Car route Skien – Porsgrund

A large picture adorns a wall in our living room. A kind of "brave men in frail craft" motif. It shows proud drivers and owners posing in front of the company's first buses. One of the owners was my wife's grandfather, Oluf Kristiansen. The photo must have been taken in 1925 or 1926.

Perfect timing

The timing for a scheduled bus company could hardly have been better. According to the box office diary, ticket revenues were already good from the first day in March 1924. They started by acquiring two buses that could be put into traffic immediately. They cost NOK 32. During 000, they brought in NOK 1924. It produced an operating profit of 62.

All-American (AA)

The first buses were of the All-American brand, also called AA because "AA" was written above the radiator. Chicago-based truck brand All-American Truck Co. existed for only a few years – from 1918 to 1923. The competition must have been tough. In 1919, there are said to have been 26 truck manufacturers in Chicago alone. The AA cars were easily recognizable by their marked cooling fins which formed a front that could be associated with "Darth Vader".

May have previously been used by Schøyen Bilcentraler

We do not know how the buses came to Norway or who sold them. The acquisition was registered in March 1924. They most likely went on a route somewhere else before they were purchased for the Skien - Porsgrund bus route. There are several things that indicate that. In 1924, the doors to the All-American car factory had long since closed. The buses were delivered as ready-to-operate omnibuses with beautiful bodies - not as chassis, which was common nye cars. Who ordered the bodies? Previous owners may have been Schøyen Bilcentraler. The bus purchase was bank financed, but a cash amount was paid to SBC. SBC had already established car routes three years earlier, and was among the first in the country to acquire "large" buses. Unfortunately, I have not been able to trace which material SBC used between its establishment in 1921 until 1924.

Lindzén & Robsahm

Grandfather poses in front of his Hupp. The model (R11) had 40 HP and was registered for 5 people. Hupmobiles were very popular in Norway in the 20s, and they were brought into the country by Lindzén & Robsahm in Kristiania. More transactions were to be made with Lindzén & Robsahm in the future. One year after starting, 3 Denby buses were bought. Victor E Lindzén of Lindzén & Robsahm had been in Detroit and obtained an agency for Denby in Norway. H1239 and H1240 were bought for 22 as chassis.

Wattenberg Carriage and Body Factory

In subsequent months, the bus company paid money to A. Wattenberg for the bodies. The beautiful bodies for the buses were made locally in Skien. The Wattenberg carriage and bodywork factory probably stood where the Wattenberg XY petrol station and GB Autotech are located today.

H1238 had a somewhat simple wooden body and was more affordable than the other two. It seems smaller - smaller engine and payload - and maybe used?

Denby Truck Co.

Another truck brand that is long gone. The production of Denby trucks continued from 1914 to 1930. They also supplied finished chassis where the superstructures were carried out locally. Surely not so stupid with regard to shipping. In addition, there were carriage makers "everywhere" shortly after the horse-and-carriage era. Denby was quite a popular brand for vans and trucks with a payload between 1 – 2,5 tonnes. In 1925, the cars in Norway were equipped with engines of between 30 and 50 HP. H1239 and H1240 are probably 2,5-ton cars, while H1238 may have been a lighter version.

From Denby to Studbaker

According to the accounts, bus traffic between Skien and Porsgrunn exceeded all expectations. A good deal of money flowed out to the city's car workshops, but the ticket revenue meant that the company made good profits. Two years after the start, the owners traveled to Drammen, to the company Chatinco Bang A/S, which sold Studebaker. During the next two years, the Bilruten Skien - Porsgrund was enriched with three new Studbakers. In the late twenties and up until the war, Studebaker was a very popular bus brand. They came as drivable chassis from the USA and had the bodies built here at home.

Become part of the BO buses

It would turn out that starting a car route between Skien and Porsgrunn was not a bad idea at all. A few years later, Norsk Hydro established itself on Herøya. Then the level of activity increased, and after the war the company was merged with Porsgrunnsfirmaet Omnibusfart, which merged with Busstrafikk for the "BO buses", - which many still have fond memories of. In 1985 everything was bought up by the giant NSB/Nettbuss. Today's regular buses are operated by a few large companies.

There is no longer room for small players like in my grandfather's day.

See

Wikipedia about All-American Truck Company (Norwegian text)