Vestmarka Line
| Length: | Starts: | Ends: | Status: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 km | Skotterud Station | Vestmarka Halt | Abandoned |
The Vestmarka Line was a 14.3-kilometre long branch line of the Kongsvinger Line which ran between Skotterud and Vestmarka. Passenger services were terminated in 1931. The line was therefore the first line in Norway to terminate passenger transport.
Timber at Buåa Station. Photo: Klaus Rambøl/Norsk Jernbanemuseum
Passenger traffic
From 1921, passenger service started to operate on the line. It was run three times a week by a single third class couch connected to a freight train. This service was improved in 1924 when a railcar was put into service. The railcar was a rebuilt truck with a capacity of 16 passengers and operated three times a day. Cancellations occurred frequently due to maintenance work and repairs. It was not unusual that passengers had to step off the railcar and push it up the steepest parts of the line. The termini Skotterud and Vestmarka had turntables where the railcar was turned.
Closed
On 31 January 1931, the railcar was replaced by an ordinary bus service. The Vestmarka Line was thus the first railway in Norway to terminate passenger transport. In the postwar era, several of the sawmills closed and freight was instead transported on road. When the forest industry closed in Vestmarka as well, freight trains were only operating between Skotterud and Buåa from 15 February 1961. On 1 June 1965, the Vestmarka Line was officially abolished. Most of the line was replaced by new road between Skotterud and Stangnes. The rest of the line towards Buåa was soon overgrown and the tunnel between Stangnes and Rasta was closed after a rockfall. All tracks were removed at Buåa as well as the railway bridge crossing the Buåa River.
Vestmarka Line today
Parts of the Vestmarka Line is today a rail trail and a part of the 40-kilometre long Vekter Road. Several signs are placed along the railway line with historical pictures and information. The 131-metre long tunnel has been secured and opened to the public. At Buåa there are remains of the old railway bridge. Towards the terminus Vestmarka, the railway path is preserved and equipped by footpath lights. The station building at Vestmarka is today rebuilt as a residential building.