On Friday 15 December, Train World, the museum of Belgian Railways located in Schaerbeek near Brussels, welcomed a press conference for the presentation of two books.
Mr Pieter Jonckers, Director of Train World, warmly welcomed authors and publishers as well as the participants at the press conference, journalists, representatives of railways and railway associations including UIC.
Mrs Marie-Pascale Rauzier, author, presented the high-quality book “Dream Stations – A Worldwide Odyssey” (in French: “Rêve des Gares - Une Odyssée mondiale”), which is the result of close cooperation between the publisher ‘Langages du Sud’ – led by Mrs Patricia Defever-Kapferer – and UIC which ensured fruitful contacts with its members, the railways, to obtain photographs and documentation or organise specific photo shoots in stations.
For the first time, a book illustrates railway stations from around the world – 54 to be precise – that are considered among the most magnificent or iconic.
The purpose of this book is to illustrate that railway stations, in addition to their role to ensure mobility, are part of a country’s heritage in terms of history, architecture, arts, culture and play an essential role in the city and peoples’ lives.
The book “Dream Stations – A Worldwide Odyssey” is on sale at the ETF Publication Department:
During the same press conference, Mr Louis Gillieaux who integrated Belgian Railways SNCB in 1974 and led the Press and Public Relations Department of SNCB between 1987 and 2003, before being responsible for the Documentation Department, Historic Heritage and Archives of the SNCB Group, presented his book published in French and in Flemish.
The (translated) title is “Belgian Railways – Yesterday, today, tomorrow”. The book represents a journey in the history of Belgian railways from 1835 (opening of the line from Brussels to Mechelen) until now with perspectives for the future.
The publisher of this book in Belgium is Lannoo, www.lannoo.com
