Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-05-15
TRAVELLING IN NORWAY.
Railways That Do Not Interfere with the
Tourists Desire to See the Country

| Railways That Do Not Interfere with the
Tourists Desire to See the Country.
Writing of tour through Norway. a
| correspondent of the London Times
says: The tourist will have no reason
to regret his choice if he prefers to
these stage routes the railway journey
from Hamar to Trondhjem. In the
opinion Of most travellers it is the finest
railway run in the north of Europe.
Perhaps one would not think so mucl.'
OF it if the train travelled at rapid rate
but in point of fact Norwegian trains
travel SO slowly that you are able to
take in the scenery as you pass through
it almost as we'll as if you were walking
OF driving in a cariole. Some notion
may be formed of the rate of travelling
when mention that, as on some lazy
continental lines, it is the custom for
the conductor to examine and check the
tickets by moving along the foot-boards
from carriage to carriage while the
train is going at its highest speed; in
deed, that is the usual way the guards
take in passing from one part of the
train to another. AS you sit looking
out OF your carriage window Won are
constantly being startled by the appari-
ton of conductors head. The rate of
railway travelling would be considered
intolerable in England, but there are
some other things in the management
OF Norwegian railways which might be
adopted in England with some advan-
taSe. For example, there is hung up in
every compartment of every carriage in
the trains that run between Christiana
and Trondhjem timetable in large
type showing all the stations stopped at
By each train and the time of stopping,
and there is exhibited in the same way
table Of the fares charged for travel
ing to every station, both from Chris
tiana and from Trondhiem. Another
noteworthy point is that the train is ab-
solutely under the control of the con-
ductor.
Travellers can not thrust themselves
into any carriage they may choose to
select; they must go where the CON
ductor puts them. Neither can they
Jump out as soon as they reach a sta
ton, or before the train has well stop
ped; they must wait till the guards or
porters have opened the doors. At
every station, also, there is large Their
mometer showing the temperature ac-
cording to the scale of Celsius. There
is also at each station a large board
containing, besides the name of the
station, its distance from Christiana and
from Trondhjem, and its height above
the sea level in meters. Female labor
is used on the railways to an unusual
extent. At several stations I noticed
that the carriages, outside and inside,
were being cleaned by women. In one
or two signal boxes women were work
ing the signals, and at many of the
stations girls were acting as ticket
clerks. One custom, which is very COM
forting in hot and dusty weather, is that
OF carrying drinking water inside the
carriages. Inside some of the carriages,
at least, the space usually occupied by
the lamp is filled by glass vessel CON
tanning iced water, and with tap and
glass on each compartment. Another
great convenience met with on the Nor
wegian railways is that every train, or,
at least, every mail train, is travelling
postoffiee. You can post letters or post
cards at every station up till the train
is signaled; and even after the station
boxes have been cleared you can post
letters in the postoffice carriage of the
train when it stops at every station. In
the side of that carriage there is a letter
slip, and letters posted there are as
safe, and as sure of attention, as if they
were dropped into a general postol1ice.