Thamshavnbanen carried ore from Løkken Verk to the coast and passengers through Orkladalen. Its metre-gauge route, early alternating-current traction and surviving original vehicles make the railway an unusually complete record of Norwegian industrial electrification.
Rail heritage · Trøndelag
Thamshavnbanen
Thamshavnbanen preserves an early electric industrial railway with original rolling stock and a long journey through Orkladalen.
PlaceLøkken Verk and Bårdshaug
ExperienceElectric museum railway
On the railsElectric railway · Metre gauge
The place
A railway story you can step into
Opened in 1908, Thamshavnbanen connected the copper mines at Løkken Verk with the shipping port at Thamshavn. The metre-gauge line was electrically worked from the beginning and also carried passengers, making it an important chapter in both industrial and transport history.
Museum trains use restored electric locomotives and passenger carriages over the surviving route towards Bårdshaug. The railway is part of Orkla Industrimuseum and can be combined with the mining history at Løkken Verk.
What you can experience
Look closer
- 01
A long ride through Orkladalen on a preserved electric railway
The route through Orkladalen is long enough for the industrial geography to become clear: mine at one end, coastward transport at the other and communities between them.
- 02
Original locomotives and teak-bodied passenger carriages
Original electric locomotives make the railway technically distinctive among Norwegian heritage lines, while the passenger cars preserve another side of its mixed role.
- 03
A direct connection between railway history and the Løkken mining landscape
At Løkken Verk, the line can be read together with mine buildings, the museum exhibition and the power history that made electric operation possible in 1908.
History
Norway's first electric railway built for full-scale operation
Second World War
The railway became a target in the fight over copper
German forces occupied Løkken in May 1940 because copper and sulphur from the mine were valuable to the German arms industry. The railway and its electrical supply formed vulnerable parts of the production chain between mine and coast. 2
Kompani Linge mounted four operations against the industrial system between 1942 and 1944. Operation Feather I on 31 October 1943 struck the railway at several points; locomotives 7 and 8 were blown up, and other rolling stock was damaged during the wider sabotage campaign. 12
In autumn 1944, the occupation authorities brought 216 prisoners from Grini to Fannrem and forced them to repair the railway in severe winter conditions. Their labour and suffering are an essential part of the line's wartime history. 2
Sources
Read the original history
- 01Orkla Industrimuseum
Thamshavnbanen rolling stock
- 02Orkla Industrimuseum
Thamshavnbanen during the Second World War
- 03Thamshavnbanen
The history of the railway
- 04Orkla Industrimuseum
Thamshavnbanen visitor page
Rail heritage placeOpen the marker for the detailed map
Location & journey
Place it in your route
Getting there
Museum trains may use Løkken Verk, Bårdshaug or a stated section between them. The line is not connected to today's passenger-rail network, so confirm both the boarding point and local road or bus journey.
Planning context
Combine the train with Orkla Industrimuseum when the day's programme allows. The two experiences answer different questions: the railway provides the journey, while the museum explains the industry that required it.
Plan your visit
Check before you travel
The operating route, departures and available experiences can vary. Check Orkla Industrimuseum's official visitor page before travelling.