27.07.2021
Lorry
Did you know that ...
... Alfons Nelissen bought a lorry when he founded the brick factory in October 1921 to deliver the bricks to their clients? He and his son Mathieu would drive the black lorry themselves, with the name 'Nelissen' painted on the side in gigantic letters. The lorry had a capacity of about five tonnes. They were able to transport around 1,500 bricks in a single load. A home built in the early decades of the 20th century required an average of 3,000 to 4,000 bricks. Today, that number differs between Flanders and Wallonia. In the south of the country, an average home requires 10,000 bricks. But homes tend to be larger in Flanders, requiring around 15,000 bricks or more. In addition to a lorry, the brick factory also used a tram. A tram line has passed by the brick factory since the earliest days of the family business. The line forked right, up to the field oven, allowing the bricks to be loaded directly onto the trolley car. Different tram lines passed by the brick factory over the years. Line 479, for instance, connected Tongeren with Riemst via Kesselt. Line 813 ran between Tongeren and Lanaken, and line 815 connected Lanaken and Maaseik. Remarkably, they did not make use of the Albert Canal that runs by the Op de Helle site.
... Alfons Nelissen bought a lorry when he founded the brick factory in October 1921 to deliver the bricks to their clients? He and his son Mathieu would drive the black lorry themselves, with the name 'Nelissen' painted on the side in gigantic letters. The lorry had a capacity of about five tonnes. They were able to transport around 1,500 bricks in a single load. A home built in the early decades of the 20th century required an average of 3,000 to 4,000 bricks. Today, that number differs between Flanders and Wallonia. In the south of the country, an average home requires 10,000 bricks. But homes tend to be larger in Flanders, requiring around 15,000 bricks or more. In addition to a lorry, the brick factory also used a tram. A tram line has passed by the brick factory since the earliest days of the family business. The line forked right, up to the field oven, allowing the bricks to be loaded directly onto the trolley car. Different tram lines passed by the brick factory over the years. Line 479, for instance, connected Tongeren with Riemst via Kesselt. Line 813 ran between Tongeren and Lanaken, and line 815 connected Lanaken and Maaseik. Remarkably, they did not make use of the Albert Canal that runs by the Op de Helle site.
