The restoration of tram wagons and their sheds requires a great effort. And its implementation also has its usual delays. This is no different at the Schepdaal Tram site.
Although the site reopened its doors to the general public since 2009, after a ten-year hibernation, this industrial heritage site was protected in 1992 and has been anything but fully restored. During the ten-year closure, major restoration and conservation works were carried out on the site under the supervision of Flanders Heritage. Almost all roofs were completely renovated. Only the walls, the floor and the roof trusses of the sheds at the back were preserved and treated to prevent further decay.
The smaller buildings also received an initial restoration phase.
But a real impulse to continue the chosen path and reopen the museum came with the establishment of the non-profit organization META. This umbrella organization of all associations (volunteers!) involved in the mobile heritage of tram and bus in Flanders was launched in 2008 in Schepdaal.
With also Herita, the platform of Flemish heritage organisations, as a partner, opening up the Tram Site to the general public became an important goal.
It was decided to let individual visitors explore the site with audio guides. The function of the buildings, the history of the exhibited carriages as well as that of the Buurtspoorwegen in general are commented. To support these audio guides, signs and panels were placed in and on the buildings and trams with photos that support the story.