One of the oldest tram cars, which were the main means of transport within the Heliopolis district during the 20th century, arrived this morning at the garden of Baron Empain Palace in Heliopolis. The tram had over the ages become one of the district's main landmarks.
In this context, Brig. Gen. Hisham Samir, Assistant Minister of Antiquities for Engineering Affairs and general supervisor of the Historic Cairo Development Project, explained that the front area of the palace garden had been prepared to receive the tram car by building and installing concrete bases, sleepers, rails and railway equipment.
He added that starting next week the car will undergo restoration and upgrading to restore its splendor and reveal its original appearance from the era of Baron Empain, so that it becomes part of the display scenario of the exhibition to be held inside the palace on the history of the Masr El-Gedida district and Heliopolis through the ages. This comes within the project to repurpose Baron Empain Palace, implemented by the Ministry of Antiquities in cooperation with the Belgian Embassy and civil society associations in Egypt.
In a related context, the Higher Committee for the Museum Display Scenario chose this car to be displayed in the exhibition to tell the story of the establishment of the first tram line in Egypt, which over the ages became one of the main landmarks of Heliopolis. It will also shed light on the urban development devised by Baron Empain to attract residents to the new district he built in Cairo.
For his part, Dr. Gamal Mostafa, head of the Islamic and Coptic Antiquities Sector, said the car is one of the red tram cars that were the main means of transport within Heliopolis, which Baron Empain, "the Tram King of the World," established for this purpose, while the white tram was used to travel from the new city to Cairo.
He pointed out that the tram car was placed in the spot prepared to receive it after the Islamic Antiquities Sector received it from the Central Administration of Trams at the Public Transport Authority, in cooperation with the Cairo Governorate, so that Baron Empain Palace remains linked to the tram, which has stopped operating, and so that it becomes part of the palace's display features for generations who did not witness the city's early days.
