Tram An

At the beginning of the 20th century, caves located near the town of Ans-sur-Les became a popular tourist attraction. However, the flip side was also popular - the transport on which tourists arrived led to traffic jams on the streets of the village. These traffic jams interfered with cattle driving, which caused discontent among local peasants.

On September 16, 1904, during a meeting of the commune council, local peasants presented the authorities with a demand to resolve the situation.

To solve the problem, it was decided to build a steam tram line, which was supposed to connect the center of the village with the entrance to the caves. By a royal decision of July 8, 1905, the construction and further operation of the line was entrusted to the National Society of Local Railways (NMVB / SNCV), which by that time had already operated a network of intercity trams.

The opening of the line took place on July 1, 1906 . Then its length was 3.7 km. She walked from the church of Ans-sur-Les to the top of the rock of Fole (Faule).

During the First World War, the line was not operational, but on July 13, 1920, movement along the line resumed.

In 1968, the line was extended from the Fole steel to the entrance to the caves. This 1.7 km stretch began operating on March 29, 1968 . On July 9, 1989, the final stop of the tram in the village of Ans-sur-Les was moved to a new location. In 1993, a reversal ring was built at the end of the line in Ans-sur-Les.

Until 1935, steam locomotives were used on the line, after which they were replaced by diesel trams - motor railways , while the number of passengers carried doubled

On July 16-17, 2005, the centenary of the line was celebrated, while the date of the decision to construct the line was not taken as the date of the opening of the line. For holiday trips, rolling stock from the TTA Museum was used: the AR 93 auto rail and A 165 and A 1348 wagons.

On June 10 of next year, the line celebrated its centenary for the second time (this holiday was timed to coincide with the opening of the line). This time, for holidays, they used their own rolling stock, the A 168 tram-tram and the A 8861 and A 8893 wagons.

Track width - 1000 mm , line length - 5.7 km. The track allocated almost throughout its length, with the exception of the site in the village of An.

Until 1935, steam locomotives of type 030 of the National Society of Local Railways were used on the line. In 1935 they were replaced by diesel trams - AR-type motor trams, which are operated in conjunction with trailed wagons. All car lifts and trailers are equipped with pneumatic brakes.

Car Stands

In total there are six diesel auto-tracks, of which two auto-tracks are a tractor. All of them are biaxial.

The weight of the tractor (ART 89, ART 90) is 19 tons, the semi-tractor (AR 145, AR 159, AR 168) is 13 - 15 tons, and the simple tram (AR 266) is 11 tons.

• ART 89: Ghent-Destelbergen workshop built by the NMVB / SNCV workshop based on a trailer car of the twenties in 1933. Since August 1, 1934 it was used in Ghent . In 1949, it was rebuilt into a towing truck, from 1949 to 1989 it was used on various lines in the province of Hainaut , as well as a working railcar for the construction of a light rail ("light metro") Charleroi . After that, ART 89 entered the ASVI Tram Museum. In 1995, it was transferred to the line of An caves. Wooden tram body.

• ART 90: built by the NMVB / SNCV Brussels- Curigem workshop based on a trailed wagon A 948 built in 1890 in 1933. Since July 1, 1934, it was based at the Geldenaken depot. In 1949, it was rebuilt as a tractor truck in Louvain , after which it was used for many years on intercity tram lines in the province of Brabant , mainly in the cities of Louvain, Geldenaken and Tinen . From 1962 to 1972, this tram was used in Brussels to dismantle tram lines. In October 1977, ART 90 was transferred to the line of An caves. Tram body - wooden.

• AR 145: built by Baume et Marpent of Haine-St-Pierre. Since March 7, 1935 it was used on the line of the An caves. Around 1950, this motor-car was weighted with ballast for the possibility of maintaining heavy trains. This tram is considered a seven-tractor. The tram body is metallic.

• AR 159: built in 1934 by Forges Usines et Fonderies of Haine-St-Pierre. Since 1935 it has been used in Turnhout and its environs. In 1951, in Ghent, this tram was heavier and turned into a seven-tractor. Since 1952, it has been used on the line of An caves. The tram body is metallic.

• AR 168: built simultaneously with AR 159 by the same company. AR 159 and AR 168 are almost identical. Since January 1936 it was used in the Courier (Courrière), in May of the following year, AR 168 was transferred to Antwerp. Like the AR 159, in 1951 in Ghent, the AR 168 was rebuilt into a seven-tractor. Since 1952, it has been used on the line of An caves.

• AR 266: was built in 1936-1937 by the NMVB / SNCV workshop Gent-Destelbergen. From August 20, 1938 to 1949 it was operated in the province of Liege, from 1949 to 1954 - the province of Hainaut and from 1954 to 1962 - in the province of Brabant. Since June 23, 1966, this tram has been used on the line of An caves. The tram body is metallic.

Trailer cars

As of the beginning of 2007, the line has passenger cars of the following types:

• Open biaxial wagons built by workshops of the line itself in 1994-2003. Their tail numbers are GR 001 - GR 009.

• Open biaxial cars built in the early 20th century. Their tail numbers are A 8798 (1908, Cie. Central de Construction), A 8812 (1910, Nicaise & Delcuve ), A 8820, A 8821 (1910, Ateliers Germain ), A 8861 (1911, Droeshout & Windels), B 8893 (1913, Droeshout & Windels), B 8895 (1913, Droeshout & Windels) and B 8896 (1913, Droeshout & Windels). These cars are in reserve and are almost never used.

Since 1978, the line has been equipped with four-axle closed wagons No. 9486 (former No. 19445, 1944, workshops NMVB / SNCV in Brussels) and No. 9499 (former No. 19596, 1952, workshops in Brussels). By that time, No. 9499 was no longer in use. Car No. 9486 was operated on the line until 2004.

Service wagons

According to the 1996 book (see sources), the line had one official biaxial flat-carriage built in 1887 (Seneffe factory), tail number A 3518. It is not known whether it remained on the line until 2007.

Literature

• Herman van 't Hoogerhuijs. Trammaterieel in Nederland en België. Alk bv Publishing House (Netherlands), 1996, ISBN 90-6013-948-8
• BA Schenk, MR Van den Toorn, Trams 2006. Publisher Alk bv (Netherlands). ISBN 90-6013-456-7
• BA Schenk, MR Van den Toorn, Trams 2007. Alk bv (Netherlands). ISBN 90-6013-446-4

Websites

• Official site
• Unofficial site
• Tram Aux Sur Les