carlwebus Posted November 24, 2020 Share Posted November 24, 2020 Hi All Does anyone know what the beast in the accompanying photo is and/ or where/ when the photo was taken? It displays the logo "NORD" on the side and (I think) "ZZ52" (could be ZZ32) on the front corner. Seems to run on two 8 wheel bogies. I thought "NORD" must mean France - but I think it may be for "Trenord" which is Lombardy, Italy? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johann Marsbar Posted November 24, 2020 Share Posted November 24, 2020 (edited) Nord railway of France Micheline railcar.... Regardez ici... https://trainconsultant.com/2020/09/08/les-michelines-le-train-en-pantoufles-de-bibendum/ C'est en Francais, malhereusement (or something like that. It's over 40 years since I got my French O level....) Edited November 24, 2020 by Johann Marsbar 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold chris p bacon Posted November 24, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 24, 2020 I'm sure one of those had trials on the Oxford to Cambridge line. Just checked and it was a similar vehicle https://www.warwickshirerailways.com/lms/lnwrcov3764.htm 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Controller Posted November 24, 2020 Share Posted November 24, 2020 They also did some runs in Stoke-on-Trent, between the main line at Sideway Junction, and the Michelin factory at Trent Vale. To this day, the term 'Micheline', for a diesel railcar, is common parlance in France. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlwebus Posted November 30, 2020 Author Share Posted November 30, 2020 Thanks guys. Much appreciated! The links supplied are fascinating indeed. une expérience fascinante 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasabi Posted December 18, 2020 Share Posted December 18, 2020 Tome 1 of 'Autorails de France' will tell you more than you might want to know about the Michelin railcar, as well as some other fascinating types. It was published in 1992 by La Vie du Rail so might need some tracking down. I went on one of these on a railtour of Madagascar in 1997 and it's possible that they still have one in working order. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rue_d_etropal Posted December 18, 2020 Share Posted December 18, 2020 if you can get the book, it is worth while but as it is now out of print prices have gone up.The Micheline railcar was very experimental, going through a lot of changes. The early ones , one of which was also tested in Britian had articlated lorry/car type front end. Marklin have produced a similar model(not the same version though) as the one that did run in Britain. Then a later verson, a type 22 , similar to the top photo was tested in Britain, and from that a locally built version, the Coventry railcar, was built. It all seemed to fizzle out in Britain. One problem was that they were too quiet , being on rubber tyred wheels, and railside workers had difficulty hearing them approach. The drivers cab being raised above body, was also somethinf which the H&S people of the time did not like after a railcar(not a Michelin type) in Ireland with that type of drivers compartment crashed, I think into some cows, as the driver could not see too well. In France this type of cab was used on a lot of railcars, even some high speed ones(eg Bugatti), with few problems, except when shunting in reverse the guard would be in front of train communicating instructions with driver. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Controller Posted December 18, 2020 Share Posted December 18, 2020 58 minutes ago, wasabi said: Tome 1 of 'Autorails de France' will tell you more than you might want to know about the Michelin railcar, as well as some other fascinating types. It was published in 1992 by La Vie du Rail so might need some tracking down. I went on one of these on a railtour of Madagascar in 1997 and it's possible that they still have one in working order. The one from Madagascar/ Malagasy was brought back to France, I believe: not sure where it went to in France. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasabi Posted December 21, 2020 Share Posted December 21, 2020 Found it on International Steam of all places - there were apparently two survivors and one is in a museum in Clermont Ferrand whilst the other remains in Madagascar. The information is from about 2010 so things could have changed since then. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlwebus Posted December 28, 2020 Author Share Posted December 28, 2020 Many thanks guys. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reno Posted June 2, 2021 Share Posted June 2, 2021 The "Micheline" in Watford..... 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hodgson Posted June 2, 2021 Share Posted June 2, 2021 And detonators didn't work under the rubber tyres. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold rodent279 Posted July 12, 2021 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 12, 2021 (edited) Some video of the Madagascan Micheline here, commentary in German for those who verstehen. Edited July 12, 2021 by rodent279 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now