Wessman – Barkens Jernväg

Väsman boats
Wessman – Barkens Järnväg BARKEN locomotive with passenger train in Marnäs (1892)
Map from 1867
Route length:	18.2 km
Gauge :	1188 mm
Operating points and routes
Legend 0.0 Marnäs Ludvika – Falun railway line Ludvika Hållplats Hill length from the gravel pit from the port Norsbro Skarviken Flogberg Sandsta Övre Sandsta Nedre Kall length Risingsbo herrgård (unofficial Hst.) Leran (Munkbobro) Leran (Munkbobro) from the port Munkbo Nybergets Järnväg Risingsbo Morgårdshammar 18.2 Smedjebacken

The Wessman – Barkens Jernväg (WBJ), later Väsman – Barkens Järnväg , was a Swedish narrow-gauge railway that connected the lakes Väsman and Barken in Dalarna between 1859 and 1903 .

The line was called Smedjebackens järnväg after a reorganization by the operating company from 1883 , and its main freight was ore, iron, grain and wood. At times, passenger traffic was carried out.

Wessman – Barkens Jernvägs-Aktiebolag

Wessman – Barkens Jernvägs-Aktiebolag was founded in 1855, and construction of the line began a year later. The line opened on August 17, 1860, making it one of the first railways in Sweden.

King Carl XV came to the opening . with a steamboat to Smedjebacken. He drove the route with a specially prepared Kungavagn ( German  king carriage ).

Route data

The track was built with the rare gauge of 1188 mm or four Swedish feet. The length of the route was 18.2 kilometers. The eastern end point was the port of Smedjebacken on Lake Norra Barken. The western end was originally Marnäs (now a district of Ludvika ) and was located on Lake Väsman in what is now Ludvika. The station name was later changed to "Ludvika". Within the urban area of ​​Ludvika, the route roughly corresponds to that of today's Riksväg 66 .

In 1874 a locomotive shed was built in the port of Smedjebacken. There were level crossings in Hillänge, Norsbro, Lernbo, Munkbo, Morgårdshammar and Smedjebacken.

In Smedjebacken the Jernväg expedition was in a no longer existing house on the Kyrkogatan. The train stations and stops were Munkbo, Sandsta Övre, Sandsta Nedre, Norsbro, Ludvika hållplats (now Sockenstugeparken) and Marnäs am Väsman as well as in Ljusåsen, Källänge and Hillänge.

vehicles

In total, the following steam locomotives were procured:

number	Surname	design type	Wheel alignment	Manufacturer	Fabr.-No./ year of construction	Special
1	WESSMAN	Tank locomotive	Cst	Munktells Mekaniska Verkstad , Eskilstuna	6 1857	Purchase price 27,000 Riksdaler, retired in 1897
2	BARK	Tank locomotive	1 let	Munktells Mekaniska Verkstad, Eskilstuna	10 1860
3	SMEDJE JAWS	Tank locomotive	1 Bt	Munktells Mekaniska Verkstad, Eskilstuna	16 1874	Retired in 1903
4th	LUDVIKA	Tank locomotive	1 Bt	Munktells Mekaniska Verkstad, Eskilstuna	31 1893	1905 at Stockholm – Västerås – Bergslagens Järnvägar , conversion to standard gauge (SWB 9), retired in 1912

The fleet consisted of about 70 freight cars , 5 to 6 passenger cars and a few special vehicles.

Communication lead

At that time, the port in Smedjebacken was very important for the delivery of products from the mines and smelters in Västerbergslagen. The Strömsholm Canal provided a connection to Lake Mälaren and Stockholm . Through the Wessman – Barkens Jernväg , the area west of Smedjebacken had significantly facilitated access to this communication trail ( German  traffic route ). Many goods were brought to the port of Ludvika via the Väsman and the associated waterway system and from there by train to Smedjebacken, where they were again transferred to boats.

Smedjebackens Järnväg

After the operating company was restructured, it was called Smedjebackens Järnväg (SmbJ) from 1883 . The line was taken over in 1898 by the Stockholm – Västerås – Bergslagens Järnvägar . Ludvika reached its standard gauge line in 1900. The two railways ran roughly parallel between the two places, so that on August 6, 1903 the narrow-gauge line was closed.

The locomotive shed in the port of Smedjebacken has been preserved as part of the Bergslagen Ekomuseum.

Historical pictures

• 

  Locomotive BARKEN with a mixed train in Ludvika (1897)

• 

  Locomotive SMEDJEBACKEN at the Sandsta stop (1901)

• 

  Smedjebacken locomotive shed with the LUDVIKA and SMEDJEBACKEN locomotives

• 

  Staff at Marnäs train station

Current pictures, Smedjebacken engine shed

• 
• 
• 
• 

Web links

Commons : Väsman-Barkens Järnväg  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Dalarnas tidning: 150 år sedan första invigningen. dt.se, August 11, 2010, accessed October 24, 2017 (Swedish). 
• Nils Göte Håkansson: Wessman-Barkens järnväg: Smedjebacksbanans historia 1858–1903 . Ed .: Sv. järnvägsklubben (= Svenska järnvägsklubbens script series [Hrsg.]: 0346–8658; 30 ). Stockholm 1983, ISBN 91-85098-30-2 (Swedish).
• Ivan August Bodstedt: Historik över Sveriges småbanor, bruks-, gruv- m.fl. banor: under tiden 1802–1865 . Stockholm 1945, p. 220-238 (Swedish).
• Smedjebacken. Project Runeberg - Historiskt-geografiskt och statistiskt lexikon öfver Sverige / Sjette Bandet. S - 1859-1870. Projekt Runeberg , p. 231 , accessed October 24, 2017 (Swedish). 
• WBJ - Wessman – Barkens Jernväg. geocaching.com, accessed October 24, 2017 (Swedish, /, English). 

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Wessman-Barkens Järnväg 1859 - 1883. google.com, accessed October 24, 2017 (Swedish).  
2. ↑ Ludvika – Smedjebackens hamn. Bandel 229. banvakt.se, accessed October 25, 2017 (Swedish).  
3. ^ Locomotive statistics according to Pospichal. Wessman - Barkens Järnväg (WBJ). In: pospichal.net. Retrieved October 24, 2017 .