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The Breifoss Disaster

Sometimes it happens that train brakes are failing, and the train driver loses control of the train. Such incidents are called “Runaway Train”. A runaway train may cause severe disasters. On Monday February 28^th 1944 a severe railway disaster happened at Breifoss on the Bergen railway line. The night train from Oslo to Bergen collided with a runaway freight train at Breifoss near Geilo. At least 25 Norwegian civilians and an unknown number of German soldiers were killed.  

Photo: Trygve Johannessen

During the Second World War Norway was occupied by Nazi Germany. the German Wehrmacht had enormous needs for transportation, and all transports for Wehrmacht had the first priority. Many of these trains were overloaded. The war resulted in a serious lack of coal. Spare parts, proper lubrication oils and other consumables were difficult to obtain. 

Unknown photographer

The second World War was a very difficult time for the Norwegian State Railways. In 1944 it had become more and more difficult to maintain passenger services for Norwegian civilians. From 1942 all passengers traveling more than 30 km had to hold a travel permit issued by their local police to be able to buy tickets for the journey. In 1944 it had become very difficult to get travel permits, and in the end of that year travel permits were not even issued for traveling to weddings or funerals. 

Originally Oslo East Station was the terminus for the trains between Oslo and Bergen. At this time the trains were hauled by steam locomotives on non-electrified lines, and the railway line between Oslo East and Hønefoss via Roa was not electrified yet. During the war there was a serious lack of coal. By diverting the Bergen trains via Drammen to Oslo West the trains could be hauled by electric locomotives between Oslo West and Hokksund, and tons of coal were saved.  

Unknown photographer

At 19.00 on Sunday February 27^th 1944 the night train No. 607 departed from Oslo West Station. From Hokksund the train was hauled by a steam locomotive.  At the same evening an extra freight train departed from Bergen towards Oslo. The two trains were scheduled to cross at Geilo at 3.10. The night was very cold. The temperature at Finse was -29 degrees C. The freight train passed Finse station on time. When driving downhill towards Ustaoset the driver applied the brakes. The freight train had 15 tank wagons containing gasoline and oil. As common practise at that time the freight train had a guard’s van, and a conductor was in the van. 

Unknown photographer, the Norwegian Railway Museum

When the freight train passed Ustaoset Station the brakes failed. The driver gave warning signals with the steam whistle, and the guard climbed on the wagons and attempting to apply the hand brakes. This was not enough to avoid the collision. The freight train passed Geilo at high speed. An attempt was made to make the freight train derailing before it hit the night train. This attempt failed and the freight train collided with the night train at Breifoss. Both the driver and the stoker on the night train’s locomotive were killed instantly. The tank wagons were destroyed, and the gasoline caught fire. Some of the passenger coaches also caught fire. At least 25 Norwegian civilians and an unknown number of German soldiers were killed. The driver and the stoker on the freight train jamp off the locomotive before the collision, and were not injured. They were examined by the German police. Unfortunately they were suspected for sabotage, and sent to Grini concentration camp. The railway line was closed for three days.

The disaster was caused by brake failure on the freight train. This may have been a result of the poor quality of the oil used for lubrication of the brake valves and the very low temperature that night. These two factors may have caused the brake valves fail to respond, but this is not proven. An other factor may have been lack of proper maintenance. Spare parts were difficult to provide. During the war there was also lack of proper inspections and maintenance on the rolling stock. Some of the freight wagons were fitted with Kunze-Knorr brakes, and these brakes were not suitable for driving long downhill slopes.

The Kunze-Knorr brake. From a Swedish instruction, 1921

Very little was written about the disaster in Norwegian newspapers. Norwegian press was under strict press censorship. Bergens Tidende, the biggest Bergen newspaper, wrote that no German soldiers had been injured. The reality was quite different. Many German soldiers were killed. The exact number of killed soldiers and many other aspects concerning the Breifoss disaster remain a mystery to this day.

The railway to Bergen

Hallingskeid station in 1909 (Anders Beer Wilse, Wikimedia Commons)

The railway journey between Oslo and Bergen can absolutely be recommended to all rail enthusiasts. In this article I will give a brief history about the Oslo-Bergen Line.

Rotative snowplough fighting its way across Hardangervidda on April 21st 1908. (Anders Beer Wilse, Wikimedia Commons)

Already in 1871, before Norway had a continuous rail network, the idea of a railway line between Oslo and Bergen was published. Plans to build a railway line across the mountains were proposed, but the plans had to go through a long and difficult political process.

A Swiss-built electric locomotive class El 18 with a passenger train at Finse. The hotel at Finse is very popular. It is possible to rent bicycles at Finse.

In 1875 the construction of a 106,7 km long narrow gauge railway between Bergen and Voss started. The railway was difficult to construct, and many accidents happende during the construction works. Many railway workers, also known as “rallare”, were killed or severely injuried in these accidents. The railway had 52 tunnels, and had 13 intermediate stations between Bergen and Voss. The gauge was 3 ft 6 in (1067 mm). There was no official opening of the railway, but the trains ran on July 11^th 1883. In 1883 the journey from Bergen to Voss took 4 ½ hours. The passenger trains had 2^nd and 3^rd class compartments, and the 2^nd class fares were the double of the 3^rd class fares. 

Trengereid station 1892. (Aksel Theodor Lindahl, Wikimedia Commons)

On March 1^st 1894, after a long political process, the Norwegian Parliament decided to build a railway line from Voss to Kristiania (Oslo from 1925). Several routes had been proposed, but finally the route across the mountains via Finse to Geilo and through the valley Hallingdal to Hønefoss and Roa was chosen. At Roa the Bergen line should meet the railway line between Oslo and Gjøvik. The construction of the line was difficult, specially the section across the mountains. Several tunnels had to be constructed. The Gravhals Tunnel between Myrdal and Upsete is 5311 metres long, and until 1964 this was the longest tunnel on the line.  The railway line between Bergen and Voss had to be converted to standard gauge. The convertion was expensive and difficult, but the convertion to standard gauge was carried out without interruption of the traffic on the line.

A journey on the Norwegian-sibirian Railway. Charicature from the magazine "Vikingen" 1894, after the decition of building the Bergen line.

On the Norwegian mountains there are lots of snow in the winter. Because of this, the construction work carried out by “rallare”, the railway workers, had to be done during the summers. At Finse there was built a large depot for the rotative snowploughs used to keep the railway line open during the winter. At Finse, 1222 metres above Sea level, there was built a hotel for the tourists. In June 1908 the line was completed across the mountains. The section between Gulsvik and Hønefoss, including the Haversting Tunnel, was not ready yet. On November 27^th the railway line was officially opened by HM King Haakon VII, and the trains could run directly between Oslo and Bergen. The day train from Oslo and Bergen got No. 601, and the day train in the opposite direction got No. 602. After some years night trains started to run between the two cities.

Mjølfjell station in 1909. (Anders Beer Wilse, Wikimedia Commons)

Until 1980 Oslo had two mainline termini, Oslo East and Oslo West. Oslo East was located where Oslo Central Station is today. All trains to and from Bergen departed and terminated at Oslo East. The trains running between Oslo and Bergen were very popular, and these trains were the first Norwegian trains with dining cars. during the summer of 1920 the night trains had direct coaches between Bergen and Stockholm once a week. New locomotives were ordered for the passenger trains. The locomotives, class 31b, pulled the passenger trains day and night on the Bergen line until diesel locomotives took over in the late 1950’s. In 1934 the railway branch line between Voss and Granvin opened. This branch line was electrified. At the same time work was started to construct the famous Flåm line between Myrdal and Flåm. This line opened in 1941.

A train leaves Haugastøl in 1909. (Anders Beer Wilse, Wikimedia Commons)

Between Bergen and Voss there were suburban trains running and serving intermediate stations. Some of these trains continued to Arna and Garnes. Some of these trains were operated by steam, but some railcars fitted with petrol engines were set into service between Bergen and Nesttun. 

Bergen station 1913-1917. (Knud Knudsen, Wikimedia Commons)

Second World War

On April 9^th 1940 Norway was invaded by Hitler’s armed forces. There were several battles along the railway line between Bergen and Voss, and the traffic on the line was interrupted for more than a month. The railway line across Roa to Hønefoss was not electrified yet, and because of the war there was lack of coal. When the line was re-opened, the trains ran from Oslo West via Drammen and Hokksund to Hønefoss. The trains could be hauled by electric locomotives between Oslo West and Hokksund, and a huge amount of coal could be saved. From 1942 all people traveling more than 30 km needed a travel permit from the police to buy tickets. During the war the travel permits became more difficult to obtain. Norwegian rail staff were very helpful bringing messages for the resistance and illegal newspapers by the trains. In some cases they could help refugees to get to the Swedish Border so they could flee to non-occupied Sweden. Other people were helped to get westwards to join fishing boats to sail to Shetland or the Orkney Islands.

On February 28th 1944 a tragic disaster occured at Breifoss west of Geilo. An eastbound freight train with tank cars containing petrol collided with the westbound night train. 25 Norwegians were killed. There were several German soldiers on board the night train, but the number of the German soldiers killed is unknown. The reason for the disaster was brake failure on the freight train due to lack of maintenance on the brake system.

Steam locomotive class 31b, specially built for the passenger trains on the Bergen line, preserved at the Norwegian Railway Museum at Hamar.

In 1941 the electrification of the famous Flåm railway between Myrdal and Flåm was completed. During the winter 1944-45 the travel permits became very difficult to obtain. There was not even possible to obtain travel permits for traveling to weddings or funerals. On May 8^th 1945 Norway was liberated, but it took several years for the Norwegian railways to recover. Several of Norwegian railwaymen were sent to Nazi consentration camps like Sachsenhausen, were some of them died.  After the war the trains to and from Bergen ran to and from Oslo East station again. 

The first Norwegian mainline diesel locomotive was tested on the Bergen line in 1942. It was no success. (Anders Beer Wilse, Wikimedia Commons)

Electrification

In 1954 the line between Bergen and Voss was electrified. A couple of years later the steam locomotive hauling the mainline trains were replaced with diesel locomotives class Di3. Some diesel railcar sets class 88 were also used on the Bergen line. The electrification of the line was completed in 1964. At the same year the tunnel between Bergen and Arna was opened. There was a discussion about the future of the line via Nesttun. There were suburban trains running between Bergen and Nesttun, and this rail service continued until the closure of the line in 1965. The railway line between Garnes and Midttun is now a heritage railway. 

Steam-driven rotative snowplough No. 4 is preserved at the Rallar Museum at Finse.

On May 16th 1993 the 10,3 km long Finse Tunnel westwards from Finse was officially opened by HM King Harald V. Today Finse has no longer a depot for the rotative snowploughs. The shed is now a museum dedicated to rallare, the railway workers who built the line. The word “rallare” was originally a Swedish word, because many Swedes came over from Sweden to get work on Norwegian railways. The word “rallare” was also adopted by the Norwegian language. The labuor was hard, and this formed a solidarity amongst the workers. They lent each other money, clothes or tobacco, and they always expected to get it back. Many rallare made songs about the work and the hard life, and many of these songs still exist today. Some of them have even been recorded. At the museum two of the rotative snowploughs can be seen. One of them is steam operated. The museum also has a great collection of tools and equipment used for the construction and the maintenance work on the line. There is no road connection to Finse, so the only way to get there is by train or bicycle. 

Myrdal station July 19th 1942. (Anders Beer Wilse, Wikimedia Commons)

Today the railway journey takes approximately 6 ½ to 7 ½ hours. The day trains no. 601 and no. 602 still run between Oslo and Bergen as they have done for more than 100 years.

The Rail Connection between Oslo and Göteborg

A Norwegian class 73b train to Oslo is passing Mon, where the Swedish border station was located. The station is demolished and the sidings lifted.

There are four railway lines crossing the Norwegian-Swedish border. The most important is the railway line from Oslo via Halden to Göteborg (Gothenburg), opened in 1879. The railway line is crossing the border at Kornsjø, where the Norwegian border station was located. The railway was an important connection between Norway and the Continent, with direct coaches to København (Copenhagen), Hamburg and other European cities. Almost all interrailers travel on the Oslo-Gothenburg route to and from Norway. 

A container train hauled by two Swedish locos class RC passing Hökedalen in Sweden. The red cottage belonged to the railway. 

The evening train to Gothenburg passing Haksjön in Sweden.  

The rail service is a part of the rail service on the Østfold Railway between Oslo and Halden via the towns in Østfold, the south eastern part of Norway. The trains consist of four-car electric multiple units class 73b. The electrified railway lines in Norway and Sweden are operating at the same voltage, 15 000 V 16 2/3 Hz. Most of the trains on this route terminate in Halden, but three trains run in each direction between Oslo and Gothenburg daily. On Saturday and Sunday there are only two trains running between Oslo and Gothenburg. During the summers the Swedish State Railways (SJ) operated a night train between Oslo and Malmö, but this service ceased in August 2010.

The northbound night train operated by Swedish State Railways on the Norwegian-Swedish border in July 2008. The border is at the middle of the bridge. The photograph is taken from the Norwegian side of the border.

The southbound train on the viaduct at Prestebakke in Norway.

As a Norwegian rail enthusiast I am not very proud of the rail connection between Oslo and Gothenburg. The rail journey takes four hours. There is no buffet or trolley service available on the trains. There are tea- and coffee machines and vending machines selling Coca-Cola, Sprite, snacks and mineral water. Many Swedish commuters travel with the evening train from Gothenburg to Trollhättan. They are not able to buy anything from the vending machines, unless they have Norwegian coins. 

Kornsjø station. The station building was built in 1900.

The Norwegian border station at Kornsjø was an important station. The customs clearance was carried out, and the cross-border trains changed locomotives here.

Today Kornsjø station is only used for crossings. The impressing station building from 1900 is sold and preserved as a part of the Norwegian heritage. The rest of the station is a sorry sight to see. The sidings are disused, and no trains are stopping at Kornsjø anymore. But all cross-border trains are stopping at Ed, about 20 km from Kornsjø. 

 A Norwegian electric locomotive class El 16 with a container train passing Haksjön

The railway line has a lot of freight traffic. CargoNet operate piggy-back and container trains from Oslo to Gothenburg and Malmö and vice versa. Lots of timber is also transported by trains on the railway. Peterson, owning several paper mills, has its own railway company for timber transport. 

 Ed station. 

Train and bonfire at Haksjön

The Urskog Høland Railway

A passenger train at Bingsfoss
 
At Sørumsand there is a heritage narrow gauge railway, the Urskog Høland Railway. The journey starts at Sørumsand, and the trains have both 2^nd and 3^rd class accomodation. The railway has one intemediate station at Bingsfoss. The trains run to Fossum, where the locomotive runs round the train. On the return journey you can alight at Bingsfoss, where there is a café, and you can take a later train back to Sørumsand.The gauge is 750 mm. 

Engine No 4, "Setskogen", built by Hartmann in 1909, hauling a freight train up the gradient at Bingsfoss.

 

The Urskog Høland Railway was built to provide a connection from the river Glomma to the Fredrikshald (Halden) Canal. At that time timber was floated on the rivers. The railway was built to transport timber from Glomma to the Fredrikshald (Halden) Canal. Also agricultural products were transported by the railway. The railway was a private company, and built in the cheapest way. The gauge is 750 mm. 

 Skulerud station 27. mai 1907. (Photo: Anders Beer Wilse). From Wikimedia Commons

Sørumsand station 26. May 1907. (Photo: Anders Beer Wilse). From Wikimedia Commons

 

The first part of the railway opened between Bingsfoss and Bjørkelangen on November 14^th 1896. On December 15^th the line was completed to Skulerud. In 1903 the railway was extended from Bingsfoss to Sørumsand. The German factory Hartmann in Chemnitz delivered two steam locomotives in 1895. Baldwin delivered one locomotive in 1898. Six passenger coaches were delivered to the opening. These coaches were built by Skabo in Kristiania (Oslo). From the opening two passenger trains ran in each direction daily. 

 Engine No 7 "Prydz" was built in 1950. 

Crossing at Fossum

"Setskogen" with freight train at Fossum

At Skulerud in the northern end of the lake Rødenessjøen there was connection with the steamboat “D/S Turisten” on the Fredrikshald Canal. “D/S Turisten” (The Tourist) sailed on the Fredrikshald Canal to Tistedalen north of Fredrikshald (Halden). On the canal there were locks at Ørje, Strømsfoss and Brekke. The locks at Brekke are the highest locks in Northern Europe. Many tourists traveled by train from Oslo to Sørumsand and the narrow gauge train to Skulerud, by “D/S Turisten” to Tistedalen and by train back to Oslo. This journey was called  “The Great Round Trip”. 

 One of the preserved passenger coaches with 2nd and 3rd class compartment. 

In the 1920-s and 30-s the railway faced competition from buses and lorries. The trains were slow, and all goods had to be reloaded between standard and narrow gauge wagons at Sørumsand. It was faster to travel by bus, and more goods was sent by lorries.

But during the second world war petrol was difficult to provide and strictly rationed. The traffic on the railway increased during the war. After the war the railway was taken over by the Norwegian State Railways. A steam locomotive was delivered by Henschel in 1950. This was the very last steam locomotive delivered to a Norwegian railway. No modernisation of the line was carried out after the war. The traffic declined, and several trains ran without passengers. In 1960 the line was closed and the tracks were lifted.

Engine No. 4, "Setskogen" at Sørumsand.

Preservation 

After the closure a group of volunteers was formed to preserve a part of the railway. From Sørumsand 3 km of the line was preserved and given to the group along with two steam locomotives. The first steam train on the heritage railway was run in 1966. All the buildings and side tracks have been rebuilt after the heritage railway was established. The line is now re-established to Fossum, where there is a loop for running the locomotive round the train. All the work has been carried out by volunteers.

The railway can easily be reached from Oslo by train to Sørumsand. The trains run on sundays in the summer. 

Shunting at Sørumsand. Stop signal is given.

Norway’s Longest Museum

Norwegian-built steam engines No. 225 class 21b and No. 236 class 24b hauling a train on the Krøderen Railway. 

In 1868 the railway from Drammen via Hokksund, Vikersund and Hønefoss to Randsfjord was completed. The railway connected the city of Drammen with two lakes, Randsfjorden and Sperillen, where there were connections with steamboats on the lakes. The railway was built as a narrow gauge. The gauge was 3 ft 6 in (1067 mm). The locomotives for the railway were small, and all of them were built by Beyer, Peacock & Co in Manchester. The railway to Krøderen was built as a branch line, and opened in 1872, and was built with the same gauge as the line to Randsfjord. An intermediate station was built at Snarum. Thera were also established intermediate halts at Hære, Sysle, Morud and Kløftefoss. Krøderen station is located in the south end of the lake Krøderen, and there was connection with steamboats on the lake. The steamboats sailed on the lake to Noresund and Gulsvik.

Snarum station ca 1880. From Wikimedia Commons, unknown photographer.

 

At the same time there were built a railway line from Hokksund to Kongsberg and a line from Drammen to Christiania (Oslo). Both lines were built with 3 ft 6 in gauge. From the autumn 1872 two trains ran between Christiania (Oslo) and Randsfjord every day. Passengers to and from Krøderen had to change train at Vikersund. Passengers to the valley Hallingdalen travelled by the steamboat to Gulsvik in the northern end of Krøderen.

Engine No. 225 built by Thune in Oslo in 1911

Connection to Bergen

During the 19^th Century plans were made to build a railway line between Christiania (Oslo) and Bergen. Plans were made to extend the railway line from Krøderen through Hallingdal valley. Instead the Oslo-Bergen route was built from Gulsvik via Hønefoss and Roa to Oslo East station. The railway line from Bergen cross the mountains and to Gulsvik was ready to open in the summer of 1908. The line between Gulsvik via Hønefoss and Roa was not ready yet. The building of the Haversting Tunnel was difficult.

The passengers had to travel by steamboat on Krøderen. An other steamboat was transfered to Krøderen, and direct trains ran between Krøderen station and Oslo the summers of 1908 and 1909. Direct trains ran between Bergen and Gulsvik. In the winters the lake was frozen, and there was no steamboat service on the lake. The railway line to Bergen was built as a standard gauge railway, 4 ft 8 ½ in (1435 mm), and was completed in November 1909. At the same year the Drammen-Randsfjord railway and the branches to Krøderen and Kongsberg were converted to standard gauge. 

 Engine No. 236 outside the engine shed at Krøderen station

Standard gauge

When the railway line between Oslo and Bergen was completed, the line to Krøderen and the steamboats lost most of the passenger traffic. Passengers to and from the valley Hallingdalen could travel by train all the way to Oslo and Drammen. The steamboat service ceased in 1926. Still the Krøderen Railway had freight traffic. Timber trains ran from Krøderen. Two mixed trains carrying passengers and goods ran between Vikersund and Krøderen every day.

In 1948 small diesel railbuses class 87 were put into service on the railway, and several new halts were established. In 1950 six trains ran on the line in each direction daily. Unfortunately the railway line was built in the cheapest way, and the railbuses had to run at a low maximum speed. The road buses could run faster and were cheaper. Even the Norwegian State Railways operated a bus line on the road parallell to the railway line. In spite of protest from residents in the area the passenger service on the railway line ceased in January 1958. The railway to Krøderen was built with light rails and had a low axle load limit. This meant that freight wagons on the railway could not be fully loaded. In 1967 there was built a new road, and it was cheaper to transport timber with lorries than trains. The freght traffic declined, and was ceased in 1985.

Engine No. 11 with a teak-bodied passenger coach at Krøderen station in 2006. The coach was put into service on the railway this year, and volunteers have spent about 10 000 hours to restore the coach. 

Museum

In the meantime the Norwegian Railway Club had preserved steam locomotives, passenger coaches and freight wagons. The line to Krøderen was preserved as a museum railway, and the railway is now operated by volunteers. Every Sunday you can travel on the train. The railway has an unique collection og teak-bodied passenger coaches, the oldest of them was built in 1890. The maximum speed on the Krøderen Railway is 30 km/h, and the journey takes one hour each way. The Krøderen Railway has also preserved some diesel railbuses class 87 and class 91. A diesel railcar set runs every Sunday in July and August. The Krøderen Railway can be reached by train from Oslo to Vikersund (trains to and from Bergen).

A diesel rail bus class 87 at Krøderen station. Similar railbuses were used on the railway between 1948 and 1958.

Steam Engines

The museum railway has two operational steam engines. No. 236, class 24b and No. 225 class 21b.

This engine, class 24b, was built by Thune in Oslo in 1912. She is designed to haul freght trains. She has a maximum speed of 45 km/h.

This engine was built by Thune in 1911. Class 21 was very successful, and was designed to haul light  trains. The maximum speed was 70 km/h. Both engines were in service on the Norwegian State Railways to 1970-71. 

 A teak bodied passenger coach at Krøderen station. Note the doors on the middle. This coach has a wheelchair lift on each side and a toilet with wheelchair access. The coach also has a 2nd and a 3rd class compartment.

The museum railway also has a small steam engine. This engine, class 7 No. 11, was built by Manning Wardle & Co in Leeds in 1891. The engine was a shunting engine on Oslo East station. At the moment she is undergoing major maintenance work. 

  The down steam train to Vikersund leaves Snarum. 

 Once a year a special evening train is run between Krøderen and Snarum. The train has no electric lights at all, only petrol lamps. Here is engine No. 225 with the special evening train at Snarum. 

The Flåm Railway

Kjos Water Falls where the trains make a stop.

Every year thousands of tourists travel on the green trains running between Myrdal and Flåm in the western part of Norway. The railway has a gradient at 55 promille (1/18), and is one of the steepest conventional railway lines in the World. (Some of Oslo's underground lines are steeper). The railway is built as a branch line to the main line between Oslo and Bergen, and it took twenty years to build the line. The line opened at August 1st 1940, and in the beginning the trains were hauled by small steam locomotives. Four years later, in October 1944, the line was electrified.

Three electric locomotives class El 9 were built specially for the line the same year. At this time Norway was under Nazi occupation, and the western part of the country was under Border Zone West. All passengers needed a special travel permit. When the war was over the restrictions were lifted.

An electric locomotive class El 9 on the museum in Flåm. The yellow sign on the right indicates the gradient on the railway, 55 promille.

Two trains are crossing at Berekvam.

The Flåm Line train leaving Myrdal for the return down to Flåm

Today most of the passengers on the Flåm Railway are tourists. There is a station at Berekvam where two trains are able to cross. There is also a halt at Vatnahalsen and at Kjos Water Falls. At Myrdal there is connection with corresponding trains towards Oslo and Bergen. The trains on the line consists of passenger coaches class B3. The trains are hauled by electric locomotives class El 17. Because of the steep gradient there is one locomotive in each end of the train.

Here you can read more about the Flåm Railway.