Finally, I made my way back to Sweden and paid an express visit to the ropeway [ https://pbase.com/jakobe/limestone_cableway ] to watch the ongoing demolition work. In this early December morning, Sweden showed its most unforgiving side in terms of weather, darkness, gloom and dullness, really adding up to the overall sense of misery while watching what was going on.

The regular operation at the ropeway ended in 1997 and the discussions about the future have since then been intense, swinging between euphoria and despair for the groups working for a preservation. The ropeway was listed as a national industrial heritage memorial back in 2003 and the plan was that it would be preserved in its entire length. However, over the years since then the supporters have backed out and the owners finally found that the only logical alternative was demolition.

The demolition work finally started in June 2013, but without claiming any authority in this particular field, I find it very surprising how little progress have been made over the last six months and the overall efforts seem somewhat scattered and uncoordinated. A lingering feeling that the main purpose of the activities so far has been to irrevocably spoil any effort to preserve the installation is hard to fend off. Signs tell that the demolition work is "to be completed during 2013", but that will obviously not be the case. Three of the four segments are now torn down, with the Granhammar-Malmberga section still being intact. There appears to be some talks going on of preserving that section, but given that that particular part is somewhat off and more or less entirely goes through forests, one can wonder what the real purpose for that will be.

When I began to watch the ropeway more closely in 2005, I was stunned how well preserved and maintained the entire installation was. During the regular test runs, I could stay fascinated and watch the trolleys silently roll by for hours or stay in the stations to see how the wonders of mechanics automatically handled the trolleys and sent them out with a regular interval. Getting back this gloomy December day literally and figuratively puts it all in a different lighting - apart from the weather and the obvious destruction being the result of the demolition itself. It now all seems very worn, decayed, rusty and broken and the concrete pylons suddenly seems dangerously weakened by age and the elements of nature. It appears like just the action of cutting down and dragging the cables actually have caused several of the pylons to collapse, showing that the wartime concrete is certainly not in the best condition. Seventy years of Swedish seasonal changes have taken its toll.

Very sad indeed, but to be honest, I feel it very hard to logically argue against the rationale speaking in favor of the demolition approach...
.