Lennakatten

Uppsala-Lenna Railway 2008

32 kilometres narrow gauge railway through lovely countryside in the county of Uppland Sweden

Welcome to a journey in time !

The light turns to green, the stationmaster gives the signal for departure, the ticket collectorsalutes, the coaches give a jerk, the engine puffs and the train draws out of the station.
Experience a train journey as it was during the first half of the twentieth century with the smell of coal and smoke.
Listen to the rhythm of wheels on old fashioned rails while you travel through the countryside at a leisurely pace.

Let Lennakatten take you on a relaxing outing into the country for a pick nick or swim in a lake.
Here you will find the timetable for the trains and suggestions for outings.

Have a pleasant journey!

Handy information

How to find us: Most people choose to begin their trip on

Lennakatten at our station “Uppsala östra at the Uppsala end

of the line. If you are traveling by car from Stockholm,

Norrtälje or Östhammar you can just as easily start at one of

our other stations; Faringe, Almunge, Lenna, Marielund or Bärby.

Information:www.lennakatten.se or 018-13 05 00

Tourist office: Uppsala: 018-727 48 00 Norrtälje: 0176-719 90.

Internet: www.lennakatten.se

Tickets: Can be bought at the stations and from the ticket

collector on the train.

Toilets: There are toilets at stations; Uppsala östra, Bärby,

Marielund and Almunge. There are also toilets at Fjällnora.

The toilets on the train may not be used for environmental reasons.

It is forbidden for other than railway personnel to set foot on or

walk along the railway track at the stations or along the railway line,

as it is highly dangerous.


Key to the symbols in the timetable

a The train stops only if passengers want to get off
p The train stops only if passengers want to get on
x The train stops only if passengers want to get on or off The train does not stop
b Connection to/from Fjällnora by bus at Bärby
m Connection to/from Fjällnora by bus at Marielund
* Connection to/from Fjällnora by bus at Selknä
d The time given for Uppsala is for the bus stop on Dragarbrunn street
F. The bus also stops at “Solrosgatan” bus stop on Fålhagsleden near Uppsala östra station about 3 minutes after/before the time given for Dragarbrunn.
Ångtåg The train is usually pulled by a steam engine
Rälsbuss The train is usually a motor coach/rail bus

..................................................................................................................
At the halts Skölsta, Lövstahagen, Löt and Moga the train stops only :
when needed (this also applies for motor coach trains at Funbo halt). :
Tell the ticket collector well in advance if you wish to get off at one :
of these halts. If you want to get on at one of them, indicate clearly :
to the driver so that he sees you and stops. :
Check on the map to see where the halts are.
Use the departure time :
from the nearest stations to get an idea of when the train will arrive. :

...................................................................................................................

Link to simplified timetable Timetable for 2008 is to be announced

Ticket prices from Uppsala östra(east) 2008

Half price for children

between 6 and 15 years of age

Family ticket offer: Two paying

adults may be accompanied by up

to five children 6-15 years old free.

Ticket for a whole day

Adult: 160 SEK Child: 75 SEK

 

Membership

Adult: 250 SEK

Youth: 100 SEK

Family member membership: 175 SEK


Explanation:

Rabatt= Cheap rate You can buy tickets at a cheaper rate if you have a

NT-card, COOP Medmera-card or an NT card (Norrtälje tidning) . This offer is for a maximum

of two tickets per card. Have the card ready to show when you buy your tickets.

Parti= Discount coupons for 10 single journeys

Heldagsbiljett=Ticket for a whole day:Valid for an unlimited number of

journeys during one day.*

whole season.*

Travel with UL:s periodkort: UL:s one zone card for Uppsala (15-days and 30-days)

multi- zone card, senior card and year card are valid for free journeys with Lennakatten.


*Valid for journeys between all stations and halts on the railway and for connecting bus to Fjällnorra and Funbo church.

About Lennakattens stations:

 

Uppsala Östra (east) is situated in Bergsbrunna Park, at the crossing of Bergsbrunna street and Strandbod street about 600 meters from Uppsala central station. The way is signposted.

There are lots of interesting things to see and do in Uppsala. Have a look at www.uppland.nu or ring the tourist office in Uppsala telephone 018-727 48 00 for information.

Our new depot and station building are from 2006. There you can buy your train tickets.

If you buy a post card you can ask to have Lennakattens own postmark stamped on it.

 

If you are short of time we recommend that you take a return trip from Uppsala to Bärby

On Sunday mornings this trip takes less than 1 hour.

The church bus leaves from here on Sundays, check the time table. From Bärby there are pleasant bicycle paths, one to Uppsala amongst others.

 

This is where the trains usually meet. Do not miss watching while the steam train refills its water supply from the “vattenhästen” literally “water horse” (stand pipe).

There is plenty to see and do at Marielunds station. There is a railway café where you can buy home baked buns and biscuits, sandwiches, pies, coffee, tea, juice, pop and ice cream. Do try the home made honey ice cream or the new specialty for this year, waffles.

When you take your tray back after your refreshments you can ask to borrow one of the out door games that are available.

If you have your own pick nick with you you can spread out your blanket and eat it in the station garden.

You can buy souvenirs, books, films and post cards here too. You can get Lennakattens own postmark stamped on your post cards here if you ask when you buy them.

 

Summer paradise for old and young

At Fjällnora there are beaches at the lakeside where you can go swimming or just sunbath.

You can hire a boat, fish, have a look at the tame animals, go for walks along forest paths or take refreshments at the café.

An outing to Fjällnora takes at least three hours there and back from Uppsala.

 

There are plenty of pleasant places for a pick nick here. Perhaps beside the station warehouse or why not at Kopphagens meadow about 200 metres from the station.

You can walk “Upplandsleden” (Upplands way) from here to Fjällnora, a walk of about 6 kilometers. Along the nature and culture track you can find places to rest and hearths where you can light fires for cooking.

 

At the station in Almunge you can park your car or get off bus 809, if you have come from Norrtälje or Stockholm and take the train in to Uppsala. In Almunge you can eat a meal at Augusts Värdshus (Inn) or something lighter at the hand kraft café in the station house. There is also a mini golf course and a food store in Almunge. Guided tours of Torslund open air museum and the tractor museum, start at the station, book in advance Telephone 0174-241 20.

 

All the museum society's rolling-stock is kept at Faringe. If you are lucky you may find someone who can show you around the engine sheds. Work on repairing and rebuilding engines goes on here all year round. Most of our coaches are housed in sheds to protect them from weather and wind.

At Faringe there is a pleasant garden where you can have a pick nick.

Thuns department store is situated near Faringe station. It is open every day except Sunday.

Take “Thuns express” for a shopping trip, see the time table.

Hire a private train

Do you want your wedding, birthday or office party to be an unforgettable occasion?

Hire your own train from us.

We can also provide authentic railway settings from 1880-1970 for shooting films

or making advertisements.

Phone Ruth McKie at 018-25 75 71 for price information, ideas for suitable destinations

and to make a booking.

 

Children's party

Does your child or grandchild have a birthday soon? Or someone else you would like to surprise with a cake (gateau)? Why not let us fix your party? Phone Britt-Marie Karlsson at 073-396 07 25 to discuss how you would like your dream party to be.

 

Buy a souvenir and support our museum society

By buying a souvenir at the railway café or at the station in Uppsala you will both

have a memento of your visit to our railway and at the same time support the work

that our society does.

 

Link to an extensive description of the railway


 

 

About
Stockholm- Roslagens Railways Preservation Society (SRJmf)
and
Upsala- Lenna Railway (ULJ)

with some history about the 891 mm (2 ft 11 ") railways in the "Roslagen" area.

Rimbo station in the 1890s: Engine Stockholm- Rimbo Ry (SRJ) n:o 3 ”Rimbo” (!) is ready with a train to Stockholm. This engine, constructed by NOHAB in1884, is now preserved by the National Railway Museum, and two of the passenger cars are preserved by the SRJmf society and in use on todays Upsala- Lenna Railway (ULJ). Photo from Bengt Ljunghs collection.

The SRJmf society runs trains on the line Uppsala east railway station- Länna- Faringe under the name "Upsala- Lenna Railway" (ULJ). This is a historical name. The line between Uppsala and Länna, the oldest of all 891 mm railways in the region, was built to provide the ironworks in Länna with a needed connection to the standard gauge network and was opened in 1876. Two years later the Dannemora- Harg Railway (DHJ), also 891 mm, was taken into use further north. That railway was built to connect the mines in Dannemora with the harbour at Hargshamn.

In 1884, ULJ was linked with the coast by the Lenna- Norrtelje Railway (LNJ). The following year that line was connected through Rimbo with Stockholm by the Stockholm- Rimbo Railway (SRJ) and an ”east railway station” in Stockholm was built.

SRJ bought LNJ in 1905 and ULJ in 1908. In 1909 the companys name was changed to Stockholm- Roslagens Railways which enabled them to keep their signature (SRJ) and it was only necessary to renumber the former LNJ and ULJ rolling stock. Roslagen is the unofficial but historical name for the coastal district north east of Stockholm.

SRJ was also involved in the building of a new line northwards from Rimbo which was finished in Hallstavik 1915. And in 1920 an old dream came true when the DHJ (then a subsidiary of SRJ) was connected with the rest of the system by the Faringe- Gimo line.

Another major project which had been going on since 1895 was the electrification of the lines (including branch lines) northwards from Stockholm. That work was finished in 1949 when Rimbo- Norrtälje was electrified, so from that year all lines south and east of Rimbo were electrified.

But by that time, railways -including the SRJ network- had begun to decline in importance. SRJ/ DHJ was nationalised in 1951, and eight years later the network was amalgamated with the Swedish National Railways (SJ). During the early 1950s, all three freight only branch lines to DHJ (to Lövstabruk, Ramhäll and Fagervik by Lake Vällen) had been closed down.

In 1960, passenger traffic ceased on the Dannemora- Harg and Faringe- Gimo lines as well as all the traffic from Stockholm’s East station to Engelbrektsplan near the centre of Stockholm. That line went along streets just like tram lines do, and for this reason freight trains were never run there and steam engines not regulary.

Six years later, another of the electrified branch lines close to Stockholm, Stocksund- Långängstorp was closed down. That line was initially built with standard gauge (!), but in 1934 converted to 891 mm for practical reasons, as can be imagined. Passenger traffic also ceased on the line Uppsala- Rimbo- Hallstavik in the same year (= 1966), and in 1969, only twenty years after its electrification, the line Rimbo- Norrtälje was completely abandoned. Freight traffic also ceased south of Rimbo during that year.

A couple of other lines had, however, quite busy freight traffic. The Dannemora mines still exported a lot of iron ore through Hargshamn, and heavy trains with transporter wagons took freight to and from the big paper mill in Hallstavik via Uppsala- Rimbo.

For this reason a decision was made to convert the former DHJ to standard gauge. The conversion was completed in 1970. Then all traffic ceased on the line Faringe- Gimo as it now had no purpose as a connecting line for the service of rolling stock in Rimbo and Stockholm (the workshops at Mörby). Discussions also began about building a completely new standard gauge line from Hargshamn to Hallstavik, but more about that later........

The SRJmf was formed in 1968 with the main purpose of saving rolling stock from the SRJ/ DHJ network for excursion traffic.

SJ Gp-class no 3132 (Motala 1950), the SRJmf societys first steam engine, bought in 1969 and in use between 1974 and 1985. Photo from Faringe in 1975 by Owe Danneskog


Initially, we were based in Stockholm, but as SJ in the early 1970s started to construct the new standard gauge line from Hargshamn to Hallstavik, the society realized that the Uppsala- Rimbo- Hallstavik line would no longer be used for freight traffic. This would give the society the opportunity to start traffic on a line of our own, hopefully on the scenic line close to Uppsala.

With the aid of the City of Uppsala, such traffic could start during the summertime weekends in 1974 when freight trains did not run. Three years later the Hargshamn- Hallstavik line was opened and all traffic ceased on the Uppsala- Rimbo- Hallstavik line. The society could then take over the line Uppsala- (Länna)- Faringe as its "own", with the City of Uppsala as owner of the track and with the former junction Faringe serving as headquarters. The society also had some workshop facilities in Rimbo until 1981 even though the track between Rimbo and Faringe had been lifted in 1978.

Apart from the former DHJ (now standard gauge) , with its newly built continuation to Hallstavik, and ULJ, several of the electrified lines close to Stockholm are still very much in use for commuter traffic, which makes them the only remaining narrow gauge railways in Sweden, with regular, commercial traffic all year round!

Todays trains on the ”Roslagen line”: A modern X10P class E.M.U at Kårsta in 1994. These commuter lines are nowdays operated by the Greater Stockholm Transport Authority and their contractor ”Roslagståg”.
Photo by Lars Granström.


Discussions between SJ and the Greater Stockholm Transport Authority (SL) about tariffs and general traffic issues had the result that in 1972 SL took over the remaining lines with passenger traffic, i e the lines south of Rimbo. However SL closed the branch line Djursholms Ösby- Eddavägen in 1976 and then in 1981, the former junction Rimbo lost all its railways when the Kårsta- Rimbo line was closed too.

During its last years, the line to Eddavägen had been "de-electrified" (= no power in the wires) and hence only diesel vehicles could be run there. Incidently, that fate had also befallen the Lindholmen- Kårsta- Rimbo line during a few years in the 1970s and the Rimbo- Norrtälje line during its last three years.

Things then looked very bad for the "Roslagen line", as SL calls its narrow gauge lines. SL had plans to replace the lines closest to Stockholm with underground traffic, and the rest with buses.

During the 1980s, however, the political climate changed in favour of railways including the "Roslagen line". A decision was made to rebuild the line Kårsta- Rimbo (but is still to be put into action) and big, previously neglected, support and maintence jobs were started on the track and electrical systems. Completely new rolling stock, e.m.u. cars with azycron motors from AEG, were ordered. That made it possible to retire the old rolling stock, the newest being from 1962 and the oldest from 1906!
Some of this stock has been scrapped, but most of the passenger cars were bought by preserved railways in Sweden with 891 mm gauge (including of course ULJ). There are still however four older e.m.u´s on the "Roslagen line" and these are avialable for excursions from Stockholm East Station.



Stockholm- Roslagens Railways Preservation Society/
Upsala- Lenna Railway
P.O. Box 3076 S-750 03 UPPSALA phone +46-18-13 05 00
http://www.srjmf.se/


Copyright © 1998 - 2007; Museiföreningen Stockholm-Roslagens Järnvägar. All rights reserved.