A local planning committee was established in 1857 to look into the possibilities of a branch from the Kongsvinger Line to serve Solør. For a while a combined rail and canal project was considered, but eventually discarded. Work accelerated in 1869 when the municipal councils teamed up to support the project. Two years later Railway Director Carl Abraham Pihl led a survey group. Their work concluded in 1875, ending in a recommendation to build the line. Two route proposals were made, one across Gjelsåsen and one following Glomma. Parliament dismissed approving the line in 1877. By then the country had fallen into an economic decline and Parliament did not want to issue further funding to railways not already under construction.