Seventy-six metric tons and 22 meters long, a massive Nazi steam locomotive is hidden in the heart of Paris. The engine, the same model as those that pulled trains carrying deportees to death camps, has been locked away behind a small door since 1994, just a few hundred meters from the François-Mitterrand Library, in the middle of Les Frigos, artists' studios in the 13th arrondissement of Paris.
Much more than just a railway engine, it is both a piece of history and a work of art: a testament to the industrialization of death by the Third Reich and the creation of a painter, Jean-Michel Frouin, to whom we were led by a very devoted train enthusiast.
Known as BB27000 on the social network X, Wilfried Demaret is the most influential railway worker in France, with some 100,000 followers who want to know everything about trains in general and the SNCF (France's national railway company) in particular. Drawing from his many anecdotes, he published a book, Plus belle la ligne! ("Line's Looking Good!"). He is a train driver for the SNCF, but not just any trains. He drives those that break down, need repairs, or must be transferred across France by unusual routes. He knows every locomotive, can instantly identify the equipment and where it was built, and has encyclopedic knowledge of the railways. But the Ty2 locomotive took him a long time to track down.
You have 87.66% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.