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.