Steam in Luxembourg, September 2010

James Waite reports on his weekend trip to Luxembourg, a new country for him.

This was a steam festival at the preserved ex-iron ore mining branch line from Petange to Fond de Gras in the far south west of the country operated by "Train 1900" and the associated preserved 700mm gauge "Minieresbunn" railway from the various mines to the loading point at the standard gauge station at Fond de Gras. This was a one-off event to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the standard gauge line being preserved.

In the picture below, the red loco is a 0-4-0VBT, ex-ABR, Manage, Belgium (Cockerill 2952/1920) setting off from Fond-de-Gras for Rodange. The green loco in the background is setting off for Petange and is 0-6-0T “Anna no. 9” ex-Alsdorf, Germany (Hohenzollern 2227/1908

There were six standard gauge locos in steam and seven others on display or awaiting restoration, some of them from the iron ore mining industry in Luxembourg and others from over the border in France, Belgium and Germany plus one which spent its working life in Switzerland. Two of the locos were visiting from museums in Belgium and the Netherlands.

The 0-6-0T arriving with the green 6-wheeled coaches is “Navizence” (SLM 2079/1910) ex-Alusuisse, Chippis, Switzerland, visiting from the Museum Buurt Spoorweg Haaksbergen, Netherlands. It's one of the Swiss "Tigerli" type locos which were quite common in the country, both on the SBB and in industry and quite a number are preserved there.

This is CF Alsace-Lorraine 0-6-0T no. 6114 (SACM Graffenstaden 4324/1891) taking water and then leaving Fond-de-Gras on the line to Petange. The A-L operated the railways over the French border, i.e., only about 2km away.

The loco standing in Fond-de-Gras station with the more modern-looking 6-wheeled coach is 0-6-0T no. 509 (Energie 481/1946) ex-Fours-a-Coke, Zeebrugge. It's a standard German wartime design ordered by the German military authorities though it wasn't completed until after the war. The green 0-8-0T is no. 107 (La Meuse 4123/1942) ex-A. Dumont, Genk, Belgium. It's awaiting restoration to working order.

On the narrow (600mm) gauge the small red loco is a replica of a 3-ton Decauville loco built for a Luxembourg gentleman who worked on the South African railways for many years and who is now the shedmaster at Luxembourg engine shed and his wife, a native Luxembourg lady. They normally keep it at their home at Dahl in the north of the country where they have a short 600mm gauge line running round their garden - the Feldbunn Dol. A very pretty loco! carries plates reading that it is “Mosi oa Tunya” (Precirail 5/2005). The builders are apparently a firm of precision engineers based near Manage in belgium. I wonder what works no's. 1-4 are

The green loco is a metre gauge machine (Hanomag 5921/1911) ARBED no. 21 from the steelworks in the town and is now preserved at Esch sur Alzette, ARBED was the main steelworks company in Luxembourg.

The electric loco (Siemens 2940/1933.) is another ARBED loco and the van body is the only remaining item in something like original condition from the country's public metre gauge lines, the last three of which closed in the 1950's. We knew about it though found it quite by chance while turning the car round after seeing the electric loco.

The green 0-4-0T in steam is a Krauss Munich loco (3175/1895). It was built for service in Germany as a 700mm gauge loco, moved to Wiltz in northern Luxembourg in 1940 and regauged to 800mm for service at the Ideal leather factory there. Between 2001 and 2004 the loco was overhauled at Meiningen with a new boiler and converted back to its original 700mm gauge.

The last picture is at Niederpallen station in the west of the country on one of the old metre gauge lines which is now a small museum of the line - very well presented. The loco is a ARBED 0-4-0T no. 25 (La Meuse 3443/1937). The coach and wagon are heavily restored, verging on being replicas, and run on Belgian Vicinaux chassis.

We really enjoyed Luxembourg, a pretty place with helpful and friendly people and excellent, reasonably priced white wine. Didn't know before that they made wine there but now we have 20 bottles in the cellar!