Anecdotes

Anecdotes & testimonies

Memories, stories and details shared by those who knew the RTT.

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35 anecdote(s)

89NEE0, Kanaalstraat in Neeroeteren, my home base. From Ewsd, you could see my grandparents’ house. As a child, I watched the Lex being built; when I was 9, I’d see all the lights flashing at night from my bedroom and say, “I want to go inside there someday.” Ten years later, I was working there.

in de nieuwe centrale in Berendrecht .... een 10 C centrale hadden ze 1500 overgezet in 't jaar 1972 voor die 4 dorpen .... daarna kwam de uitbreiding van de haven en in 1978 hadden we In the new exchange at Berendrecht — a 10C exchange — they had transferred 1500 lines in 1972 for those 4 villages. Then came the expansion of the port, and by 1978 we had 2800 lines. Between 1975 and 1993 there was an explosion of telephone connections + the factories along the docks, and I left when there were more than 7000 lines connected... in '93. The 10C exchange was one of the most modern at the time (according to my information, the first one was put into trial operation in Limburg – Hasselt and in Hoboken (near Antwerp)). The Berendrecht 10C exchange is the 2nd largest exchange in the port... From Lillo brug all the way to the border, with the firms connected to it: BASF – Monsanto – G+H Montage – various "naties" (Antwerp port stevedoring/cargo-handling companies): Noord Natie – Katoen Natie – Hessenatie, Van Wellen – Aertssen... too many large firms to name them all, as well as the locks (the Berendrechtsluis and the Zandvlietsluis were then the largest in the entire world), the bridges, shipping (RMD – Maritime Radio Service), and the four villages... everything went through that exchange in our "backwater" (boerengat). Being able to work in that exchange was an honour for me, alongside an automation technician, being allowed to operate it. It was not a "quick back home" or "quick to the bar counter" system, but a race against the clock to keep the lines operational. 99% of faults were fixed within half an hour (often received calls – including in the middle of the night – I lived only 500 metres from the exchange). I was fortunate that the section chief taught me the entire 10C exchange, right down to decoding the exchange in binary... 000 010 110... I was mostly there alone, and I also learned to maintain the cooling units – diesel – the battery room – the cross-connect (MDF) – the junctions – the PABXs... in fact everything, and I found it very pleasant to be able to do such varied work there, and I learned a great deal from it.2800 lijnen . tussen 1975 en 1993 is er een explosie geweest van telefoonaansluitingen + de fabrieken aan de dokken en ben er toen weggegaan dat er +7000 lijnen waren aangesloten .... in 93 . De 10c centrale was in die tijd één van de modernste ( volgens inlichtingen werd de éérste op proef gedraaid in de Limburg - Hasselt en in Hoboken ( tegen Antwerpen ) De 10 c centrale in Berendrecht is de 2e grootste centrale in de haven ... Vanaf Lillo brug tot aan de grens , de firma's die erop waren aangesloten ; BASF -Monsanto - G+H montage - verschillende naties: Noord Natie - Katoen natie- Hessennatie Van Wellen - Aertssen ..... teveel om al die grote firma's op te noemen, ook de sluizen ( de Berendrecht en de Zandvlietsluis waren toen de grootste van heel de wereld ) en bruggen en de scheepvaart (RMD - Radio maritieme dienst ) en de vier dorpen .... alles ging over die centrale in ons " boerengat " Daar in deze centrale te mogen werken was voor mij een eer samen met een automatieker, deze te mogen bedienen , dat was niet van " rap terug thuis of rap tegen den toog " systeem maar knokken tegen de tijd om de lijnen in werking te kunnen houden. 99% van de storingen waren binnen 't half uur terug in orde ( dikwijls oproepen gehad - ook midden in de nacht - 'k woonde maar 500 meters van de centrale en heb geluk gehad dat de sectiechef mij de hele 10 c centrale heeft aangeleerd tot zelfs de décodéring van de centrale in binairstelsel ... 000 010 110 ..... - ik was daar merendeels alleen en leerde ook de koelgroepen - diesel -batterijzaal - cross - juncties - Pabx - te onderhouden .... in feite alles en vond het zeer fijn daar afwisselend werk te mogen kunnen doen en veel van geleerd )

Both LDCs 299 and 297 are located in the station’s large underground parking garage, but on different levels. There was even a third one located just past a service entrance to the station (if I recall correctly, a double door and immediately to the right) that had been completely removed from the records, but where a lot of equipment (racks and a switch) was still inside.

Working at the “Regie” fostered a strong bond through technical collaboration. For example, all RTT technicians and engineers came together from all corners of Belgium to keep the 54GER site operational. For your information: The RTT cell towers at most RTT telephone exchanges across Belgium were designed in the 1980s by Robby Mast, Ir.

The "89GEN" telephone exchange was first upgraded from an analog to a semi-digital system in the 1980s. It was the GTD-5 EAX exchange, and it was impressive to see how quickly the technology of that time was evolving.

Summer 1997: Surfing by the Sea

by Hoebeeck Geert

This refers to the building located at 2 Rue de la Science, since RTT_BGC_PXS also owned a large building at 4 Rue de la Science, separated by Rue du Gouvernement. An underground passage runs beneath this street and connects the two sites. The building at No. 4 was sold in ??? and has been converted into apartments (access to the underground passage has been closed).

A few years ago, I had a visit from a former employee who had worked in the electromechanical room in Luttre, a space located on the street side, across from the railroad tracks. He told me that once, he had a problem with the switches that occurred intermittently and that he couldn’t figure out what was causing it. After several days or weeks, he realized that the problem occurred every time a freight train passed on the tracks.

The Verviers telephone exchange was beginning to become overloaded. It needed to expand, and Pepinster was in an ideal location. A telephone exchange was installed on the first floor of the post office on Avenue de la Gare. After a few years of operation, it became the first automated exchange in the metropolitan area. It didn't take long for the Telephone Authority to realize that the Pepinster network would eventually become overloaded. Already, with an eye toward the long-term future, on February 8, 1933, the Régie purchased a plot of land and a house on Rue du Duc. This was no easy task: suddenly, there were many interested buyers for these properties, located right in the heart of Pepinster and away from heavy traffic. Administrative formalities would drag the process out. It will be necessary to purchase and exchange land or buildings in order to create a cohesive whole. It will even be necessary to buy a building, demolish it, and cede a three-meter strip of land to provide easy access to another property. These sales and purchases will ultimately be finalized after the liberation in 1944. It was about time. On August 7, 1946, there were 342 subscribers in Pepinster. The telephone exchange at the post office had a capacity of 400 lines. On May 10, 1947, the Regie filed an application to build a telephone exchange on Rue du Duc, with a capacity of 800 lines. That capacity was quickly outgrown, and today, the 1946 figure has increased fivefold. While the choice of Rue du Duc as the site for this telephone exchange may have been somewhat arbitrary, this location is situated almost at the center of a large population center comprising the neighboring municipalities. Including Pepinster and Cornesse, the network extends down the valley to the Purgatoire Bridge; it covers the municipalities of Wegnez, Soiron, and even Xhendelesse.

Next to the historic building, a new structure was erected around 2016 to take over the Antwerp-Centrum service node. On April 14, 2017, the first portion of the telephone and internet traffic was routed through it.

The building's 48V power supply was shut off in July 2025. Complete demolition followed shortly thereafter. The latest information is that the building has been sold and is scheduled to be demolished.