#eidsverket

[norwegianrailwaystories]

Ever wondered what we look like in real...?

All the engines in the Norwegian Railway Stories are real engines, running on the railway the author volunteer at. Let’s have a look at the seven main characters!

BINGSFOS!

HØLAND!

PRYDZ!

SETSKOGEN!

TINFOS!

GRANFOS!

ODDA!

And let’s include Urskog too, since she is visiting us this winter. On home turf for the first time since the railway was shut down in 1960! She will go home to the Railway Museum before next summer though.

URSKOG (formerly Eidsverket)!

One last note: Granfos and Odda actually left UHB in 2002, but they are still included in the books. Their departure will be a story in a future book... They were both sent to Lommedalsbanen (LB), while Granfos is still there on static display, Odda has gotten another home. Odda is now running at Litlabø Gruvemuseum (Gruvo) and has been renamed “Oksen” (the Ox).

[norwegianrailwaystories]

How yall feeling 'bout Urskog coming to the railway?

"Høland and I haven't seen her since she left in 1960, so it will be really nice to see her again!"

[norwegianrailwaystories]

UHB No.2 Urskog (formely Eidsverket) celebrated her 125th birthday in 2020! 

She currenly recides at the Norwegian Railway Museum where she pulls passengers on a short line through their park. 125 years and still steaming!

An impressive little lady!

Here is a video celebrating her too: https://youtu.be/tg2DVEa7ILE

[norwegianrailwaystories]

A big day for Urskog and Eidsverket!

On September 24th 1895 these two was let out of the shed to drive their very first meters on the new Urskog Line. The line was very short by then and only went from Bingsfoss to Bjørkelangen. It later expanded and became the Urskog-Høland Line. And more engines came too, but in the be first three years it was only these two, until they were joined by No.3 Høland in 1898.

Illustration for the story "The ballad or Urskog" (second book).

[norwegianrailwaystories]

How is Urskog doing on the UHB?

"I think she enjoys being home again after so many years. Imagine... she's been away from home longer than I have lived! The first thing that happened when she arrived here though was that the staff managed to break her whistle as they miscalculated her height when putting her inside the shed. So they had to make her a new one before she could take a drive on our line. And then... it was clear that she had taken damage from driving 60 years back and forth in a slight left curve... so her wheels are worn unevenly and that makes her dangerous to drive on our line which has more variated terrain. So now she is mostly spending time inside the shed until they decide wether or not to bother fixing her wheels before she's going back to the museum... She tells us awesome stories though! And I think she enjoys sharing rails with Høland. He's like s son to her. The humans like to place them together for photos though because... you know... "Urskog-Høland"... I am not sure if it makes me smile or want to facepalm... if I had hands. But all in all, we enjoy having her here and I think she likes it here too. Spending time indoors for a change. She doesn't have a shed at the museum. She also lets me call her grandma."

[norwegianrailwaystories]

How long did Urskog stay on the UHB on her visit? <3

"She is still here with us. She is staying over winter, but has to return to the museum before the summer season starts. It's her first time being back home in 60 years, so of course she stay for a while."

[norwegianrailwaystories]

QFU(Question for Urskog): how do you feel about visiting the UHB?

"She's home for the first time in 60 years, she is very excited about it! She finally met Setskogen and Høland again, who she hasn't seen since she was sent to the museum in the 60's, and Prydz who she hasn't seen since 1987. And a few new diesel friends who she has never met... and me, who she met in 2010 when I visited the museum. Though she is a bit saddened that most of the railway is gone, she is happy that her friends are safe. If Bjørkelangen had been here too, they would all have been reunited!"

[norwegianrailwaystories]

Question for Urskog, doesn't matter who delivers her reply. Which name to you prefer, Urskog, or your original?

"She is so used to being called Urskog now, she prefers that over Eidsverket. After all, she has been wearing that name longer than her original one. And it reminds her of her sister who was scrapped in 1925."