Electric rail projects in East Jutland
Electric rail projects in East Jutland existed on a large scale on the Danish Jutland peninsula at the beginning of the 20th century . Occasionally, considerations have been made with electrically operated trains in other parts of the country.
None of the projects were built as an electrically powered railroad, but some of them were built as traditional railways. The rest was forgotten after a few years. The Aarhus - Randers connection was planned very far and did not lose its character as an electric railway until 1914.
Advantages and disadvantages
Werner von Siemens had presented the first usable electrically operated railway in Berlin in 1879 . Electric technology is developing rapidly, electric trams were built in the first cities, and there were high expectations for the benefits of electric operation.
Electric railways were seen as an inexpensive alternative to conventional steam-powered railways. This saved the heater and the many hours of preheating time until the steam locomotive was ready for operation.
One advantage that the petrol and diesel railcars that appeared later had was that electric locomotives were able to accelerate faster. In this way, the travel time between the stops could be reduced. Electric locomotives were also able to cope with steep gradients, so that the routes could be built more direct and thus shorter. This compensated for the higher construction costs for masts and overhead lines.
It was also seen as an advantage of the early electric railroad projects that the railroad would bring power to the small towns and homesteads along the way. However, the problem turned out to be that the necessary infrastructure did not yet exist.
Projects
Between 1904 and 1906 there were the following projects in Denmark for electrically operated railways with a total length of 420 km. With one exception and a few changes, all of them were passed with the Great Railway Act of May 27, 1908 . The next major railway law of March 20, 1918 no longer contains any of these electrically operated railways.
Aarhus-Randers
At a meeting on May 13, 1904 in Spørring Kro, a committee was formed to work on plans for an electric train between Aarhus and Randers. The chairman of the commission, farmer Peter Nielsen (1853–1921) from Lisbjerg Terp, came to Landsting in 1906 and worked there for the project.
Both Aarhus and Randers are surrounded by relatively high mountains, so that the existing railway line between the two places, the oldest in Jutland and built in 1862, had to take a long detour over three river valleys and Langå . A direct route should be created and the ability to cope with larger increases with electric locomotives should be used.
First, the middle section between Lisbjerg Terp and Ølst was to be built and the route was to be divided into two branches. The western branch should lead via Ølsted – Trige – Spørring – Ødum – Hadbjerg and the eastern branch via Mejlby – Mygind – Sjellebro. Together this would have created a network of 71 km. This plan was abandoned when the former general director of Danske Statsbaner , engineer IW Tegner, explained that the line would be very complicated to operate.
Ølstvad – Hornslet
When the eastern branch of the Aarhus – Randers line was abandoned, the Sjellebro – Ølst line was newly designed as a branch line from Ølstvad to Hornslet on the Grenaabanen . This should be 21.3 km long, which should be driven through in 45 minutes. The route was to be built with four stations (B) and four stops (H): Brusgård (H), Årslev (H), Clausholm (B), Hørning (B), Sjellebro (B), Lemmer (H), Skørring ( H) and Karlby (B).
Hornslet – Torup Pakhus
Kalø Vig's electric Bane was supposed to connect Mols with Aarhus via Hornslet . In Hornslet the cars of the electric train were to be attached to the trains of the Grenaabane. The connection to Randers was to be established via the continuation to Ølstvad. The route should have been 32 km long and lead via Ugelbølle , Rønde , Feldballe , Agri and Knebel to Torup Pakhus . This is a port on Knebel Vig , from which excursion boats operate on the Aarhus Bugt .
The Torup – Hornslet line was included in the Railway Act of March 20, 1918 as a conventional line, but was not implemented.
Randers – Viborg
This route was to lead from Randers to Fladbro and through Nørreådalen to Skjern , where it was to be divided into a northern and a southern branch. Both branches were to reunite in Vejrumbro to lead via Tapdrup to Viborg . The southern branch should eventually lead via Bjerringbro to the existing Randers – Viborg bane , which followed the Gudenå valley via Langå.
The Vejrumbro – Viborg line was built in 1927 as a conventional railway, it is part of the Mariager – Fårup – Viborg Jernbane .
Silkeborg – Kjellerup – Rødkærsbro – Mammen
Silkeborg – Kjellerup – Rødkærsbro Jernbane was already included in the Railway Act of May 8, 1894 , but was not implemented. In July 1905, the line was proposed as a 45 km long electric railway, which should be continued after Mammen to the southern branch of the electric railway Randers-Viborg.
In the 1908 Act, the line between Rødkærsbro and Kjellerup was listed as a conventional railway, which was implemented in 1912. The route of the electric railway was changed in the law of 1908 and led from Silkeborg via Ans and Tange on the Langå – Viborg banen to an undefined point on the Randers – Viborg electric railway.
The Silkeborg – Kjellerup line was incorporated into the 1918 Act and implemented as a conventional railway in 1924.
Grenå – Gjerrild – Allingåbro – Sjellebro
This line should run from Grenaa via Gjerrild - Stenvad - Nørager - Vivild - Ørsted to Allingåbro on Randers – Ryomgård – banen . From here it was to continue on the eastern branch of the Aarhus – Randers Electric Railway (later branch line of the Ølstvad – Hornslet connection) to Sjellebro . This extension was deleted with the 1908 law.
The 1908 law included Ryomgård – Gjerrild – Grenaa Jernbane , which was partly built as a conventional railway: Stenvad– Gjerrild in 1911 and Gjerrild – Grenaa in 1917. The law provided that the Electric Railway from Allingåbro to a point on Ryomgård – Gjerrild banen ( Laen ) should go without mentioning Ørsted, which was given its own route to Holbæk . This route from Allingåbro (now again via Oersted) to Vivild, possibly with a continuation via Nørager to a station of Ryomgård – Gjerrild banen, contained the 1918 law as a conventional route.
Ørsted – Voer
Branch line from Ørsted to Voer with a ferry across the Randersfjord . In the law of 1908, the project was expanded into a railway from Allingåbro via Ørsted to Holbæk, possibly to Udby and possibly with a branch line to Voer.
Mellerup-Randers
The route from Voer should possibly be extended further north across the fjord from Mellerup to Randers. This route was included as a separate item in the 1908 Act.
Further projects in other parts of the country
- Skive – Vestsalling Jernbane was listed as an Electric Railway in the 1908 Act. The realization came after it was changed to a conventional railroad in the 1918 Act.
- A 17 km stretch from Wedellsborg to Aarup on Den fynske hovedbane was the only electric railway project not included in the 1908 Act.
- Banerne på Møn , the 35 km long main line Møns Klint - Hårbølle and a branch line Rødkilde - Storebro , were originally designed as an electric narrow-gauge railway. This was changed to a standard-gauge conventional railway line before it was incorporated into the 1908 law.
Aarhus – Randers Elektriske Jernbane
After the Aarhus – Randers Electric Railway was announced by the Railway Act, details of the project could be coordinated. The starting point was a project by the Swedish company Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget (ASEA) from December 1906. This had informed a committee about Sweden's first standard-gauge electric railway Helsingborg – Råå – Ramlösa Järnväg , which was electrified by ASEA. ASEA sent two engineers to Aarhus, where they prepared a detailed project for the main line with appropriate sidings and the electricity supply from a peat- fired power station to be built in Karlby Mose near Hornslet to supply electricity to the two railway lines and 66 villages.
The route was to be built with rails weighing 25 kg per meter , so that it could have been driven at a maximum speed of 50 km / h. The average speed would be 32 km / h and it would take 1½ hours to cover the main route of 48.3 km. The minimum curve radius was 200 meters, the highest gradient should be 25 ‰. At that time, this would have been Denmark's greatest slope (for comparison: the increase in Grejsdalen was 12 ‰).
Routing
The route had to be linked to the financing question. After unsuccessful attempts to find investors in Denmark, Germany or France, an English financial group was found in the spring of 1909. This worked together with the British company National Electric Construction Company, which had already built and operated five electric trams and six power plants. The British wanted to finance the main line from Aarhus to Randers, but felt that the branch line to Hornslet and Kaløvig would not be profitable, so this plan was postponed and later abandoned.
The communities between Aarhus and Randers were not enthusiastic about the project as they were supposed to sign a large guarantee for the route. In some cases this was so great that the municipalities would have had to double the local tax if the guaranteed amount had been redeemed. The city councils in Randers and Aarhus, who had to approve the guarantees, were skeptical and called for a referendum in the affected communities. A total of 61% were for and 39% against the granting of guarantees, only in Todbjerg-Meilby there was a majority against.
In the ASEA project, the train should start at Skolebakken in Aarhus, then pass Aarhus Østbanegård and Risskov. The new line should then leave Grenåbane at what is now Vestre Strandalle station. The Aarhus City Council would have signed a high guarantee and in return demanded that the route should lead from Hammelbanegården via Mølleengen, where the city would have preferred further development. Two proposals were made, but it was uncertain whether Danske Statsbaner wanted to connect Aarhus Central Station with Mølleengen and would eventually need the site.
ASEA suggested choosing Strømmen station on Randers – Ryomgård – banen as the terminus, as no new bridge should be built over the Gudenå. Randers City Council, however, requested that the route lead into Randers Train Station. DSB was concerned that the electric train would run up to twelve trains a day in each direction and did not allow them to cross Randers – Ryomgård – bane on the same level or Strømmensbro, which led Ryomgård – banen across the Gudenå, was allowed to use.
It was not a problem to run the electric train around the municipality of Todbjerg-Meilby, so that this resulted in a route - apart from the unsolved situation at the two end stations - ultimately with the following stations (B) and stops (H): Hammelbanegården in Aarhus ( B), Katrinebjerg (H), Vejlby (B), Terp (H), Lisbjerg (B), Ølsted (B), Trige (B), Thomasminde (B), Spørring (B), Ødum (B), Halling ( H), Skader (B), Voldum (H), Nielstrup (H), Hvalløs (H), Ølstvad (B), (Sønder) Borup (H), Haslund (S) and Randers (B). The stops were to get a modest stationkeeper's house with a waiting room .
Power plant construction
In contrast to the railway lines to be built, there was not the same level of support among the population for power plant construction. 75% of the voters were against and only 25% were in favor of the municipalities to give guarantees for the power plants.
The British offered to build and finance the line and the power station and rent it to the neighboring communities for 20 years. A contract was drawn up that was very well received by the communities. However, the city council and the municipal administration of Aarhus ( Danish Aarhus Amtsråd ) were not ready to sign a contract with which the British with their power station could compete with the city's municipal energy supply companies.
The English were thus forced to buy electricity from the electricity company in Aarhus. They agreed a price of 7 Øre per kilowatt hour for the large purchase quantity , with the electricity supply company charging a normal price of 18 Øre. These terms were agreed in July 1911. However, it turned out that the deal would cause the power plant to suffer losses and that the adviser who advised the plant to accept the low price was secretly working for the British.
concession
The concession negotiations began in September 1910 and were lengthy because DSB asked many questions about the project. In March 1912 the conditions were clear, but the DSB had demanded a restriction of the rights to transport goods on the electric railway. This condition was not acceptable to the committee and the communities. The case was referred to the Folketing , who put pressure on the Minister of Transport . A new concession dated March 3, 1913 gave the electric railway an unlimited right to transport goods on the route.
Diesel-electric operation
In January 1914, those responsible for the Danish railways at Statens Järnvägar in Sweden examined the world's first railcar with diesel-electric drive . The vehicle had been developed by Diesel Elektriska Vagn Aktiebolaget , a subsidiary of ASEA, and at that time had already been in operation for six months.
Since it was still unclear how the Aarhus-Randers elektriske Jernbane should be supplied with electricity, the board of directors of the railway examined this railcar in June 1914. It was recognized that this type of drive had advantages because it was independent of the power grid. In principle, the vehicle had its power plant with it.
After the inspection, the board considered using the diesel-electric drive instead of laying overhead lines. Preliminary calculations indicated that construction costs and operation would become more cost-effective. A thorough analysis of the possibility of diesel-electric propulsion was in full swing when the First World War broke out. Price increases and material shortages brought the project to a standstill. Since the railway seemed to get along without electricity from the local power station, ARKE (Aarhus, Randers og Kaløvigegnens Elektricitetsselskab) was founded in January 1915.
End of the project
In September 1916 the deadline for raising capital for the railway line and in March 1917 the concession expired. The Minister of Transport refused to renew this concession, because now DSB wanted to build a double-track state railway, which was to run largely with the route of the electric railway between Aarhus and Randers. The municipalities involved preferred this solution from the state railway, although the DSB only wanted to build five stations. The new Aarhus – Randers – bane was passed with the Railway Act of March 20, 1918, but finally stopped in 1922.
literature
- Asger Christiansen: Aarhus-Randers Elektriske Jernbane . Bane bøger, 1984, ISBN 87-88632-04-0 , p. 32 .