On Sunday 31 March, the 2018 Willem Wolff Prize was awarded to the South Limburg Steam Railway Society (ZLSM) Foundation
The foundation is committed to preserving railway heritage. ZLSM receives the award for reconstructing a historic turntable at the monumental railway yard in Simpelveld.
The Willem Wolff Prize supports (local) initiatives in the field of the history of technology and was established in 2011 by the History of Technology Department of the KIVI, the Foundation for the History of Technology and the Wolff family.
The jury was enthusiastic about the ZLSM's project proposal. The Simpelveld yard is home to the ZLSM's depot and is where the railway rolling stock is maintained and restored. ZLSM wants to show in Simpelveld what is involved in operating a historic railway line. The restoration and re-opening of the turntable, originally built in 1929, is a substantial contribution to this.
The Willem Wolff Prize is an initiative of the History of Technology Section of KIVI, the Foundation for the History of Technology and the Wolff family. The prize, consisting of a plaque and an amount of two thousand euros, serves to support and encourage small museums and local initiatives in the field of engineering history. The prize is named after mechanical engineer Willem Wolff (1921-2009). As president of KIVI and co-founder and first chairman of the Foundation for the History of Technology, he underlined the importance of engineering history, under the motto "one must know the past to have a view of the future."
Previous award winners include the Dutch Iron Museum in Ulft, the Industrial Narrow Gauge Museum in Erica, the Hollands Glorie Foundation in Maassluis, the Oude Groninger Kerken Foundation in Groningen, the Haarlemmermeer Museum De Cruquius Foundation, the Dutch Lithography Museum in Valkenswaard and the Dutch Mining Museum in Heerlen.
