ride on a steam train

The Belgian railways have a nicely restored steam engine in service since a couple of years. Because the need to train new staff to operate it, the steam engine was active for some days in the summer of 2006 between Vilvoorde and Leuven (two relatively large cities in Belgium).

They had the great idea to sell tickets (€ 7.5 both ways, really cheap) to the public. I went to buy one the first day they became availible.

The ride itself went smoothly. I never saw these trains in the old days (they were gone before I was born), so I liked the opportunity. The train was delayed both ways, but nobody minded.

It was freezing outside and the heater wasn’t working in our little area of the car. There were screaming kids in the main comparment so I was sooooooo glad we had our own space. They can only go 20 mph because it is an old train with old parts. To top it all off, they don’t actually have a steam train in operation right now. We rode on the Eagle Cliff. The Eagle Cliff was built in 1948 by Pullman-Standard and is an example of the so-called “smooth side” streamline car design. It is an 85-foot sleeper-lounge and is the sole survivor of three such cars. Still a very cool experience.