Lade Line

Infobox rail line
name = Lade Line
nativename = Ladelinjen

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caption = The remains of the loop at Lade
type = Tramway
system = Trondheim Tramway
status = Abandoned
start = Munkegata
end = Lade
stations =
open = 1893
close = 1988
owner = City of Trondheim
operator = Trondheim Trafikkselskap
character =
stock =
linelength =
tracklength =
notrack = Single or Double
gauge = RailGauge|1
el =
speed =
elevation =

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The Lade Line ( _no. Ladelinjen) was a tramway between Munkegata and Lade in Trondheim, Norway. The first part of the line was opened in 1901, but not expanded to Lade until 1958. The line was operated by Trondheim Sporvei and Trondheim Trafikkselskap until it was abandoned in 1988.

History

The first steps of Lade Line were constructed at the same time as the Ila Line when the 3.5 km electric tram line between Ila and Buran at Lademoen opened in 1901 by the municipal Trondhjems Elektricitetsværk og Sporvei. By 1908 the headway on the line was down to 4 minutes, with the line being operated by 12 tramcars. The line was at first built as single track, but in 1913 the line was rebuilt to double track and a new depot at Voldsminde built, though the double track on Bakke Bridge was not completed until 1928. A loop was constructed at Buran in 1921 and at Voldsminde in 1936.

The largest expansion of the line was in 1958 when a new 2.65 km line was built between Lademoen and Lade. This line was built as double track in the streets to Lade Church and onwards to the turning loop Fagerheim at Lade as single track. This last section was the only single track and non-street line built by the municipal Trondheim Sporvei. After the expansion Line 1 (to Ila) continued to terminate at Lademoen while Line 2 that traditionally had gone between Elgeseter and Trondheim Central Station on the Elgeseter Line was moved so it instead went between Elgeseter and Lade. When Trondheim Sporvei bought A/S Graakalbanen in 1966 and merged operations, the line from Lian was extended to Lademoen and renamed Line 5. In 1982 Line 1 and Line 5 were merged so the lines operated were Lian–Lade and Elgeseter–Lademoen. Though the latter was closed with the adandoning of the Elgeseter Line a year later, and at the same time the loop at Lademoen was demolished.

The final fate of the Lade Line came in 1988 when the city council closed the Trondheim Tramway and replaced it with buses. The stretch between Trondheim Torg and Lade Church was demolished, but the track between the church and Fagerheim was kept and can still be seen today. When Gråkallbanen AS started operations again in 1990 it only operated the lines on the west side of town since there were no existing tracks between it and the Lade Line.