Norway: The Flam Railway

[rogerfarnworth]

I have been reading through a number of old copies of 'The Railway Magazine'. Most of the magazines were from 1950. I found an article about the Flam railway in Norway and thought that members of the forum might be interested.

It was the plan of the 'spiral at the head of the valley that grabbed my attention.

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2019/01/01/the-flam-railway-in-1950

...Before the mainline from Bergen to Oslo was completed, it was proposed to supercede this steep and winding road by a railway from Myrdal to Flam. The rise to Myrdal was 2,800 ft., the majority of which occurred in the short length at the head of the valley. Exceptionally severe gradients were unavoidable. It was obvious that, if the railway was to be operated by adhesion, it would be necessary to increase the length of the line by a spiral. The idea was, as a result, shelved for a number of years.

The railway was authorised in 1924, and construction began almost at once, with the boring of Vatnahalsen Tunnel, near Myrdal. This remarkable tunnel is 1,000 yd, long, and describes a reverse curve of 7.5 ch. radius in the mountainside, on a gradient of 1 in 19. The upper portal is 132 ft. above the lower. About 700 yd. of the bore were driven from the lower level. Only a small staff was employed, and ten years were occupied in the construction of the tunnel..

[pedro]

My wife and I rode the Flam Railway back around 2002 when we were in Norway for a wedding. It is indeed spectacular. We rode the train down, stayed in Flam, and the next day took bikes up on the train and rode them back down, unfortunately in dense fog! Very nice trip regardless. Beautiful country.

[BCR751]

If you want to see the Flam-Myrdal Railway first hand, check out the railcowgirl channel on YouTube.  She's a train driver and records some of her trips, the most recent submission being a trip on the Flam Railway.  Very impressive.

Doug

[nkalanaga]

For a quick look, Flam has a page of webcams.  Two show the railroad, with one being on the roof of the station, looking towards the harbor.  The other is actually on the ferry, and only shows the town, and railroad, when it's docked.  Even then, they seem to turn the camera off much of the time it's docked, showing generic pictures, not a current view.  But both show the scenery, and the passenger trains.
https://www.visitflam.com/information/webcam/

The "Experience" page has more links, and pictures:
https://www.visitflam.com/flamsbana/experience-flamsbana/

[sirenwerks]

I rode the Flam line not long ago, when I was recouping from C19. Well, I didn't ride it, I watched the trip on slow TV several times, along with the other Norway slow TV trips.  Love that stuff and can't wait to go to Norway.