To divvy up the giant train set, SNCB managers in January 2011 organized a secret meeting with directors of Belgium's rail heritage associations.

WSJ: Belgian Train Museum Had a Hard Time Getting on Track

Even the one steam locomotive in the SNCB's own official heritage collection drably named 29.013 was built in Canada, as Belgium ordered engines from North America to replace the equipment destroyed in World War II.

WSJ: Belgian Train Museum Had a Hard Time Getting on Track

"It was very important for us to have an architect who had (designed) stations before and knew how to prevent the problems, " said Louis Maraite, a spokesman for SNCB-Holding, which operates Belgium's rail stations.

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