Beside the Parc de Woluwé
Its man-made straightness a surprise
King Leopold planned it that way.
Electricity was all the rage
When he planned his great endeavour
A train connection – narrow gauge
For his Exhibition* – the best ever!
The Congo was his personal fief
He put its treasures on display
Creating villages on the heath
It was Tervuren's great heyday!
What better than a railway line?
Electrified – as we have said
The masses took it as a sign
That Belgium was one step ahead.
In the Belle Epoque the tracks were laid;
The Bruxellois came by the score
The railway did a roaring trade;
But that was then; it is no more...
Tracks ripped out - now walkway new
Joggers set the pace at last
But who stops to admire the view
Or imagines small trains whizzing past?
(c) Poet in the woods 2016
* Congo Exhibition - 1897
The old railway to Tervuren is now a "promenade verte" - starting in Auderghem ...
Tervuren also has an interesting "Central Africa" Museum - recently modernised.
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