Old railway bridge line Lv524

It was not until 1935 that the Lv524 Gedinne-Vresse-Membre neighborhood line, opened in 1913, was extended to Bohan. The fact that it took so long had to do with WWI, which thwarted almost all planned projects, but also with a major obstacle: a steep rocky headland in the middle of such a large incised meander of the Semois (see map). Rather than the whole detour along the river, the shortest route was chosen, with a tunnel straight through the hill and a viaduct over the river on both sides.

​When the new connection was finally a fact on May 5, 1935, they wanted to extend it immediately to Sorendal, the terminus of the also meter-gauge departmental line from Monthermé, along the French Semoy, just across the border. After all kinds of political-political concerns, this extension came about on October 17, 1938. But the following year, war broke out for France and the borders were closed. Immediately the end of this barely one year old international connection. To make matters worse, on May 11, 1940, the French army blew up both viaducts, at least partially. Nevertheless, during the winter of 1941-42, temporary wooden bridges were used to restore the connection to Bohan. Until German troops on the retreat set fire to them on September 6, 1944.

After the war, the Buurtspoorwegen saw no point in such remote neighborhood lines. And so in 1947 the track between Vresse and Bohan was simply broken up. To this day, however, the witnesses of this short-lived line to Bohan remain very present in the Semois valley. Of both viaducts, 3 of the 5 arches remain standing (that of Membre in two separate pieces). The tunnel was bricked up for a grower (probably mushrooms) but has been abandoned for some time now.

Since 2022, a cross-border cycle path project has given this tram line a second life. A pedestrian bridge was built over the missing link of the Membre Bridge. And the tunnel of the line between Membre and Bohan was reopened.

Willem Vandenameele