Belgian Tramway Museum in Thuin with Diesel Trams

The largest collection of operational heritage trams in Belgium and the country's "Crich" equivalent can be found in Thuin, in the countryside of Wallonia, just a bit south of Charleroi. It is easily reached by main line rail but the tramway is actually closer to Lobbes station, one stop after Thuin.

In Thuin is the meter gauge remainder of what was once a vast nationwide overland tramway network known as the "Vicinal", but this interurban system was closed in stages until the late 1980s and early 1990s and what remains of it is now operated by the preservation society ASVi, based on their museum in Thuin. Currently they have preserved about 8 km of track, which includes their non-electrified, 3.5 km long part of the line on the regauged (standard to meter gauge) route from the museum to Biesme-sous-Thuin. This used to be the standard gauge branch line to Chimay (of namesake beer fame). It was been open for tramway use since 2010, the rest of the branch was converted to a cycle path.

The ASVi collection includes the steam train 303, which this year was a guest at the Baie de la Somme gala in northern France and also went to Gent in Flanders for the recent big tramway anniversary there.

Otherwise the local PCC is a flagship of sorts and probably the most American of the preserved PCCs in Europe.

Also for use on the non-electrified route to Biesme they use the Belgian-built "Autorail" diesel trams. Their most modern one from 1949 is powered by a Sherman tank engine supplied by GM as part of the Marshall Plan.

Here are some visual and cinematic impressions from this great tramway operation, which is well worth visiting. About 80 mins from Brussels.

 

Is that the original driving position? For a full shift that must be quite uncomfortable.