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From draft to train

Draw me a train! Throughout history, travel - and trains in particular - have been a source of inspiration for artists. With the exhibition Draw me a train!, we invite you to explore the railway world, as imagined by talented designers.
Discover the artists
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Draw me a train! Throughout history, travel – and trains in particular – have been a source of inspiration for artists. With the exhibition Draw me a train!, we invite you to explore the railway world, as imagined by talented designers. This exhibition delves into the work of thirteen renowned artists – comic strip authors, architects, painters, poster artists, sculptors and designers – who have captured the beauty of trains and the railway universe through their art. An exhibition that invites you to draw during your visit, you’ll also have the opportunity to unleash your own creativity by drawing some of our most beautiful trains, as well as remarkable or unusual objects from SNCB’s historical collections.

Enjoy your visit!

Come discover Train World for yourself

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An exhibition that leaves its mark

Ready for an unforgettable museum visit? Welcome to the art-nouveau station of Schaerbeek, one of the gems of Belgian railway architecture, which houses the treasures of Train World together with a new museum complex.

In Train World, everything resolves around experience and you notice that as soon as you step inside. Not only do you come face to face with dozens of locomotives, carriages and wagons; the museum offers an original yet easily accessible way of learning more about the structures that support our railway network, safety, technology, electrification, and the world of passengers through the years.

How did the train itself play a key role in telling the time? What was the job of the person who lived in a track foreman’s cottage? How did the signal box guarantee safety on the railways? Discover it all in Train World.

The artists

Meet the artists who bring the sketches to life in the exhibition ‘From Sketch to Train’.

Louis Dela Censerie
"The architect of Antwerp Central"

Louis Dela Censerie

"The architect of Antwerp Central"

NMBS keeps six original works from the drawing office of Louis Dela Censerie about the construction of the station. These documents are shown to the public for the first time in the exhibition From sketch to train.
Santiago Calatrava
"One of the world's leading architects"

Santiago Calatrava

"One of the world's leading architects"

As part of From Sketch to Train, Santiago Calatrava shows a series of eight watercolours that he made when designing the Liège-Guillemins station and the Mons station.
André Franquin
"Obsessed with movement"

André Franquin

"Obsessed with movement"

His sketches, which he often made on site near Schaerbeek station, show how he integrated the dynamics of the train into his comic drawings.
Li Kunwu
"The Epic of Peking-Hankow"

Li Kunwu

"The Epic of Peking-Hankow"

Jean Poupaert
"Draw me a steam locomotive"

Jean Poupaert

"Draw me a steam locomotive"

For the first time, you can see a selection of these fantastic works on From Sketch to Train. These works are part of NMBS collection thanks to a donation from Mrs. Griet Baeyens, whose father was a friend of Jean Poupaert, for whom these drawings were made.
François Schuiten
"The novel Beauty"

François Schuiten

"The novel Beauty"

In 2012, François dedicated a comic strip to the Type 12 – Beauty – of which four plates are exhibited in this exhibition. He has made numerous creations about the Type 12, in all possible styles. So many works, each more breathtaking than the last, of which you can admire a selection for the first time here.
Victor Horta
"Brussels Central, a station, designed by Victor Horta"

Victor Horta

"Brussels Central, a station, designed by Victor Horta"

Especially for this occasion, a number of original drawings that Victor Horta made as part of his work for Brussels Central station were shown to the public for the first time.
Paul Delvaux
"The man who drew trains"

Paul Delvaux

"The man who drew trains"

A previously unpublished painting by Paul Delvaux awakens from a long winter's sleep
The work Panorama of Watermael-Boitsfort (1982) by Paul Delvaux is exhibited in Train World in place of the painting The Last Wagon, which was previously given on long-term loan to our railway museum by the Delvaux Foundation.
This new work was donated by Paul Delvaux to the municipality of Watermael-Boitsfort and can now be admired in the museum.
Armand Massonet
"Travel impressions"

Armand Massonet

"Travel impressions"

Herman Verbaere
"Travel impressions"

Herman Verbaere

"Travel impressions"

Henry van de Velde
"Designer at NMBS"

Henry van de Velde

"Designer at NMBS"

Phil Dambly
"The passion for the train"

Phil Dambly

"The passion for the train"

Pierre Matter
"When a locomotive becomes a sculpture"

Pierre Matter

"When a locomotive becomes a sculpture"

For the first time, two preparatory drawings and the model of Moby Train are exhibited as part of From Sketch to Train.
Béatrice Duculot
Designer of the exhibition poster

Béatrice Duculot

Designer of the exhibition poster

She is the designer of the exhibition poster, as well as of the train drawings that decorate the ticket hall of Schaerbeek station.

Ugo Amand
He drew the thirteen sketches that illustrate the biographies of the artists.

Ugo Amand

He drew the thirteen sketches that illustrate the biographies of the artists.

Photo Gallery

Rolling stock in the spotlight for the exhibition

AM35 railcar
The 1935 railcar was the result of close collaboration between SNCB engineers and Henry van de Velde, who had been the company’s artistic advisor since 1932. The designer drew the woodwork, seats, light fixtures, hardware, sanitary facilities and other details.

K1-car
K1 cars were passenger cars designed for domestic direct trains. A single prototype was built, followed by 502 production cars, making it the second largest series of metal cars ordered by SNCB in the period 1930-1939.

The interior of the K1 cars was designed following the advice of architect Henry van de Velde, SNCB’s artistic advisor at the time. Seating in the AB and B cars consisted of bench seats with armrests, upholstered in blue striped velvet in first class, and beige striped velvet in second class.

AM35 railcar
AM35 railcar, SNCB’s first electric train (1935). After restoration.

K1-car
K1-car, after restoration.

K1-car interior
K1-car interior, before restoration.

K1-car interior
K1-car interior, after restoration.

K1-car interior
K1-car interior, before restoration.

K1-car interior
K1-car interior, after restoration.

Other interesting links

Creative notebook