Norsk Transport
Encyclopedia
Norsk Transport AS was a railway-
Railway company
A railway company or railroad company is an entity that operates a railroad track and/or trains. Such a company can either be private or public...

 and shipping company responsible for the transport of chemicals from Norsk Hydro Rjukan
Norsk Hydro Rjukan
Norsk Hydro Rjukan is an industrial facility operated by Norsk Hydro at Rjukan in Tinn, Norway, from 1911 to 1991. The plant manufactured chemicals related to the production of fertilizer, including ammonia, potassium nitrate, heavy water and hydrogen...

. A subsidiary of Norsk Hydro
Norsk Hydro
Norsk Hydro ASA is a Norwegian aluminium and renewable energy company, headquartered in Oslo. Hydro is the fourth largest integrated aluminium company worldwide. It has operations in some 40 countries around the world and is active on all continents. The Norwegian state holds a 43.8 percent...

, the company was founded in 1907 and operated until 1991.

To transport the products to the coastal port at Skien
Skien
' is a city and municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Grenland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Skien. Skien is also the administrative centre of Telemark county....

, Norsk Hydro needed to build an extensive railway network. Cargo was stored in tank car
Tank car
A tank car is a type of railroad rolling stock designed to transport liquid and gaseous commodities.-Timeline:...

s and transported down the 16 kilometres (10 mi) Rjukanbanen to Mæl
Mæl Station
Mæl Station is a railway station on Rjukanbanen and where the railway cars on the line were transferred to the railway ferry to Tinnoset. The station is located 16 km from Rjukan and on the mouth of the river Måna in Vestfjorddalen where the river runs into Tinnsjå.The station was built in...

, where it was transferred to the Tinnsjø railway ferry
Tinnsjø railway ferry
Tinnsjø railway ferry was a Norwegian railway ferry service on the lake Tinnsjå that connected the railways of Rjukanbanen and Tinnosbanen. The long ferry trip made it possible for Norsk Hydro to transport its fertilizer from the plant at Rjukan to the port in Skien...

. After a 30 kilometres (18.6 mi) ride across the lake, it was again transferred to Tinnosbanen and transported 34 kilometres (21.1 mi) to Notodden
Notodden
is a town and municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Øst-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Notodden....

 where it was transshipped to barge
Barge
A barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. Some barges are not self-propelled and need to be towed by tugboats or pushed by towboats...

s and transported down the Telemark Canal
Telemark canal
The Telemark Canal connects Skien to Dalen in southern Norway by linking up several long lakes using a series of 18 locks. It originally consisted of two canals: The Norsjø-Skien Canal, with locks in Skien and Løveid was built in the period 1854–1861, and is the oldest of the two canals.The...

. After 1919 the final stage was replaced with the 74 kilometres (46 mi) railway Bratsbergbanen; simultaneously Tinnosbanen was nationalized and taken over by Norges Statsbaner.

History

Founded as Norsk Transportaktieselskap on 13 April 1907 at the same time as Rjukan Salpeterfabrik
Norsk Hydro Rjukan
Norsk Hydro Rjukan is an industrial facility operated by Norsk Hydro at Rjukan in Tinn, Norway, from 1911 to 1991. The plant manufactured chemicals related to the production of fertilizer, including ammonia, potassium nitrate, heavy water and hydrogen...

, the company was a 50/50 joint venture
Joint venture
A joint venture is a business agreement in which parties agree to develop, for a finite time, a new entity and new assets by contributing equity. They exercise control over the enterprise and consequently share revenues, expenses and assets...

 between Norsk Hydro-Elektrisk Kvælstofaktieselskab
Norsk Hydro
Norsk Hydro ASA is a Norwegian aluminium and renewable energy company, headquartered in Oslo. Hydro is the fourth largest integrated aluminium company worldwide. It has operations in some 40 countries around the world and is active on all continents. The Norwegian state holds a 43.8 percent...

 (today Norsk Hydro) and Badische Anilin- und Soda-Fabrik
BASF
BASF SE is the largest chemical company in the world and is headquartered in Germany. BASF originally stood for Badische Anilin- und Soda-Fabrik . Today, the four letters are a registered trademark and the company is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, London Stock Exchange, and Zurich Stock...

 (today BASF). It received a thirty-year concession
Concession (contract)
A concession is a business operated under a contract or license associated with a degree of exclusivity in business within a certain geographical area. For example, sports arenas or public parks may have concession stands. Many department stores contain numerous concessions operated by other...

 on 17 July 1907 to build—with necessary expropriation
Eminent domain
Eminent domain , compulsory purchase , resumption/compulsory acquisition , or expropriation is an action of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate property, or seize a citizen's rights in property with due monetary compensation, but without the owner's consent...

s—and operate a railway from Rjukan to Notodden.

On 31 May 1913 Norsk Transport and Norges Statsbaner (NSB) agreed to build Bratsbergbanen, that would extend Tinnosbanen from Notodden to the coastal port. The agreement meant the railway line would become a joint venture between the two, while operations south of Tinnoset would be performed by NSB. Norsk Transport would remain the owner and operator of Rjukanbanen and the ferries. Norsk Hydro was forced to subsidize both Tinnosbanen and Bratsbergbanen, and on 1 July 1953 Norsk Transport sold their stake to NSB.

As part of the concession Norsk Transport was to provide passenger transport from Rjukan to Notodden. Passenger wagons were hooked to freight trains, and ran from Rjukan to Mæl, with intermediate stops; at Mæl passengers would board the railway ferries. From Tinnoset a corresponding train would transport them to Notodden, and after Bratsbergbanen opened, connections were available to Skien and Oslo Vestbanestasjon
Oslo Vestbanestasjon
Oslo West Station or Oslo V, is a former railway station located in Vika in Oslo, Norway. It was the terminus of the Drammen Line between 1872 and 1980, until the Oslo Tunnel opened. The station remained in use until 1989, when all traffic was moved to the new Oslo Central Station...

. Services from Tinnoset were the responsibility of NSB after 1913, but before that Norsk Transport provided passenger transport all the way to Notodden.

After the end of the war Norsk Hydro had a strong liquidity
Market liquidity
In business, economics or investment, market liquidity is an asset's ability to be sold without causing a significant movement in the price and with minimum loss of value...

, while the green revolution
Green Revolution
Green Revolution refers to a series of research, development, and technology transfer initiatives, occurring between the 1940s and the late 1970s, that increased agriculture production around the world, beginning most markedly in the late 1960s....

 and increased industrialization of agriculture in Europe boomed the demand for the products; from 1945 to 1955 production increased eightfold. The increased transport was a heavy burden on the two steamships, and in 1953 Norsk Transport ordered MF Storegut
MF Storegut
MF Storegut is a railway ferry that operated between Tinnoset and Mæl on the lake Tinnsjø, Norway. She was launched on 25 May 1956 and taken out of service after 4 July 1991 when the Tinnsjø railway ferry ceased operations. As of 2008 Storegut is docked at Tinnoset and is used for chartered...

, a diesel powered ship of 1119 gross tonnes
Tonnage
Tonnage is a measure of the size or cargo carrying capacity of a ship. The term derives from the taxation paid on tuns or casks of wine, and was later used in reference to the weight of a ship's cargo; however, in modern maritime usage, "tonnage" specifically refers to a calculation of the volume...

. She was launched on 25 May 1956 and the two older ferries were put to reserve duty in the meantime. A number of upgrades were made to the line, and the two locomotives 9 and 10
RjB 9 and 10
RjB 9 and RjB 10 were to identical electric locomotives operated by Norsk Transport on Rjukanbanen in Norway. Build by Swiss Sécheron and German Jung in 1958, they served until the closing of the line in 1991....

 were bough in 1958. This was followed by the three diesel locomotive
Diesel locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine, a reciprocating engine operating on the Diesel cycle as invented by Dr. Rudolf Diesel...

s 20, 21 and 22
RjB 20–22
RjB 20, 21 and 22 were three diesel-hydraulic locomotives operated by Norsk Transport on Rjukanbanen in Norway. They were mostly used for shunting at Rjukan and at Mæl....

 from Henschel
Henschel & Son
Henschel & Son was a German company, situated in Kassel, best known during the 20th century as a maker of transportation equipment, including locomotives, trucks, buses and trolleybuses, and armoured fighting vehicles and weapons....

. In 1966 two NSB El 1
NSB El 1
NSB El 1 is the first electric locomotive series used by Norges Statsbaner, from 1922 until 1973. Twenty-four engines were delivered from ASEA and Thune, twenty-two in 1922 and two in 1930...

 locomotives were bough, and the voltage on the line increased from 10 to 15 kV.

In 1957 five round trips had to be made each day, while the trains made nine round trips from Rjukan to Mæl. Rjukan station handled 100 wagons, with 800 tonnes potassium nitrate and 400 tonnes ammonia; 723,482 tonnes were transported on Rjukanbanen by 1962, 14% of the transported amount of NSB (excluding the ore trains on Ofotbanen). In total 30 million tonnes on 1,5 million carloads were transported from 1911 to 1991.

During the 1960s a series of cost reductions were introduced on the line, after major reorganizations between 1965 and 1970; the last commuter train for the workers to the plants went on 25 May 1968, while on 31 May 1970 the last passenger train in connection with the ferries went on Rjukanbanen, being replaced with bus. In 1972 Norsk Transport applied to terminate passenger transport with the railway ferry, since they were operating trips with only passengers and no cargo. The application was declined by the Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications
Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications
The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Transportation and Communications is a Norwegian ministry established in 1946, and is responsible for transportation and communication infrastructure in Norway. It is led by Magnhild Meltveit Kleppa...

, but in 1978 they permitted that the Saturday afternoon and Sunday departures be terminated—these were not used to transport freight trains. By the mid eighties passenger numbers had fallen dramatically, and in 1985 the department gave in and permitted the termination of passenger services with Storegut and Ammonia.

The plan had been producing a deficit since 1982. Norsk Hydro made an agreement with the authorities where they would create 350 new permanent jobs, create a business fund and donate NOK 60 million for the construction of a new road, Route 37 along Tinnsjø. In 1988 Norsk Hydro terminated the ammonia production, and in 1991 they also closed down the production ammonium nitrate and potassium nitrate
Potassium nitrate
Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with the formula KNO3. It is an ionic salt of potassium ions K+ and nitrate ions NO3−.It occurs as a mineral niter and is a natural solid source of nitrogen. Its common names include saltpetre , from medieval Latin sal petræ: "stone salt" or possibly "Salt...

, along with Rjukanbanen. Within a few years the number of Norsk Hydro employees in Rjukan had been reduced from 1,760 to 530 people; 24 of these were employed by Norsk Transport operating the railway and railway ferries. All the employees were either retired or moved to other areas of Norsk Hydro's enterprise.

The last train ran on 4 July 1991, four days after the plant closed. Without production at the plants there was no need for the railway; it would be more economical to transport the few last products by truck. The final hauled several wagons down to the coast for scrapping. The closing of Rjukanbanen also terminated operations on Tinnosbanen, where passenger traffic had remained until 1991.

Line

Rjukanbanen

Rjukanbanen is a 16 kilometres (10 mi) line from Rjukan to Mæl, where the wagons were transshipped to ferries.

Ferries

Norsk Transport had four ferries that transported the wagons 30 kilometres (18.6 mi) down Tinnsjå
Tinnsjå
Tinnsjå is one of the largest lakes in Norway. It is located between the municipalities of Tinn and Notodden in Telemark county. At its source in the west, the Måna river flows out of Møsvatn and past Rjukan into Tinnsjå...

 from Mæl to Tinnoset. From 1907 an unmotorized barge named Tinnsjø was completed; the steam ship Skarsfos was used to haul it between the two railways. The first self-propelled ferry was SF Rjukanfos
SF Rjukanfoss
SF Rjukanfoss, prior to 1946 named Rjukanfos, was steam-powered railway ferry that operated between Mæl and Tinnoset on the lake Tinnsjø, Norway. Owned by Norsk Transport, she was launched in 1909, expanded in 1946 and decommissioned in 1969....

, a 338 gross tonne
Tonnage
Tonnage is a measure of the size or cargo carrying capacity of a ship. The term derives from the taxation paid on tuns or casks of wine, and was later used in reference to the weight of a ship's cargo; however, in modern maritime usage, "tonnage" specifically refers to a calculation of the volume...

 ferry launched in 1909. She got a major overhaul in 1915 after the sister ship SF Hydro
SF Hydro
SF Hydro was a Norwegian steam powered railway ferry that operated on Tinnsjø in Telemark. The ferry operated between Mæl and Tinnoset between 1914 and 1944, connecting the two railways Rjukanbanen and Tinnosbanen. The railway was used to transport raw materials and fertilizer from Norsk Hydro's...

 at 494 gross tonnes was launched the same year. The third steamship was SF Ammonia
SF Ammonia
SF Ammonia is a steam powered railway ferry on Tinnsjø that connected Rjukanbanen with Tinnosbanen, Norway. The ferry was one of the four railway ferries on Tinnsjø that was used by Norsk Hydro to transport chemicals from Rjukan to the port in Skien...

 at 929 gross tonnes. Tinnsjø freezes in winter, and all the ships had to be built as icebreaker
Icebreaker
An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller vessels .For a ship to be considered an icebreaker, it requires three traits most...

s. Until 1936 Norsk Transport had to compete with a passenger steamship service, but after their closing the railway ferries were responsible for all passenger traffic on the lake, which also helped boost passenger traffic on the trains. The increased transport after World War II was a heavy burden on the two steamships, and in 1953 Norsk Transport ordered MF Storegut
MF Storegut
MF Storegut is a railway ferry that operated between Tinnoset and Mæl on the lake Tinnsjø, Norway. She was launched on 25 May 1956 and taken out of service after 4 July 1991 when the Tinnsjø railway ferry ceased operations. As of 2008 Storegut is docked at Tinnoset and is used for chartered...

, a diesel powered ship of 1,119 gross tonnes
Tonnage
Tonnage is a measure of the size or cargo carrying capacity of a ship. The term derives from the taxation paid on tuns or casks of wine, and was later used in reference to the weight of a ship's cargo; however, in modern maritime usage, "tonnage" specifically refers to a calculation of the volume...

. She was launched on 25 May 1956, and the two older ferries were put to reserve duty in the meantime.

Tinnosbanen

While built by Norsk Transport, from 1913 Tinnosbanen was operated by NSB, and owned by Øst-Telemark Jernbaneaktieselskap. In addition to freight from Norsk Hydro, Tinnosbanen was in part used for lumber transport, and it had passenger services until 31 December 1990 along the 34 kilometres (21.1 mi) long line.

Telemark Canal

The Telemark Canal was built in 1854–1861, and used by Norsk Transport to transport the chemicals from Notodden to Skien until Bratsbergbanen in 1919. Barges were used down the canal, and the cargo had to be transshipped before being exported. A suggestion to expand the canal to allow coastal vessels access was scrapped in favor of a railway.

Bratsbergbanen

Bratsbergbanen runs 74 kilometres (46 mi) from Notodden to Eidanger, and the only line to remain operational after the closing of Norsk Hydro in Rjukan. The line connects Notodden with Grenland
Grenland
Grenland is a traditional district in the county of Telemark, in the south of Norway. It is composed of the municipalities Skien, Porsgrunn, Bamble, Nome, and Siljan. Sometimes the municipalities Kragerø, and Drangedal are considered being part of the area...

, including the cities of Skien and Porsgrunn
Porsgrunn
is a town and municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Grenland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Porsgrunn....

 and the ports at Herøya
Herøya
Herøya is a peninsula in the municipality of Porsgrunn, Norway. It is located between the fjords of Frierfjord to the west and Gunneklevfjord to the east, at the mouth of Telemarksvassdraget...

 and Brevik
Brevik
is a town in Telemark, Norway with an estimated population of 2,700. Brevik was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 , but was merged with Porsgrunn on January 1, 1964. Brevik is regarded one of the best preserved towns from the sailing ship era...

. Prior to 1949 the terminal station had a break-of-gauge
Break-of-gauge
With railways, a break-of-gauge occurs where a line of one gauge meets a line of a different gauge. Trains and rolling stock cannot run through without some form of conversion between gauges, and freight and passengers must otherwise be transloaded...

, and Vestfoldbanen continued as narrow gauge.

Rolling stock

Locomotives
Road number Traction Builder Built Service !! Wheels Weight !! Power !! Speed !! Fate
1 Steam Sächsiche Maschinenfabrik 1901 1907–08 B 12.7 t 30 km/h Sold to Valdresbanen; dismantled 1935
2 Steam Henschel & Sohn
Henschel & Son
Henschel & Son was a German company, situated in Kassel, best known during the 20th century as a maker of transportation equipment, including locomotives, trucks, buses and trolleybuses, and armoured fighting vehicles and weapons....

 
1907 1907–08 B 14.3 t 40 km/h Sold to Lorentzen & Wettre; dismantled in 1965; NSB class 37
3 Steam A. Borsig 1908 1908–18 B 13.8 t 40 km/h Sold to NSB; dismantled in 1957
4 "Odin" Steam Orenstein & Koppel 1908 1908–49 B 13 t Dismantled in 1964
344 & 336 Steam Baldwin Locomotive Works
Baldwin Locomotive Works
The Baldwin Locomotive Works was an American builder of railroad locomotives. It was located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, originally, and later in nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania. Although the company was very successful as a producer of steam locomotives, its transition to the production of...

 
1917 1918–65 C 24.7 t 40 km/h Dismantled in 1969
1, 2, 3, 6, 7 & 8
NSB El 7
NSB El 7 was a series electric locomotives delivered between 1911 and 1918 to Norsk Transport that operated Rjukanbanen and Tinnosbanen, where they were designated RjB.1, 2, 3, 6, 7 and 8...

 
Electric AEG
AEG
Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft was a German producer of electrical equipment founded in 1883 by Emil Rathenau....

/Skabo
Skabo Jernbanevognfabrikk
Skabo Jernbanevognfabrikk was a mechanical workshop focusing on design and construction of railcars. It was established by Hans Skabo in Drammen, Norway in 1864; it became the first rail car factory in the country when it took delivery of the cars for Kongsvingerbanen...

 
1911–18 1911–66 D 44 t 375 kW 45 km/h NSB El 7
NSB El 7
NSB El 7 was a series electric locomotives delivered between 1911 and 1918 to Norsk Transport that operated Rjukanbanen and Tinnosbanen, where they were designated RjB.1, 2, 3, 6, 7 and 8...

 
4 & 5
NSB El 6
NSB El 6 was twp electric locomotive delivered in 1912 to Norsk Transport that operated Rjukanbanen and Tinnosbanen, where they were designated RjB.4 and 5...

 
Electric AEG/Skabo 1912 1912–56 B 23 t 190 kW 45 km/h NSB El 6
NSB El 6
NSB El 6 was twp electric locomotive delivered in 1912 to Norsk Transport that operated Rjukanbanen and Tinnosbanen, where they were designated RjB.4 and 5...

 
9 & 10
RjB 9 and 10
RjB 9 and RjB 10 were to identical electric locomotives operated by Norsk Transport on Rjukanbanen in Norway. Build by Swiss Sécheron and German Jung in 1958, they served until the closing of the line in 1991....

 
Electric Sécheron  1958 1958–91 Bo'Bo' 60 t 375 kW 55 km/h
14 & 15
NSB El 1
NSB El 1 is the first electric locomotive series used by Norges Statsbaner, from 1922 until 1973. Twenty-four engines were delivered from ASEA and Thune, twenty-two in 1922 and two in 1930...

 
Electric Per Kure
Active Electronically Scanned Array
An Active Electronically Scanned Array , also known as active phased array radar is a type of phased array radar whose transmitter and receiver functions are composed of numerous small solid-state transmit/receive modules . AESAs aim their "beam" by broadcasting radio energy that interfere...

/Thune
Thune
Thunes Mekaniske Værksted A/S, Thune for short, was a Norwegian manufacturing company that among other things built locomotives. The production facilities were last located at Skøyen.-History:...

 
1922 1966–91 B'B' 61.3 t 720 kW 70 km/h NSB El 1
NSB El 1
NSB El 1 is the first electric locomotive series used by Norges Statsbaner, from 1922 until 1973. Twenty-four engines were delivered from ASEA and Thune, twenty-two in 1922 and two in 1930...

 
20, 21 & 22
RjB 20–22
RjB 20, 21 and 22 were three diesel-hydraulic locomotives operated by Norsk Transport on Rjukanbanen in Norway. They were mostly used for shunting at Rjukan and at Mæl....

 
Diesel Henschel-Werke
Henschel & Son
Henschel & Son was a German company, situated in Kassel, best known during the 20th century as a maker of transportation equipment, including locomotives, trucks, buses and trolleybuses, and armoured fighting vehicles and weapons....

1961 1961–91 C 43.5 t 375 kW 60 km/h
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