The annual steam festival at the Belgian Maldegem- Eeklo Steam Railway will be a two day event, partly commemorating Railway 200, to be held at Maldegem, Belgium, on Saturday and Sunday 3rd and 4th of May, 2025.
The railway is honoured that the station and line have recently been recognised as a Flemish National Heritage Site by the ”Vlaams Agentschap Onroerend Erfgoed” (Flemish Agency for Fixed Heritage). An achievement of which we are very proud.
Planning is proceeding well. There should be 5 locos in steam on standard gauge including, the railway’s resident Austerity 0-6-0st WD196 “Errol Lonsdale” WHICH WILL CARRY A HEADBOARD COMMEMORATING 200 YEARS OF PUBLIC RAILWAYS, 1893 St Leonard built 0-4-0t “Yvonne” which will be working trains to Eeklo double headed with Cockerill type 4r 0-4-0VBT 3098 of 1926 which is visiting from Haaksbergen in the Netherlands. La Meuse built 0-6-0t “Bebert” will also be in service, returning to steam after a major overhaul carried out in house at Maldegem. The large Krupp Built “Hannibal” class 0-6-0t “Tom”, which is now entering her third year on loan to Maldegem from the suspended Ijmuiden Steelworks steam train, will also be a mainstay of services to Eeklo. In addition to the steam locos, it is planned to have NMBS/SNCBclass 62 BoBo diesels visiting from Infrabel and to use these to work some services on the preserved line.
On the narrow gauge line, Maldegem’s own Hanomag 0-4-0wt “Yvonne”, from 1906 will operate a frequent service on the narrow gauge line, hopefully joined by a second steam loco for which negotiations are ongoing.
As usual, there will be an international selection of trade stands and model displays present as well as the popular food and beer terrace outside the workshop.
2025 is also the one hundredth anniversary of the first public bus services in Belgium, and to commemorate this there will be about 15 preserved buses on display. It will be possible to take a ride on one of these.