RailCowGirl

Rail heritage · Akershus

Lommedalsbanen

Lommedalsbanen gives Norway's smallest working railways a home, preserving 600 mm gauge vehicles from industry, construction and defence.

PlaceLommedalen, Bærum
ExperienceIndustrial railway museum
On the railsSteam railway · 600 mm gauge

The place

A railway story you can step into

These were not mainline passenger trains. They were the compact rail systems that moved people, rock, equipment and materials through mines, construction sites, factories and military installations. Lommedalsbanen preserves that less visible railway history as a working museum.

The short forest line has three stations and is worked by historic steam or internal-combustion locomotives. Its varied rolling-stock collection shows how adaptable narrow-gauge railways were before trucks and conveyor systems took over much of their work.

What you can experience

Look closer

  1. 01

    Rides behind historic locomotives on a 600 mm gauge railway

    Steam and internal-combustion locomotives demonstrate how very small engines could move heavy loads where full-size railway construction was impractical.

  2. 02

    Rolling stock from Norwegian industry, construction and defence

    The rolling stock comes from industry, major construction work and defence use, allowing visitors to compare specialised wagons and different working environments.

  3. 03

    Workshops, stations and demonstrations in a compact forest setting

    Stations, workshop activity and demonstrations make preservation work visible. The compact site rewards close attention to couplings, brakes, track and the practical details of industrial rail.

History

How Norway's smallest working railways were preserved

Lommedalsbanen does not recreate one public passenger line. It preserves 600 mm-gauge equipment from construction, mining, industry and defence — the compact rail systems that moved heavy loads behind many large Norwegian projects.

  1. A private preservation project begins

    Olaf Wiegels began collecting narrow-gauge railway material and built a short line in his garden. The project started decades before industrial railway preservation had an established museum framework in Norway. 2

  2. The collection moves to Lommedalen

    Material was transferred to the present site in 1979. A first short section of railway was laid, and the developing museum opened part of the line to visitors on 3 October 1981. 2

  3. Lommedalsbanen is formally established

    Margrethe and Olaf Wiegels established the museum organisation to secure the collection and continue building a permanent home for Norwegian industrial narrow-gauge history. 1

  4. The collection receives museum status

    From 1 January 1991, Lommedalsbanen held semi-official museum status. The site continued to develop its forest railway, stations, workshops and specialist rolling-stock collection. 1

  5. Several industries, one working 600 mm railway

    Steam and internal-combustion locomotives now operate with wagons from different Norwegian works and institutions. Their varied origins show how portable narrow-gauge systems served tasks that main-line railways could not. 12

Sources

Read the original history

  1. 01
    MiA – Museums in Akershus

    About Lommedalsbanen

    Open source
  2. 02
LommedalenAkershus · Rail heritage
100%
Zoom in to separate nearby places
Lommedalen on the map of NorwayThe selected destination is highlighted; smaller points show the other destinations in this guide. Use the controls to zoom, then drag or use the arrow keys to move around the map.12
Rail heritage placeOpen the marker for the detailed map
The highlighted number locates this stop within Norway. Open it for the detailed map.

Location & journey

Place it in your route

Getting there

The museum is in Lommedalen in Bærum, beyond the urban rail network. Plan a local bus or road connection from the Oslo area and follow the museum's own directions for the final approach.

Planning context

The setting is compact and family-friendly, but public running days are limited. Choose the date first, then plan the last-mile journey around the announced opening.

Open location in OpenStreetMap See all locations

Plan your visit

Check before you travel

Public trains operate on a limited seasonal calendar and on selected special days. Check Lommedalsbanen's official page for current dates.

Official visitor information