Klingspoor Heritage Railway Exhibit

This wagon was built in 1903 on behalf of the French railways and was known there under the number 7.47.290. After the First World War she was taken over by the NMBS and registered in 1940 under the number 316,423. The wagon was used for the domestic transport of goods in Belgium. At the end of the 1970s, it was set aside and included in the collection of the Museum Repository in Leuven until 2012. The municipal council of Sint-Gillis-Waas received the wagon on loan from the NMBS holding for the expansion of KLINGSPOOR.
In 2013, the wagon was transferred to the Stoomcentrum Maldegem, where it was professionally renovated and delivered on 17 June and placed in De Klinge. (Source: Jonas Depau, Stoomcentrum Maldegem)

This steam locomotive of the Cockerill type is part of a series of locomotives built by the company of John Cockerill in Seraing in the period from 1900 to 1920. These machines had a vertical boiler (hence the French nickname 'loco bouteille') which allowed them to to have a small, yet very powerful locomotive that was easy to use and yet had a high efficiency on inferior quality coal. This vertical placement is very exceptional within the railway area.

It was delivered to a company in Willebroek and was included in the collection of the NMBS museum repository in Leuven at the end of the 1970s. The municipal council of Sint-Gillis-Waas received the locomotive on loan from the NMBS holding for the expansion of KLINGSPOOR.
This locomotive was restored together with the wagon in the Stoomcentrum Maldegem and was given a new destination at KLINGSPOOR on 17 June.
(Source: Jonas Depau, Stoomcentrum Maldegem)

For over a hundred years, trains rumbled over the tracks in De Klinge at regular intervals...
The trains transported passengers and goods along the Mechelen-Terneuzen route. The 'Chemin de Fer International de Malines à Terneuzen' was a private railway company that was founded in 1868. On August 26, 1871, the line was festively opened and the first train ran from Mechelen to Terneuzen and back. The number of passenger trains has always remained fairly modest. On average, the residents of Klingen could take the train to Sint-Niklaas or Hulst ten times a day. Freight traffic was of greater importance for the railway company's income. Coal and iron ore were unloaded in the port of Terneuzen and then taken to Germany via the railway. Furthermore, masses of sugar beets and other agricultural products were transported. Come discover the railway past with or without a guide on our outdoor site! Learn and discover everything about the Oude Statie building, the D'hanenskruis, the Spoormal and so much more. We are happy to open the door of our original train carriage for you!All information at klingspoor.be/spoor

KLINGSPOOR is a heritage project in De Klinge, a borough of Sint-Gillis-Waas in Belgium near the Dutch border.
There is an outdoor area and an exhibition space. The history of the region is treated on the basis of four themes.
Source: Henk 🚴‍♂️🚴‍♀️😉