, logo = , logo_width = , logo_alt = , image = Setesdalsbanen

, image_name = , image_width = , image_alt = , caption = Veteran train on the Setesdal Line, 23 July 2003. The train is driving onto the Paulen bridge. , color = , locale = , terminus =

Grovane Grovane is a village in Vennesla municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located along the shores of the river Otra, about north of the large village of Vennesla. Railway The Sørlandsbanen railway line runs through the villag ...

Røyknes Røyknes is a village in Vennesla municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located along the west side of the river Otra, about northeast of the village of Skarpengland. The municipal border between Vennesla and Iveland is the river w ...

, map = , map_caption = , map_alt = , mapsize = , connections = , linename = , builtby =

Norwegian State Railways Vygruppen, branded as Vy, is a government-owned railway company which operates most passenger train services and many bus services in Norway. The company is owned by the Norwegian Ministry of Transport. Its sub-brands include Vy Buss coach se ...

, originalopen = 26 November 1895 , originalgauge = , originalelec = None , owned = Setesdal Line , operator = Setesdal Line , marks = , stations = Kristiansand Station -

Byglandsfjord Station Byglandsfjord Station was a railway station in the village of Byglandsfjord in Bygland municipality in Agder county, Norway. It was the terminus station for the old Setesdal Line that traveled up the Setesdal valley from Kristiansand - Grovane ...

(original)
Grovane Station - Røyknes Station (heritage) , length = (original)
(heritage) , preservedgauge = , era = , com-years = , com-events = , com-years1 = , com-events1 = , closedpassengers = , closed = 1 September 1962 , stageyears = , stage = , years = , events = , years1 = , events1 = , headquarters = , website
setesdalsbanen.no
, routemap = , routemap_name = , routemap_state = The Setesdal Line ( no, Setesdalsbanen) was a

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in Track (rail transport), tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the ...

between

Kristiansand Kristiansand is a seaside resort city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 112,000 as of January 2020, f ...

and

Byglandsfjord Byglandsfjord is a village in Bygland municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located in the Setesdal valley along the Norwegian National Road 9 and the river Otra in the far southern part of the municipality, just north of the border ...

in southern

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

, long. It was built with a narrow

gauge Gauge ( or ) may refer to: Measurement * Gauge (instrument), any of a variety of measuring instruments * Gauge (firearms) * Wire gauge, a measure of the size of a wire ** American wire gauge, a common measure of nonferrous wire diameter, es ...

of , and opened to

Hægeland Hægeland or Hægelandskrossen is a village in Vennesla municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located along the northeastern shore of the lake Hægelandsvatnet, a short distance south of the Kilefjorden. The Norwegian National Roa ...

26 November 1895, and to Byglandsfjord 27 November 1896. Stations along the line included Mosby,

Vennesla Vennesla is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sørlandet. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Vennesla. Other villages in Vennesla include Grovane, Hægeland, Homst ...

, Grovene (

Iveland Iveland is a municipality in Agder County, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Setesdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Birketveit. Other villages in the municipality include Bakken, Skaiå, an ...

and

. Today, only the stretch between

and

of the original line is preserved as a

heritage railway A heritage railway or heritage railroad (US usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) i ...

History

When the standard gauged

Sørlandet Line The Sørlandet Line ( no, Sørlandsbanen) is a railway line between Drammen (though this is connected to Oslo by means of the Drammen Line) via Kristiansand to Stavanger. The line is long between Oslo and Stavanger. History The railway was cons ...

was opened to Kristiansand in 1938, Grovane became the new terminal station for the Setesdal Line, with connection to the Sørlandet Line. The Setesdal Line was suspended from 1 September 1962, and the track was lifted between Byglandsfjord and Beihølen. The line between Beihølen and Grovane was, however, preserved by local enthusiasts. The Setesdal Line Hobby Club was already established in 1964. Today, the Setesdal Line is a railway museum with steam trains serving the line between Grovane and

. Four steam locomotives from 1894-1902 are preserved, along with a number of passenger and freight cars.

The preserved locomotives

Narrow gauge steam locomotives

* Class XXI number 1, built at

Dübs and Company Dübs & Co. was a locomotive manufacturer in Glasgow, Scotland, founded by Henry Dübs in 1863 and based at the Queens Park Works in Polmadie. In 1903 it amalgamated with two other Glasgow locomotive manufacturers to create the North British Loco ...

in 1894. * Class XXI number 2, built at

in 1894. * Class XXI number 5, built at

Thunes Mekaniske Værksted Thunes Mekaniske Værksted A/S, Thune for short, was a Norwegian manufacturing company that among other things built locomotives. The production facilities were last located at Skøyen. History Thune traced its roots to a workshop founded by And ...

in 1901. * Class XXII number 6, built at

in 1902.

Narrow gauge diesel locomotives

SJ Class Z4t SJ or S.J. may refer to: Postnominal * A member of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) Places * Saint John, New Brunswick, a city located in New Brunswick, Canada * San Jose, California, a city located in Northern California, United States * South ...

number 227, built in 1950. Bought from the SJ in 1976. *

number 307, built in 1952. Bought from the SJ in 1981.

Narrow gauge railcars

* Cmbo-1 number 2672, built in 1932 at

Strømmens Værksted Strømmens Værksted A/S was an industrial company based in Skedsmo, Norway, specialising in the production of rolling stock. Founded in 1873, it remains as a part of Bombardier Transportation. The plant is located just off Hovedbanen west of St ...

. 56 passengers. *Cmdo Sulitelma, built in 1957 at

. 56 passengers. Transferred to the Setesdal Line after the closure of

Sulitjelma Line The Sulitjelma Line ( no, Sulitjelmabanen) was a railway line that ran between Finneid in the town of Fauske to the village of Sulitjelma near the border with Sweden.For a history of the line see Bjerke, Thor, "Sulitjelmabanen" (1983, Norsk Jer ...

Standard gauge diesel locomotives

These locomotives are only used for shunting at areas with

dual gauge In railway engineering, " gauge" is the transverse distance between the inner surfaces of the heads of two rails, which for the vast majority of railway lines is the number of rails in place. However, it is sometimes necessary for track to ...

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the short ...

. * Skd 206 number 39, built in 1936. * Skd 206 number 44, built in 1936.

Heritage railway stations and stops

The following stations and stops exist at the current railway museum:

Setesdal Line 1896 - 1938

Connection with steamboat on Lake

Byglandsfjorden Byglandsfjorden is a lake in Agder county, Norway. The lake lies on the river Otra, primarily in the municipality of Bygland, but the far southern tip of the lake extends into the neighboring municipality of Evje og Hornnes. The river flows ...

from

. The railway line was closed in 1962, but parts of the railroad have been preserved. It is a current narrow-gauge heritage railroad between

and

and the current standard gauged track from Grovane Station to Kristiansand Station is a part of the current

. Several of the station buildings along the former railroad are still preserved. Rail passengers had to change trains at Grovane Station from 1938 to 1962 due to different track widths, narrow-gauge to

normal gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in ...

Route

Legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess ...

References

External links

Official site

Vest-Ager Museum, Setesdal Line
(Optional languages)
Google map location
{{coord, 58.2936, N, 7.9808, E, source:wikidata, display=title Railway lines in Norway Railway lines in Agder Heritage railways in Norway 3 ft 6 in gauge railways in Norway Sørlandet Line Setesdal Museums in Agder Tourist attractions in Agder Railway lines opened in 1895 1895 establishments in Norway Railway lines closed in 1962 Museums established in 1964 1964 establishments in Norway Vennesla Bygland