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Since 2005, the Danish Railway Museum has been working on a full-size and fully functional replica of Denmark’s first train engine, ODIN. It was built entirely from scratch and without the original engine from 1846 as a guide. It is a fantastic achievement, as the original drawings of ODIN were long lost and the individual parts were produced by specialist craftsmen.
On Saturday 15 September 2018, ODIN was presented to the public following 14 years’ work. On this day of celebration, ODIN was the motive power for two coaches, Grønholtvognen and Skovvognen. Grønholtvognen from 1862 is Denmark’s oldest preserved passenger coach. Skovvognen, CC 322, is from 1880 and is an open passenger coach, built for the Klampenborg Line and the oldest in the country.
ODIN arrives at the Museum in June 2018. ODIN was built in the Museum’s engine-shed in Roskilde
Jørgen Lindevall and a large group of volunteers built the replica of ODIN
ODIN is presented to the public on 15 September following 14 years’ wor
On selected days, ODIN runs on the Museum’s own railway section
Enjoy the beautiful details on ODIN
The replica is from 2018. The original is from 1846
ODIN is the central exhibit of the exhibition The Age of Steam!
The original ODIN engine came to Denmark in 1846 and was scrapped in 1876 – several years before anybody thought of collecting railway history memorabilia.
The Danish Railway Museum has built a replica of ODIN in order to be able to show what an engine from that period looks like and how it operates.
ODIN was built entirely from scratch without the aid of the original drawings which were lost. However, it was possible to reconstruct some basic drawings. This painstaking task was undertaken by two British specialists, Michael R. Bailey and John P. Glithero, who reconstructed basic drawings from extensive archival and steam-engine research.
The ODIN replica was built in the Museum’s listed engine-shed in Roskilde by, in the main, a team of the Museum’s volunteers. It was a hugely complex task. The volunteers crafted, assembled and riveted together parts which had been produced by specialist craftsmen from Denmark and abroad, some of whom are Museum employees. However, the steam boiler itself was produced as a complete component at an approved boiler plant.
ODIN is the central exhibit of the exhibition The Age of Steam! The exhibition is centred around the years immediately before and after 1847 which saw the opening of the Copenhagen–Roskilde railway line. These days, we take the railway for granted, but people felt very differently during the first few years.