There have been over 3,000 train stations in the country. Now the number is down to 1,500. In many cases, these are old stations that have been demolished because there was no one who wanted to take care of them.
– It is clear that it is worrying, says Robert Herpai at the Railway Museum in Gävle and continues.
– When the old stations ceased to be used, it was difficult to sell them as private residences, as you were not allowed to live too close to the track without certain measures having to be carried out first. It is one of several reasons why so many old station houses have been demolished.
The oldest stations were too small
Another reason is that many of the oldest stations built in the nineteenth century quickly became too small or outdated, says Robert Herpai in Gävle.
– Simplistically, you can say that at the beginning of the 20th century new stations were built instead, which were prepared to be expanded as communities grew.
However, there are some really old station houses left. Robert Herpai among others raises it in Gothenburg (1858), Lund (1858) and Hudiksvall (1888). However, they are all in stone.
Should have been demolished
The small Mölnbo station house outside Södertälje is made of wood and was built in a style known as the “Gnestamodellen”. It was a common model that has almost disappeared today. In the past, stations have been demolished or rebuilt.
– I was allowed to buy it for SEK 70,000 ten years ago, with the condition that I was not allowed to use it for a residential building. If I hadn’t done it, it would have been demolished, says Terry Wheeldon, who on a daily basis works with building maintenance around Södertälje and Gnesta.
See Terry’s life’s work in the clip – and the damage the fire caused.