Railways in Skåne served by steam railcars
When operated with steam railcars railways in Skåne five railway lines were in Skåne designed. These were branch lines in a simplified construction, on which steam railcars mainly operated in the early years . These were the only routes in Sweden that were designed in this form during the planning phase. They were called Ångspårvägar ( German steam trams ), which they weren't in the real sense.
history
The use of steam railcars in railroad construction was planned in Sweden in the late 1870s . The aim was to build and operate new routes cheaper. The railcars could run on a weaker superstructure and fewer staff were required to operate them, who were also assigned several tasks. They could carry one or more sidecars and thus replaced trains hauled by locomotives.
William Rowan , owner of a railroad car factory in Randers, Denmark, and the Belgian railroad engineer Alfred Belpaire offered variants of steam railcars. Nydqvist och Holm developed a powered bogie for the Rowan concept. This improved design was called the Rowan-Nydqvist railcar .
Equipping the steam railcars and the lines
Steam railcars based on Rowan's concept were given a simpler equipment. Savings were achieved by combining several tasks at each department. The train staff took over the ticket sales and baggage handling. The railcars had a locomotive driver, the conductor took over the function of the stoker . They were also equipped with screw couplings so that lighter freight cars could be carried. There was also a loading area that could be covered with a hood in summer. Benches were installed on the surface like a summer car . The steam railcars had an engine room, a mail compartment and a luggage compartment, as well as a compartment of the first and third class of car . There was luggage space under the floor.
For Gärds Härads Järnväg , the train stations were also built in an economical way, office and service rooms as well as baggage handling were under one roof. All stations were built according to the same plans with the exception of Degeberga . A combined locomotive and railcar shed was housed there in the station building. The Everöd – Åhus route got standardized buildings in a slightly different version. Only at the Gärdsbana were the gables of the stations perpendicular to the route instead of parallel.
In addition to the Everöd – Åhus line , care was taken at Gärdsbana to erect normal, larger buildings, as it turned out that the first stations on the branch lines that were first opened were too small. The other routes received normal station buildings.
A four-axle locomotive with a bogie in front of the two drive wheels was developed for freight transport that could not be carried out with the steam railcar. One of these locomotives - the Bifrost - is a memorial in Narvik .
Routes in Skåne served by steam railcars
- Gärds Härads Järnväg : 1881–1883
- Tomelilla – Simrishamn railway : 1882
- Börringe – Anderslöv railway line : 1884
- Höör – Hörby Järnväg : 1882
- Åstorp – Kattarp – Höganäs Järnväg with the associated Skåne – Hallands Järnväg : 1885
All five routes, which initially had a concession for the simplified branch line operation with steam railcars, were later converted to normal train operation.