Blekinge ( Swedish pronunciation: [ˈblêːkɪŋɛ] ) is one of the traditional Swedish provinces ( landskap ), situated in the southern coast of the geographic region of Götaland , in southern Sweden. It borders Småland , Scania and the Baltic Sea . It is the country's second-smallest province by area (only Öland is smaller), and the smallest province located on the mainland .
17-561: The Umgeni Steam Railway is a 3 ft 6 in ( 1,067 mm ) gauge heritage railway at Inchanga , near Durban . The Durban to Pietermaritzburg line was built in the 1880s; it runs through a 53 metres (174 ft) long tunnel at Drummond built in 1878, which is probably the oldest tunnel in use today in South Africa In 1982, a small Dubs locomotive was donated by the Illovo Sugar company to local enthusiasts ; this
34-555: A track gauge of 3 ft 6 in ( 1,067 mm ) were first constructed as horse-drawn wagonways . The first intercity passenger railway to use 3 ft 6 in was constructed in Norway by Carl Abraham Pihl . From the mid-nineteenth century, the 3 ft 6 in gauge became widespread in the British Empire . In Africa it became known as the Cape gauge as it was adopted as
51-571: Is characterized by its oak forests with occasional hazel and common hornbeam . The relief is an uneven joint valley terrain with straight and narrow valley bottoms that widen towards the coast. Bedrock in Blekinge is mostly granite and gneiss of the Blekinge-Bornholm rock province. Evidence of human habitation in western Blekinge dates circa 9700 BC in the Vesan area. At this time, Vesan
68-458: Is the only province, besides Gotland , which covers exactly the same area as the administrative county , which is Blekinge County . Blekinge was granted its current arms in 1660 at the time of the funeral of King Charles X Gustav of Sweden (1622–1660) based on a seal from the 15th century. Symbolically the three crowns from the Coat of arms of Sweden had been placed on the trunk of the tree to mark
85-622: Is used to distinguish it from other narrow gauges. In Japan the 1,067 mm ( 3 ft 6 in ) gauge, along with other narrow gauges, is referred to as kyōki ( 狭軌 ) , which directly translates as narrow gauge , to differentiate it from the Shinkansen lines. It is defined in metric units. It is commonly referred to as 三六軌間 ( 36 gauge ) , which derives from the 3 ft 6 in. Similar, but incompatible without wheelset adjustment, rail gauges in respect of aspects such as cost of construction, practical minimum radius curves and
102-519: The maximum physical dimensions of rolling stock are: Dual gauge between 1,067 mm ( 3 ft 6 in ) gauge and another similar gauge can make these bonus gauges. Barbados Railway ( converted to 2 ft 6 in or 762 mm gauge) (defunct) Blekinge The name "Blekinge" comes from the dialectal adjective bleke , which corresponds to the nautical term for "dead calm". The historical provinces of Sweden serve no administrative function. However, Blekinge
119-716: The 1960s, the gauge was referred to in official South African Railways publications as 1,065 mm ( 3 ft 5 + 15 ⁄ 16 in ) instead of 1067 mm. In Sweden, the gauge was nicknamed Blekinge gauge , as most of the railways in the province of Blekinge had this gauge. Colonial Gauge was used in New Zealand. In Australia, this gauge is typically referred to as narrow gauge in comparison to 4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ( 1,435 mm ) standard gauge or 5 ft 3 in ( 1,600 mm ) broad gauge. In some instances, simply 3 foot 6 inch — or in rarer cases medium gauge —
136-439: The change in status of the former Danish province, that now belonged to Sweden. The arms is represented with a ducal coronet. Blazon : "Azure, an Oak Tree eradicated Or ensigned with three Crowns palewise of the same." Relative to the rest of Sweden Blekinge has warm summers and mild winters. Blekinge has a scenic archipelago and is sometimes called "Sweden's garden" ( Swedish : Sveriges trädgård ). The nature of Blekinge
153-479: The old Station Master's house next to the Inchanga Station, covers the history of South African Railways . It is open to the public on days when trains are operating. The Umgeni Steam Railway currently operates trains on the last Sunday of all months of the year between Kloof and Inchanga, with special trains running from Pietermaritzburg to Inchanga and Nottingham Road . The route from Kloof to Inchanga follows
170-624: The old main line from Durban to Pietermaritzburg and traverses some of the steepest railway gradients in South Africa (1:30 to 1:50). The fleet of steam locomotives includes a Class 3BR , Class 12R , Class 14R , two Class 19Ds , a Class GF Garratt and a Class GMAM Garratt , along with the locomotive that the company was started with - namely an 1892 vintage Class A "Dübs A" . (Click to enlarge) 29°47′28″S 30°49′59″E / 29.791°S 30.833°E / -29.791; 30.833 3 ft 6 in gauge railways Railways with
187-635: The populations of Ronneby and Kristianopel were forcibly relocated to them. Karlskrona has for more than 300 years been the principal naval base in Sweden. Hundreds (in Götaland incl. Blekinge called härad in Swedish, in Svealand called hundare ) were the historical subdivisions of a Swedish province . Blekinge's hundreds were Bräkne Hundred , Eastern Hundred , Lister Hundred , and Medelstad Hundred . In Blekinge
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#1732869368335204-513: The provinces of Skåne and Halland , it made up Skåneland , the eastern part of the Danish kingdom where Scanian Law ( Skånske Lov ) prevailed. As a border province, Blekinge was often raided and looted by Swedish troops during Danish–Swedish wars. In 1658, it was ceded to Sweden according to the Treaty of Roskilde and has remained Swedish ever since. During the Danish era, the port town of Sölvesborg
221-675: The standard gauge for the Cape Government Railways in 1873, although it had already been established in Australia and New Zealand before that. It was adopted as a standard in New Zealand , South Africa , Indonesia , Japan , the Philippines , Taiwan , and Queensland (which has the second largest narrow gauge network in the world) in Australia. There are approximately 112,000 kilometres (70,000 mi) of 1,067 mm gauge track in
238-536: The world, which are classified as narrow-gauge railways . This gauge is sometimes called Cape gauge , named after the Cape Colony in what is now South Africa, which adopted it in 1873. "Cape gauge" was used in several English-speaking countries. The equivalent of Cape gauge is used in other languages, such as the Dutch kaapspoor , German Kapspur , Norwegian kappspor and French voie cape . After metrication in
255-499: Was a small island surrounded by open grassland. A later settlement in the nearby Ljungaviken is dated to 6500 BC and contains the remains of at least 50 wooden houses and a buried dog. Blekinge was a part of Sweden until the early 13th century when it became part of Denmark (the Danish Census Book contains the first secure written evidence of Danish control). It then remained a Danish province until 1658, and together with
272-456: Was the seat of the administration in the western part of the province and Kristianopel in the eastern part. Notable fortifications during this period included sites at Elleholm , Sölvesborg , Lyckeby and Avaskär . Towns in Blekinge with city privileges were: Ronneby (1387), Sölvesborg (1445), Elleholm and Kristianopel . After the Swedish takeover two new towns, Karlshamn (chartered in 1664) and Karlskrona (1680), were built, and
289-475: Was the start of the preservation group. A Class-3BR locomotive is used every month; it was built by North British Locomotive Company in February 1912. The coaches used were built between 1908 and 1953, with most being built in the 1930s. On the last weekend of every month excursion trains are run from Inchanga to Bothas Hill because of flood damage between Bothas Hill and Kloof. The Inchanga Railway Museum in
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