Lokstallet & KURJ

The railway between Köping and Uttersberg was unique as it had its own track gauge – 1093 mm. However, this was not intentional but rather a misunderstanding when the railway company ordered locomotives from Munktells Mechanical Workshop. They specified that the three locomotives would run on a railway with a gauge of 3.59 feet, which is 1067 mm if one means Swedish feet. But the locomotive factory thought they meant 3.59 English feet and designed the locomotives accordingly.
 
The railway along the Hedströmmen Valley between the port in Köping and Uttersberg began planning as early as 1856. However, when the parliamentary finance committee rejected the loan application, the plans for a railway were shelved. At that time, many people didn’t believe in the new invention of steam locomotives and trains. It felt far too dangerous.
But six years later, opposition to railways had begun to wane, and the new plans were approved in 1866 with a state loan of 500,000 kronor.
The only problem now was a small mistake—or not so small—although it only involved millimeters. The standard gauge of the railway was 1067 mm. But due to the mix-up of Swedish and English feet, which are different sizes, the company that manufactured the three ordered locomotives built them to the English measurements, while the railway tracks themselves were built to the Swedish measurements.
At this point, a solution was urgently needed. Should all the locomotives be rebuilt? No, that would surely cost more than a few kilometers of railway. After many long discussions, it was decided to leave the locomotives as they were. The cheapest solution was to rebuild the carriages and the railway itself, which now became unique.
 
A few years later, Riddarhytte AB realized how beneficial it would be to have a railway all the way to Riddarhyttan. Here there were many iron mines, and the train was much faster and easier to transport the heavy iron with than the old horse carts and steamships when it was to be sold worldwide.
The company decided to purchase one locomotive and 20 freight cars.
By 1880, everything was ready, and the railway between Uttersberg and Riddarhyttan was opened to public traffic.
And it wasn’t just the ironworks that benefited from the railway. Shops could now send goods to people living in the industrial communities. And people could also take the train to visit others or buy things not available where they lived.
 
Facts
The only remaining locomotive shed along the Köping-Uttersberg-Riddarhyttan railway.
It was built in 1880, but the tower was added in 1930. In front of the shed was a turntable where locomotives were turned. The last passenger train ran in 1952. Freight traffic ceased in 1968.
After the railway was closed, the locomotive shed was used as a bus garage.
At the top of the tower, inside the water tank, there is an exhibition about the railway and industry in Riddarhyttan.
KURJ is an abbreviation for Köping/Uttersberg/Riddarhyttans Järnväg.