Nesttun–Os Line

Historie

The Nesttun–Os Line was a narrow gauge railway between Nesttun, now part of Bergen, and the community of Osøyro in Os municipality, Norway. As the first private railway in Norway, it opened 1 June 1894, designed to connect Os to the Voss Line, allowing for passenger and freight transport to Bergen and Voss. Despite a boom caused by World War I, the railway was eventually driven out of business by competition from road transport, which provided faster service. On 2 September 1935, it became the first Norwegian railway to close, and most of the railway was dismanteled the following year.Today, only short stretches of the railway and a few stations survive. Much of the former railway line is used as a bicycle path, which makes revival of the Nesttun–Os Railway as a heritage railway very difficult. However, a 40 metre long railway stretch remains at Stend Station, the only unaltered remaining station, upon which a diesel locomotive and a passenger car are placed. The station building itself has been restored and is used as a museum.