Hell Station

Hell
Hell Station platforms. Photo: Alasdair McLellan
Location	Hell, Stjørdal Norway
Coordinates	63°26′46″N 10°53′55″E / 63.44611°N 10.89861°ECoordinates: 63°26′46″N 10°53′55″E / 63.44611°N 10.89861°E
Elevation	3.2 m (10 ft)
Operated by	Norwegian State Railways
Line(s)	Nordland Line Meråker Line
Distance	31.4 km (19.5 mi)
Platforms	3
History
Opened	1881

Hell Station (Norwegian: Hell stasjon) is a railway station located in the village of Hell in the Municipality of Stjørdal in the County of Nord-Trøndelag, Norway. It is located at the intersection of the Nordland Line and the Meråker Line.

Information

Steam trains in 1907.
Photo: Anders Beer Wilse

Hell Station serves:

• the Nordland Line between the cities Trondheim (station) and Bodø (station).
• the Meråker Line (Mittnabotåget) between the village Hell and Storlien (station) in Sweden.
• the Trøndelag Commuter Rail system

Both services are operated by Class 92 units by the Norwegian State Railways.^[1][2][3]

Hell Gods-Expedition.
Photo: Karin Beate Nøsterud

History

Planned by architect Paul Armin Due, the present station building at Hell Station was opened in 1902. It replaced an older building of 1881, whose architect was Peter Andreas Blix.

The restaurant was taken over by Norsk Spisevognselskap on 1 October 1922, but returned to private operation in 1934.^[4]

Tourist attraction

Due to its name, Hell Station has become a tourist attraction.

The station's freight building still bears the old sign saying Hell Gods-Expedition. In Norwegian, Gods-Expedition (archaic) or godsekspedisjon (modern) means freight service or cargo handling.^[5] This sign is a popular photo opportunity for foreign tourists, and especially in the summer months, it is not unusual that foreigners, when discovering the sign, evacuate the train in order to get a photo.

Whilst associated with the religious concept Hell by English-speakers, the name Hell derives from Old Norse hellir, which means cave. The Norwegian equivalent to English hell is hel or, more commonly, helvete (compare with Old English hellewīte).

References

1. "Hell stasjon" (in Norwegian). Norwegian National Rail Administration. Retrieved 2011-05-16.
2. "Hell station". Norwegian State Railways. Retrieved 2011-05-16.
3. "Hell" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Railway Club. Retrieved 2011-05-16.
4. Just, Carl (1949). A/S Norsk Spisevognselskap 1919–1949 (in Norwegian). Oslo: Norsk Spisevognselskap. p. 64. OCLC 40310643.
5. "GoNorway - Hell". Retrieved 2007-04-06.

Preceding station	Line			Following station
Hommelvik	Nordland Line			Trondheim Airport Sandferhus
—	Meråker Line			Hegra
Preceding station	Regional trains			Following station
Hommelvik		Heimdal–Östersund		Hegra
Preceding station	Local trains			Following station
Hommelvik		Trøndelag Commuter Rail		Trondheim Airport