Patrimoine Ferroviaire et Tourisme

Last updated

Patrimoine Ferroviaire et Touristique (in French)
Toerisme en Spoor Patrimonium (in Dutch)
2011-08-15 64.169 PN Reuleau.jpg
PFT's 64.169 at a Gala on the Chemin de fer du Bocq, 15 August 2011.
Locale Belgium
Terminus St Ghislan
Preservation history
11 August 1988Society formed
Website
http://www.pfttsp.be/

Patrimoine Ferroviaire et Tourisme(in French) (PFT) are a society dedicated to the preservation of Belgian railway heritage. They cover a number of aspects of railway enthusiasm, operating charter trains, maintaining heritage locomotives (steam and diesel) and operating a museum at Saint-Ghislain.

Contents

Charter Trains

PFT use to operate charter trains on the Belgian railway network. They have their own train of carriages and fleet of locomotives which are passed by Infrabel for these operations. Both steam and diesel locomotives were used. PFT were often called upon to run trains celebrating railway milestones, e.g. they organised the final workings for the recently withdrawn Class 15 & Class 16 locomotives. Since 2013, SNCB was not allowed to "host" heritage trains on his own security certificate. A new Belgian rail regulation to allow those historic trains is not yet adopted as of 2018.

Preservation of Belgian Railway Heritage

This takes place at their museum in Saint-Ghislain and until end 2018 at their site within SNCB's Schaerbeek depot. Maintenance of the operational fleet use to takes place at Schaerbeek, and vehicle restoration is centred on Saint-Ghislain. The museum is host to a number of model railway events each year. A small depot has been built in Spontin for railcar and infrastructure engines usual maintenance.

Fleet List [1]

Steam Locomotives

Ty2-3554 running as 26.101 at Mechelen 26101 Belgian class 26 kriegslok2.jpg
Ty2-3554 running as 26.101 at Mechelen
  • CFR 230 084 (numbered SNCB 64.169)
  • PKP Ty2-3554 (numbered SNCB 26.101)
  • Krupp Knapsack Cn2t 3113 (ex Westfälische Almetalbahn Nr 10)
  • Cockerill Bt 2331 (small shunter with vertical boiler)
  • La Meuse Bt 3235

Diesel Locomotives

210.077 at Dorinne-Durnal on the CfB 2011-08-15 diesel loc 210077 from PFT heritage-railway leaving Dorinne-Durnal station with M1-M2 carriages.jpg
210.077 at Dorinne-Durnal on the CfB

Electric Locomotives

Electric Multiple Units

  • SNCB Class AM54: 027 (offered for sale in 2018 following a reduction of storage space)
  • SNCB Class AM54: 082
  • SNCB Class AM54: 002 "postal service" (finally not acquired from SNCB historical patrimony, due to lack of storage space)

Diesel Multiple Units

4506 at Spontin on the CfB 2010-04-17 ex-SNCB belgian railcar 4506 at Spontin station from Chemin de fer du Bocq heritage railway.jpg
4506 at Spontin on the CfB
  • SNCB Class AR40: 4006 (sent back to SNCB Patrimony service in 2021 due to lack of storage space), 4001 (acquired in bad condition, scrapped in 2017)
  • SNCB Class AR43: 4333
  • SNCB Class AR45: 4506
  • SNCB Class AR46: 4602, 4605, 4618 (numbered 554.18)
  • SNCB Class AR49: 4906 (numbered 553.29) – under restoration as of 2015
  • Class 551: 551.26 – under restoration as of 2015
  • ES: ES 102 (former catenary maintenance railcar – proposed for sale in 2018)

Chemin de fer du Bocq

PFT have taken over the 21 km long Ciney – Spontin – Yvoir railway line (also known as line 128) and operate it as the Chemin de fer du Bocq (CFB) heritage railway. It retains a connection to the national network at Ciney, which facilitates PFT using main line locomotives at their events. A gala is held every year around 15 August. During 2012 CrossRail AG provided a class 66 locomotive as a feature. In 2015, 16 kilometers (between Ciney and Evrehailles-Bauche) are operational. In 2016, the terminal section between Ciney and Braibant – which is parallel to the Bruxelles – Luxemburg main line then undergoing a track / overhead renewal – has been rebuilt. Connection with the national railway network at Ciney was suspended for two seasons. Modernization of the main line is continuing and Infrabel plans to free some unused space in Ciney in 2021–2023. This would allow the Chemin de fer du Bocq to have its own separate 2-tracks platform with a connexion to the Infrabel network. In 2019, rotten sleepers and 40 kg/m rails were removed from the 2.6 km section between Evrehailles-Bauche and the Yvoir tunnel. COVID crisis and maintenance tasks with higher priority on the operated section and in Ciney have delayed the track reconstruction schedule that slowly restarted during the summer of 2021.

En Lignes/Op Der Baan

PFT produce a bi-monthly commercial magazine aimed at the Belgian rail enthusiasts, produced in French (En Lignes) and Dutch (Op Der Baan) versions. The name translates to English as On the line.

Related Research Articles

The National Railway Company of Belgium is the national railway company of Belgium. The company formally styles itself using the Dutch and French abbreviations NMBS/SNCB. The corporate logo designed in 1936 by Henry van de Velde consists of the linguistically neutral letter B in a horizontal oval.

Bocq

The Bocq is a river in Belgium, a right-bank tributary of the Meuse. The full length of the Bocq lies in the province of Namur.

HSL 2 Belgian high-speed rail line

The HSL 2 is a Belgian high-speed rail line between Leuven and Ans and is 66.2 km (41 mi) long, all of it on dedicated high-speed tracks, which began service on 15 December 2002. As part of the Belgian railway network, it is owned, technically operated and maintained by Infrabel.

Belgian Railways Class 15

Class 15 is a type of electric locomotive operated by SNCB/NMBS. The locomotives were originally used for cross-border services TEE services between France, Belgium and the Netherlands, and like the class 16 they become surplus after the introduction of Thalys and Class 11s. They earned their keep in their last years of service by pulling commuter "P" trains in the Liège area.

Belgian Railways Class 51

The NMBS/SNCB Class 51 is a class of Co′Co′ diesel locomotive formerly used in Belgium.

Class 19 is a class of electric locomotives operated by NMBS/SNCB, the state train operator of Belgium.

Belgian Railways Class 21

SNCB Class 21 is part of the large 1980s family of 144 electric locomotives. The family was made up of Classes 11 (12), 12 (12), 21 (60) and 27 (60). Classes 11, 12 and 21 were nearly twice as powerful as Classes 22, 23 and 25 while Class 27 was more than twice as powerful as the 1950s locomotives. This family was heavily influenced by the Class 20 from the mid-1970s. The 1980s locomotives were very reliable because of the trial and error development of their predecessor. This family came into service with M4 and M5 coaching stock and the AM 80 and AM 86 series of EMUs. This generation was a major modernization of the SNCB even if the older M2 coaching stock remained active for more than a decade before being replaced. These four sister classes are visually identical except for a few minor details. Class 11's bordeaux and yellow livery is specific to the Benelux service which they powered for most of their service lives.

Belgian Railways Class 20

Class 20 is a class of electric locomotives formerly operated by SNCB, the national railway of Belgium.

Belgian Railways Class 22

SNCB Class 22 Locomotives were owned by the National Railway Company of Belgium, also known as Nationale Maatschappij der Belgische Spoorwegen or Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Belges, the Belgian national railway operator.

Belgian Railways Class 25.5

SNCB Class 25.5 locomotives were part of the 1950s generation of SNCB electric locomotives that included Series 122, 123, 125, and 140 built between 1953 and 1961. There were 50 Series 122, 83 Series 123, 16 Series 125 and 6 Series 140 for a total of 155 locomotives. They were seen across Belgium on passenger and freight trains until they were retired in 2012. There was no difference in power between the classes as they all used the same traction motors and control equipment.

Belgian Railways Class 26

NMBS/SNCB Class 26 are single voltage locomotives that were designed as freight locomotives. They later started working on passenger trains as the electrification was expanded. A batch of five prototypes were delivered in 1964 as Type 126, numbered 126.001-126.005. 20 more were ordered around 1968, to be numbered 126.101-126.120. The final 15 arrived in 1971 and just missed getting six figure fleet numbers, carrying the numbers 2621-2635 from the factory. Actual original numbering turned out to be 126.001-126.005, 126.101-126.120 and 2621-2635. They had nothing in common with earlier Types 122, 123, 125, and 140.

Belgian Railways Class 18 (Alsthom) Locomotive class of 6 Belgian electric locomotives built by Alsthom in 1973–1974

The Belgian Railways Class 18 was a type of electric locomotive operated by NMBS/SNCB of Belgium. They have been displaced from these workings by Thalys electric multiple units and were all retired from service by 1999. They were derived from the French SNCF CC 40100 express passenger locomotives. Their multi-voltage capabilities allowed them to work beyond Belgium's borders, mainly Paris - Brussels/Liège and Oostende - Cologne.

Line 80 is a Luxembourgian railway line connecting Rodange to Belgium. It is designated Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois, but predominantly operated by NMBS/SNCB. The services overlap with those designated as Line 70. On the Belgian side of the border the routes are numbered in the NMBS/SNCB series.

Belgian Railways Class 70

Class 270 locomotives were the first diesel shunters used by NMBS/SNCB. Three were initially ordered as prototypes of diesel-electric traction. Three diesel-hydraulic Class 271 locomotives were also ordered for comparison.

SNCB Type 12

The NMBS/SNCB Type 12 was a class of 4-4-2 steam locomotives built in 1938–1939 for the fast lightweight Ostend boat trains operated by the National Railway Company of Belgium.

SNCB Type 26

The NMBS/SNCB Type 26 was a class of 2-10-0 steam locomotives built between 1945 and 1947. Originally commissioned as part of an order for 200 DRB Class 52 Kriegslokomotiven placed by the Deutsche Reichsbahn (DRG) with Belgian locomotive manufacturers in 1943, the 100 members of the Type 26 class were completed for the National Railway Company of Belgium (NMBS/SNCB) following the liberation of Belgium late in 1944.

Belgian State Railways Type 10

The Belgian State Railways Type 10, later known as the NMBS/SNCB Type 10, was a class of 4-6-2 steam locomotives built between 1910 and 1914.

SNCB Type 64 Class of steam locomotives (1923-1967)

The NMBS/SNCB Type 64 was a class of 4-6-0 steam locomotives built as Prussian P 8s for German railways, delivered as war reparations to Belgium at the end of World War I. 168 locomotives of this type were delivered to Belgium, working mostly on light passenger trains operated by the National Railway Company of Belgium (NMBS/SNCB). The final locomotives of this type were withdrawn in 1967, marking the end of steam service in the country.

Belgian Railways Class 54

Series 54, were diesel locomotives used by the National Railway Company of Belgium (NMBS/SNCB). Along with Series 52, 53 and 59, they were the first generation of Belgian diesel locomotives, built in the 1950s. All three types were ultimately derived from the earlier Series 52 locos, representing a faster version of the design, allowing for 140 km/h usage instead of 120 km/h.

References

  1. Haydock, David; Fox, Peter; Garvin, Brian (2008). European Handbook No. 1 Benelux Railways Locomotives & Coaching Stock (Fifth ed.). Sheffield, England: Platform 5. ISBN   978-1-902336-64-0.