A set of two
postal stationeries issued to commemorate the Centenary of the
Bergen Line in 2009. This first card depicts the inauguration train
on November 27th 1909 at Gulsvik Station. Aboard were the King
of Norway, Haakon VII, as well as the Prime Minister. In front of
the train there is two (2'C-2'2') class 18b steam locomotives from the Norwegian State Railways,
originally built by Hamar Jernstøberi & Mekaniske Verksted in 1907 to serve on the Bergen Line.
On the lower part of both cards there is an old map of the line.
Catalogue Nos.: Sc / SG / Mi / YT / NK
The pre-printed indicium on both card's back-side pays postage worldwide, and is based on the same photo.
When opened in 1909 this line was regarded as a marvel of civil
engineering, and its fame soon spread worldwide. The high mountain
crossing is held to be the most interesting part, but with heavy
snowfalls (4-5 metres of snow on level ground) combined with strong winds it can be
a challenge to maintain regular traffic during the winter season.
The second card has a picture of a snow cleaning train with a rotary
snow plough with crew in front taken at Finse Station in 1910. The Norwegian company Thune delivered five of
these snow ploughs to the Bergen Railway. The one on the photo is no. 1,
which is preserved and now can be seen at the Norwegian Railway
Museum at Hamar.
