De Bornholmske Jernbaner

De Bornholmske Jernbaner
De Bornholmske Jernbaner A / S
Society's route network
Route length:	91 km
Gauge :	1000 mm ( meter gauge )
Legend 31.2 Sandvig Allinge gasworks Allinge harbor Korsbjerg 28.9 Allinge 27.7 Sandkås 25.0 Tejn 23.2 Humledal 19.1 Rø Spellingmose 14.3 Splidsgård 12.1 Klemensker 9.7 Mæby 7.2 Nyker 4.5 Blykobbe 0.0 0.0 Rønne H Rønne Havn 1.5 Rønne North Branch formerly RNJ 2.9 Rønne Øst 5.6 Robbedale 8.6 Køllergård 10.2 Nylars 11.6 Lobbæk 13.2 Smørenge 15.0 Tvillinggårde 23.1 Gudhjem 20.5 Stavehøl 17.8 Østerlars 13.7 Østermarie formerly Øster-Marie 10.7 Åløse 6.8 Christianshøj formerly Kristianshøj 5.0 Almindingen Vallensgård 2.8 Skørrebro Branch former AGJ 0.0 17.4 Aakirkeby 21.0 Ugleenge 24.0 Langemyre 26.0 Pedersker 28.7 Pilemølle 30.8 Bodilsker Kannikegård 33.6 Balka beach 36.6 Nexø

De Bornholmske Jernbaner (DBJ) were the amalgamation of three railway companies on the Danish island of Bornholm on April 1, 1934. The lines were built in meter gauge and were never re-gauged because of the island location . The decommissioning of the final leg took place in 1968. On all routes took passenger and freight transport instead. Independent of these, Hasle had a short private stretch of the Hasle Klinker- og Chamotttestfabrik since 1877 , which existed for 120 years.

The Railroad Act of May 8, 1894 , which authorized the Danish government to license 29 private railways , started the construction of railways on Bornholm. The sections from Rønne via Klemensker and Rø to Allinge and from Almindingen via Østermarie to Gudhjem were only determined by the Railway Act of May 27, 1908 .

The construction of the lines contributed to the development of the island, for example in Aakirkeby , the only Bornholm city inland.

history

Railway operations

Rønne-Nexø Jernbane

The oldest of the companies, Rønne-Nexø Jernbane (RNJ) , operated the 36.6-kilometer route from the capital Rønne to the eastern port city of Nexø (Rønne-Nexø Railway, RNJ ). This was opened in December 1900 until the later Aakirkeby branching station and lasted the longest.

Furthermore, from Aakirkeby a 5.1 kilometer branch line to the quarry near Almindingen was built, which was part of the existing route from May 31, 1901. (Both railway lines are shown on the map of Bornholm around 1900.)

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  Bornholm around 1900

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  DBJ Museum in Nexø

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  Sandvig train station

Rønne-Allinge Jernbaneselskab

The second, 31.2 kilometers long, built by the Rønne-Allinge Jernbaneselskab (RAJ) went into operation on May 6, 1913 and served from Rønne to the northern part of the island via Rø to Allinge and Sandvig . It was built by Rønne-Allinge Jernbaneselskab A / S , founded in 1908 . At Madseløkke between Allinge and Sandvig, a route to Allingen harbor branched off.

Alminding-Gudhjem Jernbaneselskab

The third line was built by Alminding-Gudhjem Jernbaneselskab (AGJ) . It was the extension of the branch line to Almindingen, had a length of 18.1 kilometers and led to the port city of Gudhjem via Østermarie and Østerlars . It went into operation on June 27, 1916. (A section of the railway line from Østerlars in the direction of Gudhjem to the Kobbeå waterfall still exists as a well-preserved cycle and hiking trail.)

There was also a branch line from the train station in Rønne to the port.

Railway operating data:

year	route	Distance / travel time	Number of passengers	Freight (tons)	staff
1900	Rønne – Nexø	37 km / 2 hours	150,000 / year	35,000 (1)	37
1901/02			328 / day
1913	Rønne – Sandvig	31.2 km	142,400 / year (2)	12,000	39
1914			424 / day
1929	All routes		100,000 / year
1930	Use of motor locomotives (3)
1934	Merger of the three companies to form DBJ
1940	All routes		120,000 / year
1946/47	Rønne – Nexø		1,693 / day (4)	70,000
1952	Almindingen – Gudhjem closed
1953	Rønne – Sandvig closed
1968	Rønne – Nexø		900 / day

(1) Proportionately 17,000 pigs (2) Most of them are German tourists (3) So far, use of steam locomotives (4) Proportionately German and Russian soldiers

End of rail operations

As with many private railways, the competition from automobile traffic for the DBJ meant that the utilization of the railways was getting worse and worse. The last line to Gudhjem built was the first to be closed again (August 18, 1952). The line to Allinge-Sandvig was closed on September 15, 1953.

Operations on the route to Nexø continued for the time being. In the mid-1960s, due to the poor condition of the rail vehicles, first considerations were made to shut down this line. At a general assembly in February 1968, it was decided to discontinue scheduled rail operations for the end of September of the same year. The last scheduled train ran from Rønne to Nexø on September 28, 1968 (see) and ran as a special train back to Rønne the following day at 12:15 a.m.

DBJ Museum

The “DBJ Museum” in the port of Nexø is located in a building that until 2003 belonged to the Nexø boat building company. The Nexø station building was demolished in 1973. With the exhibition Train on Bornholm, the museum provides an insight into Bornholm's railway history. Among other things, the mail car DBJ No. 26 to see.

Future development

Since buying a diesel locomotive of the type BJ No. 5 In 1994, efforts were made on the island, in particular by the tourism administration, to restore part of the route. The plan is to rebuild the section from Klemensker to Rø. This section leading through the cliff valley of Kleven is said to be Denmark's most beautiful railway line.

Train stations

Some of the stations and operations buildings are still there. Some of the railway lines are still visible. Sometimes they are used as cycle paths. The "central" train station in Rønne is now the Perronen restaurant , in German "The platform", and the depot in Rønne is used by the bus company BAT as a car shed. There are also the reception buildings of Rønne-Øst, Christianshøj (Almindingen), Østermarie (both privately owned), Østerlars (Østerlars Friskole) and Gudhjem (Gudhjem Museum).

The station building in Allinge is used for civil protection; the building in Sandvig is used as a pension ("Pension Langebjerg"). The station buildings on the route to Gudhjem were designed by Kay Fisker (1893–1965).

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  Administration of the DBJ, today administration of the bus company BAT

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  Central station Rønne

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  Allinge station

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  Gudhjem railway station

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  Pilemølle station

literature

• Ludvig Mahler: De Bornholmske Jernbaner . 1993, ISBN 87-88134-03-2 . (Danish)
• Bornholms Museum, Ann Vibeke Knudsen: DBJ Historien om Jernbanerne på Bornholm . 2007, ISBN 978-87-88179-74-3 . (Danish)

Web links

Commons : Gudhjembanen  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Commons : Nexøbanen  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Pictures from the Bornholm Railways: (evp.dk)
• Pictures: Kollergarde St. Bahnhof Nexö 1962

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Freiherr von Röll: Danish Railways . In: Encyclopedia of Railways . Archived from the original ; Retrieved May 20, 2013 . 
2. ↑ Bornholm holiday tip: Aakirkeby
3. ↑ ^{a b} The Bornholmer Railway (DBJ)
4. ↑ havnebaner.dk , Hafen Eisenbahn: A map section of Allinge and Sandvig shows the railway line between the two places and the connection to the port of Allinge.
5. ^ DBJ - De Bornholmske Jernbaner. Archived from the original on October 2, 2013 ; accessed on March 12, 2019 (Danish). 
6. ^ DBJ Foreningen De Bornholmske Jernbaner , film about the last trip with DBJ from Rønne to Nexø
7. ↑ e-pages.dk (PDF; 31.0 MB), Denne Uges Bornholm No. 20 17. – 30. September 2012: Port Day in Gudhjem, Svaneke and Nexø (with a historical picture of the port, p. 16), The railway and the port (p. 56).
8. ^ DBJ Museum. Foreningen de Bornholmske Jernbaner, accessed on March 15, 2019 (Danish).  DBJ Museum in Nexø.
9. ^ Gudhjem Museum. In: gudhjem.nu. Retrieved April 6, 2018 (Danish). 
10. ↑ my1287.dk , BJ Historien om Jernbanerne på Bornholm.