World of Ships – May 2018

68 I World of Ships I Paddle Steamers

The paddle steamer Eric Nordvall was one of

Sweden’s fi rst power-driven ships, built in 1836

to operate on the newly opened Gota Canal. She

remained in service until she sank in Lake Vättern

some 20 years later. After the wreck was found in

1980, a project to build a replica at Forsviks yard

got under way, and Eric Nordevall II was launched

in 2009. She made her maiden voyage in 2011 to

Stockholm to be baptised by Sweden’s Princess

Victoria. From 2012 the ship was classed for traffi c,

with up to 59 passengers on Gota Canal trips and

34 on the lakes of Vättern and Vänern. During the

summer the steamer makes several public trips and

a number of chartered tours.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

NORWAY

I

n common with neighbour Sweden,

operators of passenger vessels

on Norway’s lakes and rivers

quickly found screw propulsion

superior to paddles, especially

when navigation in winter ice was

involved. Yet, remarkably, Norway

still boasts a claimant for the title of being the

world’s oldest operating paddle steamer with

Skibladner. She has sailed the fresh waters of

Lake Mjosa, north of Oslo, since 1856, having

made a debut at a time when the country’s

capital city was still known as Christiania.

The vessel underwent a substantial

rebuilding in 1888, being fi tted with a new

engine, and her survival into the 21st century

is due almost entirely to the dedication

and determination of enthusiasts who took

over the operating company Oplandske

Dampskibsesselskab more than 40 years ago.

The existence of the steamer stemmed from

local reaction to the acquisition of Lake Mjosa

services by Norway’s fi rst railway, the Grand

Trunk line, designed by George Stephenson,

which ran from the capital to Eidsvoll at

the southern end of the lake. Enraged locals

decided to start their own lake service after the

railway company brought in major increases

of steamer fares and goods rates.

When the railway was completed around the

eastern shore to Lillehammer and opened up

the possibility for through travel to Trondheim

and northern Norway, the character of lake

services changed to become more tourist-

oriented. The shares list of the original Oppland

company reads like a family tree from districts

along the lake shores, with shares passed down

from generation to generation and, although

never stock exchange listed, they were traded

freely. Tremendous goodwill exists towards

Skibladner from all parts of Norway and

the vessel’s value as a tourist attraction has

been recognised in recent times, with the

Norwegian Heritage Commissioner making

substantial grants in 1992 and 1993 to bring in

specialist ship restorers.

For most of her long life Skibladner was

based at Eidsvoll and set off each day up the

fast-fl owing River Vorma to enter Lake Mjosa

after passing beneath road and rail bridges

at Minnesund for a 120-mile round-trip to

Lillehammer, calling each way at Hamar

and Gjovik. But the 1990s brought a major

rethink, with Skibladner moved to Gjovik to

operate new schedules tapping into Gjovik

and Hamar, the places from where most of the

passenger traffi c originates.

REPLICA OF ERIC NORDVALL

ABOVE Skibladner is steered from an open

platform in front of the funnel. (Russell Plummer)

LEFT Skibladner mirrored in the placid waters of

Norway’s Lake Mjosa, her home since fi rst being put

into service as far back as 1856.

ABOVE Skibladner has been powered since 1888

by this 606hp triple diagonal engine. (Russell Plummer)

ABOVE Restored to 19th century style, Skibladner’s

dining saloon, complete with original oil lamps,

serves the traditional meal of fresh salmon from the

lake, then strawberries and cream. (R. Plummer)

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