Straßenbahndepot Schepdaal

The Vincinal or Buurtspoorweg system of tramways extended over some 4250 route km and provided local and interurban services across large parts of Belgium. The museum at Schepdaal was opened in 1962 in a former Vicinal depot, that was from 1887 the terminus of steam trams linking the centre of Brussels with Schepdaal. The line was extended to Ninove, and was electrified in 1925. The depot retains many of its original features, including a tower from which steam tramcars obtained water. The extensive collection of vehicles, conserved by the Asociation pour le Musee du Tramway, includes steam, diesel and electric vehicles, mostly of Belgian origin, but including a steam tramway locomotive built in England in 1917, and a trailer car made in Saxony in 1901. The museum is closed for refurbishment in 2007.