Minister Rogier, who opened the exhibition, was so impressed that he arranged a place for Walschaerts at Liège University.

He was made chief superintendent of the works shortly after but mysteriously, for such a meteoric early career, never rose any higher.

Walschaerts's name on the documents erroneously omitted the final 's' causing confusion over its correct spelling over the succeeding years.

A locomotive built at the Tubize workshops fitted with the Walschaerts valve gear was awarded a gold medal at the 1873 Universal Exhibition in Vienna.

[3] According to Payen,[4] in 1874 Walschaerts developed a particularly successful version of the Corliss stationary engine that won a gold medal at the 1878 Exposition Universelle in Paris.