LOAD OF RAILWAY METALS ON A MULE’S BACK
RAILWAY BUILDING IN THE ANDES
After crossing the summit level the railway commences an easy descent, for the inland plateau is gently undulating, and the valleys being wider, the surveyors were assisted appreciably in their task of discovering an easy location. The downward run continues until Bromma, 205 miles west of Bergen, is gained at an altitude of some 450 feet. Then comes another rise to overcome a low range, which is accomplished through a tunnel 7,644 feet in length.
This tunnel proved a more exacting and troublesome undertaking than either the Gravehals or Reinunga works. The boring was attempted at first on the time system, but the advance was so slow and unsatisfactory that this principle was abandoned. The whole tunnel was then handed over to a contractor, but he found the rock so hard that a piece-work system was instituted. In this arrangement the workmen were stimulated to supreme effort by the offer of tempting premiums. Issuing from this tunnel, there is another descent for some miles, when another ridge intervenes, necessitating a sharp climb of 700 feet, followed by a smart downward run to Roa, where a junction is effected with the Norwegian eastern railway system.
Contemporaneously with the building of this line between Vossevangen and Roa, the original section between Bergen and Vossevangen had to be overhauled. The metre gauge was in vogue upon this division, whereas the rest of the line was being built on the standard gauge to secure uniformity with the other lines. Accordingly, the narrow-gauge was replaced by standard-gauge track.
The Bergen-Christiania line ranks as one of the most striking pieces of railway engineering in Europe, and testifies to the remarkable skill and dogged perseverance of the Scandinavians in breaking down tremendous obstacles as they arose, with complete success. It is no light undertaking to attempt such an enterprise as this in such a latitude across a terribly exposed, storm-swept plateau, among the most sparsely populated regions of Europe, and where the winter lasts for eight or nine months. The rainfall is tropical in its severity, while the storms are of terrific fury, as the workmen found to their cost.
Some idea of the magnitude of the work consummated by the engineers may be gathered from a few general details. The line passes through no less than 184 tunnels, which represent an aggregate length of nearly 24 miles. To carry the line across depressions which could not be filled, 14 bridges, ranging from a single-span stone structure of 60 feet to a metal bridge 566 feet from end to end, had to be built. Between the two terminal points 55 stations and stopping-places have been provided. In order to fashion the permanent way the engineers had to excavate about 35,000,000 cubic feet of earth, and nearly 30,000,000 cubic feet of rock on the highest parts of the mountain section, this latter task being assisted by the expenditure of over 1,800,000 pounds of dynamite.
The anticipated task of maintaining communication, especially on the higher and more exposed sections of the railway, has been appreciated to the full. To deal with the snow three powerful rotary ploughs have been acquired, and one is kept in constant readiness. It is no unusual circumstance for this equipment to be called out in the middle of summer to cope with a block in one of the deep cuttings. The drift is a danger against which especial attention has to be devoted, for the wind catches up the fine, dry flakes and whirls them in clouds across the country. To prevent this being deposited upon the line, and thus obstructing traffic, timber screens have been erected beside the line, this defence continuing in an almost unbroken line for 60 miles between Mjolfjeld and Gjeilo.
The provision of the line, however, is of far-reaching importance to the commercial interests of Norway. Formerly, 54 hours were required to travel between Christiania and Bergen, but now, by cutting almost straight across the peninsula, the journey can be covered in 14 hours. To forge the link of 215 miles between Vossevangen and Roa, to complete this undertaking, occupied ten years, and the £3,333,000, or $16,665,000, expended upon the enterprise is considered an excellent investment for the country.