Norway - Expo Paris 1867

Sweden's twin sister. The fleet is complete, from the whaling ship to the herring ship. - It goes without saying that lighthouses and ships are models.

The land of Norway, granite and ice, could not feed the Norwegians, so they turned to the sea and became the most skilful fishermen on earth. What an interesting article could be written about this special and comprehensive exhibition; for our part, we shall point out a small model of a locomotive snow plough.

Norway seemed destined to be forever deprived of railways; its poor and rugged soil made it difficult to establish long lines. By building one-metre wide railways it has managed to fill this gap. These railways have the serious disadvantage of not being able to connect with those of the European network, including Sweden, which are uniformly one and a half metres wide; but they have the major advantage of being able to be built at the lowest cost.

The most northerly railway in the world now exists in Norway, extending to Drontheim on the edge of the Arctic Circle. Another difficulty is the snow that covers the ground for three quarters of the year. To get rid of it, the front of the locomotive is equipped with a double ploughshare which pushes the snow to the sides of the track. Last year the locomotive on display travelled 6,000 kilometres in similar conditions.

©L'Exposition Universelle de 1867 Illustrée