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Urskog–Høland Line

Length:	Starts:	Ends:	Status:
57 km	Sørumsand Station	Skulerud Station	Heritage railway

The Urskog–Høland Line was a 57-kilometre narrow-gauged railway line between Sørumsand and Skulerud. It was the last remaining line in Norway where steam locomotives operated on a 750 millimeter gauge track. After the line was demolished, 3.2 kilometres of the tracks have been restored between Sørumsand and Fossum as a heritage railway.

Sørumsand Station. Photo: Anders B. Wilse/Norsk Folkemuseum

In the end of the 1800s, the forest owner Anders Olai Haneborg had bought several sawmills and forest areas in the eastern part of Norway. At the peak of his business in the 1890s, Haneborg needed an improved transport network of his timber, especially to his pulp mill at Funnefoss. He therefore sent a proposal to the Parliament for a railway line between Bingsfoss and Bjørkelangen. 50 percent of the costs should be covered by the Norwegian state, and the rest by Haneborg himself. The Parliament approved the line which opened as the Urskog Line on 14 November 1896. The railway was extended to Skulerud, opened as the Høland Line on 15 December 1898. These lines were then merged and renamed the Urskog—Høland Line. The Parliament approved that the railway should be further extended from Bingsfoss to Sørumsand. On 7 December 1903, the line was completed.

Tertiary line
The Urskog—Høland Line was built with low costs as a so-called tertiary line with a 750 millimeter gauge track. As a result, the line was colloquially called "Tertitten". The line was mostly used by timber trains pulled by steam locomotives, but had also passenger service. Two daily trains were operating between Bingsfoss and Bjørkelangen after the opening. After the railway was extended to Skulerud in 1898, there was a daily service between Skulerud and Bjørkelangen and two daily trains between Bjørkelangen and Bingsfoss. The peak was in 1937 with five daily trains between Sørumsand and Bjørkelangen and three daily trains between Bjørkelangen and Skulerud. Tourist trains were also operating which corresponded with the steamship "DS Turisten". This journey was called "The Great Roundtrip" and started in Oslo by a train to Sørumsand. The trip continued on the Urskog–Høland Line and further on the Halden Canal to Tistedal by steamship. The last part went by train back to Oslo on the Østfold Line.

Downturn
The Norwegian State Railways took over as the operator on 1 January 1945. In March 1947, the railway line was renamed Aurskog—Høland Line. At the same time, the ridership decreased significantly. During the postwar era, motor couches capable for higher speeds were put into service on several branch lines in Norway. This did not happen on the Urskog—Høland Line. Due to low speed and transshipping at Sørumsand Station, freight was transported on road instead. On 1 July 1960, the Urskog—Høland Line was closed because it was no longer profitable.

Heritage railway
In 1961, the cooperative _Urskog—Hølandsbanen_ was founded consisting of volunteers in order to secure the line for the future. The cooperative took over three kilometres of the line outside Sørumsand as well as a couple of steam locomotives and several couches. In 1966, the first vintage train ran on the remaining part of the line. In 1987, the line was extended to Sørumsand. The official opening was two years later. The remains of the line is today preserved and run by Museene i Akershus (MiA). The association _Aurskogbanen_ aims to open another 450 metres of track available for draisine rides at Finstadbru Station. Their future plan is to extend the line to Killingmo.

Remains
There are many remains of the Urskog—Høland Line at Bjørkelangen. The old station building is preserved as well as the old locomotive shed and a water stop. Finstadbru Station was overtaken by a sawmill after the line was closed and has recently been renovated by the association _Aurskogbanen_. In Skulerud, the old locomotive shed is preserved, and hundred metres of track have been reconstructed at the station area. During the summertime, vintage trains from the Urskog—Høland Line are running outside the Norwegian Railway Museum at Hamar. The old station building at Killingmo has also been moved to this place.