Vammabanen

Vammabanen
O & K, Plugg , around 1915
Map of the area around Askim, 1914
Route length:	5.9 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Maximum slope :	70  ‰
Legend Kykkelsrudbanen Indre Østfoldbanen from Ski Askim – Solbergfoss railway line 0.0 Askim Østfoldbanen to Mysen 4.6 Vammatoppen 5.9 Vamma

Vammabanen was a branch line used only for freight traffic, which had its starting point in the Norwegian town of Askim on the Indre Østfoldbane in Fylke Viken and, when completed , led to the Vamma hydropower station .

history

With a letter from the Ministry of Commerce of October 17, 1907, the joint-stock companies Vamma Fossekompagni and Vamma saltpeterverk , founded by Sam Eyde , received permission to build a four-kilometer branch line from Askim station to Skjørten for a planned fertilizer factory. Eyde also wanted to build a power plant in Vamma to supply the planned plant in Skjørten with electricity.

Several line variants were considered before 1907. A possible connection to the western Østfoldbane and a direct connection to the Kristianiafjord between Larkollen and Moss or a cable car to Slitu was discussed, but this was finally rejected in favor of the proximity to Askim station and the eastern Østfoldbane . The power plant was to be built on the eastern side of the Glomma .

This branch line, which was designated as the private industrial and construction line of Vamma Fossekompagniet , was completed in 1910 in six months from Vammatoppen to Askim station. The length was 4.6 kilometers.

Between 1907 and 1910 a provisional Decauville railway was built, which ran from Askim station via Vammaveien past the Moen school to Revaugveien, through the forest down into Ravinedalen and back up and past the Kveldsro farm to Skjørten and from there to the cement factory in Vamma . With up to 50 horses, wagons with sand, gravel, cement and other building materials were carried, with numerous derailments due to the track position.

Although the Vammabane was connected to the eastern Østfoldbane at Askim station from 1910, there were delays in the construction of the freight tracks and the transhipment areas at Askim station. Sam Eyde gave up the plans for a factory and a power station and sold the half-finished power station to Hafslund ASA in 1912 .

From 1910 to 1912 there was a cable car from the Vammatoppen loading area to the power plant, in order to bring building materials that were delivered by train to the construction site of the power plant. When Hafslund acquired the power station and the line from Vamma Fossekompagnie , the line to the power station was extended. This section of the route was 1.3 kilometers long and very steep with a gradient of 1:15. At 70 ‰, the route was steeper than the Flåmsbana .

For the first section rails with a meter weight of 20 kg were used, from Vammatoppen to the power station in Vamma, however , rails with a weight of 28 kg. The track to the power plant was completed in 1913, making the total length of the entire Vammabane 5.9 kilometers. A short stretch was built below Skjørtenhytta, which served as an emergency braking route in the event that the brakes should fail.

The last trip on the route took place in the autumn of 1961. The rails were quickly removed, but a large part of the sleepers remained in place for several years. Later these were also removed and parts of the route were converted into pedestrian and hiking trails. Vammabanen is also known as the Kanonenbahn , as the Germans carried many wagons with war material including railway cannons on this route during the Second World War and their weight damaged the track position.

In Vammatoppen there was a small engine shed, of which only remains in the form of the concrete floor are left. The buffer stop with the year 1910 is still there. The remains of the railway were included in the list of Norwegian cultural assets.

vehicles

Construction drawing for Plugg , 1915

On November 14, 1910 Orenstein & Koppel with the serial number 4310 delivered the Plugg tank locomotive with the B wheel arrangement . After the test drive, it was used to transport gravel from the Brødremoen gravel pit for further route construction.

Other locomotives on this and the other lines built in connection with the hydroelectric power stations on the Glomma were the Maur , Vamma , Schuckert , Bayreuth and Dansken , with the Vamma , Schuckert and Bayreuth stationed in Kykkelsrud mainly used on the Kykkelsrudbane .

During a press trip in 1918, an older 2nd class passenger car was used to transport passengers to Vammatoppen.

The Maur was used until 1959 when it was scrapped. The Plugg was in service from 1912 to 1961 and was scrapped in Moss in 1967. In the last years of operation, a shunting locomotive of the type Skd 214 rented by the Norges Statsbaner (NSB) was used.

Web links

• Vammabanen. In: skinnelangs.no. Retrieved July 20, 2020 (Norwegian). 
• Vammalinna. In: geocaching.com. Retrieved July 20, 2020 (Norwegian). 
• VAMMABANEN 1910-1961. In: askimlinjene.com. Retrieved July 20, 2020 (Norwegian). 

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Stoppbukk. Kulturminnesok.no, accessed July 20, 2020 (Norwegian).