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Narrow-gauge railways in Sweden

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Roslagsbanan railway (891 mm), Stockholm County

Sweden once had some fairly extensive narrow-gauge networks, but most narrow-gauge railways are now closed. Some were physically converted to 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in) standard gauge (the latest one the line between Berga and Kalmar in the 1970s) and some remain as heritage railways. The most common narrow gauge, 891 mm (2 ft 11+332 in) (3 Swedish feet), exists only in Sweden. A smaller 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge network existed, and 600 mm (1 ft 11+58 in) gauge was used mostly by smaller, industrial railways. Still other but lesser used gauges in the country were 693 mm (2 ft 3+932 in), 802 mm (2 ft 7+916 in), 1,099 mm (3 ft 7+14 in), 1,188 mm (3 ft 10+2532 in) and 1,217 mm (3 ft 11+2932 in),[1] all converted or removed.

1,217 mm (3 ft 11+2932 in) railway lines

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1,217 mm is equal to 4.1 Swedish feet. Compatible with 4 English feet (4 ft or 1,219 mm).

1,188 mm (3 ft 10+2532 in) railway line

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1,188 mm is equal to 4 Swedish feet.

1,099 mm (3 ft 7+1764 in) railway line

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1,099 mm (3 ft 7+14 in) is equal to 44.42 pre 1863 Swedish inches

1,093 mm (3 ft 7 in) railway line

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This unique 1,093 mm (3 ft 7 in) gauge was created by a measure mistake.

1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) railway lines

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Southern Sweden had a small 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) network, reaching for example Halmstad, Växjö, Torsås, Karlskrona, Ronneby, Karlshamn, and Kristianstad. As most of the railways in the province of Blekinge had this gauge, it was nicknamed "Blekinge gauge" in Sweden. All track is either demolished or rebuilt to 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in) standard gauge.

A few smaller lines also had this gauge:

891 mm (2 ft 11+332 in) railway lines

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891 mm is equal to three Swedish feet.

Two large networks existed, separated by lake Vättern. The western one covered much of the province of Västergötland, from Gothenburg in the southwest to Hjo in the east and Gullspång in the north. The eastern network covered much of the provinces of Småland and Östergötland, stretching from Växjö and Torsås in the south to Örebro in the north. There were also smaller 891 mm (2 ft 11+332 in) networks on Gotland and in Uppland, as well as separate lines in other regions, among them Öland. Plans for connecting the two main networks were made but never fulfilled.

Some lines were converted to 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in) standard gauge, while most lines have been demolished. In the 21st century, only the Roslagsbanan commuter rail still functions as a commercial railway. There are also tourist or heritage traffic on some lines.

802 mm (2 ft 7+916 in) railway lines

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802 mm (31.6 in) is equal to 2.7 Swedish feet.

600 mm (1 ft 11+58 in) railway lines

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Numerous 600 mm (1 ft 11+58 in) gauge agricultural and industrial railways were built. Nowadays a few are in use as tourist railways with steam trains.

References

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