Kristiania Sporveisselskab
Encyclopedia
AS Kristiania Sporveisselskab or KSS, nicknamed the Green Tram , was the first tram operator in Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...

, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

. Founded in 1874, it started operation of horsecar
Horsecar
A horsecar or horse-drawn tram is an animal-powered streetcar or tram.These early forms of public transport developed out of industrial haulage routes that had long been in existence, and from the omnibus routes that first ran on public streets in the 1820s, using the newly improved iron or steel...

 services the following year and electric tram services in 1899. The company took over the
municipally owned
Municipalization
Municipalization is the transfer of corporations or other assets to municipal ownership. The transfer may be from private ownership or from other levels of government. It is the opposite of privatization and is different from nationalization.-Services:There have been two main waves of...

 Kristiania Kommunale Sporveie
Kristiania Kommunale Sporveie
Kristiania Kommunale Sporveie or KKS was a municipal owned company that operated parts of the Oslo Tramway from 1899 to 1905. It had 20 tramcars that served the three branch lines Rodeløkka Line, Vippetangen Line and Sagene Ring...

 in 1905, only to be discontinued in 1924 when it was merged with its main competitor, Kristiania Elektriske Sporvei
Kristiania Elektriske Sporvei
A/S Kristiania Elektriske Sporvei or KES, nicknamed the Blue Tram , is a defunct operator of parts of the Oslo Tramway, Norway. It opened the first electric tramway in Scandinavia in 1894, and remained in service until 1924 when it was merged into the municipal owned Oslo Sporveier.-History:Tram...

, to form the municipally owned Kristiania Sporveier
Oslo Sporveier
Kollektivtransportproduksjon AS is a municipal owned public transport operator of Oslo, Norway, the name meaning simply "public transportation producer". It operates the trackage and maintains the stock of the Oslo Metro and Oslo Tramway, as well as owning eight operating subsidiaries...

.

The company operated 57 horsecars and 102 trams, with the network consisting of the Vestbane Line, Ullevål Hageby Line
Ullevål Hageby Line
The Ullevål Hageby Line is a light rail section of the Oslo Tramway. It runs from Stortorvet in the city center of Oslo, Norway to Rikshospitalet. It passes through the areas of St. Hanshaugen, Ullevål Hageby and Blindern before reaching Gaustad...

, Oslo Line
Gamleby Line
The Gamlebyen Line is a section of the Oslo Tramway which runs east from Jernbanetorget along Schweigaards gate , past the Oslo Bus Terminal then turns south along Oslo gate, and past Gamlebyen before becoming the Ekeberg Line...

, Vippetangen Line
Vippetangen Line
The Vippetangen Line or the Grain Tram is an abandoned line of the Oslo Tramway, Norway, that ran from Tollbugata in the city center to Vippetangen between 1900 and 1967. It was built by Kristiania Kommunale Sporveie .-History:...

, Vålerenga Line
Vålerenga Line
The Vålerenga line , also known as Helsfyr Line and Etterstad Line is an abolished tram line in Eastern Oslo. It branched from the Gamleby Line, which was established in 1875 as a horse tram service. From 1875 to 1899, the line ran from Stortorvet towards Vaterland over Grønland...

, Kampen Line, Grünerløkka–Torshov Line, Sagene Ring
Sagene ring
Sagene ring is a former tramway in Oslo, Norway. The route was operated as line 0 of the Oslo Tramway between 1916 and 1954. The line went from the depot behind Sagene Church along Nordre Gravlund, Geitmyrsveien, Colletts gate, Ullevålsveien, Akersgaten, Karl Johans gate, via Stortorvet, Storgata,...

 and Sinsen Line
Sinsen Line
The Sinsen Line is part of the Oslo Tramway on the east side of the city. Most of the line is served by line 17, although the northernmost tip is served by line 13 which otherwise runs on the Grünerløkka–Torshov Line. Both services use SL95 articulated trams.-Route:The line leaves the...

.

History

The first attempts at running horsecar operations in Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...

 (at the time called Christiania) were in 1868, when the engineer Jens Theodor Pauldan Vogt and the architect Paul Due
Paul Due
Paul Due was a Norwegian architect and significant contributor to the stations built by the Norwegian State Railways.-Biography:...

 applied for a concession
Concession (contract)
A concession is a business operated under a contract or license associated with a degree of exclusivity in business within a certain geographical area. For example, sports arenas or public parks may have concession stands. Many department stores contain numerous concessions operated by other...

. They were rejected—based on the argument that the city streets were too narrow. When they made a second attempt in April 1874, they gained permission start services; and on 26 August 1874 they established AS Christiania Sporveisselskab. Twenty-two cars were delivered from the United States manufacturer John Stephenson & Co
John Stevenson Company
The John Stephenson Car Company was an American manufacturer of carriages, horsecars, cable cars, and streetcars, based in New York City. It was founded by John Stephenson in 1831. John Stephenson invented the first streetcar to run on rails, building this in 1832, for the New York and Harlem...

, arriving in Christiania on 31 August 1875, with the official opening occurring on 6 October. Two years after the foundation of the company, the city and company changed the spelling of the name Christiania to Kristiania.

Initial routes and services

The system started out with four lines: three originated at Stortorvet, running to Oslo (today Gamlebyen), the Western Railway Station
Oslo Vestbanestasjon
Oslo West Station or Oslo V, is a former railway station located in Vika in Oslo, Norway. It was the terminus of the Drammen Line between 1872 and 1980, until the Oslo Tunnel opened. The station remained in use until 1989, when all traffic was moved to the new Oslo Central Station...

 (Vestbanen), and Homansbyen
Homansbyen
Homansbyen is a neighborhood in Frogner borough in Oslo, Norway. The area is named for the lawyer brothers Jacob and Henrik Homan .-Area:...

—where the depot was located. In addition, there was a direct line from Homansbyen to the railway station, but services were terminated on 19 October. The two lines connecting to the station only ran services to correspond with train arrivals, while the other two lines had fixed fifteen minute headways—increasing to ten minutes from 22 June 1876. During the winter the company attempted to use sled
Sled
A sled, sledge, or sleigh is a land vehicle with a smooth underside or possessing a separate body supported by two or more smooth, relatively narrow, longitudinal runners that travels by sliding across a surface. Most sleds are used on surfaces with low friction, such as snow or ice. In some cases,...

s instead of wagons; and took delivery of seventeen units, but these were not as suitable and the company instead chose to salt the rail tracks.

The head office, Kristiania Sporveisanlæg, was located at Homansbyen. It initially had a depot with place for 28 trams, 16 sleds and stables for 116 horses. A second depot and stable for 50 horses was located at Olaf Ryes plass. The company was also a major retailer of used horses, and they were sought after due to the good treatment they received at the company. During the winter, the company replaced the horsecars with sleds, of which 17 were bought between 1875 and 1879. But sleds were heavier to haul and often two horses were needed where only one was needed for the horsecar lines. This caused the headway to be increased because of lack of horses.

The initial price was 10 øre (NOK 0.10), although an additional 3 øre was charged for the longest routes. From 1878, the fare increased to 15 øre for all routes. The headway was five minutes. Profits were made immediately, and in 1877 an additional seven cars were delivered. In 1876, a new line from Stortorvet to Grünerløkka
Grünerløkka
Grünerløkka is a borough of the city of Oslo, Norway. Grünerløkka became part of the city of Oslo in 1858.Grünerløkka was named after Friedrich Grüner who bought a mill in the area from king Christian V of Denmark in 1672 . During the 19th century, Grünerløkka became a working class area...

 was built—the start of the current Grünerløkka–Torshov Line—along with a new depot. On 2 December 1878, the Oslo Line
Gamleby Line
The Gamlebyen Line is a section of the Oslo Tramway which runs east from Jernbanetorget along Schweigaards gate , past the Oslo Bus Terminal then turns south along Oslo gate, and past Gamlebyen before becoming the Ekeberg Line...

 (now the Gamleby Line) was extended to St. Halvards Plass, the Grünerløkka Line to Thorvald Mayers Gate on 12 April 1879 and the Vestbanen Line to Munkedamsveien on 5 May 1879. The following year the lines were rearranged into two through lines; Homansbyen–Oslo and Vestbanen–Grünerløkka. After this the company concentrated their investments into rebuilding the single track
Single track (rail)
A single track railway is where trains in both directions share the same track. Single track is normally used on lesser used rail lines, often branch lines, where the traffic density is not high enough to justify the cost of building double tracks....

 system into double track
Double track
A double track railway usually involves running one track in each direction, compared to a single track railway where trains in both directions share the same track.- Overview :...

. From 1887 to 1892, the company took delivery of fourteen additional cars from Skabo Jernbanevognfabrikk
Skabo Jernbanevognfabrikk
Skabo Jernbanevognfabrikk was a mechanical workshop focusing on design and construction of railcars. It was established by Hans Skabo in Drammen, Norway in 1864; it became the first rail car factory in the country when it took delivery of the cars for Kongsvingerbanen...

, the same 4.1 metres (13.5 ft) length as the Stephenson cars. The last horsecar delivery was fifteen cars from Falkenried
Falkenried
Falkenried is a defunct tram manufacturer based in Hamburg, Germany.In 1897, the company made a delivery of fifteen horsecars to Kristiania Sporveisselskab of Oslo, Norway. They were long and remained in service until 1939, although they were used as trailers most of their life...

 in 1897, which were intended to be rebuilt to trailers. These were 6.6 metres (21.7 ft) long and remained in service until 1939.

Electrification

On 2 March 1894 KSS got a competitor in Kristiania Elektriske Sporvei
Kristiania Elektriske Sporvei
A/S Kristiania Elektriske Sporvei or KES, nicknamed the Blue Tram , is a defunct operator of parts of the Oslo Tramway, Norway. It opened the first electric tramway in Scandinavia in 1894, and remained in service until 1924 when it was merged into the municipal owned Oslo Sporveier.-History:Tram...

 (KES), nicknamed the Blue Tram. Instead of horsecars, they used electric trams, and KSS was forced to convert their system to electric traction to be able to compete with KES. The first electric trams ran on 29 September 1899, and the conversion was completed 15 January 1900. At the time of electrification the company had 57 horsecars; 38 of these were later converted to trailer
Trailer (vehicle)
A trailer is generally an unpowered vehicle pulled by a powered vehicle. Commonly, the term trailer refers to such vehicles used for transport of goods and materials....

s, while 20 were decommissioned. The John Stephenson & Co and Skabo Jernbanevognfabrikk trailers were taken out of service in 1917–18, and sixteen of these were sold to the Bergen Tramway
Bergen Tramway
Bergen Tramway was a tramway in Bergen, Norway, which was in operation from 1897 to 1965. The first three lines were opened on 29 June 1897. Starting in 1950, tramway lines were gradually replaced with bus and trolleybus routes. The last line was closed in 1965. Since 1993, a heritage tram operates...

 and Trondheim Tramway
Trondheim Tramway
Trondheim Tramway located in Trondheim, Norway consists presently of one 8.8 km tramway line, Gråkallbanen, from St. Olav's Gate in the city centre through Byåsen to Lian Station in Bymarka...

—the latter rebuilt to meter gauge. One of the original Stephenson cars has been preserved at the Oslo Tramway Museum
Oslo Tramway Museum
Oslo Tramway Museum with 450 members. The museum also operates a heritage tramway in Vinterbro outside Oslo.LTF was founded in 1966, six years after the city council had decided to close down the tramway and trolleybus. This followed the closing of the Bergen Tramway, where only a single tram had...

.

The electrification happened as part of the extension of the Vestbane Line on 21 December 1898 and 23 June 1899, as well as the extension of the Oslo Line 17 November 1899. On 3 May 1900, an all-new line opened to Vålerenga
Vålerenga
Vålerenga is a neighbourhood in the city of Oslo, Norway, belonging to the borough of Gamle Oslo. Vålerenga is located between the neighbourhoods of Gamlebyen, Jordal, Ensjø, Etterstad and Lodalen. Vålerenga is in particular known for its traditional, small wooden houses, and for its football and...

, and on 6 June, to Kampen
Kampen, Norway
Kampen is a neighborhood in Oslo, Norway. It is located Gamle Oslo borough, between Tøyen, Hasle, Vålerenga and Galgeberg.-History:The name may come from kamp, meaning outcrop, though it may also come from a military campment. During the 18th century, the home guard had military practices at Kampen...

. The first line out of the municipality of Kristiania into Aker
Aker, Norway
Aker is a former municipality in Akershus, which lends its name to a municipality and a county in Norway. The name originally belonged to a farm which was located near the current Old Aker Church...

 occurred in three municipality steps financed by the municipality, on 29 September 1899, 2 October 1901 and finally to Grefsen on 28 November 1902. For the electrification KSS ordered 47 new trams, from Falkenried and LHB
Alstom
Alstom is a large multinational conglomerate which holds interests in the power generation and transport markets. According to the company website, in the years 2010-2011 Alstom had annual sales of over €20.9 billion, and employed more than 85,000 people in 70 countries. Alstom's headquarters are...

—these remained in service until 1967. The electrical equipment was delivered by Union
Union Company
The Union Company, Union Steam Ship Company , or Union Line was started in Dunedin, New Zealand, in 1875, when it was floated by James Mills, who had been clerk to Johnny Jones and his Harbour Steam Company....

, giving the trams 36 kW and a length of 7.8 metres (25.6 ft) and 9.8 tonnes.

Consolidation

The second competitor was the municipal owned Kristiania Kommunale Sporveie
Kristiania Kommunale Sporveie
Kristiania Kommunale Sporveie or KKS was a municipal owned company that operated parts of the Oslo Tramway from 1899 to 1905. It had 20 tramcars that served the three branch lines Rodeløkka Line, Vippetangen Line and Sagene Ring...

 (KKS) who operated in part of KSS track in the city center. They built their system to Sagene
Sagene
Sagene is a borough of the city of Oslo, Norway. The area became part of the city of Oslo in 1859.The name Sagene itself is the plural of the Norwegian word for "saw", reflecting all the old industrial mechanical saws powered by the river Akerselvain this area in the 19th and early 20th...

 (the Sagene Ring
Sagene ring
Sagene ring is a former tramway in Oslo, Norway. The route was operated as line 0 of the Oslo Tramway between 1916 and 1954. The line went from the depot behind Sagene Church along Nordre Gravlund, Geitmyrsveien, Colletts gate, Ullevålsveien, Akersgaten, Karl Johans gate, via Stortorvet, Storgata,...

); on 27 March 1900, they opened to Rodeløkka
Rodeløkka
Rodeløkka is a neighborhood in Grünerløkka in Oslo, Norway.From 1900 to 1961, it was served by the Rodeløkka Line of the Oslo Tramway.-The name:...

, and on 28 August 1900, from Tollbu Street to Vippetangen
Vippetangen
Vippetangen is the southern point of the peninsula Akersneset in central Oslo, Norway, located southeast of Akershus Fortress. It is surrounded by the Oslo Fjord and has served as an important section of the port in Oslo...

. These three lines were not connected to each other, using KSS or KES track to connected. From 26 January 1901 additional track was built to avoid having to run on KES track, but despite this KKS was not profitable, and was taken over by KSS in 1905. With the take-over KSS took over 20 trams built by Busch
Busch
-People:*Adam Busch , American actor*Adolf Busch , German violinist and composer*Adolphus Busch , founder of Anheuser-Busch*Adolphus Busch III , 3rd generation brewing magnate...

.

After the take-over in 1905, the company was operating the routes Homansbyen–Oslo, Homansbyen–Sannergata, Munkedamsveien–Sannergata–Grefsen, Munkedamsveien–Vålerenga, Sagene–St. Hanshaugen–Kampen, St. Hanshaugen–Rodeløkka and Stortorvet–Vippetangen. This was supplemented through the extension of the Vippetangen Line
Vippetangen Line
The Vippetangen Line or the Grain Tram is an abandoned line of the Oslo Tramway, Norway, that ran from Tollbugata in the city center to Vippetangen between 1900 and 1967. It was built by Kristiania Kommunale Sporveie .-History:...

 on 8 November 1905, and from Homansbyen to Adamstuen on 24 September 1909. An agreement with Kristiania Elektriske Sporvei was reached about connecting the two networks, and connection lines were made at Rosenborg on 1 May 1912, with an extension of the Vestbanen Line to Skillebekk on 2 November 1911 with the systems connecting in 1912, and from Østbanen to Grønland.

This expansion caused the need for more rolling stock, and KSS took delivery of 42 trams Falkenried and Skabo in 1912–14; these were somewhat longer at 10.5 metres (34.4 ft) and with 84 kW. The new lines allowed the two companies to operate on each others lines, and at the same time introduced a numbering scheme without overlap. KSS retained seven of their own lines from 1915;
  • (4) Grefsen–Stortorvet–Vestbanen–Nobels gate
  • (5) Kampen–Stortorvet–Vestbanen–Nobels gate
  • (7) Sagene–Torshov–Stortorvet–Adamsstuen
  • (8) Vålerenga–Stortorvet–St. Hanshaugen–Sagene
  • (10) Stortorvet–Vippetangen
  • (11) Stortorvet–Rodeløkka
  • (X) Stortorvet–Sandaker.

Several of the lines were combined lines where lines were serviced by two numbers, each leading to different lines on the other side of the center—a system that remains today.

In 1921–23 the company bought additional 22 trams, at 102 kW and 11.2 metres (36.7 ft), from HaWa
Hawa
Hawa is a village development committee in Dolakha District in the Janakpur Zone of north-eastern Nepal. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census it had a population of 1833 people living in 372 individual households.-External links:*...

, Brill, and Busch. Both street tram companies in Oslo had concessions that lasted until 1924; due to the profits they were making the city council decided to purchase both companies, and in 1924 Kristiania Sporveier
Oslo Sporveier
Kollektivtransportproduksjon AS is a municipal owned public transport operator of Oslo, Norway, the name meaning simply "public transportation producer". It operates the trackage and maintains the stock of the Oslo Metro and Oslo Tramway, as well as owning eight operating subsidiaries...

, that changed its name the next year to Oslo Sporveier, took over all street tram operations in the city.
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