Qualla: Kylling Bridge

Kylling Bridge: Introduction

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Sundgot, CC BY-SA 4.0. It took nine years to build a bridge that a train crosses in seconds. Construction on the Kylling Bridge began in September 1913, and the last stone was not set until the winter of 1921 -- nearly a decade of work for a 76-meter span of solid gneissic granite arching 59.3 meters above the churning Rauma River. The bridge is the engineering centerpiece of the Rauma Line, the 114-kilometer railway between Dombas and Andalsnes that Lonely Planet has called Europe's most scenic train journey. From the valley floor, looking up at the bridge's single great arch framed against the mountain walls of Romsdalen, it is easy to understand both the accolade and the construction time.

Read more: Kylling Bridge on Qualla

Image: Sundgot | CC BY-SA 4.0

Kylling Bridge: Solving an Impossible Valley

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Sundgot, CC BY-SA 4.0. The Romsdalen valley presented railway engineers with a problem that had no easy answer. The valley narrows sharply near the village of Verma, and the terrain drops so steeply that a conventional rail alignment was impossible. The solution was elegant and audacious: a double hors...

Read more: Kylling Bridge on Qualla

Image: Sundgot | CC BY-SA 4.0

Kylling Bridge: The Men Who Built the Line

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Ximonic, Simo Räsänen, CC BY 2.5. The Rauma Line was a massive undertaking by any measure. At the start of construction, 615 men were at work along the route. That number dipped to 550 during the lean years of 1917, then rose to 580 after 1918. In total, 14,462,247 working hours were logged to complete the railwa...

Read more: Kylling Bridge on Qualla

Image: Ximonic, Simo Räsänen | CC BY 2.5

Kylling Bridge: One of Norway's Most Photographed Structures

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Ximonic, Simo Räsänen, CC BY 2.5. The Kylling Bridge has become one of the most photographed railway structures in Norway, and the reason is composition. The single stone arch, framed by the narrow valley walls and the white-water river below, offers a scene that seems deliberately arranged for the camera. Trains...

Read more: Kylling Bridge on Qualla

Image: Ximonic, Simo Räsänen | CC BY 2.5

Kylling Bridge: A Journey Worth the Detour

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Ximonic, Simo Räsänen, CC BY 2.5. The Rauma Line remains a working railway, carrying both passengers and freight between Andalsnes and Dombas. But it is the scenic reputation that draws most travelers. The route passes through Romsdalen's deepest sections, past Trollveggen -- Europe's tallest vertical rock face -...

Read more: Kylling Bridge on Qualla

Image: Ximonic, Simo Räsänen | CC BY 2.5