Kirunavaara - Narvik [TDV0032]

On a very cloudy afternoon we travel from Kirunavaara to Narvik. We pass through Narvik station down to the freight terminal and end this video with a little bit of shunting. Through our journey we can see great differences in how far spring has come. In the beginning of the film we can see that the trees still are not green yet even though winter has let go. When we reach higher altitudes there are still some snow on the ground, but as soon as we start going downhill on the Norwegian side of the border things changes fast. And when we arrive in Narvik everything is green and we can see that there is hope for summer to arrive again. At 1:23:55 we pass the historic Tornehamn cemetery. It was formally opened in 1902, but the first funeral took place in 1899. This is where those who died during the construction of this line were buried. There are about 170 graves marked with white crosses among the trees here. One of those who supposedly rest here is the legendary Svarta Björn (meaning Black Bear). She was a norwegian cook and housekeeper during the construction of the track and according to legend she got her name for her great athletic strength and her appearance. She has been described as a very beautiful woman with long black hair and eyes that reminded of the stars of the sky and the fires of hell. She lived a hard life and died very young. According to some sources she was killed in a fight with another woman and according to others it was tuberculosis that killed her. There is a lot that is unknown about her, most sources agrees that her real name was Anna Rebecka Hofstad, but not even that is for certain, some sources even claim that the stories do not originate from only one woman but several. What we do know is that who ever she was she has become legendary and several books and articles have been written about her. She has also given name for a beauty pageant, a beer, a tug boat and a street. There is a white cross marked "Anna Norge" (Anna Norway) in the cemetery. Most sources agree that this is probably not the grave of Svarta Björn, but people still put flowers here dedicated to her. Timetable: 0:00:00 Intro 0:00:07 Kirunavaara 0:06:01 Peuravaara 0:15:25 Krokvik 0:22:12 Rautas 0:28:35 Rensjön 0:34:26 Bergfors 0:41:03 Torneträsk 0:47:33 Stenbacken 0:55:01 Kaisepakte 1:04:55 Stordalen 1:11:56 Abisko Östra 1:13:47 Abisko turiststation 1:19:24 Björkliden 1:30:17 Kopparåsen 1:40:45 Låktatjåkka 1:41:58 Vassijaure 1:48:55 Katterjåkk 1:50:30 Riksgränsen 1:51:26 Bjørnfjell 1:56:40 Søsterbekk 2:03:12 Katterat 2:12:49 Rombak 2:21:34 Straumsnes 2:27:11 Djupvik 2:36:41 Narvik