Light railway of the peat factory Ryttaren

Light railway of the peat factory Ryttaren
Light railway of the peat factory Ryttaren
Route
Route length:	3.5 km
Gauge :	600 mm ( narrow gauge )
Legend Northern line 2 Northern line 1 (from 1906) from Ljunghemsmossen 3.5 Ryttaren to Ekelundsmossen 0 Station of the museum train Ryttaren peat factory Railway line Nässjö – Falköping

The 3.5 km long field path of the peat factory Ryttaren is still a heritage railway operated narrow gauge - peat railway 600 mm gauge .

Ryttaren peat factory

The Ryttaren peat factory is located near Kättilstorp in the municipality of Falköping in Västergötland in western Sweden . Since 2012 the former factory has been protected as a Byggnadsminne ( industrial monument ) according to the provisions of the Swedish Kulturminneslag (Cultural Monument Act).

→ Main article : Ryttaren peat factory

history

In the spring of 1906, construction of the Ryttaren peat factory began. At the same time, the peat railway from the factory to the moor was built.

On May 7, 1906, 4,100 m of transportable track sections were ordered from AB Wilhelm Sonesson & Co., plus five turnouts, 24 wheel sets with double flange and a trolley.

Light railway of the peat factory Ryttaren

The line was built from the factory 400 m in a north-easterly direction in order to branch out there and lead to the northern part of the moor with two parallel tracks 500 m apart.

The rail system was then gradually expanded to eventually cover the southern part of the bog. In 1947 a major overhaul of the main line was carried out. New sleepers were installed and the rails weighing five kilograms per meter were replaced by seven kilograms. At the same time one of the northern lines was dismantled.

In 1953 and 1954, the track network was further expanded with the construction of lines into the Ljunghem and Ekelund moors. The rail network now had the largest simultaneous expansion at 10.5 kilometers. After the factory was taken over by Hasselfors Bruks AB in 1964, the line was again comprehensively renovated.

In 1985 the route to Ekelundsmoor and the rest of the northern route were demolished. In autumn 1996 the Ljunghemsbahn began to be demolished. Two kilometers near the bog were demolished before demolition was stopped. Today, more than three kilometers of the route are in relatively good condition and can be used for traffic.

business

Northern line 1 was the first section to be opened in 1906. Horses were used here from 1906 to 1913 and during the war years. The embankment was partially reinforced with gravel so that the horses could walk on it.

In 1913 a locomotive was bought by Varbergs Gjuteri och Mekaniska Verkstad . This was already up for sale again in 1915. In 1918 it was followed by an 8-hp kerosene locomotive from Vara Mekaniska Verkstad, which cost 6,295 kroner . It was sold to Stockaryds Torvström AB for 900 crowns in 1925 .

In 1924 an Austro-Daimler locomotive built in Vienna came onto the line. The gasoline-powered locomotive had 6 hp, cost 2,650 kroner and was scrapped around 1940.

Next came a locomotive from Berg & Co. Mek in 1939 . Verkstad in Lindesberg (Bergbolagen (BB)). It had a small air-cooled gasoline engine that was replaced by a two-cylinder pentamotor with gearbox that same year. In 1941 the locomotive was switched to electrical operation. For this purpose, it was equipped with Tudor batteries and a DC motor from ASEA , as well as a driver's cab. Due to the small radius of action, it was then only used for short trips. The locomotive was used until the 1960s and was scrapped. The chassis remained in Ryttaren until the mid-1980s, was transferred to the Frövi Industrial Railway Museum and used for a steam locomotive.

Locomotive 175/1943 was built by Sydsvenska Kraft in 1942 for the construction of a power station in Traryd by EW Lundströms Mekaniska Verkstads AB (EWL) in Limhamn . After the completion of the power station construction, the locomotive was sold on through LH Sandström's machine shop in Månsarp . In 1957 she came to the Fälhult peat factory in Älmhult . In 1983 AB Sejle Myr in Kärraboda bought the machine, which then came to Ryttaren in 2002. In Fälhult the locomotive was equipped with a six-cylinder petrol engine from Volvo. This has now been replaced by a Mercedes four-cylinder diesel engine. The locomotive is used for work trains because it is too light for passenger operation.

In the summer of 1948, a locomotive was loaned to the Röde Mosse Torvströfabrik in Härlingstorp . After a fire in the factory in 1947, the lost production of the previous year had to be made up for. The locomotive was manufactured by Söderbloms Gjuteri AB in Eskilstuna in 1917 . It was equipped with a 10 hp kerosene engine. This was later replaced by a gasoline-powered Chevrolet engine.

When the route network was expanded from 1953 to 1954, it turned out that the electric BB locomotive was not sufficient for the long transports from the moors of Ljunghems and Ekelund. The acquisition of a new locomotive became necessary. It was decided to produce this under our own direction. The contract went to engineer Måns Hartelius. Måns, brother of the former manager of the peat factory, Hans Hartelius, worked for Volvo in Gothenburg, where he was responsible for Volvo's military vehicle development program. The chassis was built around a steel frame and provided with an individual wheel suspension in order to achieve maximum directional stability on the rails and thus avoid derailments. A two-cylinder pentamotor was chosen as the drive source. The power was transmitted via an intermediate shaft. The engine's V-belt drove a generator that produced electricity for an electric motor. The power was transmitted from the electric motor to the axles via chains. This ensures smooth starting, jerk-free driving and stepless speed changes. The lubrication of all drive chains takes place as well as the sanding of all wheels from the driver's cab via pipelines.

The generator is manufactured by ASEA and delivers a maximum output of 11.2 kW at 70 volts DC. The penta engine was replaced in 1968 by a 60 hp Volvo B16 engine. The locomotive that is used as a company locomotive is called the Harteliusloket .

The DHL-3-TM with the construction number 805 was built in 1977 by Aktiebolaget Gävle Vagnverkstad for the Hasselfors factory in Stockås and ran there until rail traffic on the local route, probably after a fire in 1982. Then it was transferred to Sandhagen and was in use there until the peat extraction stopped in 1998. In 2006 it was renovated in Ryttaren after a long period of inactivity. It weighs 1400 kg and has a two-cylinder Deutz engine with 17 kW (23 hp). The power is transmitted to a horizontally mounted gearbox on the rear axle via a hydrostat. The front axle is driven by the rear axle via a chain.

The Hasselforsloket was borrowed from Hasselfors Garden in 2000 as a reserve locomotive in Ryttaren and later finally taken over free of charge.

The locomotive was originally built in Nora Bil- & Motorverkstad in 1942 with a 500 mm gauge and was given its current form in 1958 in the Hasselfors Bruk repair shop in Eda. During the Second World War, the locomotive was converted to battery operation due to a lack of fuel. The locomotive was light at around 700-800 kg and adapted to the conditions of the newly opened peat railway to Sandhagsmossen in Närke . It has a Volkswagen industrial engine with 25 hp. The mechanical 4-speed gearbox drives the wheels via chains.

The Selandersloket was built in Selanders Mekaniska Verkstad (SMV) in Bjärnum in 1945 with a track width of 600 mm. After several modifications, it was equipped with a two-cylinder Deutz engine and hydraulic power transmission in a mechanical workshop in Stockaryd in 1983. In Ryttaren it was used as a reserve locomotive.

Driving operation

In July and August and on Torvens dag in September, the museum is open on the weekends and the route is used for visitors.

Web links

Commons : Ryttarens torvströfabrik  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Föreningen Ryttarens Torvströfabrik. In: ryttaren.nu. Retrieved November 2, 2019 (Swedish). 

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Abandoned route to the north.
2. ↑ abandoned route to Ekelundsmossen.
3. ↑ peat factory Ryttaren.
4. ↑ Kartor över Torvbanan. In: ryttaren.nu. Retrieved November 2, 2019 (Swedish). 
5. ↑ Ryttaren's loc. In: ryttaren.nu. Retrieved November 2, 2019 (Swedish). 

Coordinates: 58 ° 1 ′ 14 ″  N , 13 ° 44 ′ 12 ″  E