The Flam Railway

Over Christmas 2018 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.The railway provides the connection between the national railway network in Norway and the Sognefjord.


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

 

Probably the most popular 'shore excursion' from cruise ships calling at Flam and an expensive way to sample it!

 

Yep - done that. Weirdest thing was the stop at the waterfalls. In a torrential downpour, in the distance, a (very) strapping blonde in a red cagoule and wellies emerges from a tumbledown barn singing Danny Boy. 'She' then disappears and reappears several times around the rocks, so unless there are tunnels (and she can run 100m in sub-10s), there are multiple drenched blonds out there too!

 

Certainly odd!

 

I was there on the Queen Elizabeth in 2017 and balked at the shore excursion price v the NSB published fare. No worries...get ashore early and buy a ticket at the booking office ... not a chance, every train booked solid until after the ship had left Flam! Still...going back on QM2 in August and yes, I'll dig deep for the shore excursion!

 

Still dancing last year! It would have been more entertaining if the bint had fallen in.

 

Indeed. That's why we coughed up - didn't want to run that risk.

 

You may be interested in the following YouTube video showing the full train drivers view from Flam to Mydal.

The lady train driver is based in Voss, and regularly posts high quality train driver views of her journeys, on the Bergen-Oslo, and Flam lines.

Sit back and enjoy the view. Although its focused on the railway, you cannot but enjoy the Norwegian line side views as well.

 

Hi John

I came across these as well .... Excellent videos!

Roger

 

@60017 - that's saved you a packet then!

 

From Wikipedia

"During the main tourist season in the summer an actress dressed as a legendary Huldra (a seductive forest creature in Scandinavian folklore) dances and sings in front of the waterfall as the trains enter the station for the amusement of the tourists. The Huldra actresses are all students from the Norwegian ballet school."

 

Yeah right! I’ll find a photo

 

The Flam railway is an essential part of a railway enthusiast's CV - has to be done! But not for the faint of wallet.

This line has changed character over the years. I went in 1975 and again in 1982; it was simply an NSB branch line with normal fares. Usually a single coach, and in the evening there were through coaches and sleeping cars to Oslo. The motive power was an old electric. Now it's all jazzed up and wildly expensive, but the scenery remains!

 

I`m pretty sure you thinking about this locomotive the NSB class El.9. There were three of this engines , special designed for Flåmsbanens extremely steep gradients and sharp curves.

You can find more information about the locomotive class here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NSB_El_9

This one, no. 2063 had her last trip in 1989.



Knut

 

Back in about 1976 I did a school trip from Newcastle to Bergen.
Then the Coastal Mail boat to Trondheim.
Train from Trondheim to Oslo.
Then finally the train from Oslo to Bergen and back to Newcastle.

The train from Oslo to Bergen stopped at Finse where we were invited to have a pass stamped by a Troll.
Still have the pass somewhere.

 

My motive power back in 1989, part of the "Norway in a nutshell" tour

https://www.flickr.com/photos/gwalkeriow/8706214121/in/album-72157633416175022/

 

Great! That engine is actually preserved and occasional used in excursions.

 

A fine looking loco, I missed out on this. While the kids were growing up, I couldn't afford trips to Norway!

 

On my trip to Norway in 1982, we were photographing Di3s and had our passports stamped at Hell! The stamp said 'Gods Expedition, Hell'.