As part of the 175th anniversary of the Charleroi-Walcourt railway line (1878-2023) and the 50th anniversary of the Chemin de Fer à Vapeur des 3 Vallées (1973-2023), Louis Gillieaux has published a reference work on the train in Entre-Sambre-et-Meuse.
Considered the birthplace of the railway in the region, Walcourt was chosen for the presentation of the book and the organization of a conference organized at the end of last year. Following this event, an exhibition was organized at the Espace Hôpital Saint-Nicolas de Walcourt from January 18 to February 23 of this year. It was part of the 175th anniversary of the arrival of the railway in Walcourt. “Organized at the initiative of the City, the cultural center, the tourist office and a few enthusiasts, this exhibition attracted a large audience who were unaware that the entity had known up to seventeen stopping points on its territory”, explains André Vael, organizer of a walk in the footsteps of the old railway lines.
A book
“As the exhibition was about to end, we said to ourselves that 175 years of railways in Walcourt deserved much more than a few lines. This is how we undertook to write a book on the subject “, announce Daniel Wérion, André Vael and Vincianne Gouttebarge.
Tarciennois, Daniel Wérion is passionate about the railway. He worked as a rail transport buyer and is particularly interested in line 156, also called the Princes de Chimay line. For his part, André Vael set to music all the documentation received, and Vincianne Gouttebarge took care of the illustrations and corrections.
The authors invite the reader to travel, along the rails, the old railway lines that existed in the entity.
Among these, let us first highlight line 132 which enters the entity at Berzée and which continues to Yves-Gomezée via Pry and Walcourt. You should know that before its diversion in 1970 due to the construction of the Eau d’Heure Lakes, line 132 was heading towards Cerfontaine and not towards Philippeville. The shortest line is the 111 which linked Thy-le-Château to Laneffe via the stopping points of Cafonnette and Gourdinne. The most rugged was line 135 which linked Walcourt to Morialmé via Vogenée, Rossignol, Fairoul, Fraire, Fraire Humide, Fraire Minières, Fraire Froidmont and Morialmé. Finally, line 136 passed through the stopping points of Rossignol, Yves-Gomezée Voyau and Saint-Lambert before heading towards Hemptinne, Saint-Aubin and Florennes.
All these lines are detailed in the book, and illustrated with numerous old photos. At the end of the book, the authors discuss the current developments of line 132 with its use for the needs of the “Les Petons” quarries of Yves-Gomezée and “Carmeuse” in Hemptinne.
The book is available at the tourist office for €7. Info: [email protected].
