Engelsberg-Norbergs Railway

Engelsberg-Norbergs Järnväg, the Engelsberg-Norberg Railway, is a normal gauge railway between Ängelsberg and Kärrgruvan in the province of Västmanland in Sweden, now being used by the "Engelsberg-Norbergs Järnvägshistoriska Förening" (ENJ), a heritage railway association .

History

The 18 km long railway line was built in the 1850s with the purpose to freight iron ore between the Norberg mining area and the lake Åmänningen, for further transport on barges on the Strömsholm Canal. Transport of goods on the first part of the line, Kärrgruvan – Trättbo begun in December 1853 with the first steam engine built in Sweden, "Förstlingen" ("the First One"), constructed by the Munktell Mechanical Workshops in Eskilstuna. A reconstructed company, "Norbergs Nya Järnvägs AB" was formed in 1855 and finished the whole line to Ängelsberg at the lake of Åmänningen in 1856. At that time the railway had a 1188 mm gauge, widened to the Swedish normal gauge of 1435 mm in 1876.

In 1962 person traffic was discontinued, as well as freight of goods in the mid 1990s.

The Heritage Railway Association

Engelsberg-Norbergs Järnvägshistoriska Förening (ENJ), the Engelsberg-Norberg Heritage Railway Association, started in 1999, aims to organize regular traffic for tourists with diesel railcars between Ängelsberg and Kärrgruvan. The association has two roundhouses at Ängelsberg and at Kärrgruvan. The latter was built in 1857 and is the oldest preserved roundhouse in Sweden.

ENJ uses three 1950s railcars for regular traffic:
*The Multiple Unit YBo7 No 1156, constructed 1957 by ASJ, Östersund
*The Multiple Unit YBo7 No 1255, constructed 1959 by Eksjö-verken, Eksjö
*The Control Unit Ybfoby No 2076

References

This article is based on the article on Engelsberg-Norbergs Järnväg in the Swedish language Wikipedia.

External link

http://www.enj.se Officiell hemsida för Engelsberg-Norbergs Järnvägshistoriska Förening (in Swedish)