SCHUITEN, FRANCOIS. 12 La Douce. Extraordinary... Lot 238

SCHUITEN, FRANCOIS. 12 La Douce. Extraordinary original illustration in Indian ink on paper, by the famous François Schuiten, we find in this illustration all the technicality and the talent of its author. A sublime atmosphere combined with a sense of detail. Made for the Train World exhibition. It takes the visual of the famous locomotive 12 004. The series 12 of the Belgian railroads is a steam locomotive of the Atlantic type. Designed to pull short trains on the route between Brussels and Ostend, it was capable in 1939 of exceeding 140 km/h. Of the 6 locomotives produced, only the 12 004 still exists. It was restored and put back into service for the 150 years of the SNCB in 1985, but was damaged and judged irreparable. It was kept in a museum shed in Leuven until 2013, but after its restoration and since September 2015 it is on display at Train World, the railway museum in Schabeek. This scenario was imagined by a true mechanics enthusiast, François Shuiten, to whom he dedicated his album 12 La douce. Signed lower right in the drawing. 63 × 45.5 cm