A hidden gem shines

Restoration process tram waiting room Tholen

In the town of Tholen, a forgotten pearl is being polished. The former waiting room of the tram company from 1928. She is being dusted off, bringing a special piece of history back to life.

A piece of history
In 1882 the Stoomtramweg-Maatschappij Bergen op Zoom – Tholen (BT) was founded and then in 1886 the Stoomtramweg-Maatschappij Antwerpen – Bergen op Zoom – Tholen ABT). The latter had meanwhile taken over the shares of the former. In 1887 the tram route was extended from Antwerp to Tholen.

Until 1928 the tram to Tholen stopped at the ferry across the river Eendracht. The plans to build a bridge were there much earlier, but at the time neither the Province of Zeeland nor the national government 'crossed the bridge' with money. A fatal accident on December 29, 1925 changed that. Because of the fatal outcome, the plans were taken out of the closet again to be submitted to the authorities. Unfortunately, they did not agree again. At that time, the municipal council of the core of Tholen decided to build a bridge at its own expense. There was a lot of resistance though. The middle classes feared a loss of turnover and part of the population feared that all the sinfulness and immorality of Brabant would come to the island. Despite this opposition, the bridge was eventually built.

From October 10, 1928, the tram was finally able to reach Tholen city over a constructed bridge and stopped in the Eendrachtsweg. A waiting room was then built there. It only took six years for the tram to enter Tholen city. There was a disagreement about paying the toll. Should that be paid by the traveler or by the tram company? Since they could not find a solution, the tram company decided to drive as far as the bridge from now on. Passengers had to cross the bridge on foot. At that time, several buses were already running between Tholen and Bergen op Zoom. The BBA (Brabantse Buurtspoorwegen en Autodiensten) took over the tram company and in the course of 1934 the tram eventually disappeared.

The reason
City guide Adrie Quist is taking a city walk with tourists in the summer of 2022 and then realized that he was telling the story of a hidden piece of Thool history. Heavily in disrepair, but still tangible. He came up with a plan and got the municipality of Tholen enthusiastic about it. The plan was to 'resurrect' the waiting room so that from now on all city guides could proudly tell about it. However, the waiting room is owned by a local entrepreneur. He was approached, made enthusiastic and subsequently cooperated in a refurbishment by various parties. From that moment on, the plan gained momentum. Calvin College also reacted enthusiastically to actively involve its students in the restoration, as well as a local painting company, installer and contractor company that would like to use their knowledge. From that moment on, all parties have worked together.

The progress
During a meeting in January 2023, all parties were present and were made even more enthusiastic. It turned out that the waiting room was also equipped with an awning at the time. How nice would it be if it came back? The original drawing from 1928 was put on the table and caused a surprising twist. During a joint visit to the waiting room, those present were shocked by the state of repair and everyone agreed that something had to be done now. Work has now started in June. Below is a photo impression from week to week and you can see the progress of this special project. It is difficult to make a schedule, but the hope is that this forgotten pearl will shine this year.