Tinnsjø railway ferry
SF Ammonia, the world's only remaining steam-powered railway ferry, docked at Mæl
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| Locale | Telemark, Norway |
|---|---|
| Waterway | Lake Tinn |
| Transit type | Railway ferry |
| Carries | Trains |
| Terminals |
Mæl Station Tinnoset Station |
| Operator | Norsk Transport |
| Began operation | 8 December 1911 |
| Ended operation | 5 July 1991 |
| System length | 30-kilometer (19 mi) |
| No. of vessels | 4 total SF Rjukanfoss SF Hydro SF Ammonia M/F Storegut |
| Connections at Mæl | |
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Rjukanbanen |
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Tinn Billag (1971–85) |
| Connections at Tinnoset | |
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Tinnoset Line |
Tinnsjø railway ferry was a Norwegian railway ferry service on Lake Tinn that connected the Rjukan Line and Tinnoset Line. The 30-kilometer (19 mi) long ferry trip made it possible for Norsk Hydro to transport its fertilizer from the plant at Rjukan to the port in Skien. The ferry services were operated by the companies subsidiary Norsk Transport from 1909 to 1991, when the plant closed.
One of the ferries was in 1944 the target of the Norwegian heavy water sabotage when it was sunk to 430 meters (1,411 ft) depth to prevent Nazi Germany from developing nuclear weapons.
Norsk Hydro was founded in 1905 by Sam Eyde as a Norwegian fertilizer manufacturer, and the first factory was opened in Notodden. Fertilizer factories need a lot of energy, making it was necessary to locate the plants near hydroelectric power plants, and at Rjukan there was a large waterfall. In 1911 Rjukan Salpeterfabrikk was opened.
The Tinnsjø railway ferry service was opened in 1909 along with the Tinnoset Line and Rjukan Line. The two lines were the second railway line in Norway, after the Thamshavn Line, to be electrified in 1911. The railway service used Telemark Canal until 1919 when the Bratsberg Line opened from Notodden to Skien. The railway was used both to transport raw materials to the factory and to transport the finished fertilizer to the harbour at Skien. There was also passenger trains that ran.
In 1929 Norsk Hydro also establish itself at Herøya in Porsgrunn, and in 1991 the factory in Rjukan, and therefore also the railway line, was closed. The passenger trains, operated by Norges Statsbaner, had been discontinued already in 1970. In 1997 the ownership of the track was transferred to Stiftelsen Rjukanbanen, a foundation that started heritage operation of the line in 1999.
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Wikipedia