Bjoren
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S/B "Bjoren" is a wood fueled steamboat that travels the route between Byglandsfjord-Bygland and Bygland-Ose in Setesdal Sundays in July.
Using wood as fuel is a natural choice as there was, and still is, good local access to it. Using wood to fuel the steam engine contributes to make Bjoren a unique part of Norway's cultural heritage and a floating technical museum.
Today the boat is 68.9 feet long and weighs 26 tonnes. It is certified for up to a maximum of 55 passengers.
[edit] History
The steamer "Bjoren" was built at Akers Mechanical works in 1866. It was 52 feet long and had a 14BHP engine. In 1897 the boat was extended by 6 feet and in 1914 it was further extended by 10 feet. It had a new boiler installed and new engine that produced 42BHP. This is the state it is in today. It is 68.9 feet long and weighs 26 tonnes.
In the early years "Bjoren" was in regular use at a place called Kilefjorden, a part of the river Otra
A narrow gauge railroad was opened in 1896 and as a direct cause of this it was moved to its present location in Byglandsfjord(about 30km north in the valley Setesdal where it was in service until 1957). In the 1920s, buses took most of the traffic in the valley and eventually, when a new road was built in the 1950s, the traffic reasons for the steamer was gone. The boat was put in storage, deterioration started and eventually it sunk.
[edit] Bjoren's next life
In the 1970s, a group of local enthusiasts decided to make an attempt to preserve the boat. As the boat was counted as part of Norwegian history, the government saw its interests and they helped with the funding. The boat was restored at Drammen Shiprepairs A/S and in 1994 was once again ready to be used.
Bjoren is today owned and run by the company "Bjoren AS. In addition, the local group called "Bjorens venner" (Friends of Bjoren) put a lot of effort into preserving the technical values of the boat.
Bjoren is still receiving government funding and, as the world's only existing wood-fueled steamboat still in service, it is a unique attraction to both tourists and others.
