European Railroad Discussion > Belgium rolling stock in the nineties

I noticed 'Belgium' or 'NMBS' didn't give a lot of hits here on TrainOrders.com. And I travelled a bit around in Belgium during my high-school age and took some all-weather pictures.

1. First of all a random local train. The coupler isn't too common in Western Europe.
https://cdn.trainorders.com/attachments/thumbs/1567000/1_NMBS_148_60f839d2ad154.jpg

2. The Dutch 'Hondekop' ('Dog head') train is standing in the Belgium museum-depot in this picture. It has the looks of the old standard Intercity trains of the Dutch Railways. This series was capable of running with Dutch 1.5 kV DC and the Belgium 3 kV DC. These trains ran between Brussels and Amsterdam, some where owned by NMBS (Belgium), some by NS (Dutch).
It is preserved in the Netherlands.
https://cdn.trainorders.com/attachments/thumbs/1567000/2_NMBS_Benelux_60f839ddcae3e.jpg

3. For normal passenger cars the NMBS had some dual-current Class 25.5 electric locomotives. This picture was taken in Amsterdam.
https://cdn.trainorders.com/attachments/thumbs/1567000/NMBS_25half_Amsterdam_60f839f7d1e32.jpg



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/21/21 08:24 by petmew.

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4. With still a bit of 'bling-bling' stainless steel, this locomotive is just waiting. It's another multi-current locomotive and if I'm correct, this one is preserved and can be seen in the Belgium railway museum. Wikipedia says it had 1.5 and 3 kV DC and 25 kV AC. Probably for trains on the Paris-Brussels-Amsterdam route.
https://cdn.trainorders.com/attachments/thumbs/1567000/NMBS_1503_60f83c6673381.jpg

5. And yet another multi-current locomotive, but this one also has the German 15 kV AC capabilities.
https://cdn.trainorders.com/attachments/thumbs/1567000/NMBS_1600_60f83c7a51808.jpg

6. Ow, and another multi-current locomotive, but now with some extra wheels. This one was used for heavier trains to Germany and France.
https://cdn.trainorders.com/attachments/thumbs/1567000/NMBS_1800_60f83c8e8f5ad.jpg

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7. NMBS 2373 pushing a long-ish passenger train out of Luik/Lüttich/Liège toward Brussels. The engine is not coupled; at the top of the ramp it will stop and return for the next job.
https://cdn.trainorders.com/attachments/thumbs/1567000/NMBS_2300_push_60f83f7c38ddb.jpg

8. Two NMBS engines. You can see a certain style was 'en vogue' in Belgium in the sixties.
https://cdn.trainorders.com/attachments/thumbs/1567000/NMBS_2600_60f83f8c2a62c.jpg

9. And a rare electric locomotive, only three were built in 1949. On this rainy day it is shunting in Brussels.
https://cdn.trainorders.com/attachments/thumbs/1567000/NMBS_2800_Electric_shunter_60f83faa5631f.jpg

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And here come the diesels!

10. I've seen NMBS reeks 51 in freight service only. But they did passenger service earlier in their lives. 2.000 HP Cockerill engines. Nicely noisy.
https://cdn.trainorders.com/attachments/thumbs/1567000/NMBS_5100_freight_60f8431dc61bb.jpg

11. More of the same. I guess this was Antwerp-Dam shops.
https://cdn.trainorders.com/attachments/thumbs/1567000/NMBS_5100_60f84329e0606.jpg

12. The NMBS type 52 had originally a kind of EMD E-unit-like cab. But the drives wanted a bit more comfort, so the cabs were modified. Here 5202 is hauling a train through Houyet in the Ardennes, probably empty coal or iron ore cars ex-Luxembourg to re-load in Antwerp.
https://cdn.trainorders.com/attachments/thumbs/1567000/NMBS_5400_freight_60f8434e80071.jpg



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/21/21 09:11 by petmew.

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13. Still in Houyet, now looking in direction North, here's 5401 arriving at his end-station with the 'Kano Special' (just making that one up).
But still, a lot of tourists start in Houyet to leisurely paddle towards the location where the stream 'Lesse' enters the river 'Meuse/Maas' south of Dinant.
https://cdn.trainorders.com/attachments/thumbs/1567000/NMBS_5400_pass_60f84758d9e9f.jpg

14. Here's 6261 leaving Antwerp with a local train. Weather as usual. (If you were an alien, as in from Mars, you could order some train books from Amazon (shortly really possible) and you would plan your family's visit to earth after judging the weather by looking at the train pictures, boy, you're wife would haunt you down for the rest of your life! ;-) )
https://cdn.trainorders.com/attachments/thumbs/1567000/6261_Antwerpen_60f8491a8f3f3.jpg

15. Same engine as above, only four wheels and 4 cylinders added. (And some other stuff, like electric brake resistors). Both types I got to run in the Netherlands a couple of years later.
https://cdn.trainorders.com/attachments/thumbs/1567000/NMBS_5500_60f84770d4566.jpg

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16. In the nineties you could just walk into the Antwerp-Dam shops. The people there speak a kind of Dutch, really interesting how only about a short time in history our languages can divert from each other. 
Anyway, I asked a worker if he would please stand on the front of this heavy-duty shunter locomotive, to give some spectacle to a dead engine. Big smile, no problem! The shops are gone now, of course...
https://cdn.trainorders.com/attachments/thumbs/1567000/NMBS_7100_60f84c8c42291.jpg

17. Here's a picture of a Reeks 82 shunter. I think it is somewhat derived from the German Baureihe V60 family. I also have some train pictures from Germany in the nineties; some of them might appear on TO in the future.
https://cdn.trainorders.com/attachments/thumbs/1567000/NMBS_82_55_60f84caec4915.jpg

18. And the last picture of this lot, NMBS 8457 shunting some cars out of Antwerp Central Station.
https://cdn.trainorders.com/attachments/thumbs/1567000/NMBS_8400_Antwerp_60f84c9ccecc4.jpg

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Thanks for posting these interesting pictures.  In June and September 2008 I visited Belgium and took over 600 pictures of trains.  I bought 10-ride go-anywhere tickets and had a great time with the trains, the beers and the waffels.  Gerry

GPutz Wrote:
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> Thanks for posting these interesting pictures. 
> In June and September 2008 I visited Belgium and
> took over 600 pictures of trains.  I bought
> 10-ride go-anywhere tickets and had a great time
> with the trains, the beers and the waffels. 
> Gerry

Belgium is a wonderful place to visit. Many trains, lots of beer, superb chocolates, jewelry.   Friendly people.

petmew Wrote:
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> I noticed 'Belgium' or 'NMBS' didn't give a lot of
> hits here on TrainOrders.com. ......

For a number of reasons [ these are my opinions ] I think Belgium has historically been underrated as a railfan destination, at least in the pre-internet age:
-  A lack of information:  German, Swiss, French etc publications were readily available outside those countries, but information on Belgian railways was harder to find.
-  A dull looking railway -- see my post from last year on the SNCB 150 class [ as they were then ].  And aside from international workings, there were no 'special' color schemes on select trains.
-  Boring operations in boring geography;  there's the Liege ramp, but what else....
-  Why do Belgium when more interesting venues were at hand ?

This situation has changed somewhat, although SNCB seems to favor liveries that even British TOC's would reject;  publications like Today's Railways Europe, plus the internet have really helped.

And my congratulations on getting the Class 71 hump locomotives  -- only four I believe.

Best regards,  SZ