astonishing meeting between train and sketch enthusiasts in front of a 75-year-old steam engine

It was a great meeting between enthusiasts which was held this Sunday, June 23, 2024, in an SNCF depot in Toulouse. On the one hand, the urban sketchers, passionate about “in situ” drawings. On the other, an association volunteer and 241-P-9, a steam locomotive currently being restored.

“It is the ultimate French technology locomotive. She was born in 1949. She did 20 years of service and one million six hundred thousand kilometers. She pulled passenger trains.“Bruno Vachin is secretary and volunteer within the Association of alumni and friends of Midi-Pyrénées steam traction. And I might as well tell you that he is full of praise on the machine that he presents to his guests of the day.

“It was, as they say, the TGV of the time: a speed of 120 kilometers/hour, a power of 4000 horsepower and trains of 12, 14, 16 cars. One of the most powerful machines in Europe.“

The moment is rare and the time has come to uncover the beast. The invited urban sketchers from Toulouse settle down, take out a support, pencils or brushes to begin their sketches. “The fact that it is a machine from a bygone era… It makes me think of the subjects that Monet and the great impressionist painters did”, admits the artist and urban sketcher Vavastien.

Dimitri Engman is also there. He who loves trains and who comes from the railway town of Capdenac in Aveyron confides that this was an opportunity not to be missed even if the work on paper does not necessarily look easy.

Standing in front of the old steam locomotive which he describes as a beautiful, large machine, the young man explains. “There are a lot of details, you have to make choices, sort, find the important shapes that will be interesting for the shape you are trying to draw. Each person here is going to draw it differently. What interests me is to put my finger on the details which will suggest how the machine works.“

Everyone has their own choice of perspective. And here, no one passes judgment, says Brigitte Saget. “The point is sharing“, confirms Christine Soueges, another designer.

This is undoubtedly one of the last opportunities for these Toulouse residents to benefit from this heritage treasure. After fifteen years spent restoring it, the steam locomotive should see a new life.

Built in 1949 in Le Creusot to run on the Paris-Marseille line, the steam locomotive nicknamed Mountain was stored after the electrification of the SNCF lines. It took 40,000 hours of work for the fifteen volunteers who, every Saturday, meet in this SNCF depot on rue Périole, explains Bruno Vachin.

Here we are, ready to get back on track. Objective: join Carmaux to continue its restoration as part of a heritage project around coal. But the association of passionate volunteers has even bigger plans for this extraordinary machine. It will take a few more years of work, but the hope is to obtain approval and see the 241-P-9 running on the rail network again.