Dal – Västra Värmlands Järnvägsaktiebolag

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Dal – Västra Värmlands Järnvägsaktiebolag
legal form Aktiebolag
founding November 2, 1914
Seat SwedenSweden
Branch Railway companies

The Dal-Västra Värmlands Järnvägsaktiebolag was a Swedish railway company . It was founded on November 2, 1914 with the purpose of building the Mellerud – Arvika and Beted – Skillingsfors railway lines . Years of negotiations about the route and the way of execution preceded the establishment of the company.

prehistory

In the autumn of 1904 a study was carried out on the construction of a railway between the Dalsland Canal in the south of Lake Laxen and Mellerud am Vänern in order to provide transport to the companies located there. Originally a narrow-gauge line was planned . At a meeting in Mellerud on January 12, 1906, the decision was made to use a standard gauge line. This decision called for a new investigation, in which the Bergslagernas Järnvägar (BJ) participated with 1000 crowns . Dennis Insulander was commissioned with the planning, which he presented on October 8, 1906. For the construction of the line between Mellerud (with a connection there to the BJ) and Billingsfors costs of 2.2 million crowns were estimated. The BJ was ready to participate in the project company with 500,000 crowns.

For this section a concession was applied for on November 3, 1906 by a group of company owners from the region and the chairman of the BJ, August Wijkander . The neighboring Dalslands Järnväg (DJ) and Lelångenbanan (ULB) objected to this application , as the new route would have a negative impact on their catchment area. After five years of processing the application, it was rejected in 1911, essentially at the instigation of the ULB. The reason for this rejection contained a passage according to which a new railway to be built should connect to the Nordvästra stambana at Åmot or Ottebol . Therefore, on April 15, 1912, a new license was applied for, the route should lead from Mellerud via Årjäng and Koppom to Arvika . For this purpose, two branch lines - from Mosserud to Töckfors and from Blomskog to Lennartsfors - were also applied for.

Overall, over the years there have been several competing proposals for possible route construction, all of which have been submitted for the award of a concession. These were:

  • Proposal June 9, 1906: Bengtsfors – Fölsbyn – Åmotfors (narrow gauge, submitted by an interest group, supported by Lelångenbanan).
  • Suggestion April 23, 1910: Åmål – Stömne – Ottebol or Arvika (standard gauge, interest groups, including from Glava, Säffle and Åmål).
  • Proposal September 9, 1911: Bengtsfors – Fölsbyn – Arvika (narrow gauge, interest group from Arvika who, contrary to earlier proposals, wanted the end point in Arvika instead of Åmotfors).
  • Proposal on December 18, 1911: Åmål – Årjäng – Arvika (standard gauge, interest groups from Åmål and Sillerud. This proposal later led to Åmål – Årjängs Järnväg , ÅmÅJ).
  • Proposal April 15, 1912: Mellerud – Årjäng – Arvika (standard gauge, interest group of factory owners and the BJ described above).
  • Proposal June 5, 1912: Bengtsfors – Årjäng – Åmotfors or Arvika (narrow gauge, interest group from both proposals of June 9, 1906 and September 9, 1911).

On October 11, 1913, the statement on the various proposals finally came. A standard gauge line from Mellerud via Årjäng to Arvika with a branch to Töcksfors was proposed. At the same time, a proposal for a standard gauge line Åmål – Årjäng – Arvika was approved, but with the stipulation that the line may only be built between Åmål and Arjang.

The final decision was made on September 22, 1914. The royal authority Väg– och Vattenbyggnadsstyrelsen (VoV) decided that the Mellerud – Billingsfors – Årjäng – Arvika line with the Järnskog – Skillingsfors branch line could be built. The Åmål – Årjäng route was approved with the same concession .

Foundation of the company

On November 2, 1914, the Dal-Västra Värmlands Järnvägsaktiebolag (DVVJ) was founded. The concession was transferred to the newly founded company, its first chairman was the businessman Axel Carlander from Gothenburg . The first managing director was Helmer Bernhardt, also from Gothenburg. The share capital was decided to be 4.5 million crowns. At the founding meeting, 2.7 million crowns had already been subscribed. The statutes were adopted on February 19, 1915. The largest shareholders were BJ with 30,000 shares and the city of Gothenburg with 20,000 shares, each share cost 50 kroner. The construction costs for the 182.1 km long railway line without vehicles were estimated at 9.183 million crowns. A 30-year contract for the operation of the routes with their vehicles was concluded with the BJ. According to the concession conditions, the latest construction should start on October 1, 1916 and the final commissioning should take place on October 1, 1922.

The planning began under Theodor Helleberg in the winter of 1914/15 and was completed in 1915. It turned out that the schedule could not be kept. The new start of construction was set for January 1, 1917, the construction itself should be carried out in two stages. The first section consisted of the 124.6 km long route Billingsfors – Arvika with the 19.1 km branch to Skillingsfors. It was financed through a loan of 5.622 million kroner, which was approved on September 2, 1916 from the Bibane Fund . The second section, the 38.4 km long Mellerud – Billingsfors line, was built with the company's equity and a loan of 1.6 million kroner, for which the BJ guaranteed. The question of financing was a difficult one, especially given the rapid inflation and skyrocketing costs of materials and wages.

Construction and commissioning

The overall project was divided into five construction lots , and construction work began in Mellerud at the end of 1915. The agreements stipulated that the construction of the lines would be completed on October 1, 1926 for all traffic. In the crisis years after the First World War , everything became more expensive. Labor disputes exacerbated rising costs and led to further delays. In an estimate in November 1919, it was recognized that the railroad would cost an estimated 18.63 million crowns, about twice as much as according to the calculations from 1914.

Despite all the setbacks, the 13 km long section between Mellerud and Åsensbruk was opened for temporary freight traffic on December 13, 1923 . It was not until March 1, 1928, after a construction period of 12 years, that the last section Bengtsfors Ö – Gilserud– (Arvika) and the branch line to Skillingsfors could be opened.

The construction costs remained behind the estimate with just over 16 million crowns. The reason for this was a work program, the so-called Nödshjälpsarbeten , for which the state paid the costs. In addition, no parallel line to Nordvästra stambanan was built in the Gilserud – Arvika section. One could agree with the SJ to use their section of the route. The increased costs compared to the initial plan were largely covered by further subscription of shares, state loans in the amount of 2.1 million crowns and additional loans from the Bibane Fund in the amount of over three million crowns.

bankruptcy

From the beginning it became clear that it would take many years for the DVVJ to make a profit. The annual report in April 1936 then showed that the company could no longer make its payments in connection with the loans. The company filed for bankruptcy on June 8, 1936 . From December 1936 to May 1937 the DVVJ came under state administration, while the Järnvägar (BJ) mountain camps continued to operate during this period .

Järnvägsaktiebolaget Dal – Västra Värmland

On September 1, 1937, the BJ bought the bankrupt DVVJ for 3.378 million crowns and founded a new subsidiary under the same name DVVJ Järnvägsaktiebolaget Dal-Västra Värmland . In connection with the purchase, the BJ procured two railcars from Nydqvist & Holm in Trollhättan , BJ 52 and 53, for use in passenger transport on the routes of the former Dal – Västra Värmlands Järnvägsaktiebolag . The Åmål – Årjäng railway , which was built by Åmål – Årjängs Järnvägsaktiebolag (ÅmÅJ), was also incorporated into this new company . ÅmÅJ had already gone bankrupt in 1932.

nationalization

In 1939 the Swedish Parliament made a fundamental decision on the nationalization of private railways. This included not only companies with weak economic strength, but also profitable companies. In 1945 the discussion began about the state takeover of companies in a Trafikförvaltningen Göteborg – Dalarne – Gävle (TGDG). It was about the Bergslageras Järnväg (BJ), Lödöse – Lilla Edets Järnväg (LLEJ), Kil – Fryksdalens Järnväg (KFJ), Gävle – Dala Järnvägar (GDJ), Södra Dalarnas Järnväg (SDJ), Åmängs Järnväg (SDJ), Åmål – Järnväg and also the DVVJ. After long negotiations it was decided that from July 1, 1947, all of these companies would be taken over into a public company, the TGDG. A year later, on July 1, 1948, the TGDG were transferred to the SJ and integrated into their organization.

The Järnvägsaktiebolaget Dal – Västra Värmland was formally dissolved on September 2, 1949.

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