electrified.

history

From Varberg there were already some rail connections with Borås (1880), Halmstad (1886) and Gothenburg (1888).

There have been many proposals to build a railway line from Varberg in an easterly direction. According to unconfirmed sources, an investigation was carried out as early as 1862 over a stretch of Varberg-Ullared-Värnamo-Lammhult. On July 3, 1869, a meeting took place at which the route Lammhult – Värnamo with branches to Varberg or Halmstad was discussed. An eleven-member committee founded there commissioned an investigation and on January 1, 1870 a company was founded to build this railway line. The cost was estimated at 4.158 million Reichstaler. It turned out to be impossible to raise the capital for it.

A few years later, a concession for the route Varberg - Ullared - Fegen - Kinnared was applied for, which was approved on July 21, 1876. This time the cost was estimated at three million crowns. An application for a government bond was rejected and the project was abandoned.

In 1886 a route between Himle and Ätran was discussed, but here too the planning ended relatively soon.

Another concession for a route Varberg - Ullared - Holsljunga - Tranemo - Månsarp was applied for and approved on July 8, 1892. The cost was given as 4.37 million crowns. The rejection of the government loan application ended this project in 1897.

Due to the high costs of a full-gauge railway, the next considerations were towards a narrow-gauge railway. Three alternatives were considered: the Varberg – Holsljunga, Horred – Holsljunga and Varberg – Mjöbäck routes. Since the capital could not be raised for any of the three possibilities, these considerations were ended.

In 1902 the next attempt was made. Now a concession for a narrow-gauge railway with a gauge of 891 mm for the route Varberg-Ullared-Ätran should be applied for. E. Sahlén from Vägoch vattenbyggnadskåren (road and hydraulic engineering office) calculated the cost of this at 757,000 kroner. This request was rejected on November 18, 1904. Mayor E. Swenson, however, had Sahlén's proposal changed slightly and applied for another concession for the line in 1905 with a cost estimate of 1.196 million crowns. Falkenbergs Järnväg, who crossed the route in Ullared, protested against these plans. The latter feared that the competition would harm their interests economically. In numerous letters to the licensing authorities, the construction of a standard-gauge variant was considered in the event that the narrow-gauge railway would be rejected. The costs for this were estimated at 755,000 crowns for the route construction and 225,000 crowns for the vehicles. The road and water engineering planning office considered these estimates too low and increased them to a total of 2.14 million crowns.

Varberg − Ätrans Järnvägsaktiebolag (WbÄJ)

The concession was granted on November 23, 1906 with the condition that construction began on December 1, 1908 and commissioning must take place on December 1, 1911. The sale of shares began in January 1907 and the first general meeting took place on July 27th. There it was found that shares had already been subscribed for for 1,010,800 kroner, of which 500,000 kroner from the city of Varberg. Under these conditions, the assembly decided to found the Varberg-Ätrans Järnvägsaktiebolag (WbÄJ). The elected board of directors applied for state loans and in 1907 was awarded 1.185 million crowns. The engineers J. Saabye and O. Lerche then began construction work on March 31, 1908. After a temporary lack of capital, another 65,000 kroner could be used as a state loan.

The total costs for the railway construction could be determined at the end of 1911 at a total of 2,289,911 crowns. For this purpose, a 48.75-kilometer standard-gauge line was created, the length of the sidings was 2.91 kilometers. The steel rails weighed 24.8 kg per meter . The greatest gradient was 16.67 ‰, the small curve radius 300 meters and the maximum speed 55 km / h.

vehicles

In total, the following steam locomotives were procured:

number	Surname	design type	Wheel alignment	Manufacturer	Fabr.-No./ year of construction	Special
1		Saddle tank locomotive	C t	Nydqvist & Holm , Trollhättan	1910	Scrapped in 1937
2		Saddle tank locomotive	C t	Nydqvist & Holm, Trollhättan	1910	1937 to Lysekils Järnväg , there no. 5, 1939 to Uddevalla – Vänersborg – Herrljunga Järnväg , UWHJ no. 23, 1940 to SJ, SJ K9 1552, 1957, scrapped in 1958
3		Saddle tank locomotive	C t	Nydqvist & Holm, Trollhättan	1910	1937 to Kumla – Yxhults Järnväg , No. 6, 1944 sold to Frövifors, scrapped in 1962
6th		Tank locomotive	1 B t	Munktells Mekaniska Verkstad , Eskilstuna	23 1889	1915 from Varberg – Borås Järnväg , VBJ No. 6, 1930 to Domnarvet, later scrapped
7th		Tank locomotive	1 C t	Nydqvist & Holm, Trollhättan	621 1901	1917 from Kristianstad – Hässleholms Järnväg , CHJ No. 7, scrapped in 1937

Locomotives 1 to 3 cost 29,200 crowns each. Immediately after delivery, they were used for transporting gravel when building the line. Four two-axle passenger cars and two post / passenger cars were procured for passenger transport. The freight traffic was initially handled with ten two-axle covered and 30 two-axle open freight cars.

In 1911 a depot with a workshop, a locomotive shed and a locomotive line was built in Varberg Norra . A 12-meter turntable was also set up.

To begin with, a stand in the Halmstad – Nässjö Järnvägar (HNJ) locomotive shed was rented in Ätran , then a goods shed, a water tower, a separate locomotive shed and a 12-meter turntable were built next to the new station building.

Installation

Former railway bridge from 1910, today road, over the river Ätran near Ätran (2012)

On April 1, 1911, the section between Varberg and Ullared was opened, on July 22, the remaining section between Ullared and Ätran. With the construction of the line, the connection to the Fegen – Ätran railway line, which was completed in 1887, was established. The connection to the station in Varberg did not take place until 1914, before the line ended at the station Varberg Norra , about one kilometer north, as there was no agreement with Varberg – Borås Järnväg (VBJ) on the use of the Varberg station belonging to it. In Ullared the line crossed the narrow-gauge railway of the Falkenberg – Limmared railway line .

The trains were initially pulled by steam locomotives and later diesel locomotives, and railcars were in use in the last few years of operation. According to the timetable, the train required 1 hour and 43 minutes for the route Varberg – Ätran in 1930.

Operation of the Ätran – Kinnared line

When the line went into operation, WbÄJ agreed with Halmstad – Nässjö Järnvägar (HNJ) that WbÄJ would also operate their Ätran – Kinnared line. As a result, continuous WbÄJ trains ran on the entire route between Varberg and Kinnared. On July 31, 1917, the HNJ took over its route again independently.

insolvency

Like many other private railways, the WbÄJ suffered from the global economic crisis in the 1930s. The financial situation was so bad that bankruptcy had to be declared in June 1932. Since state funds were in the company, the state declared its interest in the continued operation of the railway in order to secure its deposits.

Continued operation by Varberg – Kinnared Trafik AB

The state agreed to continue operating the route with the HNJ. For this purpose, HNJ founded a subsidiary, the Varberg – Kinnared Trafik AB , which took over the train operation from July 1, 1932. However, there was an annual loss, so the agreement was terminated on January 1, 1936. The state debt administration (Riksgäldkontoret) assured the assumption of the loss. Under these conditions, continued operation until November 30, 1936.

State takeover

After negotiations between the state and SJ , SJ decided to take over the operation of the Varberg – Ätran line on a trial basis for two years. The traffic under the direction of SJ began on December 1, 1936. On July 1, 1938, as part of the nationalization of the railway, the decision was made to incorporate the railway line into the SJ.

Shutdown

No major investments have been made in the route over the years. The necessary maintenance work ensured operation until 1961. All traffic on the line ended on February 1, 1961. The rails between Träslöv and Ätran were dismantled that same year. Between Träslöv and Susvind, the dismantling took place in 1968. The approximately one kilometer long section between Varberg and Susvind remained as an industrial connection.

Reuse

The route between Fegen and Ullared has been developed as a cycle path, parts of which run along the overland road 153. The bridge over the Ätran from 1910 is still used today as a single-lane car bridge. The former engine shed in Ätran was demolished in 1998.

Web links

• Forum with pictures from 1971
• Varberg-Ullared-Ätran. Bandel 509, SJ district VI. In: banvakt.se. Retrieved February 8, 2016 (Swedish). 
• History of the Varberg – Ätran railway line (swed.)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} History of the Varberg – Ätran railway line (swed.)
2. ↑ timetable WbÄJ, Varberg-Ätrans Järnväg
3. ↑ Att gora. Cykelinland. (No longer available online.) Ekomuseum.com, archived from the original on February 8, 2016 ; accessed on February 8, 2016 .