Trains and other things: Vetlanda, Eksjö, Vimmerby

Today I'm visiting Småland.

First, taking a tram to Årstaberg station.

A35, CAF Urbos AXL

X74 in Årstaberg

X60B 6121

X40

From Stockholm I'm taking Snälltåget to Nässjö

193 253 Vectron

Old fashioned doors at Snälltåget train

Bmpz coach

Breakfast in the restaurant coach

Before arrival to Nässjö, also a lunch

Arrival to Nässjö

My next train will be this Y32 to Vetlanda

Nässjö

Train 46787 from Malmö to Hallsberg

441.001-3 "Cyborg" Eurosprinter

RRS train from the north is arriving at Nässjö

X11 3170

Rc4 1153

RRS train will continue to Helsingborg with only one Rc4 and half of the freight cars

Rd2 1110

My train is at track 1a

Y32 1407

The line between Nässjö and Vetlanda is non-electrified and it is used by both passenger and freight trains

Stensjön

Rödjenäs

Björköby

Ekenässjön

Arriving at Vetlanda

The line continues to Åseda, but there are no passenger services there

This is how the original station in Vetlanda looked like

New station

I'm not going back to Nässjö, instead, I'm taking a bus to Eksjö

Not many passengers this Saturday afternoon

Arriving at Eksjö

Eksjö train station next to the bus station

Main square and Eksjö church

"Smålandsryttare" statue from 1929

Eksjö is a cosy town with a well preserved wooden house part

A beer in local pub

Ekjsö is located at Bockabanan railway, which is an 83 km long railway between Nässjö and Hultsfred. Unfortunately, the passenger services were suspended in 2014, today the traffic is only between Nässjö and Eksjö. I was planning to take a bus to Hultsfred, but it was also suspended starting from Autumn 2019, so I will have to take a bus to Vimmerby instead.

Y31 1404

The bus I'm taking is operated by KLT, even though Ekjsö is located in JLT bus region. When I was trying to pay with my JLT "reskassa" card, the driver said that it was not possible because the ticket machine on KLT bus is not accepting other bus cards. So, in the end it was a free ride.

The train service might have been suspended, but the bus was almost full, so this is still an attractive route.

The bus is following the railway line and make stops where the train stopped previously.

The railway is still there

Bruzaholm station

Hjältevad station

Mariannelund

The bus has both WC and USB charger. The train would have been nicer anyway.

Arriving at Vimmerby

Both Eksjö and Vimmerby are very nice towns for a visit, especially on this sunny autumn day

Vimmerby church

The church is from 1856

City hall

Book phone booth

Astrid Lindgren at her typewriter. Statue created by Marie-Louise Ekman

Another beer at the local pub/hotel

After drinking my beer, the streets were crowded with ambulance and fire fighters

Something was burning, but I was not sure what it was

Vimmerby is located at Stångådalsbanan, 237km long railway between Linköping and Kalmar.

The railway is also non-electrified

The railway is old and in urgent need of repair and modernization.

The line is operated by KLT trains, promoted as "Kustpilen".

Y2 is the Swedish version of IC3 from Denmark

This train is heading to Kalmar

Y2 1380 "Kisa Mor" named after Maria Jansson, known in history as Kisamor (English: The Mother of Kisa), (30 July 1788 – 27 February 1842), was a Swedish natural doctor, one of the most notable and well-known of 19th-century physicians in Sweden. (Wikipedia)