Hoorn - Medemblik Steam Tram - Friday 13 September 2024

 

The very pleasant lady in period costume who checked us in at Hoorn

Today we took a train to Schiphol Airport and changed for Hoorn which is on the coast and the starting point for a steam trip. There was a little time at Den Haag and we admired the transport integration.

The bus terminal is above the main station

Several tram lines have a station above the main concourse while others serve the street outside.

At Hoorn we were greeted by the lady shown above who gave us some pointers what to see and do. The main attraction was the 0-4-0 steam tram which hauled a train of twelve four-wheeled coaches. This might seem a lot but the land is level and there are very few gradients, if any. I had a quick chat with the fireman who showed me his fire. He was using Belgian coal which came in fist sized lumps - just right for this quite small firebox.

View over the bicycle carrying car that was attached to the engine

There was a stop at Wognum where I saw this rain

l dated 1942 - put in during the German occupation?

There was little over an hour at Medemblik where we saw this tall brick building

Waiting for the return at Metemblik. The engine was exquisitely clean. The paint shined and the brasswork had been polished that morning.

The steamer which connected with the train to take some passengers back to Hoorn by sea

The ride in both directions was fascinating. The land is completely flat and open areas are divided up by strips of water. There was a stream or canal alongside the line for most of the way. There are a few small villages and many private homes but most of the land, all flat, is given over to farming, mostly grazing, but there are some fruit trees and a large area of cabbage. The grazing land covered horses, cattle, sheep, pigs and goats. We saw two processions of cows walking in a single line, presumably to be milked. In both cases there must have been 60-100 animals walking in single line and we could see nobody leading them. The variety of birdlife in the fields and sloughs is amazing - ducks, herons, geese, swans, grebes, coots, crows etc.

The Netherland Railway is proud of the fact that it is 100% wind powered. There were many windmills in operation. Although it was sunny with cloudy periods there was a constant wind that made me feel quite cold.

The trip was good fun. The staff were very friendly. The cars, with a wheel on each corner, ran quite roughly and, in some cases, noisily. There is a large road network in the area and the line has a number of heavily used road crossings. Some, such as over a divided highway, are operated by track circuits, but most have to be operated by hand after the train has stopped. This is all taken in good part and is part of the fun. At one point we stopped and a member of the train crew flagged us across a road where a horse and cart was approaching.

The interlocking at Wognum, not now used

Our train at Wognum wit its cigar smoking driver

In the workshop at Hoorn

I took this picture at Den Haag earlier in the day. On the right is an old electric train with the driver perched above the roof line. We rode one of these back from Schiphol Airport to Den Haag Central. It was crowded and hot and it took the driver a long time to wind it up to full speed. It lurched a lot but got us back on time. A vintage return from a vintage steam train ride.