Society Saturday - Gotlandståget

During my trip to Gotland I stayed with a relative who had rented an old, small, railroad station, Tule. It used to only be tha cottage of the level crossing attandant but has resently been upgraded to station. The first railroad on Gotland was built in 1878 when the line Visby-Hemse was built. In 1898 the railroad between Klintehamn and Roma was finished and it is along that line that Thule station is situated. The line was built to make it easier for the farmers to transport their sugar beats to the sugar mill in Roma. The railroads on Gotland were discontinued in the early 1960's and all the rails were taken away.

In 1978 had a small portion of the railroads been restored and could be taken into use. During the beginning of the 21st century further tracks have been put down and this year you could travel by train a distance that takes 10 minutes. More tracks are being added and next year you should be able to travel all the way from Dalhem to Roma. The society that runs the railroad and is working to restore it has recieved money from the EU and you can also fund the project by buying a railroad tie. You will not be able to take it with you but your name will be on a board by one of the stations.

There is one steam locomotive but when the weather is too dry, like it is this summer, they use diesel locomotives instead. There are several wagons from different time periods that you can choose to ride in. The train stops at different stations and the train conductor tells the history of the railroad.

All trips start and end at Hesselby station in Dalhem. There is a café and a railroad station. You can also buy souvenirs.

Tule Station

Diesel locomotive with wagons.

Insiede the youngest of the wagons.

With the renting of the station came the free rent for two trollies so we hopped on the trolleys and peddled 30 minutes up hill to Tule where we had fika (Swedish word for having coffe, tea, something to drink, cookies and/or cake) and then we peddled our way back. For SEK 100 you rent the trolly for 90 minutes. It is not very steep up hill so not even I had problems with peddling.

Trolly in Dalhem.

Dalhem station

The big building is the railroad musuem.

Source:
http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gotlands_j%C3%A4rnv%C3%A4g
http://www.gotlandstaget.se/

Photos: By Lena Svensson

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