From Early Stories to Today · Drawing 22
All aboard, travellers!
The late 19th century
At railway stations long ago, people waited for the train with their luggage. A suitcase could hold clothes for the journey.
Look together
What would you put in your suitcase?
An idea to try
Your child chooses three objects to bring for a night away. Draw them inside a paper suitcase, then talk about what would be useful on the journey and after arriving.
For the adult reading along
A little more to discover
Railway history includes not only locomotives but also passengers and waiting places. Exporail preserves vehicles, objects and archives that help explore life around trains. This scene focuses on departure: people are waiting with their luggage before the journey has even begun.
Imagine what your child would pack for a few days away. This connects an older setting to their experience without inventing the characters' destination. An illustration does not tell us whether someone is leaving to work, visit or move house. The station and travellers are fictional; the setting suggests the late 19th century without reproducing a particular station.
Sources and context
These links lead to other websites. Explore them with an adult. Source titles appear in their original language; some linked pages are in French.
Source review: 2026-09-12. Illustrations simplify places and scenes; they are not historical documents.