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Andalsnes Museumtog Report

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87015

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Norwegian Charter Train trip from early October

Copied from, rather than a straight link, my euro-nedding site http://87015aewn.wordpress.com/2016/10/17/nsb-museumtog-to-andalsnes/ where bigger versions of the photos can be found. I can't be bothered to link them individually on here...

Another quick weekend trip and for a change heading more north than east – to Norway. This was planned as a simple trip to cover a museum charter that covered the Andalsnes line with proper NSB power in recently preserved Di3b 642. We flew out Friday and unfortunately straight into a drivers strike at NSB that effectively decimated the move with many cancellations to what little hauled turns there should have been in the first place – so the Friday ‘peak’ move was cut down from seven potential locos to just three. Thankfully, we managed to not loose anything that really mattered but it was yet another trip with a few worried days before it!

nsb_18-2257_drammen.jpg

El 18 2253 at Drammen working the 1546 Oslo – Bergen.

nsb_18-2253_oslo.jpg

Classmate 18 2253 was our horse back from Drammen, working the 1017 ex Stavanger.

nsb_di3-642_hamar.jpg

The next day, and after suffering some Flirt Deathtrap from Oslo, Di3 642 at Hamar awaiting departure time with its 0930 Adex to Hamar.

nsb_di3-642_verme.jpg

The run along the mainline beyond Lillehammer as the Nohab climbed up to Dombas was decent enough itself, but once on the branch the scenery just continued to notch up. The photostops were annoyingly policed sharply for track walking so this was the available view of Di3 642 at Verne, there is another level of track up the hillside to the right somewhere and then another on the valley floor a long way down to the left!

nsb_di3-642_bjorli.jpg

At Romdalshorn (?) in the shade of the mountains shortly before the dash into Andalsnes. The sun doesn't get this far, creating that light show in the background.

nsb_di3-642_andalsnes-3.jpg

Running round at Andalsnes after the loco had been turned. I believe this is because the EH equipment in these makes one end significantly louder so is avoided by drivers.

nsb_di3-642_andalsnes-2.jpg


WOW! Di 3 642 at Andalsnes with fjords and mountains all around. It would work back at 16.30 to Hamar, there might not have been much at Andalsnes but absolutely worth the effort for that view, let alone the countless ones en-route....

 
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306024

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The Andalsnes branch is certainly quite superb, even with a modern DMU. The Norwegians have cottoned on to the fact and produce a tourist guide to the line. One way to get a loco hauled trip is to look for cruise ship special workings.

Some of us are old enough to have travelled the branch when those diesels were the norm though :cry:

Norway looks beautiful :)

It's better than beautiful. Just save up!
 
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Cowley

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That Nohab looks awesome especially in that scenery. Is it a loud loco? Lovely photos.
 

Bald Rick

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Could that have been the type of loco that would have worked Bodo - Trondheim in the early 90s? Looks familiar from my interailing trip.

Great scenery pics.
 

davetheguard

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Norway looks beautiful :)

A few pictures taken from the DMU train window on the branch line from Dombas last June.

By the way, I paid the equivalent of £11 for an imported 33cl Belgian beer in a hotel in Narvik; needless to say, I didn't have a second. That was pretty unaffordable even then - very glad we went to Norway before the Pound fell off a cliff to its present level.
 

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Cowley

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A few pictures taken from the DMU train window on the branch line from Dombas last June.

By the way, I paid the equivalent of £11 for an imported 33cl Belgian beer in a hotel in Narvik; needless to say, I didn't have a second. That was pretty unaffordable even then - very glad we went to Norway before the Pound fell off a cliff to its present level.

Wow those pictures are amazing. I've got a friend who lives in Norway and often tells me about the price of beer etc, but also the fantastic quality of life, the beer may be expensive but looking at the pictures on this thread though makes you realise why he lives there...
 

30907

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Could that have been the type of loco that would have worked Bodo - Trondheim in the early 90s? Looks familiar from my interailing trip.

Great scenery pics.

Think it's highly likely but I can't instantly locate my records (from 1980).
 

Techniquest

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WOW that looks simply amazing!

*Bumps up Norway on the list of places to go*

Worth noting the first two photos both say 18 2253 for the loco, was this correct?

Norway has been known to be beautiful for a long time, and I was meant to go in 2014 but it didn't work out. However it is going to happen, I will go on my own if I have to! Expect some discussion in early 2017 gang, and I need to figure out some holiday dates quickly as I'm told 2017 is filling up fast at work for holiday time requests. Kite, expect a text in the near future ;)
 

ac6000cw

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Some lovely pictures there - nice trip :)

Norway looks beautiful :)

...and even if the sun doesn't rise above the horizon in the winter up in the far north, it's still very beautiful - but very cold, about -15C in Kirkenes at the north-eastern tip of Norway, 250 miles inside the Arctic Circle and almost in Russia. All photos taken in January 2014, during a Hurtigruten ferry cruise from Bergen to Kirkenes and back:

P1210858 by ac6044cw, on Flickr

P1220420 by ac6044cw, on Flickr

P1190235 by ac6044cw, on Flickr

Trondheim station and freight yard around dawn:

P1220633 by ac6044cw, on Flickr

P1220598 by ac6044cw, on Flickr

A CargoNet Euro 4000 diesel just arrived on a container train from the south:

P1220623 by ac6044cw, on Flickr
 
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Cowley

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I love the photos. -15 sounds pretty cold though...
 

Techniquest

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Not at all tempting to go is it? ;)

I'm almost sorted for how to get to/from Oslo, I just need to book time off. Which I forgot to do today, typical as a Ryanair sale is on!
 

ac6000cw

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I love the photos. -15 sounds pretty cold though...

It's fine if you have sensible clothing, and the best part is that it's very dry (the moisture in the air gets frozen out) - not like our cool, damp, miserable winters. Unfortunately you can't easily make snowballs - the snow is too dry and powdery to stick together :(

Walking around Kirkenes - the woman in the centre is pushing a sled with the shopping on it:
Kirkenes in January by ac6044cw, on Flickr

They don't put salt and grit on the roads - just plough them, fit studded tyres and drive on the hard packed snow. There is a 5.3 mile railway line in the area (the world's second most northerly railway, apparently), built to link iron ore mines to the port at Kirkenes.
 

87015

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Cheers everyone, it was an excellent day. I've been saying I'll do a mini write-up for a while so good to see it received well.
WOW that looks simply amazing!

*Bumps up Norway on the list of places to go*

Worth noting the first two photos both say 18 2253 for the loco, was this correct?

Norway has been known to be beautiful for a long time, and I was meant to go in 2014 but it didn't work out. However it is going to happen, I will go on my own if I have to! Expect some discussion in early 2017 gang, and I need to figure out some holiday dates quickly as I'm told 2017 is filling up fast at work for holiday time requests. Kite, expect a text in the near future ;)
No, we didn't have 18 2253 twice! It was another one, but my incompetence at captioning has outweighed me.

If you do look up a 2017 bash definitely start a thread. There is a website that lists each train formation so you can choose the hauled trains...

The Andalsnes branch is certainly quite superb, even with a modern DMU. The Norwegians have cottoned on to the fact and produce a tourist guide to the line. One way to get a loco hauled trip is to look for cruise ship special workings.

Some of us are old enough to have travelled the branch when those diesels were the norm though :cry:

It's better than beautiful. Just save up!
Definitely worth its place in the scenic lines book! Really enjoyed the run from beyond Lillehammer up to Dombas as well - very Highland Mainline plus through parts. The branch is a different and more Alpine I thought. Certainly this year there was a summer dated hauled train (possibly at weekends) with a Di4 doing two trips Andalsnes to Dombas so one for Techniquest to look out for when the new timetable stuff trickles through.
 

Techniquest

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Thanks for the tip there, I'll probably launch that thread in the next few days. Been a bit hectic off forum so trying to catch up a bit!
 
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