Lowensteyn Family

Socialism came relatively late to the Netherlands, because of its slow industrialization. In the 1860s a socialist movement began to develop. Although the socialists were aided by the foundation of the First International and of the first Dutch trade unions, united in the Algemeen Nederlands Werklieden Vereniging, a socialist party was not founded until 1881, when the Social Democratic League was founded. The slow industrialization was reflected in the support base of the first socialist parties. It wasn't the urban proletariat which supported them most, instead it were agricultural workers, who were the first to support the League.

Before the First World War, the socialist movement saw two major spilts: in 1894 between revolutionary anarchists and parliament-oriented socialists. The latter left the League to found the Social-Democratic Workers' Party, while the former kept control of the SDB, which was soon banned by the government. The second split was between a revolutionary Marxist opposition and a reformist-revisionist establishment. In 1907 the opposition group left the SDAP to found the Social-Democratic Party, which would become the Communist Party of the Netherlands (CPN) after the Russian Revolution. This was one of the first splits between reformists and revolutionaries within the European labour movement. Both the revolutionaries and the reformists have their own labour unions, the reformist Nederlands Verbond van Vakverenigingen and the anarcho-syndicalist Nationaal Arbeidssecretariaat.

Pieter Johannes Tros lost his job as locomotive machinist in the famous railroad strike of 1903.

In January 1903, a large strike broke out in the harbour sector, out of solidarity other sectors like the railway sector struck too. The employers reacted by firing the strikers. Years of oppression of socialism and labour unions let to a huge revolt. The strikers demanded re-employing of fired strikers, payment of wages for the striking days and the acceptance of labour unions. The surprised directors of the railway companies accepted the demands. Meanwhile the confessional cabinet led by Kuyper wanted to end the strike by posing harsh penalties against the strikers, because the strike struck vital industries.

Initially the SDAP supported the strike, hoping it would spark a socialist revolution. But in reaction to the government legislation, moderate party members, including Troelstra, turned against the strikes. This led to a controversy between orthodox Marxists and moderate revisionists.

The strike ended the cooperation of socialist unions with confessional unions and the social democratic SDAP and anarchists of other organizations. The strike however didn't only lead to breaches. The labour unions were prepared to unite and work together with the SDAP. The Dutch Federation of Trade Unions (Nederlandsch Verbond van Vakvereenigingen, NVV) was founded in 1905 by Henri Polak.

 Locomotief HSM 89 Nestor

Sneltreinlocomotief, gebouwd in 1880 door A.Borsig te Berlijn voor de Hollandsche IJzeren Spoorwegmaatschappij.

De locomotieven van de SS worden aangeduid met een nummer, dat aangeeft tot welk type of serie de loc behoort. Bij de HSM is echter de naam het belangrijkste. Daar duidt het nummer alleen de volgorde van indienststelling aan.

Dit was een van de locs waar Pieter Tros machinist op was.