{"id":7968,"date":"2014-08-30T02:55:20","date_gmt":"2014-08-30T06:55:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/?p=7968"},"modified":"2014-08-25T03:37:01","modified_gmt":"2014-08-25T07:37:01","slug":"interurban-throwback-charleroi-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/interurban-throwback-charleroi-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Interurban Throwback: Charleroi \u2014Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Tale of Two Tram Cities.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Sometimes I stumble into the past. Although I was keen to explore Charleroi by tram, I wasn\u2019t expecting the vestige of roadside interurban operation on the long line to Anderlues.<\/p>\n

Frequency on this line is only about every half hour, and I nearly gave up on this leg of my journey while waiting for a delayed outbound tram at the dark and dire brown-tile transfer station called Piges in western Charleroi.<\/p>\n

Much of the route features modern construction on concrete elevated structures and subway, a creation of the Charleroi Metro. However, once beyond a turn-back station at the end of this infrastructure intensive right of way, trams operate on a vestige of the old Vicinal network (once the operator an extensive system of Belgium\u2019s interurban tram lines).<\/p>\n

\"In<\/a>
In Anderlues, the tram uses single track gutter-side street running. Let me just\u00a0say, is this really cool for a modern-day operation. Lumix LX-7 photo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This includes side-of-road operation with long sections of single track, passing sidings and brick-lined streets. I was astounded. I checked my calendar, and it confirmed that it really was August 2014, not sometime in the mid-twentieth century.<\/p>\n

However, as is too often the case, I was on short-time and only had a few hours to explore this fascinating railway.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
A tram takes a corner in Anderlues. Moments later torrential rains dampened my photography. Lumix LX7 photo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Hard<\/a>
Hard rain at Anderlues.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A<\/a>
A tram takes a siding on single track at Anderlues. Canon EOS 7D with 200mm lens.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Working<\/a>
Working single track outbound at Anderlues. Canon EOS 7D with 100mm lens.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"This<\/a>
This reminds me a bit of my father’s photos of Johnstown Traction Company’s operations in the 1950s. Lumix LX7.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Streetside<\/a>
Streetside pickup point; an inbound tram pauses for a stop to collect passengers in Anderlues. Lumix LX7.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Tracking the Light<\/a>\u00a0posts\u00a0new\u00a0material\u00a0every\u00a0morning.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Tomorrow, take a ride on the SNCB!<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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