Maana Forlag

Maana Forlag ANS

Cartoon, 1909

About the Rjukan Railway

It opened in 1909, and the railway and the ferries on the lake Tinnsjøen is still there, know serving as memories of the past. The 130 kilometers transport line was part of a bold and succesful effort to build a new industry. The fight over the heavy water during World War II was a dramatic event in the history of the Rjukan Railway.

Locomotive number 4, 1912. © Norsk Industriarbeidermuseum

King Haakon opened the transport line in August 1909.
The railway went from steam power to electricity in 1911.
The ferries on lake Tinnsj øen (D/F "Rjukanfoss", D/F "Hydro", D/F "Ammonia" and M/F "Storegut") are the only railway ferries ever on a norwegian lake.
The ferry D/F "Hydro" was sunk by norwegien saboteurs the 20th of February 1944. This put an end to the fight over the heavy water. 18 people killed. 29 survived.