The Noord-Friesche Locaalspoorweg-Maatschappij (North Friesland Railway) was a railway serving the sparsely populated province of Friesland in Northern Netherlands. Operated by the North Friesland Local Railway Company (Dutch: Noord-Friesche Locaalspoorweg-Maatschappij (NFLS)), it functioned as a light railway, equivalent to what would be known in the UK. The line spanned approximately 91 km and was built to.

History

The NFLS had a network of lines in North Friesland. The lines opened in eight stages: Wetsens station closed in May 1902, less than eight months after opening. On 1 December 1905, the NFLS was taken over by the Hollandsche IJzeren Spoorweg-Maatschappij (HSM), which itself was nationalized on 1 December 1938, becoming part of Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS).

Locomotives

The NFLS had a fleet of 10 2-4-2T locomotives, numbered 1-10. They became HSM 1051-60 and later the NS 7101-10. The locomotives cost ƒ23,300 each and were built by Hohenzollern.

Carriages

The NFLS had the following passenger stock, all built by Nederlandsche Fabriek van Werktuigen & Spoorwegmaterieel, Amsterdam:

Goods wagons

The NFLS had the following goods wagons: The rolling stock was all built by Nederlandsche Fabriek van Werktuigen & Spoorwegmaterieel, Amsterdam, except for the two 6,500-liter water tankers, which were built by Nivelles in 1896 and acquired secondhand.

Closures

The lines were closed gradually, with some short-term reopenings occurring during the Second World War:

Stations

Leeuwarden - Anjum line

Distances are measured from Leeuwarden station. Leeuwarden Rijksweg (or Halte) station was demolished in 1970 Jelsum station was demolished in 1944. Finkum station was demolished by 1970 Hallum station was demolished in 1970 Ferwerd station was demolished in 1974 Hantum station was demolished by 1960. Dokkum-Aalsum station was demolished in 1974. Wetsens station closed in May 1902.

Stiens - Harlingen line

Oosterbierum station was demolished by 1980.

St. Jacobiparochie - Berlikum line

Tzummarum - Franeker line

Accidents

On 12 June 1927, NS locomotive 7124 derailed near Holwerd and ended up on its side in a canal. The locomotive was recovered on 23 June and returned to service after repairs were made.