Falkenberg Railway (
Sw. ''Falkenbergs Järnväg (FJ)'' or ''Pyttebanan'') was an 891 mm gauge
narrow gauge
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and .
Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum railw ...
railway
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
line between
Falkenberg
Falkenberg is a locality and the seat of Falkenberg Municipality, Halland County, Sweden, with 27,813 inhabitants in 2019 (out of a municipal total of about 45,000). It is located at the mouth of river Ätran. The name consists of the Swedish ...
and
Limmared in
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
. It was inaugurated 28 September 1894 and was in use until 1959/1961.
History
The first plan to build a railway in the area dates back to 1869 and concerned a railway between Falkenberg and
Fegen. The plan did however come to nothing. It would take until the construction of
Halland Central Railway in 1886 for any further plans to develop.
The traffic commander, ''Albert Simonsson'' did put forward a plan for a 30 kilometer long railway between Falkenberg and a village close to
Gällared in 1890. A proposal of a 600 mm railway, which would cost 823,000
Swedish Kronor
The krona (; plural: ''kronor''; currency sign, sign: kr; ISO 4217, code: SEK) is the currency of Sweden. Both the ISO code "SEK" and currency sign "kr" are in common use for the krona; the former precedes or follows the value, the latter usual ...
was prepared by ''Fredrik Arvidsson Posse''.
A company was formed at a meeting 16 April 1891 in
Ljungby
Ljungby () is the Urban areas in Sweden, central locality of Ljungby Municipality, Kronoberg County, Sweden, with 15,785 inhabitants in 2015.
Ljungby was instituted in 1829 as a ''köping'', or ''market town'', and did not become a municipality o ...
Inn, stocks would be issued for a total value of between 400,000 and 800,000 Swedish Kronor. A founding general meeting was held 2 June 1892. The company's name was to be ''Falkenbergs Järnvägs AB'' () and county governor
Carl Nordenfalk
Carl Nordenfalk (December 13, 1907 – June 13, 1992) was a Swedish art historian, academic and director of the Swedish Nationalmuseum from 1958 to 1968.
He is best known for his work on Late Antique illuminations, especially those linked to the ...
was to be chair.
Concession
Concession may refer to:
General
* Concession (contract) (sometimes called a concession agreement), a contractual right to carry on a certain kind of business or activity in an area, such as to explore or develop its natural resources or to opera ...
for the stretch between Falkenberg and
Fridhemsberg was granted on 8 July 1892. An earlier application had been rejected in 1891, while an application by rivalling company for a stretch between
Varberg
Varberg () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Varberg Municipality, Halland County, Sweden, with 35,782 inhabitants in 2019.
Varberg and all of Halland are well known for their "typical west coast" sandy beaches. In Varberg th ...
to
MÃ¥nsarp had also been granted. The concession was conditioned on some technical changes. Hence, the
gauge
Gauge ( ) 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, especia ...
had to be changed to three foot (891 mm). The work on the railway begun 23 December 1892.
Once the track to Fridhemsberg had been finished a new application was filed. The new application was for a stretch between Fridhemsberg and
Älvsered
Älvsered is a locality situated in Falkenberg Municipality, Halland County, Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to ...
. It was granted on 17 May 1895. The men behind the proposed Varberg-MÃ¥nsarp route opposed the new application, but it was still granted as they had not been able to secure enough capital to build the railway. However, a number of restrictions were put in place, in the Varberg-MÃ¥nsarp route was to be built.
Over the following years more and more applications would be filed and concessions granted. Concession to
Mjöback was granted on 18 July 1896, to
Holsljunga
Holsljunga () is a locality situated in Svenljunga Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 255 inhabitants in 2010.
Sports
The following sports clubs are located in Holsljunga:
* Högvads BK
Manufacturing
Sahlins Sweden AB dev ...
(13 January 1899) and to
Limmared (27 April 1900). Further plans to extend the railway to
Ulricehamn
Ulricehamn is a locality and the seat of Ulricehamn Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden, with 9,787 inhabitants in 2010.
History
Ulricehamn, originally known as ''Bogesund'', has been populated at least since the Middle Ages. The town ...
and
Jönköping
Jönköping (, ) is a Urban areas in Sweden, city in southern Sweden with 112,766 inhabitants (2022). Jönköping is situated on the southern shore of Sweden's second largest lake, Vättern, in the province of Småland.
The city is the seat o ...
did however never materialise.
The railway began to face diffulties in the 1930s. The abbreviation, FJ, was popularly read as ''fattig järnväg'' (
En. ''poor railway''). The railway nationalised in two steps (April 1939 and July 1940) in order to secure its operation. The
war
War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...
years meant a minor
renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
for the railway. That did however not change the long term prospect for the railway and it was closed in two steps (1 November 1959 and 1 May 1961). The rails were removed shortly afterwards.
Traffic
Originally the route was served by mixed sets, i.e. goods and passengers used the same trains. This could substantially increases the travel time as the time needed to load and unload goods substantially exceeded the time needed for passengers to get on and off the train. After a few years separate sets began to be used.
The railway did mainly transport timber, usually destined for
Falkenberg harbour and exportation. As long as this trade was substantial the railway remained successful, annually transporting over 50,000 tons of goods. A major blow came in 1921 when export of wood outlawed. Concurrently less and less logging took place and passengers began travelling by cars and buses instead of by train.
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
was a short relief as shortage of fuel and replacements forced people away from road traffic. After the war the subsiding use of the railway continued until it was closed.
Sources
*''Falkenbergs Järnväg's inverkan på Svartrå socken - Rapport från en studiecirkel 1995 i Studieförbundet Vuxenskolans regi''
*
Historisk om Svenska Järnvägar: Falkenbergs järnväg'
{{coord missing, Sweden
891 mm gauge railways in Sweden
Railway lines in Sweden
Railway lines opened in 1894
Railway lines closed in 1961