 Railway
ferry "Storegut" (Big boy) crossing the lake Tinnsjø in the
County of Telemark. The ferry's task was to carry trains twice daily
across the lake, a distance of 30 km (19 miles) between
Tinnoset station on the national Tinnos railway and Mæl station on
the private
Rjukan railway. This was a standard gauge railway with a length
of 16 km (10 miles) in addition to the ferry. "Storegut" was
built in 1956 at the yard in *Tinnoset
by Glommens Mekaniske Verksted. It has a length of 87,6 m. It is
powered with 2250 hp and has 156 m track on deck. For a long time it
was the largest lake ferry in Northern Europe (1119 b.r.tons) and
could carry 20 wagons. This is a view of the ferry going northward
loaded with tank wagons and a box car. Originally "Storegut" was the
nickname of a giant native Norwegian who disappeared in the
mountains, probably killed by an enemy. This ferry line is also
known in relation to the famous sabotage raids on the heavy water
production during World War II. The
Rjukan railway was opened in 1909 and closed down in 1991. The
ferry is now laid-up at Mæl. Efforts are, however, being made to
save the vessel as well as the railway line as a future museum
project. The railway and the ferry were run by Hydro Transport AS, a
part of Norsk Hydro, which has industries in Rjukan. "Storegut's"
predecessor steam ships on the route had their own post office.
Catalogue Nos.: Sc 789 / SG 883 / Mi 844 / YT 800 / NK 892
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