A Belgian steam locomotive will leave for Poland this Thursday to take part in a locomotive festival hailed as the "mecca of steam locomotives" in Europe.
The Tubize 2069 – named after the village 30km south of Brussels where it was constructed in 1927 by Belgian constructor Ateliers Metallurgique de Nivelles – will undertake the journey of almost 1,000km from Dendermonde to Wolzstyn in western Poland to take part in the iconic Parade of Steam Locomotives.
Considered one of the most important railway events in the whole of Europe, the parade has been organised in Wolsztyn since 1991 and every year attracts thousands of tourists. Several historic steam locomotives from Poland and abroad will also travel to the city for the special occasion. It is one of the few opportunities to admire these magnificent, powerful machines up close,
The festival takes place on 19 and 20 August and the Belgian train will also run on the Polish rail network for a full week alongside a PKP Pt47 locomotive from Wolzstyn itself, Energie 507 from Luxembourg, a BR01 from Germany and many other steam locomotives.
Credit: Tubize 2069 vzw
The train had to be adapted to the requirements of the Polish rail operator for this purpose. "Even the wheels were removed from under the machine this winter to have it measured to the correct values," said Wim Charita, the chair of the non-profit association that owns the locomotive. Festival visitors will be invited to explore the region's rural tourism during these trips on historic trains.
This particular Tubize was numbered 2069 and was built along with two 'sisters', 2068 and 2070 to provide services for the company 'Metallurgy Hoboken' (now Umicore), a Belgian metal engineering company near Antwerp. The other two trains were converted into diesel locomotives.
The special train can travel at a maximum speed of 50 km/h and returned to tracks in 2021 after a long six-year restoration. It still runs between Baasrode-North and Puurs every Sunday in August and September.
