Copyright © Hans Högman 2021-02-28
History of Railways in Sweden (1)
History of Railways in Sweden
Foreword
Generally, the words railway and railroad are
synonyms. The difference between railway and
railroad is in the practice rather than in the meaning
of the two words. In the UK and the adjoining
commonwealth countries, railway is the term that is
used. In the USA, the term railroad is used even if
railway is used by some companies. Internationally,
railway is the most common term.
So, the meaning of both railway and railroad is the
same. They both refer to the track on which a train
runs.
Introduction
In 1845, Count Adolf Eugène von Rosen (1797-1886),
the initiator of the Swedish railways, obtained Royal
permission to build railways in Sweden.
1856 is regarded as the year of birth for the
Swedish Railways. In 1856, the first three railway
lines were officially opened, built for rail public
transport with steam locomotives.
There had been public rail transport earlier also but
with horse-pulled carriages. Except for underground
mines, the first established railway in Sweden was
built in 1798 between the port in Höganäs and a
mine. The rails were made of wood and the wagons
were pulled by horses. However, the first public
railway was the Frykstad Line in Värmland which
opened in 1849. During the first couple of years, the
carriages were pulled by horses. The railway was
constructed by Claes Adelsköld (1824-1907).
In 1850, the railway line between Kristinehamn and
Sjöändan was opened, a stretch of 11 km and the
gauge was 1099 mm. The carriages were also here
pulled by horses initially, but from 1858 with steam
locomotives. The first railway in Sweden to use steam
locomotives from outset was Nora-Ervalla-Örebro
Railway which opened on 5 March 1856.
The first railway line in the world was opened in 1825
between Stockton-on-Tees and Darlington in the UK.
The image at the top of the page shows two coupled
steam locomotives and passenger carriages. Photo: Eric
Lundquist. Image: Järnvägsmuseet, ID: JvmKBDN01489.
The Swedish State Railways, SJ
Under the Parliament Act of 1854, the government
was to be responsible for the construction of the
railway main lines (mainlines) in Sweden. Engineer
Baron Nils Ericson (1802 - 1870) was appointed to
lead the project. Ericson resigned in 1863 when the
Western Main Line was officially opened. The
responsibility for the State Railways was then
transferred to the “Styrelsen för statens järnvägstrafik”
(The Government Board of Rail Transport) under the
leadership of a Director-General. On 1 June 1888, the
Board was transformed into the Royal Swedish State
Railways (Kungliga Järnvägsstyrelsen or Statens
Järnvägar, SJ).
Thereafter came a boom of railway development with
the organizing of linemen along the rails including
dwellings for the linemen and the railway station’s
staff and not the least the construction of all the
railway stations.
The Swedish State Railways was established in
December 1856 with the opening of the two major
main lines; Southern Main Line (Södra stambanan)
and the Western Main Line (Västra stambanan).
More main lines were being built but the construction
of the many branch lines was handed over to private
companies.
The image shows the B class steam locomotive Prince
August SJ B 3 which was SJ:s first class of locomotives
for railway service, manufactured by Beyer, Peacock
& Co, UK. It was procured in 1856 to be used on the
Southern Main Line (Södra Stambanan). Image:
Järnvägsmuseet. ID: Jvm00001-1.
During the first hundred years of rail transport, the
Swedish State Railways has had two major periods
of growth. The first took place during the second
half of the 19th century when the major main lines
were being built which were the backbone of the
Swedish rail infrastructure.
The second period began in the 1940s when most of
the private railway companies were nationalized. The
reason for the incorporation of the private railways
was to avoid a shutdown of these lines since they
were struggling with profitability. The increasing
motoring and bus services made many private
railways unprofitable. By nationalizing the
unprofitable private lines they were saved and SJ
usually operated these minor lines with railbuses.
The first railbus on regular traffic was the Y6. A
railbus is a lightweight passenger rail vehicle that
shares many aspects of its construction with a bus,
hence the name. The railbuses were very suitable on
minor lines and more economical than complete
train sets. In 1950, SJ was as biggest with 50,000
employees.
The effort to save the minor lines from bankruptcy by
buying them wasn’t durable in the long run and at
the beginning of the 1960s about half of the minor
lines were closed down.
Swedish Main Lines
The main line (or mainline in the US) of a railway is a
track that is used for through trains or is the principal
artery of the system from which branch lines, yards,
sidings and spurs are connected. It generally refers to
a route between towns. The Swedish term for
mainline is “Stambana”.
As mentioned above, the government was to build all
the main lines in Sweden while the branch lines
were built by private companies. The mainlines were
being built between 1856 and 1892 when the main
line through North Sweden, “Stambanan genom övre
Norrland”, was opened.
The main lines were built with the international
standard gauge, 1,435 mm (4.7 ft). However, the
branch lines were narrow-gauge railways. There are
no standards for narrow-gauge railways; however,
the most frequent narrow-gauge in Sweden was 891
mm (3 ft). The narrow-gauge railways were cheaper
to build and more economical to maintain and
operate which is why the minor private railway lines
were built narrow-gauge.
The
image shows railway construction in Lilla Edet,
Västergötland, circa 1905. Image: Västergötlands
museum, ID: 1M16-A145233:3864.
Both locomotives and carriages had to be built to
meet the gauge of the tracks they were to be running
on. To exchange goods from a train on a narrow-
gauge branch line to a train on a standard gauge
main line it had to be reloaded. Busy narrow-gauge
lines were usually, over time, rebuilt to standard-
gauge.
Förstlingen (The Firstling) was the first locomotive
built and used in Sweden. On 2 June 1853, the
Firstling made a test run in Eskilstuna and on the
Norberg Railway Line. In 1856, the first steam
locomotive railways were opened. The first train
went from Gothenburg Central Station to Jonsered.
After arrival in Jonsered, elated passengers could
narrate how they had been “hurled forward” at the
amazing speed of 30 km/h (20 mph).
In 1855, the construction of the Southern Mail Line
(Södra Stambanan) and Western Main Line (Västra
Stambanan) commenced. The construction of the
Southern Main Line began in Malmö and the Western
Main Line in Gothenburg. Both railway lines were to
be built to reach Stockholm.
The Main Lines:
The Western Main Line (Västra Stambanan) was
inaugurated on 3 November 1862, and thereby
Stockholm was connected to Gothenburg (Göteborg)
via railway and Malmö in 1864 when the Southern
Main Line (Södra Stambanan) officially opened. The
construction of the Western Main Line began on 30
April 1856 and took 6 years to build.
•
Western Main Line comprises the route:
Stockholm–Katrineholm–Hallsberg–Skövde–Falköpi
ng-Göteborg.
•
Southern Main Line:
Katrineholm–Norrköping–Linköping–Nässjö–Sävsjö
-Alvesta–Hässleholm–Malmö. The route
Katrineholm–Nässjö was formerly called the
Eastern Main Line (Östra Stambanan).
The terminal railway station of the Western Main Line
was Stockholm South Station (Stockholm S) in
Södermalm District, Stockholm. On the north side of
Stockholm was Stockholm North Station (Stockholm
N) by Norra Bantorget which was the terminal station
of the Northern main Line. Stockholm is a city located
on several islands and initially, there was no rail
connection between the South and the North
stations. However, in 1871, the two stations were
connected via the so-called Sammanbindningsbanan
(Connection Line). A new railway station located in
central Stockholm was built, Stockholm Central
Station (Stockholm C) which was officially opened on
18 July 1871. On the other end of the Western Main
Line was Gothenburg Central Station (Göteborg C)
the terminal station.
Southern Main Line was built from Malmö in the
southern tip of Sweden to Nässjö in Småland
Province. From there the track was built in a
northwestern direction into Västergötland Province
where it was connected to the Western main Line in
Falköping.
Eastern Main Line was built from Katrineholm, via
Norrköping and Linköping down to Nässjö. Thereby
there was a shorter route (an eastern route) for
travelers between Stockholm and Malmö than the
detour via Falköping. Eastern Main Line was opened
in 1874. However, the line between Katrineholm and
Norrköping was opened as early as 1860. The route
from Malmö to Stockholm via Nässjö-Norrköping-
Katrineholm was frequently called Southern Main
Line (instead of Southern and Eastern main lines) and
this naming was finally accepted by the Board of
Transportation in 1990.
Northern Main Line (Norra Stambanan) comprises
the route
Gävle/Storvik–Ockelbo–Bollnäs–Ljusdal–Ånge. The
first part of the line, Stockholm-Uppsala, was opened
in 1866. The railway line was thereafter built bit by bit
and reached Krylbo in 1873, Gävle/Storvik in 1875,
and finally Ånge in 1881. The railway line took 15
years to build. The route Ånge-Bräcke-Östersund was
opened already in 1879 and thereby Stockholm was
connected to Östersund via railway.
The railway was in 1883 extended from Bräcke and
further northward to Ragunda-Långsele-Vännäs and
Boden and in full opened in 1894. This route is called
Stambanan genom övre Norrland. (The Main Line
through Upper Norrland).
The image shows a
map of the railway
system in the
southern half of Sweden in 1910. Image: Nordisk
Familjebok, Projekt Runeberg.
Click on the image to enlarge it. More Maps.
Although most cities are located by the coast and
therefore ought to be the destination of most rail
transports, no railways lines were being built along
the coasts, at least not in the 1800s, due to the so-
called Antikustprincipen (Anti Coast Principle). This
was due to defense policy reasons. If there, for
example, would be an enemy landing along the
Norrland coast, it would be more secure to deploy
troops up north if the railway lines were located 30 -
50 km inland (20 to 50 mi away from the coast).
Northwestern Main Line (Nordvästra Stambanan)
comprises the route
Laxå–Karlstad–Kil–Charlottenberg. Today the railway
line carries the name Värmlandsbanan (Värmland
Line). It was officially opened in 1871. The line was
built as a main line to connect Stockholm with
Kristiania (today’s Oslo in Norway). It was opened bit
by bit between 1866 and 1871.
Mid Line (Mittbanan) is the name of the railway line
between Sundsvall by the east-coast in Mid-Sweden
to Storlien west of Sundsvall by the Norwegian
border. The first part of the line,
Sundsvall–Torpshammar, was a 60 km long narrow-
gauge private railway, opened in 1878. At the same
time, the second part of the line (Norrländska
tvärbanan) between Torpshammar–Östersund, was
being built and opened in 1879. In 1881 this line was
connected to the Northern Main Line in Ånge. The
last part of the Mid Line, Östersund-Storlien, and to
Trondheim (Norway) was opened in 1882. The private
part of the line, owned by the
Sundsvall–Torpshammars Railway was acquired by
the government in 1885 and rebuilt to standard-
gauge in 1886. The name of the entire line between
Sundsvall-Storlien was then changed to "Norrländska
tvärbanan" (Line Across Norrland).
Inland Line (Inlandsbanan) is a railway line between
Kristinehamn, Värmland, in the southern end, and
Gällivare up north in Lapland, a total distance of
1,288 kilometers (800 mi). In 1907, the construction
of the first stage, Östersund–Ulriksfors, began and
was ready in 1912. In 1911 the construction of the
second stage Ulriksfors–Vilhelmina, began. The stage
Sveg–Brunflo was ready in 1922. The building of the
northernmost stage, Wilhelmina–Gällivare began in
1917 but wasn’t ready until 1937. The line reached
Dorotea in 1915, Vilhelmina 1918, Storuman 1923
and Arvidsjaur 1928. The final stage
Jokkmokk−Gällivare was ready in 1937.
The
image shows a SJ S class steam locomotive, S1 nr
1916 at Kalmar Central Station in 1975. Image:
Kalmar Läns Museum, ID: KLMF.Okänd01379.
The East Coast Line (Ostkustbanan, OKB) is a railway
line between Stockholm and Sundsvall, Medelpad,
via Uppsala and Gävle. The railway line was initially a
private line on the route Gävle - Härnösand. The East
Coast Line was opened in stages but the entire route
was opened on 1 November 1927. The private line
between Gävle and Härnösand was from outset
partially owned by the government, 65% of the
shares in Ostkustbanan AB (OKB). The line was
extended from Härnösand to Sollefteå in 1893. The
final stage Sollefteå - Långsele opened already in
1886. On 1 August 1933 the private railway company,
OKB, together with Uppsala–Gävle Railway was
nationalized. The route between Sundsvall and
Långsele via Härnösand is today called Ådalsbanan
(Ådalen Line).
It was a great benefit to all the towns the railways
lines passed. These communities were able to grow
and attracted businesses that needed rail transports.
The number of branch lines increased and connected
towns. It became much easier for people to travel.
For a period in the middle of the 1800s, about 70% of
the government spending went to the construction of
railways.
In the 1960s many of the smaller branch lines were
unprofitable and the government closed those
railway lines and replaced them with bus services
instead. Many of the new bus lines were also run by
SJ and SJ soon became one of the leading bus
operators. Further, many railway stations were closed
down on the main lines in depopulating areas. In
1958, the Southern Main Line between Stockholm
and Malmö had circa 90 railway stations. 20 years
later, the number of stations on this route was
reduced to 20.
Railway Tracks and Rails
Rail transport or train transport is a means of
transferring passengers and goods on wheeled
vehicles running on rails, which are located on tracks
and rail vehicles (rolling stock) are directionally
guided by the tracks on which they run. The track on
a railway/railroad is the structure consisting of the
rails, fasteners, railway sleepers (ties, American
English), and ballast (or slab track). Tracks usually
consist of steel rails. A railway sleeper is a rectangular
support for the rails in railroad tracks, generally laid
perpendicular to the rails. Railway sleepers are
traditionally made of wood, but prestressed concrete
is nowadays widely used.
During the early days of rail, there was considerable
variation in the gauge used by different systems.
Today, most railways use a gauge of 1,435 mm (4 ft 8
1⁄2 in), known as standard or international gauge
(Swe: normalspår). Gauges wider than standard
gauge are called broad gauge; narrower, narrow
gauge.
A reason for the different gauges is that the many
railway lines have different needs and budgets. Broad
carriages can carry more goods, but broad goods
wagons need broad gauge tracks to roll steadily.
Broad gauge tracks call for broader embankments
which means that more land has to be acquired.
More goods also make the wagons heavier which
need more powerful locomotives which in its turn
demands stronger rails. Stronger rails, powerful
locomotives, and broader wagons are more
expensive which is why private railway branch lines
usually were
constructed as narrow-
gauge railway lines for
economical reasons.
The image shows a
railway track with rails
and sleepers on an
embankment
somewhere in Sweden. Image: Wikipedia.
The rails used in rail transport are produced in
sections of fixed length. Rail lengths are made as long
as possible, as the joints between rails are a source of
weakness. Throughout the history of rail production,
lengths have increased as manufacturing processes
have improved. In the early days of railways, the rails
were short, only a few meters. Welding of rails into
longer lengths was first introduced around 1893,
making train rides quieter and safer. By the time, the
length of the rails reached 20 meters (66 ft) bolted
together using perforated steel plates known as
fishplates (UK) or joint bars (North America).
Fishplates are usually 600 mm (2 ft) long, used in
pairs on either side of the rail ends, and bolted
together. Small gaps which function as expansion
joints are deliberately left between the rail ends to
allow for expansion of the rails in hot weather.
The sleeper has two main roles: to transfer the loads
from the rails to the track ballast and the ground
underneath and to hold the rails to the correct width
apart (to maintain the rail gauge). They are generally
laid transversely to the rails. Various methods exist
for fixing the rail to the sleeper. Historically spikes
gave way to cast iron chairs fixed to the sleeper. The
terms rail anchors, tie plates, chairs and track
fasteners are used to refer to parts or all of a rail
fastening system. Each sleeper is usually 2.6 m (8.5 ft)
long.
Related Links
•
Railway History, part-2
•
Swedish State Railways - Locomotives
•
Iron Ore Line
•
Railway History - Images
•
Maps of the Swedish Railway System
•
History of Swedish Log Driving
Source References
•
Staten, järnvägarna och den regionala
utvecklingen i Sverige 1840–1890, Agaton Sten,
2015, Umeå Universitet.
•
Den glade rallaren? Norrbottniska rallares syn på
sina arbets- och levnadsvillkor, Per-Jonas Pihl
2016, Luleå Tekniska Universitet.
•
Boken “En rallares levnadsminnen”, av Samuel
Magnusson Svanbäck; nedtecknade av Herbert
Malmback, 1931.
•
Boken: “Banbrytare. Äventyr och upplevelser under
ett 100-årigt järnvägsbyggande i Sverige”. Manne
Briandt. Kristianstad 1959.
•
Sveriges järnvägars historia, Populär Historia, 13
september 2006 av Niklas Ingmarsson,
publicerad i Populär Historia 7-8/2006 .
•
Rallarna i Sverige banade väg för industrialismen,
av Mats Utbult, publicerad i Populär historia
11/2009.
•
Wikipedia
•
Järnvägsmuseet (Railway Museum in Gävle,
Sweden)
Top of page
Important Years for the Development of the
Swedish Railways
Besides the tracks and the locomotives, the carriages
were also developed further. Steam heating of the
railway carriages was introduced in Sweden in 1871
and in 1872 SJ introduced passenger carriages with
passages between the carriages. Stockholm Central
Station was inaugurated in 1871. Swedish standard
time was introduced in 1879. Vacuum breaks were
used from 1883 on passenger trains. The goods trains
were at this time still using manually applied brakes.
In 1886, SJ began with sleeping cars for first and
second-class passengers. SJ introduced bogie cars in
1891. The first train ferry between Sweden and
Denmark opened in 1892. The first electrified
railway line in Sweden for passenger traffic opened
in Stockholm in 1895, Djursholmsbanan
(Roslagsbanan).
The Anti Coast Principle was abandoned in 1896 which
made it possible to build the East Coast Line
(Ostkustbanan) along the Norrland coastline. Thereby
the railway line could be extended from Gävle
towards Sundsvall and a railway line from
Gothenburg on the west coast to Oslo in Norway
could be built. In 1894, the first dining cars were
used on the railway line Uppsala–Gävle. The
Gällivare–Riksgränsen–Narvik part of Iron Ore Line in
the north of Sweden was opened in 1903. In 1905, SJ
began using electric locomotives. The F-class steam
locomotive, Sweden’s most powerful steam
locomotive, was delivered to SJ.
In 1919, SJ introduced the compressed air brake
system and the system was adapted between 1920
and 1927. From 1924, electric heating was installed
in passenger carriages.
Navvies / Gandy Dancers
“Rallare” is the term used for early railroad workers
in Sweden, who laid and maintained railway tracks in
the decades before the work was done by machines.
The British equivalent of the term is "Navvy" (from
"navigator"). Gandy dancer is a slang term used for
early railroad workers in the United States, more
formally referred to as "section hands".
In the 1900s, the Swedish term “rallare” was also used
by the workers building hydroelectric power stations
but then with the prefix “vatten”, i.e. “vattenrallare”. A
similar title was used for the workers building roads
for motor vehicles at the beginning of the 1900s,
“vägrallare”.
The major period for the construction of railways in
Sweden was between the 1850s and the 1930s.
During this period, railway construction was
performed by manual work.
The “rallare” lived a nomadic life and were general
workers equipped with levers, drills, pickaxes, and
spades looking for jobs wherever a railway was under
construction. The work sites shifted continuously and
were usually far away from home.
Railway construction was at the time Sweden’s largest
building project and occupied about 20.000 people
annually. The “rallare” were foremost from the
countryside of Central and Southern Sweden, often
farmhands and small tenant farmers who moved
from one railway
construction to another.
In the rest of this article, I
will use the British English
term “navvy” for “rallare”.
The image shows a
Swedish navvy (rallare) at
a railway construction by
a tipper car on the rails.
Image: Alingsås museum,
ID: AMB 00062.
It was a hard and
laborious life to be a navvy with tough working
conditions and not the least risky. In a book titled "En
rallares levnadsminnen" (A navvy’s memories of life)
from 1931 the old railway navvy Samuel Magnusson
Svanbäck narrated about his life as a navvy in
Sweden. In 1872, then only 16 years old, he obtained
his first employment as a navvy with a railway
construction south of Växjö, Småland. It was long
working days beginning at 5:00 in the morning and
lasting until 20:00 in the evening with three breaks;
8:00-9:00, 12:00-13:30, and 16.30-17:00. At 04:45 the
navvies had to line up at the working site to be
counted by a foreman (schaktmästaren). If a navvy was
late for work, he, as a punishment, wasn’t allowed to
begin working until 8:00 which meant that he lost a
quarter of his payment that day. A white and red flag,
known as the cat, was hoisted when the work began
and lowered when the work stopped for the day.
The navvy camps, quarters, were usually far away
from the working sites which means that the navvies
had to get up very early to be at the working site in
time. In the evening they arrived late to their
quarters. Railway construction by definition implied
moving working sites.
The navvies had a tradition of using songs to
coordinate work, unique in their use of task-related
work chants, similar to those songs used by sailors on
sailing ships. The chants were used to keep time
when they were drilling using sledgehammers,
digging, or piling.
there was very strong solidarity among the navvies;
they very a close-knit family. Navvies took care of
each other and helped fellow navvies in need.
Working Conditions
Railway construction was usually divided into
sections of about 20 km (12.4 mi). However, a
section could be longer than that if the terrain was
easy or shorter on a difficult section with earthmoving
and blasting.
How did they do it? The work was performed with
different teams of workmen. The engineers planned
the direction of the section. Thereafter, teams of
earthmoving, stone-workers, and blasters began their
work, supervised by the foremen. When the
embankments were ready, teams who laid the rails
(rälsläggarna) took over. They laid the sleepers and
rails and fastened the rails to the sleepers with spikes.
The navvies used special sledgehammers called spike
mauls to drive spikes. The rails were bolted together
using perforated steel plates known as fishplates (UK)
or joint bars (North America).
The sleepers were produced with portable sawmills of
wood purchased locally. Initially, the rails were
imported from the UK. A rail could weigh up to a ton
and it took five strong navvies to carry a rail and lay it
in place. The navvies laid about 1 km of rails a day.
When there was a need to blast a rocks, dynamite
was used. The navvies then needed to manually drill
holes in the rock. One man drove the drill with a
sledgehammer while a second man rotated the drill
between each stroke with the sledgehammer. It was
not uncommon that the drill got stuck in the hole and
the crew had to make a new hole. Sledgehammers
and levers were made of iron and heavy to use.
Wheelbarrows were made of wood. There were two
types of wheelbarrows; the grand barrow (Swe:
Storkärran) and the “tiny barrow” (Lillkärran). It took
three navvies to move a loaded “grand barrow”.
The image shows a team of navvies removing earth at
a railway construction in Lilla Edet circa 1905. Image:
Västergötlands museum, ID: 1M16-A145233:3863.
The railway workforce was very hierarchic with
foremen supervising the navvies and several levels of
engineers. The discipline was hard and it didn’t take
much to get fired. Each navvy had an employment
card in the size of a playing card containing personal
data. It was compulsory to always carry the card at
the worksite. If a navvy made a misdemeanor, the
foreman would ask for the navvy’s card and make a
note that the navvy was fired including the reason.
The management usually forced the working pace
without any consideration to the workers. It was no
shortage of laborers and worn-out navvies could
easily be relieved by others. At the turn of the century
1900, the working hours per day was between 1o and
12 hours. the navvies had no means to cure
themselves if sick or injuries. A navvy that didn’t turn
up for work in the morning wasn’t paid. Therefore
they usually worked even if they were sick.
Navvy Camps
Förläggningsbarackerna där rallarna var
inkvarterade kunde vara ytterst enkla timrade skjul
eller brädkåkar med jordgolv där rallarna
konkurrerade om sovplatserna. Cirka 15–16 man
skulle kanske pressades ihop i ett rum på 25
kvadratmeter, där man också lagade maten och
torkade kläderna. I värsta fall kunde förläggningen
utgöras av jordhålor eller kojor.
The image shows the interior of a navvy camp
dwelling in Kiruna in 1902. To the right a female cook.
Image: Järnvägsmuseet, ID: JvmKDAK03487.
Handelsmonopol rådde längs banbyggena och den
föda som rallarna fick var ofta enformig, och bestod
vanligen av salt sill, saltat amerikanskt fläsk och
potatis, kaffe och bröd. Maten tillagades så
småningom av särskilda kokerskor. Kolbullen var en
omtyckt maträtt. Den bestod av mjöl, vatten,
torrsaltat amerikanskt fläsk friterad i ister, en måltid
som var både lättlagad och näringsrik. Måltidsdryck
var vanligen havrevatten (en näve havregryn utspätt i
vatten). Det var svårt att förvara färskvaror ute i
terrängen varför maten var baserad på torrvaror.
Ibland kunde de ha tur att få köpa lite mjölk, smör i
en lokal bondgård och hade man tid och fiskelycka
kunde man äta en nyfångad fisk.
The image shows a group of navvies by an E-class
steam locomotive, SJ E 900, at a railway construction.
Image: Wikipedia.
Ändå sökte sig många till järnvägsbyggen, mest för att
få en bättre lön. För betalningen var bra, ofta bättre
än vad arbetarna kunde få i övrigt i samhället, så
betalningen var en stark drivkraft för rallarna. Det var
även en stor solidaritet och sammanhållning inom
rallarkåren.
Rallarna var omgiven av myter om slagsmål, brännvin
och snus men mest var de hårt slitande arbetare. Det
romantiska skimret kring livet som rallare har ofta
dolt en hård verklighet med tungt arbete. När rallarna
drog fram mellan samhällen på landsbygden blev de
ofta populära bland de unga kvinnorna. Mötet med de
bofasta männen blev däremot konfliktfyllt och ledde
ofta till slagsmål.
Rallarna var stolta och satte ära i att utföra sitt arbete
som det skulle och inom den tid som basen
föreskrivit. Kamratandan i arbetslaget framtvingade
en viss hyfsning och det tilläts inte att en lagmedlem
vanhedrade sitt lag på ett eller annat sätt. En rallare
skulle inte skämma ut laget. "Sup dej inte full å slåss
aldri förrän du blir tvungen, men slå då av bara fan" lär
ha varit ett ledord för rallarna. Rallarna blev fruktade
men respekterade. Att de hade lätt att ta till
knytnävarna var ett rykte som föregick rallarna och
förskaffade dem vanrykte men det hade oftast sin
orsak i avoghet och bristande tillmötesgående från
lokalbefolkningens sida. Rallarna var snara till
handling och självkänslan steg som sav i dem. De var
ett hårdfört släkte med egna hedersbegrepp och
lagar. Blev de illa bemötta skulle det också skipas
rättvisa, ibland
med allt för
hårdhänta
ingripanden.
The image shows
navvies at a
railway
construction in
North Sweden
(Lapland
Province). Wooden
sleepers are
placed on the embankment and a group of navvies is
carrying a rail. Image: Järnvägsmuseet, ID:
JvmKDAK03463.
Detta hörde dock till undantagen och oftast i
samband med brännvin som under 1800-talet mycket
lättillgängligt. Det var därför kanske icke så konstigt
att ortsbefolkningen med en viss bävan motsåg
rallarnas ankomst. Till rallarens en gång dåliga rykte
bidrog främst brännvinslangarna försäljning av sprit.
Under det stora järnvägsbyggandet inrättades så-
kallade "futtar" på licens av arbetsbefälet.
Futtar var en slags matvaruaffär med matservering
och utskänkning och var som i regel maskerade
krogrörelser. Efter ett ”helgrus” var det emellertid en
oskriven lag att man på måndagsmorgonen åter stod
i schakten med verktygen i hand även om det kändes
tyngre än vanligt.
Rälsläggning var det allra tyngsta arbetet vid ban-
byggande. Det var de största och kraftigaste karlarna
som valdes ut till detta vilket de måste vara för att för
att klara detta tunga arbete och de fick betydligt
bättre betalt än de andra rallarna.
The Swedish State Railways, SJ
Speed
Före 1907 var den högsta tillåtna hastigheten vid
Statens Järnvägar 85 km/h på sommaren och 75
km/h på vintern, men från 1907 var den högsta
hastigheten 90 km/h året runt. Från 1946 började
vissa sträckor få 120 km/h som högsta tillåtna
hastighet och från 1948 130 km/h.
Från 1985 går på Västra stambanan Rc3- och Rc6-
dragna passagerartåg som får framföras i 160 km/h
och med ATC i hela sin längd 1989 var Västra
stambanan första järnvägslinjen att bli
snabbtågsanpassad. Året efter lanserades X 2000 och
redan vid trafikstart körde man stora delar av
sträckan i 200 km/h.
Classes
Ursprungligen tillhandahölls normalt tre olika
vagnsklasser.
Första klass motsvarande den högsta graden av
komfort, medan tredje klass var den enklaste
klassen, vanligen med träbänkar. Andra klass var en
mellanform av de båda andra.
The
image shows the interior of a third-class railway car
around 1900. Painting by Oscar Stenvall (1856-1916).
Image: Wikipedia.
Under 1900-talet skedde en utjämning av komforten
och antalet resor i första klass var litet. Skillnaden
bestod huvudsakligen i utrymmet per passagerare. En
förstaklasskupé hade fyra sittplatser, en
andraklasskupé sex och en tredjeklasskupé åtta
platser. Första klass i dagtåg förekom endast på ett
fåtal sträckor. År 1956 genomfördes en reform, som
innebar en reducering till två vagnsklasser, första- och
andra klass.
Types of Trains
Under järnvägens första årtionden var det loket som
var den stora kostnaden. Hastigheten på banorna var
låg. Därför var det viktigt att haka på både
godsvagnar och personvagnar för att öka
inkomsterna utan att öka kostnaderna allt för mycket.
Initialt skiljde man inte på godståg och persontåg. Allt
eftersom järnvägen expanderade ökade också antal
resenärer, liksom mängden gods, särskilt på
stambanorna. Passagerarna ville resa snabbt men för
godset, var det bättre med stora, tyngre laster. Därför
separerade man tågen; tåg som höll högre hastighet
med passagerarna - persontåg - samt tåg som
transporterade godset som var tyngre och därmed
långsammare - godståg.
Tåg för enbart godsbefordran kallas godståg. Godståg
är således ett tåg avsett för transport av olika typer av
gods. Det vanligaste var att ett eller två lok drog
godsvagnarna.
Ett persontåg, även kallat passagerartåg, är ett tåg
vars vagnar är avsedda för transport av passagerare.
Persontåg var ursprungligen en benämning på de tåg
som främst var avsedd för passagerarbefordran, men
som dessutom medförde ilgods och lättare
styckegods. Persontåget hade därför lägre hastighet
än snälltågen och gjorde uppehåll vid alla eller de
flesta stationer som fanns på den bana som de
trafikerade. Denna typ av tåg kom i folkmun att kallas
mjölktåg.
Snälltåg var uteslutande avsedd för befordran av
passagerare, resgods samt post, ibland även ilgods.
Snälltåg gjorde enbart uppehåll vid större orter eller
vid stationer där andra viktiga banor anslöt. De
framfördes vanligen med den högsta hastighet, som
var medgiven för respektive bana. För resa med
snälltåg erfordrades en särskild tilläggsbiljett,
snälltågsbiljett.
Trafik med snälltåg i Sverige började 1862 mellan
Stockholm-Göteborg.
The Cars
Det fanns olika typer av järnvägsvagnar beroende på
användning. Vid passagerarbefordran användes:
sittvagn, sovvagn, liggvagn och restaurangvagn. I
persontågen fanns även vagnar som inte var till för
passagerarna. Det kan vara resgodsvagnar,
postvagnar och tågvärmevagnar. Vid befordran av
gods användes speciella godsvagnar.
De första personvagnarna var jämfört med idag
korta och fram till på slutet av 1800-talet var de flesta
vagnar byggda i trä. Inredningen bestod av kupéer
med en dörr på utsidan till varje kupé. Detta blev fort
opraktisk då man inte kunde nå alla platser under
färd. Detta problem löste man genom att vagnarna
fick en gång genom vagnen. Generellt var komforten i
de första vagnarna mycket enkel. Ljus fick man från
stearinljus eller oljelampor och uppvärmning
saknades. Med tiden ökade personvagnarna i både
längd och vikt. Vid 1920-talet var vagnarna vanligen
mellan 18m och 22m på normalspåriga järnvägar. De
tidiga personvagnarna hade vanligen 2 eller 3
hjulaxlar men under 1900-talet levererades de flesta
personvagnarna med tvåaxliga boggier. Boggier
medför behagligare gångegenskaper än enkelaxliga
vagnar, och vagnarna kan även byggas längre,
uppemot 27,50 meter.
SJ:s första vagnar byggdes i Tyskland 1856 men snart
började den svenska industrin tillverka egna
personvagnar.
The image shows a third-class passenger railway car
in 1917. The railway car was manufactured in 1917 for
Kalmar - Berga Järnväg, KBJ. Image: Kalmar Läns
Museum, ID: KLMF.Kalmar00002Mc.
En sovvagn är en typ av järnvägsvagn som har
kupéer med sängar, och som framförallt används i
nattåg. Varje kupé har oftast två eller tre sängar. I
Sverige började SJ köra med sovvagnar 1886. En
liggvagn är en sorts personvagn, som brukar finnas i
nattåg. De fungerar som en enklare form av sovvagn
och har normalt sex britsar per kupé. Förutom att det
är fler personer i varje kupé i en liggvagn är också
inredningen i liggvagnar enklare än i en sovvagn.
Restaurangvagn är en speciell form av personvagn
avsedd för servering av förtäring i vissa persontåg.
Oftast är det tåg som går på längre sträckor. De första
restaurangvagnarna i Sverige började användas 1894
på Uppsala-Gävle Järnväg. I början var
restaurangvagnarna exklusiva.
En godsvagn är en järnvägsvagn enbart avsedd för
att transportera gods. Från början fanns det mest
öppna flakvagnar och godsfinkor (ofta med en
dragdörr på sidan). Efterhand skedde en anpassning
av godsvagnarna efter typ av gods såsom malm,
timmer, olja, pallgods och så vidare. Vidare
anpassades vagnarna efter godsets vikt med två eller
fyra axlar per vagn och ibland med jacobsboggi som
delas av två vagnar.
Lokdragna personvagnar kopplas ihop till tåg, i
Sverige vanligen upp till tretton vagnar. Vissa
persontåg kan även ha manövervagnar för att
eliminera rundgång med loket på ändstationerna.
Numera används ett lok i vardera änden för att
eliminera rundgång.
Övrigt:
Från början tilläts rökning överallt. Sedan separerades
rökkupéer och rökfria kupéer. För tåg i vårt Nordiska
klimat blev det nödvändigt med uppvärmning av
passagerarutrymmena vintertid. Dels förekom
kaminer i varje vagn, dels matade man ånga från
ångloken genom ett rörsystem i vagnarna som
anslöts med slangar mellan vagnarna. Snart fann man
dock att en särskild s.k. ångfinka som levererade het
ånga till alla vagnar var mer ändamålsenlig. När
banorna elektrifierades anordnades i stället elektrisk
uppvärmning.
Toaletter bestod först av ett hål som mynnade rakt
ned på banvallen men de fick inte användas när tåget
stod inne på en station. Numera används toaletter
med slamtank. På de tidiga långväga tågen gjordes
längre uppehåll, så att passagerarna kunde
proviantera på stationerna. I början på 1900-talet
tillkom särskilda restaurangvagnar och senare även
kafévagnar eller ambulerande servering.
Railway Stations
Under järnvägens blomstringstid 1850-1950
uppfördes flertalet järnvägsstationer, ofta med
ståtliga byggnader i centrala lägen i städer, eller på
landsbygden i särskilda stationssamhällen runt vilka
tätorter senare växte fram. Stinsarna tävlade ofta om
att ha en prydlig station med vackra rabatter och
snygga väntsalar. Sveriges första järnvägsstation
byggdes i Fryksta nära Kil 1852 vid järnvägslinjen
Fryksta - Clara Elfs Järnväg.
Järnvägsstationer byggdes således längs banorna
och skulle dels innehålla lokaler för den trafikpersonal
som tjänstgjorde vid järnvägsstationen, dels
utrymmen för järnvägsresenärerna t.ex. väntsal och
ibland även järnvägsrestaurang. I vissa
järnvägsstationer fanns även bostadsutrymmen för
personal som tjänstgjorde vid stationen.
Vid Statens Järnvägar fanns chefsarkitekter medan
man på de olika privata järnvägarna anlitade olika
arkitekter och ingenjörer som ritade stationshusen.
Från stationen bevakades också säkerheten på den
aktuella järnvägen. Järnvägsstationen hade
stationshus med en väntsal, stins, kanske
godsmagasin, bangård, ställverk och plattformar. När
flera banor möts (spåren leder i minst 3 riktningar)
talar man om en järnvägsknut. När flera stationer
finns på samma ort brukar den största kallas för
centralstation.
The
image shows Götene Railway Station, VGJ. Image:
Västergötlands museum, ID: 1M16-B145254:598.
Hållplats är ett ställe utmed ett järnvägsspår, där
tåget kan stanna för att passagerare ska stiga av eller
på. Varken stationshus eller växlar finns. På ställen
där enbart lokaltåg stannar var det vanligt med en
väntkur och en perrong. Ibland finns en "plåtstins"
eller semafor, det vill säga en påstigningstavla för att
signalera till lokföraren att man vill stiga på tåget.
Lastplats är ett ställe utmed ett järnvägsspår där
gods lastas och lossas. Kallas idag även linjeplats.
Ställen där inkommande godståg kopplas isär och
förs ihop till olika utgående godståg kallas
rangerbangård. Här fanns även lokstallar som var
en byggnad för underhåll av och förvaringsplats för
lok.
En stationsinspektor, eller kortformen stins, är chef
över en järnvägsstation och var därmed ansvarig för
att delegera uppgifterna mellan stationens anställda
och förmedla information och order från
trafikdirektören.
Tågklareraren har som uppgift att övervaka tågens
rörelser. En tågklarerare arbetade lokalt på en station
som lokaltågklarerare, eller på en trafikledningscentral
som fjärrtågklarerare. En tågklarerare ansvarar för att
tidtabellen och tågordningen hålls och är den som
bedömer vilka åtgärder som bör göras vid avvikelser i
tågtrafiken. Via ställverk övervakar och styr
tågklareraren spårväxlar och ljussignaler för att leda
tågtrafiken. Tågklarerare vinkade manuellt av tågen
på "klassiskt" sätt med hjälp av tåganmälan.
Lineman Cottages
Banvakt var i Sverige fram till ungefär 1960 den
järnvägstjänsteman vars huvudsakliga uppgift var att
hålla uppsikt över en viss sträcka av en järnvägslinje.
Förutom att bevaka och besiktiga banvallen längs
denna sträcka, ingick det även i yrkesrollen att leda
underhållet både av spårområdet samt marken
runtomkring. Sträckan skulle besiktigas minst en
gång per dag, och detta skedde antingen till fots eller
genom att åka dressin.
Banvakter var utstationerade med bara några få
kilometers avstånd längs alla större
järnvägssträckningar i landet, och bodde i särskilda
banvaktstugor med sina eventuella familjer. Dessa
banvaktstugor byggdes och tillhandahölls av
järnvägen, och det ingick i banvaktens sysslor att
också sköta om huset. Ofta var banvaktstugorna små
och hade banvakten en stor familj blev det därför ofta
trångt om utrymmet. Även om boendeförhållandena
inte alltid var de bästa och lönen var låg, såg många
banvaktstjänstgöringen som ett tryggt och ganska fritt
arbete. Fanns det dessutom en vägövergång med
manuellt manövrerade bommar i närheten kunde
banvaktshustrun dryga ut familjeinkomsterna som
grindvakt.
The
image shows a lineman’s cottage in Wästra Hästbo (X).
The lineman is on his inspection trolley (Swe: dressin).
Photo: Josef Eriksson. Image: Länsmuseet Gävleborg,
ID: XLM.Torsåker1129.
Med mellanrum från 2,5 kilometer upp till någon mil
utmed järnvägarna i Sverige har det funnits
banvaktsstugor byggda enligt olika standardmodeller.
Den minsta modellen byggdes under 1850-talet och
mätte 8 x 10 sv. fot. Ingången till stugan fanns på
gaveln mot järnvägen. Därefter kom en större variant
som benämns 1862-årsmodell. Denna stuga hade
utökats med ytterligare ett rum. Ytterligare en ny
banvaktsstuga, 1872-års modell, hade även den
gaveln mot banan, den inreddes med två rum och en
förstuga med ingång på ena långsidan. Till
banvaktsstugan hörde ett uthus, med plats för 1-2
kor, kalv och kanske en gris. I uthuset fanns även
materialbod där banvaktens förvarade sina verktyg,
rälspikar, knalldosor m.m.
Different Timezones in Sweden
Före 1879 hade vi olika tider eller tidszoner i
Sverige. Det kunde skilja så mycket som 45 minuter
mellan östra och västra Sverige (Strömstad -
Haparanda). Skillnaden mellan Stockholm och
Göteborg var 24 min. Detta ställde bl.a. till stora
problem med tidtabeller när järnvägstrafiken kom
igång under 1800-talets andra hälft. Under Oscar II,
närmare bestämt 1 januari 1879, infördes
gemensam tid i hela Sverige. Därefter uppstod en
lång debatt om vilken tid som skulle användas som
normaltid Sverige. Både Stockholm och Göteborg
hävdade att deras lokala tid skulle bli den
gemensamma tiden. Slutligen enades man om att
Svensk normaltid skulle följa meridianen ungefär mitt
emellan Stockholm och Göteborg.