Nijmegen, Netherlands: Railway Monument

"Unity Makes Strength" is the translated version of the slogan on this statue. It's a tribute to the cross-border railroad that was constructed in 1865; it took Nijmegen 19 years to get it done. The goddess Victoria is portrayed at the top.

The story takes an odd turn around 1991. That's when the rail line stopped carrying passenger traffic. Eight years later it was closed completely. That's around the time that travel between borders was about to become much easier thanks to free passage between some European states. So this monument needs to be explained to those who are too young to remember the old system of going to Kleve.