Soignes Forest Railway

Soignes Forest Railway
Overview
Native name	Chemin de fer de la forêt de Soignes
Status	Closed and disappeared
Service
Type	Decauville
History
Opened	1902
Closed	1918
Technical
Line length	2.5 km (1.6 mi)
Number of tracks	1
Track gauge	600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
Electrification	No
La Petite Espinette~Brussels tram Brussels–Waterloo La Petite Espinette~Drève Saint-Hubert Allée des Cavaliers Dreve of the Infanta Drève des Deux Montagnes Drève du Comte Drève du Comte diverted~Chemin des Tumuli Boitsfort Boitsfort~Brussels–Namur–Luxemburg

The Soignes Forest Railway was a Belgian type Decauville railway, which has disappeared since its closing in 1918.

History

Put into service in 1902, this railway linked the Petite Espinette in the Brussels municipality of Uccle (at the limit of Rhode-Saint-Genèse), then served by the old line to Waterloo of the Brussels tram, to Boitsfort railway station, on the Brussels–Namur–Luxembourg railway line. Established in the Sonian Forest, the line was 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) long.

After the First World War, it was abandoned for reasons of unprofitability. This railway line transported gravelling materials for the laying of forest paths, and was also used to transport wood.^[1]

Location

Starting from the beginning of the Drève Saint-Hubert, the railway crossed the Drève de Lorraine and then ran along a large part of the Drève des Deux Montagnes.

Gallery

The railway

• 
  The railway before 1920 (Chemin des Deux Montagnes)^[2]
• 
  Decauville wagon or open wagon used at the time

The shed

The shed, built in 1902 like the line,^[3] was renovated in 2003. Having served as a shed for the rolling stock, it is the only remnant of the old railway. In the 2010s, this building served as a storage facility and shelter for foresters.

• The shed in 2017
• 
  Shed in the Sonian Forest
• 
  Traces of the three old rolling stock access gates
• 
  Entrance for bats, fitted into the roof

See also

• Drève des Deux Montagnes^(fr)
• Drève Saint-Hubert^(fr)
• Drève de Lorraine^(fr)
• Forest railway
• List of Decauville railways
• Narrow gauge railway
• Soignes Forest

References

1. According to the IBGE^(fr).
2. (in Dutch) Source: [http:/ /app.bruxellesenvironnement.be/multimedia/plan-gestion-foret-soignes/Boek_III_20190404_Reserves_NL.pdf bruxellesenvironnement.be]
3. The hangar is located at the coordinates: 50.777297°N 4.392238°E / 50.777297; 4.392238 (taken from Google Maps).

Literature

• Stéphane Vanwijnsberghe und Jean-Christophe Prignon: Beheerplan voor het Brussels gedeelte van het Zoniënwoud. Boek III. Beheerplannen voor de archeologische sites, natuurreservaten en bosreservaten.
• Stéphane Vanwijnsberghe und Jean-Christophe Prignon: Plan de gestion de la Forêt de Soignes bruxelloise. Livre III. Plans de gestion des réserves archéologiques, naturelles et forestières.
• Bart Vanmontfort, Els Meirsman und Roger Langohr: Archeologische evaluatie van de neolothische site (Bosvoorde-Vijvers) Twee Bergenlaan in Watermaal-Bosvoorde.