Museumstoomtram Hoorn-Medemblik

The line from Hoorn to Medemblik opened in 1887 as a local steam tramway - not a main railway but a light line laid along roads and field edges to serve villages, of which the Netherlands built a large network and then closed almost all of them. This one survived, and since 1968 it has been run by a volunteer foundation with steam locomotives and wooden carriages of the period, twenty kilometres through the West Frisian polder with stops at village halts. The depot at Hoorn has the workshop and the collection. The standard trip is a triangle: steam tram from Hoorn to Medemblik, a boat across the IJsselmeer from Medemblik to Enkhuizen, and the ordinary train back from Enkhuizen to Hoorn, which takes most of a day and covers the region. Special services run at Christmas and there are dining and Wild West themed trips.

What you actually see

• An 1887 steam tramway - a light local line of a type that has almost entirely gone.
• Period locomotives and wooden carriages - run by a volunteer foundation since 1968.
• Twenty kilometres of polder - village halts through the West Frisian fields.
• The steam-boat-train triangle - the standard round trip through Medemblik and Enkhuizen.

When to go

April to October. A day.

Honest expectations

Seasonal and does not run every day - check the timetable and book. The triangle depends on boat sailings which are weather-dependent. Carriages are unheated and basic. Trips are slow by design.

Nearby

Medemblik and its castle are at the far end; Enkhuizen closes the triangle.