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History

In the past, the train station in Moere was a stop along the famous railway 62 which connected Ostend and Torhout with the city of Armentières in northern France. During the roaring twenties, this railroad line played an essential role in the culture of international luxury train travel. Affluent Parisians boarded the Paris-Belgian Coast Pullman Express to the popular beach resort towns of Ostend and Knokke; their suitcases and hat cases filled with the latest haute-couture and swimwear. Departing from Ostend, the rich and famous travelled in trains whose legendary names still conjure up images of elegance and luxury: the Orient Express, the Ostend-Vienna Express and the Ostend-St. Petersburg Express.

 

The Pullman Express covered the distance between Paris and the Belgian coast in just five and half hours. Along the 22 km (13.4 miles) trajectory between Torhout and Ostend, train stations were built every 3 kilometres. Unlike the stations of Wijnendale, Ichtegem, Eernegem, Gistel and Snaaskerke, the station in Moere was preserved over the years. The station was operational from 1868 to 1963, when local train travel was abandoned.  In 2002, the station became protected monument.

 

The old train track was eventually transformed to what is now known as the “Green 62”, a bike and walking path. Although the railroad was dismantled, the connection between the countryside and the coast persisted. The path crosses through reclaimed flat pastures, dunes, plains and plateaus – a unique and varied landscape which the guests of Spoor.62 can explore either by foot or on bike.