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NEERPELT
Belgian State Railways (SNCB)

by Michiel Rademakers

Photograph by Michiel Rademakers, 2002.

Neerpelt station can be found in the extreme north-east corner of Belgium, some 5 kms from the Dutch frontier. It is/was a largish junction station on an intersection of the ancient international Antwerp-Roermond (NS)-Koeln line with the local Liege - Hasselt - Eindhoven line which incidentally was build by the Dutch SS and is now totally dismantled. The Antwerp - Koeln line still has two heavy ore trains each way each workday, and a commuter service between Neerpelt -and Antwerp - a two hours journey!

This picture shows the station building which dates from the 19th century, built by the Grand Central Belge (Belgian Great Central Railway).

Photograph by Michiel Rademakers, 2002.

The GCB equipped Neerpelt with two Saxby & Farmer boxes, named in Belgian terms Blok 4 and Blok 5. Boxes are numbered by block post along a line. This picture shows the south junction with Blok 4 box. The line to Hasselt-Liege ran straight on, whilst the line to Antwerp turns to the right.

The box is in a sorry state, because rumour has it that it will finally be torn down in 2004 - apparently the last of its kind in all Belgium - to be replaced by a CTC setup in Mol, 20 kms towards Antwerp. Already the semaphores are replaced by colour-light signals. These signals have a strange bulge to the right, because the 'caution' aspect in Belgium is two yellow diagonal lights. In the vertical line are top to bottom: green for clear, red for stop, one yellow, and white for calling-on. This type of signal could also show two aspects related to junctions and busy areas:

1. Green and yellow horizontally: clear for diverging route
2. Green over yellow vertically: next signal shows double yellow and is within braking distance

These aspects are the successors of an aspect of the Belgian three-position distant semaphore.

The points are still pulled by double-wires coupled to Saxby & Farmer rocker levers - really heavy work.

Photograph by Michiel Rademakers, 2002.

This photograph shows the 20 lever frame. The lever plates identify the function by colour:

• Red: main signals
• Yellow: distant signals (there never were any here, the current is automatic)
• Purple: shunting/calling-on signals
• Blue: points
• Black: bolts (there were none here as the points here were always self-locking points - invented by the German firm of Buessing)
• Brown: direction selectors (the miniature levers 12 & 13)
• Green: route lever (miniature lever 14 is technically this colour, it locks a selected route firm, and is only released by a train operating a pedal (treadle) when it has totally left the junction area.)

The lever functions are, or (in some cases) were:

1. Down Main Antwerp - Mol home
2. Down Branch Hasselt home - white, disused
3. Branch dwarf shunting disc - now color-light
4. Double slip: to Platforms (I + II) / to loop/Goods (III + 4-6)
5. Down Main Antwerp - Mol calling-on/shunt
6. Double slip: to Antwerp / to Hasselt
7. Point: to Platform I / to Platform II
8. Point: to Platform III / to Goods 4 - 6
9. Point: to Goods 4 / to Goods 5 + 6
10. Point: to Goods 5 / to Goods 6
11. Point in Goods 6: to Junction / to Cattle Siding
12. Selector: to Mol / from Mol (normal speed) -> [1]
13. Selector: to Mol / from Mol (track occupied) -> [5]
14. Electric lock: junction route locked I - 6
15. Shunt from Platform I - now selected shunt from I - 6
16. Platform I starter - now selected platform I - Goods 6 starter
17. Shunt from Platform II - now white, disused
18. Platform II starter - now white, disused
19. Shunt from Platform III - Goods 6 - now white, disused
20. Platform III - Goods 6 starter - now taken out
    

Photograph by Michiel Rademakers, 2002.

This is the track plan of Blok 4 with several track circuit lights and point control lights. It also shows the lever numbers in British fashion - Belgian signalling was essentially British/American, having three- or two-position semaphores of somewhat British look.

Comments about this article should be addressed to John Hinson