Belgium 95 



tow, stands at a convenient angle for receiving the drop wire. 

 Fig. 28 shows a neat bracket standard, useful for running a few 

 wires along walls or houses. There is a twelve-wire route of this 

 nature along the Fosse-aux- Loups, Brussels. 



With one exception, that of Louvain, none of the exchange fix- 

 tures in Belgium offer novel points. The Brussels central standard, 

 soon to be superseded, has 3,000 wires already attached, with space 

 for 400 more. It is the original American erection, square, with 

 wooden uprights and arms. At Antwerp the fixture is built of 

 angle iron in the same way essentially as the ordinary standards. 

 At Antwerp the site of the central station was not too wisely 

 chosen, being adjacent to the great cathedral, which blocks it 

 entirely on one side. As a consequence, very heavy routes have 

 to be crowded on the old houses on either side of the cathedral. 

 An elevation of the handsome octagonal tower of the new com- 

 bined telegraph and telephone office at Louvain is given in fig. 

 29. Belgium has always been celebrated for its steeples ; now 

 here is a new variation of that architectural embellishment which, 

 in time to come, may share with the ecclesiastical variety the 

 admiration of antiquaries. The accommodation provided for 

 wires is far in excess of present requirements at Louvain, but 

 then the end is not yet. In Antwerp some immense lattice iron 

 arches were erected astraddle of some of the principal streets for 

 the purpose of supporting the conductors in connection with the 

 projected travelling balloon at the 1894 Exhibition. These have 

 since been acquired by the State for use as telephone wire supports. 

 As a general rule the outside work in Belgium is so well designed 

 and so thoroughly well executed that it is difficult to suggest 

 where there is room for improvement. 



OUTSIDE WORK (TRUNK) 



As far as supports are concerned there is nothing special about 

 the Belgian trunk work. The poles, away from the towns, are 

 generally creosoted wooden ones, sharpened at the tops and with- 

 out roofs. For the most part they are carried along the railways, 

 but where exposed to stone-throwing the insulators, which for 

 trunk work are large double-sheds, are of brown or slate-coloured 



