Erikstad 17-7-2017

[Montfrooij]

Last summer I spend the evening on 17-7-2017 trainspotting in Erikstad.
Just where the track to Oslo is splitting from the main line (I believe it was opened in 1995, the year we first visited Billingsfors)
There was a power plant next to the railway with some tracks, but they were not connected to the main line.
Brand new, but very much rust.
Any idea why they put these tracks there without connecting them?

I had a great time here and hope I got the train numbers right (they are in the description)



Have fun watching :)

Peter

[Ulf Broman]

Last summer I spend the evening on 17-7-2017 trainspotting in Erikstad.
Just where the track to Oslo is splitting from the main line (I believe it was opened in 1995, the year we first visited Billingsfors)
There was a power plant next to the railway with some tracks, but they were not connected to the main line.
Brand new, but very much rust.
Any idea why they put these tracks there without connecting them?

The power plant you saw is more a converter station (that is converting voltage and frequencey to suit the railways needs) for the railway.
The converter equipment is normally built on railway cars so they can be transported to a workshop when needed, but which happens very seldom (I do not know, maybe every 5 or 10 or 15 years).
So the switch to the tracks in some such converter stations are used so seldom so it is easier to create a temporary switch only when really needed, instead of having a switch in the mainline track.
But I have seen a picture in this thread (far down) where it seems to be a permanent switch at Erikstad/Skälebol.

Edit: Or was there a permanent switch, but there was a buffer stop between the switch and the converter station?
In that case I guess that this side track normally functions as a security (if a train will pass from Mellerud to Öxnered, then the switch would force a train coming from Kornsjö to turn right into the side track and into the buffer stop, but not into the converter station).
And when there is a need to use the track to the converter station, then the buffer stop is removed temporarily.

[Montfrooij]

The power plant you saw is more a converter station (that is converting voltage and frequencey to suit the railways needs) for the railway.
The converter equipment is normally built on railway cars so they can be transported to a workshop when needed, but which happens very seldom (I do not know, maybe every 5 or 10 or 15 years).
So the switch to the tracks in some such converter stations are used so seldom so it is easier to create a temporary switch only when really needed, instead of having a switch in the mainline track.
But I have seen a picture in this thread (far down) where it seems to be a permanent switch at Erikstad/Skälebol.

Edit: Or was there a permanent switch, but there was a buffer stop between the switch and the converter station?
In that case I guess that this side track normally functions as a security (if a train will pass from Mellerud to Öxnered, then the switch would force a train coming from Kornsjö to turn right into the side track and into the buffer stop, but not into the converter station).
And when there is a need to use the track to the converter station, then the buffer stop is removed temporarily.

Tack så mycket!
Yes, there was a switch, but it doubled as a buffer stop indeed!
Totally clear now.

[Fryksdalingen]

Nice video as always. I hope you don´t mind my correcting you a little.
The vehicle number for train 376 is 9078 and the 1070 is an Rd2 in train 5551 Grums-Sävenäs rgb

[Montfrooij]

Nice video as always. I hope you don´t mind my correcting you a little.
The vehicle number for train 376 is 9078 and the 1070 is an Rd2 in train 5551 Grums-Sävenäs rgb

Thanks a lot.
No I don't mind at all!