Iceland

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There are no railroads in Iceland today. But Iceland's first railway was a 900 mm gauge narrow network of 12 kilometres of length connecting the Reykjavik harbour with the city and the wasteland area which today is the Reykjavik City airport. The railway had two similar steam locomotives and this is one of them. This is Iceland's oldest locomotive, now set up as an exhibit at the Reykjavik harbour. The harbour railroad was opened in 1913 and operations were closed in 1928. Both locomotives were built by Jung in Germany in 1892. They were delivered to a factory in Rostock and bought to Iceland used from there in 1913.
Picture of the locomotive "Minør" at Reykjavik harbour 21.5.2018 by Ilkka Siissalo.

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Another view of the locomotive "Minør" at Reykjavik harbour. There is another similar steam locomotive "Pionér" from the same harbour railroad also in Árbær museum in Reykjavik. Picture 21.5.2018 by Ilkka Siissalo.

Between 2003 and 2008 there was also another, new narrow gauge railroad in Iceland. It was used for construction of a new hydroelectric power plant and its adjacent dam structure, blocking the rivers Jökulsá á Dal and Jökulsá í Fljótsdal. The railroad was diesel locomotive powered and the locomotives used were from Schöma in Germany. There were at least five locomotives of two different types. After the power plant works were finished the railroad was dismantled and the rails, locomotives and coaches were returned to Germany and Austria, some sold to Russia etc. One locomotive hull is kept in Iceland as a monument. The locomotives used at Kárahnjúkar power plant works were similar to this: Schöma tunnel locomotive. There is a good and long article on the various Icelandic former railroads written in Danish and with many nice pictures available online: Bent Hansen's 2013 article of Icelandic trains.

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