Hjerl Hede vintage bog train

A small vintage heritage line is hidden in the North-West corner of Jutland. Inside the open air museum  named Hjerl Hede a small steam train runs up the hill and towards a large lake. The old tracks were laid to transport peat from the bog to the lake to further transport the peat to the small towns of nineteen century Jutland.

The small trip gives you a true feeling of the power of this small steamer and the effort it has to perform to push the load over the hill. The black smoke tarnishes the green leaves on the way. The way back to the peat bog is more a matter of braking the train in a controlled manner.

Ascencion steam day at VSM

Earlier this summer, when the sun was shining, a steam train party was on at the VSM in Beekbergen.
We took the steam train to Loenen and enjoyed some ice creams and other refreshments. It was a steaming hot day and we were glad that some else shoveled the coals in the kettle.

Back in Beekbergen we were even thirstier.

Near the end of this hot day the visitors went home, so this gave us a great opportunity to make a panorama picture of the yard.

A great summer day to make it short, with some good looking diesel engines as well.

Last run of the season

Last Sunday, the local heritage railroad company MBS ran the last trains for the season. It was a quiet autumn day. The sun just gave sufficient heat to vapourise the fog away and to reveal the red leaves. From a distance the steady white plume of smoke of the small black Swiss steamer could already be discerned and whistle broke the silence in sleepy Haaksbergen.

The newly placed pedestrian bridge from 1888 fits nicely in the scenery.

In the open engine house, a small rail bus is standing idle. This German pig's snout is shining beautifully. The proud volunteer kindly speaks of his double engine. It has to be double clutched to change gears. A skill that not many of us have acquired. And of the new upholstery with old fabric from an old English textile mill.

The Swiss steamer passes the Austrian coaches and is hooked on with the cab reversed, ready for the short leg to Boekelo.

In Boekelo there is plenty of warm coffee in the engine house, which helps to warm the cold fingers.

Within the engine house, many finished and restored coaches can be enjoyed, as well as the many restoration projects for the near future. And just to be clear: no trespassing! The small black steamer is a mighty engine.

Memorail

Deep in the south west of France in the department Lot is a small railway museum named Memorail. This museum is located in the old goods shed of St. Gery along the former Quercyrail. The scenery along this line gorgeous; it lies in the gorge of the river Lot and is exceptionally beautiful.

The entrance fee is just a few Euro's and you will get to see a lot of railway artifacts, a nice h0 railway layout and several beautiful self-built large scale models.

One of the volunteers explained to me that they hope to raise funds to re-open the Quercyrail from St. Gery to Cajarc through the spectacular gorge de Lot. That would indeed be a great idea, but the scrubs and small trees that grow on the former railway line since 1989 have done substantial damage and more than some bucks will be necessary to achieve this goal.

Model of the WWI truce train car.

Decapod French style.

Let's hope they succeed to revive the Quercyrail and that trains will run through the valley bed again.

Stoomtrein Goes - Borsele

Through the flat land of Zeeland a local branch line (Goes to Borsele) is maintained by heritage steam train group named the SGB. In Goes the large work shed is located where the old equipment is restored and maintained. On the second of May we made a rail excursion with a passenger train on the old branch line from Goes to Hoedekenskerke and back. It was a foggy morning and only some rabbits and pheasants were scared by the approaching steam train.
The steam train was composed of small 3 axle shunting steamer, an all-steel D-class luggage car, a 1st and 2nd Class coach of the Belgium railways (blt. 1924) and several third class all-metal pre-war coaches from the Dutch railways.
The small railway station of Hoedekenskerke lies directly parallel to the sea dike and has a by-pass track with platform in the middle. This enables the steam engine to reverse the train. It also has a small water intake point and a small switch tower. Here are several nice pictures of this rail excursion through Zeeland.

The steamer takes in water at Hoedekenskerke.

Steamer is ready for the return trip.

Steam engine standing idle after the return to Goes.

Interior of the Belgium coach.

Passenger train is shunted away from the platform in Goes.