Line 204 Assen
Information
In april 2007 I tracked some railways in the north of the Netherlands. The line from Assen to Gasselternijveen was a nice line to track. On a large part bikeable tracks have been constructed. A small part is vanished.
History
This railway was build in 1905 by the NOLS company. It was a branch of their main railway from Zwolle to Stadskanaal. In 1947 the passenger service by train was stopped temporarily, for there was a lack of trains. Busses were used instead and since that time only freight trains used this railway. In 1968 all rail traffic was closed on the section from Assen to Gieten. And then from 1972 all traffic was closed on the remainder of the railway to Stadskanaal. In 1977 the rails were removed and in a nature reserve a part of the railway dike has been excavated. On the old railway cycle and walking tracks have been constructed.