The Miner's Lamp

The fact that there is a miner's lamp at Tollembeek station is no coincidence. From Galmaarden, Viane, Herne and Tollembeek, many inhabitants left for Wallonia in the middle of the last century to work in the mines. They were called the fossemans . Pascal Verbeken describes it beautifully in his book Grand Central Belge: "They were strangers in their own municipality and strangers in Wallonia". He describes how resident Jozef Agneessens went daily to the coal mine of Monceau-Fontaine n°14 of Roux-Souvret near Charleroi. He left at 4 a.m., rode his bike to Tollembeek to take the train at 4:30. Then by train via Enghien, La Louvière, Piéton, Trazegnies and Roux. Then at 6:40 on the bike to Souvret. At 7 o'clock the elevator cage was descended. They worked until three o'clock. And then back home.

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