Train World is possibly one of the most unusual railway museums in Europe. Built on Brussels' old Schaarbeek station, it presents an unapologetically theatrical take on the history of Belgium's National Railway Company. Designed by comic book artist François Schuiten, the museum's fearlessness to break the norms of display convention makes Train World a joy to experience.
For such an amazing museum it begins, somewhat unpromisingly, in the main ticket hall of Schaarbeek station. While the hall itself is an architectural marvel, it felt empty and devoid of life. Ticket booths are filled with ephemera and uniforms that tell the story of working at a station. The uninspired way they are displayed, alongside a rather dull collection of model steam trains did not fill my friends or I with hope for the rest of our visit.
Thankfully things rapidly improved. A short walk to the adjoining building rewarded us with a grand spectacle of lights and locomotives displayed dramatically across three halls. Train World has worked closely with Schuiten to design the museum and you can feel his creative sensibilities shine through in the striking way that the collection is displayed. I've seen the museum described as a rail opera and you really get that sense of theatre as you explore its galleries. It feels like a stage, with set dressing and sound creating drama while clever use of light and digital projection inject movement and progression.
The locomotives mix the traditional and unconventional in the manner in which they are displayed. One, mounted at height, seems to defy its tonnage while another set in a sandpit looks like it has crashed. I loved that the vehicles didn't seem like your typical museum pieces. Many were open for visitors to hop on board and experience what it was like to be on the footplate or luxuriate in a first class carriage.
It wasn't all just large vehicles. The museum also has a huge collection of assorted railway related objects from clocks, post boxes, uniforms, signs and signals. They seem to have taken an open store approach, with several items of a type being displayed together with little or no interpreting. The dramatic lighting leant the objects an air of excitement and made it feel more like going into a Hollywood prop store than that of a museum. One room, filled with clocks and time pieces, whizzed and spun with the sound of ticking while a giant over head projection morphed from a watch face to the inside of a firebox. The whole thing was somewhat disorientating but quite thrilling.
Bearing in mind my recent past curating exhibitions for the National Railway Museum in the UK, it is perhaps unsurprising that my favourite museum has something to do with trains. Yet I haven't picked Train World simply because of its subject matter. For me, Train World is something that I've never quite seen before. The shear joy with which it has been put together makes it seem fresh and quite apart from a traditional museum visit. Yet I don't even think it is that which makes Train World my favourite. In the end, it was the effect it had on my friends that really sealed it for me. They were very sceptical about whether they would enjoy a railway museum but after three hours, they had to be chased out by the staff after staying well beyond closing time. It is that power to fill fully grown adults with a childlike sense of awe and wonder that makes Train World so special to me.
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Jamie Taylor is a freelance curator, copywriter and project manager. He helps museums and galleries tell stories. You can find out more about his work by visiting his website at www.hellojamietaylor.com or by following him on twitter @hellojamie_t