11/03/2017
Hi there. I optimised the website for mobile phone visitors. Still no new English updates, but I might translate some of the most-searched locations (or something like that) in the near future. So stay tuned? The Dutch part of the site is updated regurlarly once a year or so.
Have fun on our new website!
18/10/2013
Welcome to the new Team Xerbutri website. The concept of the website has changed for the first time since the start. Version 4 website is meant for use on tablets.
The website has been slimmed down in crosslinks and choices. More pictures are added. Livery switching, the photo reportage and the google maps reportage are gone.
And I'm sorry to inform you this will be the last english update on the website for now. It takes to much time, while the majority of the visitors speak Dutch. On the Dutch part of the website you can still enjoy the pictures.
Have fun on our new website!
08/06/2009
Version 2 is replaced by version 3. In version 3 of the website there are two innovations: Livery switching and the Google Maps Photoreportage/Gallery.
Livery switching shows how CSS and PHP can easily change the appearance of the website completely. The original xerbutri livery was designed in 2005 already, and was brought online in 2006. Since today two new liveries are available, the livery 2008 and livery 2009. You can pick the livery of your taste and view the website accordingly.
The other innovation is the Google maps photoreportage. The reportage is interesting for the railtracking section. On the right there is the map provided by Google, with an overlay of the abandoned railtrack and icons at the places pictures were made. By clicking these icons the photo and caption appear at the left part of the screen.
At the moment this reportage is only available for Railway line 154. For the team it is quite a job to make the reportage, since for every picture the matching coordinates need to be found. For the visitor it is also not pleasant, since this method involves a lot of scrolling and clicking. For the moment it is no more than a gadget, it is not probable that more reports will be presented this way.
Furthermore in version 3: The photogalleries are now available for almost all abandoned buildings, the first translations to French were made and last but not least new updates of abandoned buildings and a bridge.
Have fun surfing! Helmer
08/05/2009
The team xerbutri website has been completely renewed. The visible changes for our visitors remain limited, the programming structure has completely changed.
The most important changes:
Have fun on our new website!
19/03/2009
The urbex tour de France went through the border areas between France, Germany and Luxembourg. The last decades this area has been devastated by factory and mine closures. Buildings were left alone, it was an urban explorers heaven.
In recent years however a new trend is showing Almost every building we visited got another function or demolition was in progress. For example the potassium mines in the Alsace area, form the eleven mines we visited, only a few remained. One being a museum, of other mines the few remaining buildings are in use as sports centre or workshops.
The trend of reuse is not only showing in abandoned buildings, but also for closed railways. These railways are stripped of any historical content and reused as cycling paths or walking trails. I don't mind abandoned industrial complexes or buildings being reused. I am bothered by the touristifying of them. In most cases all historical value disappears and huge entry fees are being asked. There is only one exception that I am aware of, in which they did it right. That is the Landschaftspark Duisburg. They left a large part of the buildings intact, or even restored and another part is left to nature. You can walk on the terrain free of charge and have a look in all of the buildings. It is even possible to climb the blast furnaces (with guide).
The trend is unstoppable. Finally less and less buildings will be accessible for urban explorers. We are nearing the end of an era. A new era has arrived. The landscape has to be liberated form the industrial scars. Where possible its history will be capitalised. Old industry is turned into tourist centres and tidiness rules.
However urban exploring will never fade away, the current financial crisis will offer lots of new opportunities.
05/01/2009
You haven't heard from us for a while. That is because first the hard disk of my computer crashed, losing all my website development stuff.
A short time thereafter I crashed. Somehow I decided to try flying with my mountainbike. The feeling was alright, but the landing was not. I broke some bones so I had to take rest. I still have to, so no exploring for me for a while. As a result we had to cancel a tour through France, which would have been really nice. Do not expect to hear from me the next three months, I will be revalidating. The other team members stopped photographing for now, going on some more dangerous missions. I hope the new year will have a happier ending.
19/07/2008
Again, something new on the Team Xerbutri web site. The team Xerbutri News. On this page we are able to tell you readers something more than we can on the site up to now.
The news here will mostly be about the site, what new updates to expect, adventures, that kind of things. Maybe sometimes there will be a little about things that were in the news, but there are enough sites and forums about that.
To get started: Do not expect updates for a while. It is summer in the Lowlands, so we will be outside and not behind our computers. (Except for now, because the weather is really bad).
The railtracking section will not be updated anymore in the English language. There aren't many foreign visitors to that part of the Xerbutri site. If you would like to see that part of the site translated anyway, you can try to convince the webmaster by sending him an E-mail. Or learn Dutch of course, in Dutch it will be updated regularly.
There are a few updates made on the technical side. But also we visited the highest railway bridge in Germany. The new photoreportage is available in the "Bridges" section of the site. Enjoy!
As a cliffhanger I would like to announce that we did visit seven abandoned buildings the past months. They will be updated as soon as the reportages are ready.