No one knows when the traffic between Helsingør - Helsingborg started. Most likely people travelled over the smallest part of the sound thousands of year ago. Today the route between Helsingborg and Helsingør is known as the “HH-leden” or in English: The HH Route.
And there is no million to be won if you guess that the HH is from the first letter of both of the citys, Helsingborg and Helsingør. But let's get back in time and look on how it looked on Öresund a few years ago.
We have to start in Denmark as Øresund and Helsingborg was Denmark back then. Helsingør ferry guild. Back in 1524 the Danish King Frederik I decided to make the city off
Guild (also gild)
noun a medieval association of craftsmen or merchants, often having considerable power.
• an association of people for mutual aid or the pursuit of a common goal.
Helsingør exempted from all the tax to the king if he and “his people” could go for fee across Øresund. And as there were always a war going on with the Swedes there were many crossings over Öresund. And it put a lot of hardship on the city of Helsingør.
Back in 1630 the ferry guild in Helsingør started to regulate the ferry traffic across Øresund. Rules about how many boats and ferry owners there should be. And the amount of tax was also determined. The ferry people in Helsingør were also forced to go out to the ships passing through Øresund to collect the “TOLL” from the ships. Something the ferry people in the rest of Denmark didn't had to do.
The Danish King Christian V promulgated a decree 1685. There have to be a ferry to Helsingborg every day and one ferry per week to Copenhagen. The ferry men also had to OWN at least one boat. During the war together with Napoleon that lead to the bankruptcy of the Danish state the guilds had a hard time to fulfil this. Now they got together to buy a boat even if this was against the law.
The steam ship era started 1836 with the paddle steamer “Maria” The owners wanted to put the ferry between Helsingør - Helsingborg. Of course, the ferry men have had the monopoly for 200 years and they were not happy. So 1840 they went to court trying to keep the monopoly but they lost. The court meant that their privileges was only for dinghies. A great set back. The ferry guild existed until 1882 when the Danish King Christian IX terminated Helsingør ferry guild and the official monopoly on the route was abolished by law in 1882
The steamship traffic across Øresund was taken over by the Det Forenede Dampskibs-Selskab (DFDS) 1874. Back then the biggest shipping company in Denmark.
DSB – De Danske Statsbaner (Danish State Railway) took over the route 14 years later, 1 June 1888 DSB – De Danske Statsbaner. DSB was founded 3 years earlier, 1885 when the state-owned companies De jysk-fynske Statsbaner and De sjællandske Statsbaner merged.
“Masnedsund” was the first ship DSB put on traffic between Helsingør - Helsingborg. And at 1982 they put the first railway ferry in traffic, the paddle steamer “Hermod” that had been trafficking the Great Belt.
So let's have a closer look at DSB, I have been on the DSB ferries between Helsingør - Helsingborg many many times. But first, let's thank the www.helsingorleksikon.dk for some very interesting facts about the history of traveling over Øresund. Visit the page by clicking HERE
Postcard - Port of Helsingborg, well, a long time ago
DSB
DSB, an abbreviation of Danske Statsbaner (Danish State Railways), is the largest Danish train operating company, and the largest in Scandinavia. While DSB is responsible for passenger train operation on most of the Danish railways, goods transport and railway maintenance are outside its scope.
DSB runs a commuter rail system, called S-train, in the area around the Danish capital, Copenhagen that connects the different areas and suburbs in the greater metropolitan area. DSB used to operate some trains in Sweden, but has since August 2017 lost all their contracts.
And as with the state railways of Sweden, DSB had a gorgeous logo. They are spending millions on designing a new logo and it is something a dimwit can come up with. They had a beautiful logo and now it looks like shit.
“Vingehjulet” or the winged wheel has been associated with DSB for probably more than a hundred years. And now they have, well, I'm not going to say anything.
Is this modern enough for you?
DSB's first route in Denmark opened over Little Belt in 1872. And 1883 they opened a second route, this time over the Great Belt. These two routes set the standard for DSB's routes. All ships and terminals had the same size so they could move around the ships between the routes
DSB started the traffic between Helsingør - Helsingborg, the Øresundsoverfarten back in 1888. The first ferry was the Paddle steamer “Masnedsund” and in 1892 they started to operate the route with railway ferries.
And it was a 100% Danish enterprise when they started the service. It was even Danish staff working at the Ferry Terminal in Helsingborg. So the Ångfärjestationen/ Färjestationen ( Steam Boat Terminal) in Sweden was staffed by Danish people.
The first generation of railway ferries between Helsingør - Helsingborg was of course the first railway ferry in traffic, the Paddle steamer “Kronprinsesse Louise” from 1892. The second railway ferry was the Paddle steamer “Thyra” In traffic from 1893 followed by the Paddle steamer “Frederik” In traffic from 1898.
And in 1902 they put the steamer m/s Helsingborg in traffic between Helsingør - Helsingborg. m/s Helsingborg was DSB's first propeller ferry. Still a steam boat, but no paddles.
Paddle steamer “Kronprinsesse Louise”
The first railway ferry, in traffic from 1892
In 1931 the DSB and SJ, Sweden State Railway formed the “Middle of the Øresund” agreement. Now they split the profits and they paid 50/50 on all the new ferries that was built.
The first 30 years or so they didn't had more trains and passengers than one railway ferry could handle, but they kept one “BACK UP” ferry. Already back then, the ONE STEP AHEAD philosophy.
DSB built three new sisters, one track railway ferries was the second generation of steam railway ferries. m/s Orehoved (Renamed to Kärnan 1950 and put in to traffic between Helsingør - Helsingborg), m/s Fyn (later renamed to Svea) and m/s Dan. They were all built during or just after the World War I and non of them were built for Øresund.
m/s Orehoved was built for the Masnedø - Orehoved route and the other two was built for the Little Belt. These 3 ships where DSB's last railway ferries driven by steam. They were all sailing for more than 50 years. They were rebuilt and changed look during this time. Two of them even changed their steam engine for fuel driven engines.
Railway and car ferry “Kärnen” In use from 1950 to 1970
In the 1920's the motorism was, well, exploding. This had of course an effect on the HH Route. The demand for more space for cars and trucks on Øresund was growing by the year. In the summer of 1931 the private operated ferry Asa-Thor started to operate between Helsingør - Helsingborg.
Asa-Thor was operating between Helsingør - Helsingborg during the summer months from 1931 to 1939. The ferry was built in 1884 as Minekran # 4 for the Danish Navy. They took it out of service back in 1930 and it was sold to I 1930 Aktieselskabet Nordisk Rute- og Færgefart. It was rebuilt to a car ferry in Kiel, Germany.
They built some saloons for the passengers and put her in to traffic. In 1933 they took out the steam engine and put in two small gasoil engines.
Denmark’s first car ferry "ASA-THOR" arriving Helsingør in the 1930's
The Germans confiscated the ferry Asa-Thor during the occupation of Denmark. After the war the ferry was sold many times, but the ferry never trafficked the route between Helsingør - Helsingborg again.
The motor ferry Kronborg was built on Nakskov Skibsværft and was put on the route between Helsingør - Helsingborg in May 1935. m/t Kronborg had the saloons over deck, all previous ferries had had the saloons under the deck.
Kronborg trafficked the route between Helsingør - Helsingborg until 1972. She was sold for scrap to Östfold skibsupphuggning A/S in Norge. The superstructure, bridge and funnel was cut off and the superstructure was used as an office building at Nissans shipyard in Halmstad.
Domsten Yacht Club bought the superstructure in 1984 and used it as a club house. And finally in 2005 they gave up the idea to have Kronborg as their club house.
DSB ferry Kronborg and Helsingør train station in the back
Kronborg had the nickname “Klodshans” And that is a clodhopper in English. She got the nickname due to, well, you can see that she is looking like a “clodhopper” And she was rolling heavy in the sea so people avoided the ship if it was bad weather. Same with us back in the 80's, 1980's that is, when we went to Helsingør to drink beer and to embarrass the Danes and the police.
We wanted to avoid the old DSB ferries with the saloon under deck so we skipped more than one departure. But it was no problem as the ferries departed every 15 or 20 minutes.
Almost every weekend and the police in Helsingør collected the Swedes and forced them back on the ferry to get them back to Sweden. My friend met a group of Swedes and one of their friends had been taken by the police. They decided to storm the police headquarter to free their friend in prison. What a stupid idea!
My friend up front, first through the door screaming. The police just gaped at him and he looked around, he was all by lonesome.
To make a long story short, he didn't had any more beer that night. Well, anyway, “Asa-Thor” and the DSB ferry Kronborg was the first car ferries between Helsingør og Helsingborg. Both of them with a distinctive character and looking nothing like the railway ferries
Third generation of railway ferries, Helsingør and Hälsingborg were motor driven, almost the same as the previous generation, but a wee bit bigger than the older m/s Dan, m/s Svea and m/s Kärnan.
The fourth generation, the single tracked railway ferries m/s Najaden, m/s Kärnan, m/s Kronborg and m/s Holger Danske was put in to traffic 1967 – 1976 and they all have the saloon and restaurant on the top deck.
Now the ferries became popular and they were often full of Swedish passengers going to Denmark. I guess they mad much more money from selling beer than the income from the ferry tickets.
DSB ferry arrives to Helsingborg.
We also see one LB ferry approaching the jetty
When going to Helsingør by foot we liked to go with the DSB ferries or Sundsbussarna. They arrived close to Helsingør
The ferry Kärnan arrives to Helsingør
The ferry Helsingør arrives to Helsingør
city centre on the south side of the port. And this was the area for beer and music.
The L/B ferries arrived on the North side close to the castle Kronborg. They had a free bus to the city but from the DSB terminal it was 3 minutes’ walk. DSB arrived to the central station because they carried rail wagons and as we know, the train stations are always in the middle of the city
Well, everything came to an end in 1991, DSB and SweFerry went together and the named the company Scandlines. In 1995 the shipping side of DSB became DSB shipping company and in 1997 they changed the name to Scandlines.
DSB became a part of Scandlines 1997 and they built a new terminal in Helsingør and a new terminal in Helsingborg. So now the old DSB and L/B ferries use the same terminal. Well, it is the same company, Scandlines.
Below we have some pictures of the old DSB ferry terminal. WOW, I found a very nice page looking for pictures, the www.helsingor-nostalgi.dk In Danish only, but there are some very nice old post cards to look at.
And when we have seen the ferry/ train station in Helsingør we can as well have a glimpse at the ferry/ train terminal on the Swedish side in Helsingborg.
And DSB used the old train station in Helsingborg. The Steam Boat Terminal - Ångfärjestationen/ Färjestationen is now turned in to a night club. The building was designed by Statens Järnvägars Arcitect Folke Zettervall and was built 1898. This was a temporary solution as the plan was to have one train station in Helsingborg.
But it went on for hundred years and Helsingborg had two train stations and the train had to cross the Hamntorget, “Harbour Square”, when going from the North station to the South station until they built the new Knutpunkten underground train station and the new ferry terminal on top of the train station.
DSB ferry at Ångfärjestationen - 1960's?
We can also see a Sundsbuss at the yellow building they use as a terminal
Ångfärjestationen - Färjestationen
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
They moved Ångfärjestationen 50 meters on the 14th of March 2016
And we can see one of “Sundsbussarna” leaving for Denmark
Video from Helsingborgs Dagblad
LB- ferries / SFL
The company LB (LinjeBuss) was founded 1954 as a subsidiary company to Red AB Svea in Stockholm. Linjebuss, or locally simply LB was a car and lorry ferry line operating between Helsingør - Helsingborg from 1955 to 1981. LB was the first challenger to DSB/ SJ on this route challenging the informal monopoly which DSB had enjoyed ever since 1888.
And since 1630, competition at the route had only occurred between 1836 and 1840. The route had been operated by the Danish National railways train ferries since 1892, and since 1931 with a 50-50 share with the Swedish state railways. They had been alone to set whatever price they wanted until 1955 when LB challenged the informal monopoly.
Back in the mid-1950s, LB sailed the HH route with S/S Betula, a ship build already in 1929. Betula was rebuilt 1957 and in 1968 she was renamed to “BETULA I”. During the summers they put the pure passenger boat m/s Pendula on the route.
m/s Pendula didn't take any cars and from 1960 they put m/s Primula on the route. m/s Primula could take 55 cars.
Primula had cafeterias as well as restaurants above the car deck while the DSB railway ferries at the time, m/s Helsingør and m/s Hälsingborg which were sister ships, whose cafeterias were located below the train & car decks. They didn't had any windows and they were called “U-boats”
A hot tip, visit Fakta om Fartyg/Facts about Ships They have a page about Linjebuss with photos and other details of the ferries. Well, they actual have information about all the old Swedish ships.
Anyway, Betula was sold in 1980 to the Scandinavian Ferry Line. She was rebuilt at the shipyard in Helsingør between 1984 and 1985. And in 1991 she was transferred to SweFerry. I remember coming home from m/t Vestria back in 1985.
I was going to the LB ferry terminal in Helsingør and when I spotted the LB ferry I was surprised. The ferry was white and when I had left for m/t Vestria 8 months earlier she had been blue and white with open bridge wings.
Betula back in the days - Helsingborg’s Sjöfartsförening
In 1961 Linjebuss bought the Danish shipping line that had operated the ferries between Port of Tuborg in Copenhagen and Landskrona South of Helsingborg. In 1966 they opened the Trave Line between Helsingborg and Travemünde in Germany with a stop in Tuborg, Copenhagen on the way.
The three shipping lines soon became known as LB/ SL and TL. They beat their records yearly during the 60's and 70's
Betula built 1968 leaving Helsingør with Kronborg in the back
LB put M/S Carola in to traffic in 1964 and from the late 1960s LB provided a very good comfort as well as three departures every hour. Their back draws were the lack of train tracks as one single freight train could fill the DSB's ferries during several hours during the night time.
The LB ferries also needed to turn around before coming to the terminal as the cars and trucks drove off in the stern. The DSB vessels had a navigation bridge in each end, so there was no forward or back end of the ship. They just sailed in both directions as there was no back or front of the ship.
Ferry schedule from 1963 - Click HERE for full size picture
LB put three sister ships in to the traffic, m/s Betula 1968, m/s Regula 1971 and m/s Ursula 1973. They all took 75 cars, had both cafeterias as well as bars and restaurants. They could now depart every 20 minutes together with m/s Carola.
Betula, Ursula and Regula in SFL colours
m/s Carola arriving to Helsingborg
Thanks to the site Öresundsvarvet I have the complete edition of Öresundsvarvet magazine Talröret. Öresundsvarvet was the shipyard in Landskrona.
Talröret #2 1964
Read by clicking the cover
Click on the magazine cover and on page 10 you can find an article about the launching of m/s Carola. If you are able to understand Swedish there is a lot of other articles, pretty much reflects on what was going on in the Swedish society back then, interesting!
If Talröret would have existed today it would have been a horror movie.
A previous welfare state now turned in to a failed state. Education and healthcare systems and law enforcements that have collapsed and are now none existing. Diseases we have not seen for hundred years spreading like a bush fire.
People that don't dare to go outside and a swarm of people from the stone age crossing our boarders to live on welfare.
And now they want us to work until we're 75 years old to support all these people.
And on top of all this, a censorship and propaganda machinery from the government that we are now forced to pay for via the taxes. The Swedish state media is now paid for by taxes and not as before, a fee.
LB only had one ship sailing between 01:30 and 05:30 and no pedestrians allowed during this time. And the number of cars and trucks was very limited if one truck or more had dangerous cargo. Dangerous cargoes was only carried over Øresund during the night time.
After the energy crisis in 1973 when the gasoline was very expensive things turned bad for Linjebuss. They closed the Trave Line 1976, Trave Line had operated on the long distance route from Helsingborg or Copenhagen (Port of Tuborg) to Travemünde, Western Germany since 1966.
In 1980 the SL Line moved the terminal from Landskrona to Malmö. The time for crossing Øresund increased by 20 minutes and they could no longer keep the schedule with a departure every 90 minutes using only 2 ships.
And the since 1960 established ferry line between Limhamn and Dragør had a crossing time of just 50 minutes and pedestrian passengers could take the hyrofoilic speedboats to Nyhavn in central Copenhagen very fast.
And for all southbound trucks, the move from Landskrona to Malmø also meant half an hour extra driving time. And on top of that the traffic through the city centre of Malmö to the ferry terminal and nine months after the move they closed the route between Malmö and Copenhagen
Now only LB remained. And in 1981 the merge with the Limhamn-Dragør shipping line became the end of Linjebuss International or LB. Instead Scandinavian Ferry Lines were constructed. They operated for some years in the 1980s on the HH Ferry route as well as on the Limhamn - Dragør route.
Scandinavian Ferry Lines SFL
1981 and the two companies LB and Øresund and “Svenska Rederi AB Öresund - Sundfart”, LB operates in the North part of Øresund and “Svenska Rederi AB Öresund - Sundfart” that operated the ferries in the South part of Øresund merged and formed the new company Scandinavian Ferry Lines SFL.
SFL became a major part of a Danish - Swedish - German deal which also involved the ferry routes to Germany, as the new larger shipping line was founded in 1991, this is still (updated 2018) today known as Scandlines.
Our choice of ferry line back then was 99% DSB or Sundbusserne even though I had one of those “personel” tickets. 10 trips on one card. No, we only went to Helsingør to drink beer and then DSB and Sundbusserne was more convenient. LB was good if you wanted to take a few trips without going off the boat. Their restaurants was a notch better than DSB and Sundbusserne.
LB ferries terminal in Helsingborg
And we can see how it have changed during the last 50 years
S/S Betula in Helsingborg - In traffic between 1955 to 1968
S/S BETULA. Postcard from Micke Asklander collection
LB Ferry terminal in Helsingborg
S/S Betula in Helsingborg - In traffic between 1955 to 1968
LB Ferry terminal in Helsingborg
S/S Betula in Helsingborg - In traffic between 1955 to 1968
We can see that they have built a new terminal house
NOTE! The railway track between the train stations in Helsingborg
LB Ferry terminal in Helsingborg
Cars waiting in front of the terminal building
LB Ferry terminal in Helsingborg
More and more traffic. Now the cars have to line up south of the ferry terminal
Scanlines terminal, Nya Knutpunkten and we cannot recognise the original terminal anymore. Hotel Marina plaza is built smack on top off the old terminal area
Nya Knutpunkten ferry terminal
m/s Carola at LB Ferry terminal in Helsingør
Postcard with SFL, Sundsbuss and a DSB ferry
Yes, we note that the LB ferry have the SFL logo on the side
And there is a third ferry in the picture, the small white boat, it is one of Sundsbussarna, Sundsbussen Erasmus.
Sundbusserne
Sundbusserne is a shipping line which only carries pedestrian passengers on the HH Ferry route between Helsingør and Helsingborg. 1956 the A/S Moltzau shipping company decided to start a ferry line between Helsingør - Helsingborg. 2 ferries were ordered at Alssunds Shipyard, Denmark for delivery 1957.
The yellow building is the Sundbusserne Terminal in Helsingborg
Sundbusserne Terminal in Helsingør
Helsingør port authorities didn't want to have another ferry line due to safety issues. DSB was also complaining. But finally, they got a terminal on the South breaker in Helsingør, but then their ships wasn't ready.
The ferries was delayed and they were towed to the ship yard Burmeister & Wain in Copenhagen where they were completed.
The premiere for the line was set to the 27th of March 1958. On the 27th there was a storm so it had to wait until the day after. The first two Sundbusserne was Pernille and Henrik.
The names for the ferry came from famous Holberg characters, an idea from Reidun Moltzau. Yes yes, I know, who the hell is Holberg?
And between the 1960s and the first decade of the second millennium they departure every 15th or 20th minute from each harbour. 1993 there was a new terminal opening for Sundsbussarna in Helsingør. Otherwise not many changes during all the years.
The first Sundbuss Pernille
Siletta ACE, former Sundbuss Pernille during the short time she served ACE-link. In the background Kronborg Castle
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A/S Moltzau owned the line until 2007 when it was sold and renamed to "ACE-link". After a failed investment with two little larger ships they went bankrupt in 2010. But soon afterwards the line was restarted again with one of their older ships, M/F Pernille
They opened the line again in 2010 with the old name, Sundbusserne, but with a new logo. and since 2010, with just one ship, they depart every hour instead.
Maybe Moltzau got the idea with a pure pedestrian ferry from LB and their M/S Pendula. Anyway, Moltzau made the HH Ferry route to a full Scandinavian trio route when he opened the Sundbusserne passenger shipping line, which sailed under Norwegian flag.
Sundbusserne means “The Sound Buses” DSB sailed under Danish flag and LB under Swedish one. So all three Scandinavian flags were represented on Öresund for 50 years.
m/s Pernille 2010 - Note the new logo
And by looking on the below map it is obvious that DSB and Sundbusserne was the choice when going for a night out in Helsingør. A 2 minutes' walk and you were at the first place
The Ferry terminals when I use to go by the ferries
HH- ferries
In 1996 the company “Sundbroen/ Mercandia” started a ferry line between Helsingør - Helsingborg. The company was established in 1996 under the name “Sundbroen” (The Sound Bridge) They sold the company to a Swedish/ Danish company called HH-Ferries in 1997. They ran the line with 2 ferries under Danish flagg, Mercandia IV and Mercandia VIII.
Mercandia VIII In Helsingør
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In 2001 the company was sold again, this time to the Swedish business group Stena. HH-Ferries has around 230 employees, both Danish and Swedish. After further operational deals, the company was suddenly owned by the same cooperation as the former competitor Scandlines. In 2011 the competing on the HH Ferry route finished with the larger eating the smaller. Mercandia IV was though added to the Scandlines fleet.
Trave Line
There was one more ferry line departing from Helsingborg. Well, there was also a ferry going between Oslo and Copenhagen that stopped in Helsingborg. And of course the ferry to Grenå, but I won't bother you with any information about them. Well, maybe the ferry to Grenå as I have been on the ferry. Actually, one time we had been so drunk so we missed Helsingborg. We Woke up half way to Grenå and we had to do one more trip. And it was not any fun.
Anyway, Trave Line was a shipping line owned by “Stockholms Rederi AB Svea”, and a part of the Linjebuss International AB LB/ SL/ TL car and lorry ferry concept. Trave Line operated the route from Helsingborg to Travemünde in Germany with a stop in the Port of Tuborg in Copenhagen between 1966 and 1977. There were no possibilities to drive off in the Port of Tuborg on southbound ferries, nor to drive on board in Port of Tuborg on northbound ships.
Trave Line - Linjebuss - Skandinavisk Linjetrafik company flaggs
Picture from www.sundsutsikt.se
Trave Line competed with shorter routes between Scandinavia and Western Germany, such as Rødby – Puttgarden and Trelleborg – Travemünde. Their ferries departed twice every day and the total crossing time was about 10 hours. The shipping line was designed for trucks and drivers, but cars were welcome just as passengers without vehicles.
After the 1973 energy crisis and the heavily increased oil prices, the ferry route got financial problems and was closed down by the headquarters in Stockholm in 1976. Trave Line merged with “Öresundsbolaget” (Swedish state railways) and formed a new company, the Saga Line
The below ferries were trafficking the Helsingborg - Copenhagen - Travemünde route
Pictures and ship list from the excellent site from www.faktaomfartyg.se and they have a special page about the Trave line And yes, I'm actually so old that I have been on the Trave-line ferry. I was of course just a wee lad.
Back then the cars must have a sticker with the country letter. Swedish cars were forced to have a sticker with “S” on the back of the car.
I only remember two things from this trip. That we had to get a sticker from the ticket office while waiting in the queue to drive on board.
I also remember looking out from the cabin window and we were in port, must have been in Tuborg, Copenhagen.
TT-Line, the German company TT-line open a ferry line between Trelleborg - Travemünde back in 1962. This was the start of a quick development of ferry lines between Germany and Sweden.
Swedish state railway SJ open a ferry line from Malmö to Travemünde via Trelleborg with ships chartered from Lion Ferry from Halmstad. And in 1963 Finnlines open a route from Helsinki to Travemünde via Nynäshamn/ Karlskrona in Sweden
And in the same year Linjebuss International start the route from Helsingborg to Travemünde with the name Trave Line. And on top of that Lion Ferry open a route from Halmstad to Travemünde via Copenhagen and Stena Line open a line between Gothenburg and Travemünde. Of course, to many routes and not enough passengers
In 1967 Lion ferry and LB Trave Line start work together with the pool name Trave-Line, and in 1969 Lion ferry leaves the pool.
M/S Kronprins Carl Gustaf - First time in Halmstad 15 May 1966
Next big merger is in 1976 when Trave-Line start a pool with SJ (Swedish state railways) and they change name to Saga Line. Passenger traffic from Malmö and the truck ferries goes from Helsingborg. In 1981 Saga line and TT Line merge to TT-Saga Line and from 1986 they change the name to TT-Line
M/S Svealand for TT Saga Line 1979
Picture from: www.sundsutsikt.se
In 1983 they close the route from Malmö and this leaves space for a new company, Red AB Nordö and they open a line for truck ferries between Malmö and Travemünde.
In 1992 the Swedish state railways subsidiary Swedcarrier sells it part to Gotlandsbolaget and later on the same year they sell their part to TT-line and from that time TT-Line was a full German company again. TT-Line choice to keep the Swedish flag on some of the vessels.
And I was working on TT-Line's Nils Dacke as an AB during the Christmas and summer leaves while I was in navigation school. An excellent way to get money to spend on party while in school.
SL- ferries
First of all, if you like to know about the SL ferries and the traffic between Landskrona and Denmark, you must visit the www.landskronaoverfarten.se Maybe the best web page about ferries that I have visited. ONLY IN SWEDISH!!!
I really don't understand why people bother to make a web page in Swedish. Look at my 7th grade English. The written language is not very pleasing to read, but it does the job and people can hopefully understand the message.
Anyway, even if you don't read Swedish there is a lot of pictures and memorabilia and nostalgia from a time long gone.
Anyway, the ferry traffic to Landskrona from Denmark starts 9th of July 1956 with the 56 year old steam ship Uranienborg. S/S Uranienborg was owned by the
Old logo for SL, from its Danish time before 1961
shipping company “Rederi AB Stureborg” but “Skandinavisk Linjetrafik” chartered the ship and was the first ship on the route.
LB ferries mother company “Rederi AB Svea” bought the Danish company “Skandinavisk Linietrafik” 1961.
The “Skandinavisk Linietrafik” had operated the line between Landskrona and Copenhagen since the 50's.
The line started because of the exchange restrictions in Denmark after the 2nd world war.
The popular movie "Gone with the wind" could not be shown in Denmark and thus many people from Denmark took the ferry to Landskrona to see the movie.
The connection between the movie and the opening of the ferry line resulted in that all the ferries got name ending with “Scarlett”
While the conditions at the HH Ferry route were hectic, both for passengers and shipping lines, as the crossing time was only around 20 minutes, the route between Landskrona and (northern) Copenhagen had a crossing time of 70 minutes and hence were far more suitable for relaxing and for instance having a dinner.
All SL ferries had not only a cafeteria on board but also one or two restaurants offering a la carte dishes at reasonable prices. Until the early 1970s did SL use smaller ferries, like M/F Lilli Scarlett and M/F Hanne Scarlett (both included in the Swedish purchase of the line in 1961 only renamed to Swedish standard, "M/F" to "M/S"
Thereafter a fast renewal of the fleet followed M/S Linda Scarlett (1961-1971), M/S Scania(1967-1971) and M/S Dana Scarlett(1964-1974) began to sail the route. In the most of the 1960s until 1971, the ferries departed every hour from each harbour.
Landskrona ferry terminal in Nyhamn - Postcard from 1909
Landskrona ferry terminal in Nyhamn - Postcard from 1960's?
But the headquarters in Stockholm, Rederi AB Svea, now preferred a strategy which included much larger ferries, but departures every 90 minutes instead. In 1971 M/S Svea Scarlett was put in operation (instead of Linda Scarlett and Scania) and by 1974 the largest car ferry that ever had crossed the Øresund, M/S Stella Scarlett. With its length of 115 meters, she is still the record holder of all car ferries that has been in service on Øresund
Soon after closing down the Trave line in 1976 there was rumours about closing down the SL ferries as well.
This was just a rumour and the SL ferries continued trafficking the Øresund. But in 1980 the company in Stockholm, that owned LB and SL decided to move from Landskrona to Malmö.
Not a very wise move, the route got notably longer, and the shipping line now had to compete with the well-established ferries between Limhamn and Dragør, both places suburbs to Malmö respective Copenhagen. It took 50 minutes to go between Limhamn and Dragør and the SL ferries between Malmö and Tuborg took 90 minutes.
And for all southbound trucks it meant half an hour extra driving time. And on top of that the traffic through the city centre of Malmö to the ferry terminal
And the pedestrian passengers could go with the with the hydrofoil speedboats to Copenhagen. After only eight months on the new route, the owners Stockholms Rederi AB Svea gave up and the history of the SL ferries ended in 1981.
Below is a list of SL ferries, red was operated by the Danish company “Skandinavisk Linietrafik” until 1961 when the LB ferries mother company Rederi AB Svea took over the traffic. Rederi AB Svea was operating the below ferries on the route:
M/S Laboe. (1952-1959, chartered).
M/S Stadt Kiel (1953 - 1955, chartered).
M/S Hanne Scarlett. (1954-1962).
M/S Lilli Scarlett. (1954-1963)
M/S Peter Wessel. (1954-1955, chartered)
S/S Betula. (1954, chartered).
M/S Tina Scarlett (1960, never put in to traffic)
M/S Tina Scarlett (1960, never put in to traffic) - The Rhine 7 October 1960
M/S Tina Scarlett was ordered by the Danish Skandinavisk Linietrafik A/S to be delivered in 1960 and she was planned for the route between Landskrona - Port of Tuborg, Copenhagen. She was towed from the shipyard on the Rhine. On her way down the River to the sea the tug boat lost Tina Scarlett and she collided with the Belgian tanker Diamant.
Explosion and 2 fatalities and 19 injured people. On top of that Tina Scarlett didn’t had any insurance. She went straight from the shipyard to the scrap yard.
After that they sold the line and the Swedish owners LB had the below ships on the route to Tuborg in Copenhagen:
Thanks to the site Öresundsvarvet I have the complete edition of Öresundsvarvet magazine Talröret. Öresundsvarvet was the shipyard in Landskrona. Click on the magazine cover and on page 13 you can find an article about the launching of m/s Dana Scarlett in Landskrona back in the busy 1960's.
Dana Scarlett was not only the Stand-by ferry for the Helsingborg - Helsingør route. The sister ship m/s Carola on the HH Route was the Stand-by vessel for the SL route. Anyway, they took Dana Scarlett out of traffic for her military refresher course. In case of war she will be used as a minelayer by the Swedish Navy, and training is necessary. Again, from Fakta om Fartyg/Facts about Ships we have some very interesting pictures by Tommy Wankler of the minelaying operation with M/S Dana Scarlett. Click HERE
M/S Carola
(Stand-by ferry for the route, normally on the
LB route between Helsingør and Helsingborg)
30th of September 1980 SFL closed down the ferry line between Landskrona and Copenhagen. Scarlett Line took over the line from SFL 1980 and the traffic was soon up and running again.
Scarlett Line
Scarlett Line resumed the traffic between Landskrona - Tuborg, Copenhagen in 1985. They bought Dana Scarlett from SweFerry and the named the company Scarlett Line as the “original” company, the Danish “Skandinavisk Linjetrafiks” had named all their ferries Scarlett
In 1990 they took on a partner “VR-Shipping” that operated ferries of the type “Superflex” readily available. The Superflex ferries came with a lot of problem, among the problem was sabotage on the ferries because “VR-Shipping” was considered swindlers. Scarlett Line went bankrupt in 1993.
Below is a list of Scarlett Line's ships on the route:
Pictures and ship list from the excellent site from www.faktaomfartyg.se and they have a special page about the Scarlett Line You must also visit the excellent site www.landskronaoverfarten.se for many pictures of Landskrona and the ferry terminal back in the days.
I have only been on the Landskrona Tuborg route one time. At least what I can remember. It was back in the summer 1991 when we were at Öresundsvarvet with m/t Dala Corona.
On board M/S Dana Scarlett 1991
On board M/S Dana Scarlett 1991
On board M/S Dana Scarlett 1991
Öresundsbolaget
Danska Damskeskipssellskapet Øresund, DSØ, started the shipping business 1900. Together with Svenska Red AB Öresund DSÖ they started the Malmö-Copenhagen line 1905.
Both Danska Damskeskipssellskapet Öresund and Svenska Red AB Öresund were subsidiary companies to the Danish and Swedish railway companies respectively.
Svenska Red AB Öresund starts a new line between Limhamn - Dragör with car ferries 1960.
The ferry S/S Öresund from 1905
Picture from kommandobryggan.se
The ferry S/S Malmö from 1914
Picture from kommandobryggan.se
Ferries between Limhamn-Dragør Ofelia and Scania (in Scandlines colours after 1997)
In the middle of the 60's Öresundsbolaget introduced hydrofoil boats between Skeppsbron in Malmö and Havnegade in Copenhagen
Convenient to arrive in the middle of Nyhavn. 2 minutes after disembarking from the boat you could have your first beer in Copenhagen and from there it was just a few minutes’ walk to Strøget and Tivoli and more beer.
Svalan
Springaren
Svalan from 1965 and the new Springaren. After the introduction of the fast boats the big ferries disappeared on the Copenhagen - Malmö route
1977 the company splits into 1 Swedish part "SUNDFART" and 1 Danish part "DSÖ". Sundfart runs the Limhamn-Dragør line and DSÖ is running the boats between Malmö and Copenhagen. Öresundsbolaget becomes a part of Scandinavian Ferry Lines, SFL in 1980 and in 1984 SFL is selling their part of the Malmö - Copenhagen line.
1997 the company becomes a part of the new Scandlines and in the autumn 1999 the Limhamn-Dragør line closes down because of the new bridge between Denmark and Sweden.
On the 30th of April 2002 they took the last ferry between Malmö and Copenhagen out of traffic. Read more on the excellent (Swedish only) web page kommandobryggan.se
The Swedish railway company forms the company named SweFerry 1991 and collects all their lines (Brand names) (Öresundsbolaget, Malmö - Copenhagen, LB-ferries, and the Saga/Trave line to Germany) under this name/ brand. At the same time Scandlines forms as a joint venture company with DSB (The Danish state Railway) with the line between Helsinborg-Helsingør. And 1997 they change the name to Scandlines on all the ferry lines owned by the Swedish, Danish and German railway companies.
1999 Stena line buy the Swedish part of the company and they tried to buy the Danish and German part as well. Scandlines ferry lines in Öresund consists of the old ferry lines owned by the railway companies with ferry lines in Öresund, except the lines closed down because of the bridge, mainly the ferries in the South of Öresund.
Scandlines
is a ferry operator owned by the private equity investor 3i Group. Scandlines operates three lines for passenger and freight in and between Denmark and Germany (Rødby-Puttgarden and Gedser-Rostock). The Scandlines services to Sweden were served in co-operation with Stena Line, but in 2015, Stena Line and Scandlines sold their parts to the investment fond First State. Business is driven by HH Ferries, but the ferries still use the Scandlines brand.
The parent company is Scandferries Holding ApS, with headquarter in Copenhagen, Denmark, with a German subsidiary named Scandlines Deutschland GmbH situated in Hamburg, Germany, and a Danish subsidiary named Scandlines Danmark ApS, situated in Copenhagen, Denmark
Scandlines used to be co-owned by the Danish Ministry of Transportation (50%) and Deutsche Bahn AG (50%),[4] but as of June 2007, it was sold to a consortium consisting of 3i Group of London (40%), Allianz Capital Partners (ACP) of Munich (40%) and Deutsche Seereederei (DSR) of Rostock (20%). The consortium bought Scandlines for a total of 1,560 million euros. On 29 October 2010, DSR's 20% share of Scandlines was acquired by 3i Group and ACP. At the end of 2013 3i Group acquired ACP's stake for 165 million euros, becoming the sole owner of Scandlines.
With a total of six hybrid ferries (four operating on Rødby-Puttgarden and two on Gedser-Rostock), Scandlines is the owner of the world's largest hybrid ferry fleet.
Scandlines also owns the world's largest hybrid ferries, the M/V Berlin and M/V Copenhagen.
Scandlines route map
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Postcard of Scandlines m/s Tycho Brahe
Today (Updated 2018) I only know of two ferry lines still operating on Öresund, Scandlines and Sundbussarna. Both lines between Helsingborg-Helsingør.
They rebuilt the old DSB terminal in Helsingør. The old LB terminal is closed and now there is only one terminal in Helsingør. Well,
New ferries between
Helsingborg and Helsingør
Sundbusserne is still having their own terminals. Anyway, they built a shop at the terminal in Helsingør and suddenly the people of Helsingør started to ask for the Swedes.
The whole city lived on the Swedes coming to buy cheap cheese, beer and whatever. So the “Send the Swedes back home” have changed to “pleae come back” A totally different tune. Scandlines is also using the Nya Knutpunkten terminal in Helsingborg as we have seen on the previous video above.
I know Nya Knutpunkten very well as I use to stay in the Marina Plaza hotel when I'm in Helsingborg.
The new terminal in Helsingør? I really don't know as I have never been there. I have only taken one trip with the ferries since, and that was back in November 2015 when I took a tour just to have some Christmas food before flying back home.
Scandlines was the only place serving Christmas food in November. So I took the opportunity to take a tour before leaving Sweden.
Old LB ferry Ursula in Scandlines colours
So how was the new ferries, well, by the time I was taking my trip they must have been around 15 to 20 years old. Anyway, it was a very nice restaurant and the food was excellent.
Nya Knutpunkten departure terminal 18 November 2015
Trucks coming off Aurora Af Helsingborg at Nya Knutpunkten 18 November 2015
I'm not alone waiting to come on board 18 November 2015
Food on board Aurora Af Helsingborg 18 November 2015
Restaurant on board Aurora Af Helsingborg 18 November 2015
Leaving Helsingborg 18 November 2015
Restaurant on board Aurora Af Helsingborg 18 November 2015
Helsingør terminal 18 November 2015
Port of Helsingør 18 November 2015
We still recognise the place from all the old postcards in the beginning
The old DSB terminal is gone
We still recognise the place from all the old postcards in the beginning
Scandinavian Airlines System
Between 1984 and 1994 SAS operated a Hovercraft service between Malmö and Copenhagen Airport. Travellers could check in for their flights in Malmö and the Hovercrafts were operated as connecting flights. In 1994 the hovercrafts were replaced by catamarans that operated until 2000 when the Öresund Bridge was opened and offered a rail link between Malmö and Copenhagen airport.
Scandinavian Airlines System, talk about a logo that turned in to shit. In 1983 they want to change the identity and the old beautiful logo is changed to stripes representing the flags of Norway, Denmark and Sweden.
The 1983 disaster for logo
The latest disaster for logo
SAS with the old marking at Copenhagen Airport Kastrup
Summer 2015 when I fly to Svalbard to look for Polar Bears
Old marking and new markings - Copenhagen Airport Kastrup
Summer 2015 when I fly to Svalbard to look for Polar Bears
And I won't be surprised to learn that someone have won a prize for this new logo