Maldegem Steam Festival 2016

This year’s steam festival, will be held at Maldegem, Belgium, on Saturday and Sunday 30th of April and 1st of May, 2016.

The theme of the festival this year will be “The Steaming ‘60’s”. This year it will be exactly 50 years since Belgian Railways used steam for passengers duties.



The planned visiting loco on the standard gauge will be BR64 250 2-6-2T. This loco is normally based on the 3 Valleys Railway at Mariembourg.

A highlight of the event will be the full return to service of Maldegem based Hunslet Austerity 0-6-0st, WD196 “Errol Lonsdale” . The loco will appear in an authentic WD livery as yet unseen in preservation.

Maldegem hopes to be able to steam the three other servicable loco’s, Ex Tunstead Quarries, Avonside 0-4-0st “FRED” , LaMeuse 0-6-0t “BEBERT”, and St Leonard 0-4-0t “YVONNE”.

An intensive service will run to Eeklo on the standard gauge.

On the narrow gauge line, trains will be operated by the familiar Kerr-Stuart 0-4-0st “PETER PAN” together with No. 3905 “Jennie”. On this line, there will also be an intensive service in operation.

In Maldegem, A display of old timer vehicles from the sixties will be visible.

For groups from the UK travelling via P&O Ferries from Hull to Zeebrugge, Stoomcentrum is able to arrange pick up at the Ferry terminal and transfer to and from Maldegem by preserved bus. Or alternatively, from Aalter or Brugge main line stations for groups arriving by train.

For further details, contact us on: infoATstoomcentrum.be , visit the website www.stoomcentrum.be or tel. 003250716852

 

Sadly there appears to have been a 'boiler related incident' at this event. Reading between the lines of the news report suggests a blowback, possibly caused by a tube/flue failure. I doubt a fusible plug going would cause a severe blowback as suggested on the U.S. site where this was reported. I hope the crew make a full recovery. www.xpats.com/two-seriously-injured-steam-locomotive-explosion
Ray.

 

The accident involved the German 2-6-2 64250, normally based at Mariembourg on the Three Valleys line, according to a local paper. There was a loud bang, a lot of escaping steam, so that the 4 people (driver, 2 firemen and a guide) on the footplate had to jump off, one of which receiving as complicated leg fracture in the process. The driver was badly scalded, reports the paper, the two firemen less so. It's not clear what caused the bang and steam escape, as at the time of writing the loco was still too hot to examine.
Source:
http://www.hln.be/regio/nieuws-uit-maldegem/zwaar-verbrand-bij-ritje-met-stoomtrein-a2692600/

 

Press Release.


Steam Festival 2016



WD 196 makes a triumphant return to service, but a boiler incident puts a damper on things.


Austerity 0-6-0st WD 196 “Errol Lonsdale” made a triumphant return to service hauling the first train of the Festival on Saturday 30- April. The loco is resplendent in the livery carried by at least some of the WD 0-6-0’s in Belgium from 1944-1947. This features the shield of General Montgomery’s 21st Army group which spearheaded the liberation of Belgium after D-Day.

Unfortunately, this was overshadowed by a boiler incident with visiting loco 64 250, a German standard 2-6-2t normally based on the Three Valleys Railway at Mariembourg, Belgium. The loco was working a train from Eeklo to Maldegem, bunker first at about 13.10, just after leaving the half way stop at Balgerhoeke as the train was entering the bridge over the canal, an as yet unestablished failure occurred in the boiler causing a major blowback of the fire into the cab and ashpan. The Mariembourg Driver managed to stop the train but was badly burned. The fireman was also badly burned and taken to hospital. Maldegem’s Pilotman jumped from the loco to avoid being burned, but unfortunately landed badly and broke his leg needing hospital treatment. A fourth crew member, also from Mariembourg, suffered only minor injuries. Emergency services were summoned to the scene, the fire brigade having to extinguish a lineside vegetation fire which had been started by the incident. The police cordoned the loco off pending investigation by the authorities, a Maldegem engineer only being allowed onto the loco accompanied by a policeman to make it ready for hauling dead. After some dialog, The Austerity was dispatched from Maldegem to rescue the stricken train and its passengers. On arrival at Maldegem, 64 250 was shunted into the carriage shed and cordoned off by the police. The shed had to be locked and no one was allowed near the loco.

Maldegem had been provided with current boiler certificates by the owners of 64 250 before the festival, The outcome of the official investigation as to what failed is awaited.

The Belgian press immediately jumped on the story, talking of a boiler explosion, and, in one case, of a possible terrorist attack! However, the negative publicity had no bad effect on visitor numbers with record attendance on the Sunday.



Kevin M Hoggett

 

The incident involved 64 250 a standard gauge 2-6-2T, visiting from the 3 Valleys Railway at Mariembourg. The report that I heard (second-hand) on Sunday, suggested that a tube had failed. What ever happened was sudden and forced those on the footplate to abandon it immediately.
More details can be found (in english) at http://www.microsofttranslator.com/bv.aspx?from=&to=en&a=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hln.be%2Fregio%2Fnieuws-uit-maldegem%2Fzwaar-verbrand-bij-ritje-met-stoomtrein-a2692600%2F.
As one who has visited (and helped out) at previous steam festivals at Maldegem, my best wishes go out to all who have been involved.

 

Boiler incident in Belgium:
Statement from Stoomcentrum Maldegem:
The accident happened with the visiting locomotive 64250 from CF3V of Mariembourg.
This locomotive was covered by all necessary inspection papers from inspection entity AIB - Vincotte.
The investigation, carried out on Monday 2nd May, has shown that one of the superheater flues of 64250 imploded unfortunately causing the accident (detached from the front tubeplate)
The reason that this happened is un-explained.

 

Thanks for the update, presumably the flues are welded at the firebox end?

 

Its not our loco, so I can't be sure, but that is standard German practice.