It was one of the great engineering achievements of the 19th century. An entire railway station in Antwerp was moved 36 metres in 1907 using an ingenious system of mechanical jacks and rails.
The company that carried out this exceptional project hoped that it could sell the technology elsewhere, but the concept never took off, leaving Antwerpen-Dam station as a unique experiment.
Not many people know the story. The station looks just like any other Belgian station. Located near Park Spoor Noord, it’s a typical Flemish Renaissance brick building standing alongside a railway viaduct. But there is a fascinating exhibition of old photographs in the tunnel under the viaduct that tells the astonishing story.
Derek Blyth’s hidden secret of the day: Derek Blyth is the author of the bestselling “The 500 Hidden Secrets of Belgium”. He picks out one of his favourite hidden secrets for The Brussels Times every day.
