page_title: Graakalbanen
section_title: Expansion
hierarchical_section_title: Graakalbanen / History / Expansion
caption_attribution_description: Tram in Trondheim, view of the Munkvoll station
context_page_description: A/S Graakalbanen was a private company that built and operated the Gråkallen Line of the Trondheim Tramway between 1924 and 1972. Established in 1916, it bought large land areas in Byåsen, and built a tramway through these to reach the recreational areas in Bymarka. The line first reached Munkvoll in 1924, Ugla in 1925, and finally Lian in 1933. The company owned through its history seven trams and five trailers, and only in the last few years did it operate six borrowed TS Class 7 trams.
  The company had financial difficulties throughout its life. Only in the 1940s and 50s was traffic sufficient to create a profit. To supplement, the company was a large land owner, and sold housing lots along the line to increase ridership and generate income. It also operated sales of ice, and the recreational area at Lian. The company was bought by the city in 1966, and merged with Trondheim Sporvei and Bynesruten in 1972 to form Trondheim Trafikkselskap.
context_section_description: The initial service had departures once per hour. Trams left Munkvoll on the whole hour, and from St. Olavs gate on half hours. Weekend traffic was considerable, but ridership on weekdays was very limited. The management felt this was because Munkvoll was not close enough to the recreational areas of Bymarka, and proposed a quick expansion to Ugla. At the same time, the ticket price was set high compared to the city trams, at NOK 0.60 for adults. In 1924, there were 144,774 passengers.
  The first expansion would come the following year. Construction of the line to Ugla had started, and was opened on 30 May 1925. To create additional traffic, two of the board members established their own company to build a tavern at Ugla. The rebuilding of the Ugla Farm included a small zoo with various aquatic birds and a hare. Part of the tavern was rebuilt to become a concert hall, and an electric organ was installed. Graakalbanen gave support to the tavern per sold ticket, and up to 5,000 people would travel to the tavern on sunny summer weekends.
  In addition to the constant sale of housing, Graakalbanen chose to sell a large section around Ugla as cabin lots. There could be bought for NOK 1 per m² (10 sq ft). Lots could be bought, paid on installments, or leased. However, the sale of lots went a lot slower than predicted, in part because of the low conjunctures. The Ekeberg Line in Oslo, that had been the inspiration for Graakalbanen, had after all been established some years earlier, and could take advantage of the war boom.
  Another creative idea to create more revenue, was the establishment of Graakalbanens Isforretning A/S. By building a branch line from Ugla to the lake Kyvannet, the company could freight ice down to its offices in Sandgata 2. There, it packed the ice into sawdust, and it would keep as long as August. It was sold in blocks and crushed to restaurants, ships, fish exporters and private households. This remained in service until the 1940s, after which the branch line was removed.
  During 1925, Graakalbanen freighted only 321,133 people, half the calculated amount. Operation went with a NOK 20,00 loss, but on top came financial costs of NOK 190,000. 1926 had some more ridership, but the company still went with a loss. The city council was forced to pay NOK 30,000 as part of the guarantee. A municipal committee was given mandate to consider nationalizing the line, but this was not done. Discounts were then introduced to increase ridership, but this did not bring much more traffic. Traffic continued to fall until 1930.
  Further expansions to Lian was also considered, but management was skeptical to having two destinations, since they would not create the necessary critical mass. Then the tavern and farm at Ugla burnt down in 1931, and the insurance company allowed the insurance money to be used to be built at Lian. To finance the line extension, Graakalbanen decided to create a new company; A/S Ugla–Lian was organized in such a way that it would have no expenses, only income. A/S Ugla–Lian would build the line, and Graakalbanen would pay NOK 0.05 per passenger freighted on the line. Graakalbanen would cover all operating, maintenance and administrative expensive, even for the other company. The initial sale raised NOK 73,375. Wholesaler Johan P. Dahl bought the largest share, for NOK 10,000, that he gave to the construction workers. The company was founded on 20 December 1932, and had its share capital expanded to 80,000 two years later.
  Construction of the 2.1 km (1.3 mi) expansion was started in the fall of 1932.The company made a deal with the city to employ family providers; in exchange the city would pay the difference between normal pay and the increased pay. 32 men with four or more children were chosen for this deal. The first test run was on 29 September 1933, and was taken into use on 28 October 1933. A number of recreational services grew up at Lian, including a ski jump in the winter, and bathing and rowing in the lake Lianvannet in the winter. 1925, during winter, the frozen lake was used for trotting, with 
caption: Modern view of Munkvoll
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