The Tomson-Trestle was predecessor of support frames typically found in coal districts today, designed in 1885 by a Belgian technologist. The engineer Eugen Tomson used the so-called English trestle as a model and improved on it with his own ideas. The construction was made more solid and access to the shaft was made easier. First set up in 1886 over Shaft 1 of the Gneisenau coalmine, this type of equipment spread quickly throughout the Ruhr Region. Gneisenau itself had three Tomson Trestles. Around World War 1, the Tomson Trestle was replaced by the German support frame with its lighter weight. The Tomson trestle over Gneisenau Shaft 2, which had been placed there in 1886, is the last preserved one in the Ruhr Region and the oldest steel support frame in the district.

Tomson came to Germany in 1872 after his collier training at the University of Lüttich. Like other well-trained technologists, he was enticed by the boom he saw in progress in the neighbouring country. In 1882, he became the director of the new coal company of Gneisenau, which belonged to many Belgian banks. Here, in Derne near Dortmund, Tomson overcame forceful water floods by constructing strong shafts based on new technologies. Tomson gave coal mining in the Ruhr Region important impulses in many ways including creating hygienic standards in the coalmines early on as well as fostering fostered a friendly exchange of knowledge between Belgian and German technologists. (KP)