Motis SD7s

Trackside in Norway / Sweden with Deane Motis
One of the world's foremost electric mining railroads is located 125 miles north of the Arctic Circle. Operated by LKAB (Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara AB), its road fleet of 34 7200-hp ADtranz/Bombardier-built locomotives are possibly the most powerful in existence. The 330-mile rail line connects the underground mine in Kiruna, Sweden (largest anywhere) with the port of Narvik, Norway (ice-free) and Lulea, Sweden. Deane Motis who has visited the region eight times on business points out, "The rail line is owned and maintained by the respective countries, and it is electrified at 15kV, 16.7 AC. Beyond the 11 to 14 daily LKAB iron ore consists, the line also hosts Green Cargo (a regular freight operation), Kaunis Iron (another ore shipping company shipping) and SJ, the Swedish passenger network that connects Stockholm with Oslo the capitol city of Norway." Deane also adds. "The day I rode, we had a trainee who operated the train round trip; Narvik to Kiruna. The trainer is a line engineer who is certified to train in both Norway and Sweden. Operating rules differ between the two countries. Some signal aspects have opposite meanings depending on the country. Dispatch is carried out between each respective country, however the dispatchers coordinate the train movements so as far as the train is concerned, the run is seamless. LKAB yard power in Narvik is handled by EMD powered T44s and in Kiruna by Cummins powered one-of-a-kind EMDs. "With respect to automation, the closest would be the unloading process. Even then, the movement is done with a person in the cab. To unload, the train enters a long shed, approx. 1/3 of a mile in length. The shed covers 14 silos, each 60 meters deep. Each silo is designated to handle a specific type of pellet in terms of iron content and / or quality. The train proceeds into the shed where the crew exits and an unloading engineer takes over control. The automated process involves an unloading device which straddles the rails. The unloader opens the hopper doors and then two large clasps grab the car and shake it to remove any residual pellets. The shaking is loud enough to wake the dead, twice over. "LKAB trains run in 17, four wagon sets with two IORE electrics. End of train devices are not used, thus the LKAB trains are limited to the 68 cars/wagons per regulation. Both LKAB and Kaunis use Russian made couplers which are interesting in their own right. Pin lifters are air powered, no mechanical device whatsoever." Passenger Trains: SJ Railway of Sweden provides conventional passenger service within Scandinavia and connects the capital cities of Denmark (Copenhagen), Norway (Oslo) and Sweden (Stockholm). In Norway, Government-owned VY (Vygruppen) transportation offers the widest range of long-distance, intra-city and local commuter rail services, along with bus routes. Nordland's 450-mile, all-diesel rail line is the longest in Norway; it crosses 293 bridges, and passes through 154 tunnels. All images presented here are from the camera of Deane Motis.

Trackside in Norway / Sweden with Deane Motis

One of the world's foremost electric mining railroads is located 125 miles north of the Arctic Circle. Operated by LKAB (Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara AB), its road fleet of 34 7200-hp ADtranz/Bombardier-built locomotives are possibly the most powerful in existence. The 330-mile rail line connects the underground mine in Kiruna, Sweden (largest anywhere) with the port of Narvik, Norway (ice-free) and Lulea, Sweden. Deane Motis who has visited the region eight times on business points out, "The rail line is owned and maintained by the respective countries, and it is electrified at 15kV, 16.7 AC. Beyond the 11 to 14 daily LKAB iron ore consists, the line also hosts Green Cargo (a regular freight operation), Kaunis Iron (another ore shipping company shipping) and SJ, the Swedish passenger network that connects Stockholm with Oslo the capitol city of Norway."

Deane also adds. "The day I rode, we had a trainee who operated the train round trip; Narvik to Kiruna. The trainer is a line engineer who is certified to train in both Norway and Sweden. Operating rules differ between the two countries. Some signal aspects have opposite meanings depending on the country. Dispatch is carried out between each respective country, however the dispatchers coordinate the train movements so as far as the train is concerned, the run is seamless. LKAB yard power in Narvik is handled by EMD powered T44s and in Kiruna by Cummins powered one-of-a-kind EMDs.

"With respect to automation, the closest would be the unloading process. Even then, the movement is done with a person in the cab. To unload, the train enters a long shed, approx. 1/3 of a mile in length. The shed covers 14 silos, each 60 meters deep. Each silo is designated to handle a specific type of pellet in terms of iron content and / or quality. The train proceeds into the shed where the crew exits and an unloading engineer takes over control. The automated process involves an unloading device which straddles the rails. The unloader opens the hopper doors and then two large clasps grab the car and shake it to remove any residual pellets. The shaking is loud enough to wake the dead, twice over.
"LKAB trains run in 17, four wagon sets with two IORE electrics. End of train devices are not used, thus the LKAB trains are limited to the 68 cars/wagons per regulation. Both LKAB and Kaunis use Russian made couplers which are interesting in their own right. Pin lifters are air powered, no mechanical device whatsoever."

Passenger Trains:

SJ Railway of Sweden provides conventional passenger service within Scandinavia and connects the capital cities of Denmark (Copenhagen), Norway (Oslo) and Sweden (Stockholm).

In Norway, Government-owned VY (Vygruppen) transportation offers the widest range of long-distance, intra-city and local commuter rail services, along with bus routes.

Nordland's 450-mile, all-diesel rail line is the longest in Norway; it crosses 293 bridges, and passes through 154 tunnels.

All images presented here are from the camera of Deane Motis.

Supplemental Photos
A LKAB #112-led train parallels a lake at Torneham, Sweden 18 September 2017	LKAB #134 approaches a snow shed; the line has multiple tunnels and snow sheds. (date)
T46-4 diesel, used for switching/shunting, was repowered with a Cummins. 25 May 2016	NOHAB-built MTAS T44-5 at Abisko-R is powered by an EMD diesel. 28 September 2022
Similar to SD70ACe-T4C trucks, IORE truck is rated 130,000 lbs. tractive force. (date)	The #1000 commemorates the 1000th car produced by Kiruna Wagon, 31 August 2018
Russian-built coupler system uses air pressure to lift pins (date)	IORE electric-drive equipment is well maintained and kept clean. (date)
Three Kaunis Iron ore haulers dive into one of the several snowsheds. (date)	Nordland Rwy connects Trondheim with Bodø 100 miles north of Arctic Circle. (date)
Government-owned VY provides most Norway passenger train and bus service. (date)	SJ and VY (formerly NSB) trains meet at the Oslo Station. (date)