Despite the heat, there are still some beachcombers on the beaches along the low-lying Lower Rhine. Special finds are sometimes made in the midst of a lot of litter. Such as the remains of a small narrow-gauge railway in the Maneswaard, the Opheusdens/Wageningse floodplain on the south bank of the Rhine.
It was already known to some that a narrow-gauge railway had been located there. With this, clay that was extracted in the Maneswaard, or excavated, was transported to barges that transported it further across the Rhine to brick factories. The destination was often directly across the street, where there is still a ruin that recalls the Blaauwe Kamer brick factory in Wageningen.
Hidden under water
The remains of the old railway line and the unloading quay are normally hidden under the water of the Rhine. But now, despite the weirs of Driel and Maurik that retain a lot of water in the Lower Rhine, the water level is falling, a piece of old narrow gauge railway has literally resurfaced.
The piece is located a few 100 meters east of the Veerhuis in Opheusden. The water level on the part of the Lower Rhine near Opheusden and Wageningen is falling very slowly, despite the weirs. This is due to evaporation and because Rhine water is pumped into the Linge on the east side of Opheusden and near Bontemorgen in Lienden.