The museum society "Östra Södermanlands
Järnväg" (abbrev. ÖSlJ) situated in
Mariefred is a non-profit organisation with a purpose to
collect, preserve and display in operation the rolling stock of
the seven 600 mm narrow gauge railways that existed in Sweden.
This is to be done in the form of a museum named
"Östra Södermanlands Järnväg".
This according to § 1 in the statutes of the society.
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What does this actually mean ? Practically, it can be broken
down into three different goals:
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The society goal
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The museum goal
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The operational goal
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The society goal:
ÖSlJ is a non-profit society where all labour is done by
the members in their spare time. The voluntary work and the
enthusiasm that follows is the base that makes it possible for
the existence of ÖSlJ.
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The museum goal:
ÖSIJ shall collect, preserve and restore stock from the
600 mm narrow gauge railways in the country. ÖSlJ shall
preserve the history of the seven 600 mm passenger carrying
railways that existed in Sweden between 1888 - 1954. But in
order to have a complete and functional collection stock from
600 mm industrial railways has also been included in the rolling
stock collection of ÖSlJ.
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The operational goal:
ÖSlJ shall in operation display stock from the 600 mm
narrow gauge railways. This means that we run traffic for the
public and take a fee for doing so. Instead of a entrance fee to
a museum we sell a ticket for travel on the train and the
visitor will have a chance to experience travel as the common
public did at the end of the 19th century. In order to create a
complete historical environment stock has been included from
railways other than 600 mm gauge.
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In order to operate the traffic according to todays safety
standards more modern and in some cases historical inaccurate in
the 600 mm gauge perspective are used.
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All this adds together to form a railway although a somewhat
original one. Traffic is operated by volunteers with historical
stock and with travellers that often are not going anywhere. It
is foremost as a railway ÖSlJ shall be described. As such
it represents more than the seven 600 mm railways.It reflects a
level of technology that existed in the first half of the 20th
century.
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Today the railway has a 4 km line with the main station in
Mariefred where also workshops, engine sheds and a hall for
passenger carriages are located. Two intermediate stations on
the line and a terminus at Läggesta where transfer to the
SJ mainline is possible.
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On this railway 25 000 passengers/tourists are carried each
year. The railway can today display in operation 8 steam
engines, 6 diesel engines, 1 accumulator engine, 1 railcar 13
passenger carriages, approx 30 freight wagons and a number if
service wagons and track maintenace machines.
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A train from Mariefred pulls into Hjorthagen station
click for a larger image (1024x700 145 kb)
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From the main station in Mariefred a spur runs down to the steam
boat station where transfer is possible to/from Stockholm on the
steam ship S/S Mariefred
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The train with the steam engine "Hamra" meets S/S
Mariefred
click for a larger image (1028x703 148 kb)
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In order to make the environment as complete as possible loading
quays and warehouses has been built. On the intermediate
stations platforms has been built Turntables has been built at
the end stations so that the steam engines can be turned around
and pull the trains "the right way round"
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The old warehouse, now turned in to café
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In the old warehouse a small museum display has been setup.
Mostly it consists of photos from the seven 600 mm railways that
ÖSlJ represents. Some technical material are also on
display. In the same building there is also a café and a
small shop.
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The operation, mostly financed by ticket revenues has existed
since 1966. Trains are run about 100 days/year from May to
September.
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But there is more to see than just the daily running of trains.
The workshops and other facilities can be shown to those who are
interested. Old crafts that no longer exists are kept alive
here, not for nostalgic reasons, but because it is essential to
the upkeep of the old rolling stock.
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Through extensive archive research and industrial archeology the
society has succeded in establishing a record of swedish
transport history that has been somewhat neglected. The findings
that this research has brought to light has been presented to
the public in magazine articles and a series of books published
by the society.
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The traffic and its attending framework of regulations are
supervised by the Swedish railway inspectorate. This also
applies to the training that all traffic staff has to udnergo.
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Our effort in cultural history has been lauded by the Swedish
cultural council,the Swedish railway museum and the municipal of
Strängnäs with a cultural award to ÖSlJ.
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