11 August 1988 Society formed | Terminus St Ghislan | |
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Patrimoine Ferroviaire et Tourisme (French) (PFT) are a society dedicated to the preservation of Belgian railway heritage. They cover a number of aspects of railway enthusiasm, operating charter trains, maintaining heritage locomotives (steam and diesel) and operating a museum at Saint-Ghislain.
Contents
Charter Trains
PFT operate charter trains on the Belgian railway network. They have their own train of carriages and fleet of locomotives which are passed by Infrabel for these operations. Both steam and diesel locomotives are used. PFT are often called upon to run trains celebrating railway milestones, e.g. they organised the final workings for the recently withdrawn Class 15 & Class 16 locomotives.
Preservation of Belgian Railway Heritage
This takes place at their museum in Saint-Ghislain and at their site within SNCB's Schaerbeek depot. Maintenance of the operational fleet takes place at Schaerbeek, and vehicle restoration is centred on Saint-Ghislain. The museum is host to a number of model railway events each year.
Steam Locomotives
Diesel Locomotives
Electric Locomotives
Electric Multiple Units
Diesel Multiple Units
Chemin de fer du Bocq
PFT have taken over the 21 km long Ciney - Spontin - Yvoir railway line (also known as line 128) and operate it as the Chemin de fer du Bocq (CFB) heritage railway. It retains a connection to the national network at Ciney, which facilitates PFT using main line locomotives at their events. A gala is held every year around 15 August. During 2012 CrossRail AG provided a class 66 locomotive as a feature. In 2015, 16 kilometers (between Ciney and Evrehailles-Bauche) are operational. In 2016, the terminal section between Ciney and Braibant will be completely rebuilt. Connexion with the national railway trains at Ciney is thus suspended.
En Lignes/Op Der Baan
PFT produce a bi-monthly commercial magazine aimed at the Belgian rail enthusiasts, produced in French (En Lignes) and Dutch (Op Der Baan) versions. The name translates to English as On the line.