JAMIE'S RANDOM FRENCH RAILWAY PHOTOS

[kintbury jon]

Wonderful photos and thank you for sharing them.  I did a couple of weeks in the summer from 1989 to 95 and can relate to all the depot visits.  Friendly welcoming staff that seemed pleased that a British teenager was interested in their trains.  Sadly I didn't take many photos on my adventures but it was a great era with such a variety of stock. 

[brushman47544]

9 hours ago, BernardTPM said:

The 401xx class came before the 222xx, first appearing in 1964.

 

7 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

Thanks for that. Were they the first nez cassé then.

 

Jamie

As BernardTPM said, the CC40100 were the first Nez Casse locos, followed by the CC6500 (electric) and CC72000 (diesel) classes, then later by the BB7200 DC,  BB15000 AC and BB22200 AC/DC classes. 

[jamie92208]

Good morning again.   It's going to be sunny again but our Tardis is still in October1995. One final photo of a Eurostar coming out of the tunnel and heading down the LGV to Lille.

We now jump forward to 1996.  We planned to be on the coast again but due to the cr and caravan beig written off on the A10 we ended up in a Gite in the Entre Deux Mers region a little way inland. Life wasn't too bad as there was as much 4 yr old claret as we wantd  at £2 per bottle, from the vineyard at the rear of the Gite. Also the nearby village of La Reole was on the Bordeaux to Toulouse line where on 25th July I caught this Z7300 EMU heading  south east.

I wasn't quite sure of the location but this image, that the picture uploader insists on rotating provided the answer.

A few days later, 2nd August I managed another visit to the station and got a better picture of the resident locotracteur, Y7672

A 3 unit lash up of Z7300's was heading east.

 

Two in red and white and the other in blue and white.  The station was quite attractive with a tunnel at the west end.

That's it for today folks, off to get jabbed shortly.

 

Jamie

 

Edited August 11, 2022 by jamie92208

[brushman47544]

Entre Deux Mers.... The English supermarkets and wine merchants used to be full of it and then suddenly it got a bad reputation and disappeared almost overnight. Presumably it reappeared re-branded with one of those silly names after a while.

[jamie92208]

1 hour ago, brushman47544 said:

Entre Deux Mers.... The English supermarkets and wine merchants used to be full of it and then suddenly it got a bad reputation and disappeared almost overnight. Presumably it reappeared re-branded with one of those silly names after a while.

I'd never heard of it, but after the smash, about 60 miles north of where we live now, we got a hire car and headed south with instructions to ring the insurers at 5pm. The had managed to get us the gite, which was great.  Everyone we came into contact with were kindness personified.  There was a peach tree in the front garden and we could pick as much as we could eat.  The area was good and just to the north was St Emillion, source of one of my favourite wines. All told we ended up gaving a great holiday and fortunately  no one was injured.

 

Jamie

Edited March 30, 2021 by jamie92208

[Allegheny1600]

I hope it’s not too impertinent but was your smash anything like one my parents were involved in, in the early eighties?

They had a camper and caravan, which was loaded up with possessions for their house in Lot et Garonne, driving steadily along as dad always went at a stately pace, when mum said “look at that truck”! This truck was busy smashing into the central reservation.

Dad says “he’s just hit us” and the truck had torn through the caravan and just clipped the camper, depositing the majority of their possessions all over the road.

Driver had fallen asleep!

[jamie92208]

On 30/03/2021 at 18:02, Allegheny1600 said:

I hope it’s not too impertinent but was your smash anything like one my parents were involved in, in the early eighties?

They had a camper and caravan, which was loaded up with possessions for their house in Lot et Garonne, driving steadily along as dad always went at a stately pace, when mum said “look at that truck”! This truck was busy smashing into the central reservation.

Dad says “he’s just hit us” and the truck had torn through the caravan and just clipped the camper, depositing the majority of their possessions all over the road.

Driver had fallen asleep!

Not quite like that but similar. We were doing a steady 60 overtaking  Spanish lorry when it swerved towards us, my wife had to swerve out of the way then the bow wave of the lorry hit us and the van started snaking. We ended up doing a complete 180  and ended up parked heading north with the van in the v of a slip road inside the armco. The car was on top of one of those big green and white arrow things, now known in the family as caravan magnets. Our possessions were in the slip road.  Luckily no injuries and superb insurance via the Caravan club. Two 0 gauge brass coach bodies survived slightly banana shaped and the bottles of whisky and gin were safe. The lorry just drove on.

 

Jamie

Edited August 11, 2022 by jamie92208

[Allegheny1600]

Thanks for sharing, Jamie,

Horrific incidents, both. I know those green/white arrow things too well!

Thank heavens no one was hurt in either incident.

It appears that travel in France was fraught with danger!

I remember being parked up with my parents and dad had just taken a walk when a group of drunken idiots drove right through the space he had just occupied moments before, they were laughing but a moment earlier and dad would have been wiped out.

Too many close calls for my liking.

[Gordonwis]

15 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

 

 

A 2 unit lash up of Z7300's was heading east.

 

Two in red and white and the other in blue and white.  The station was quite attractive with a tunnel at the west end.

 

That's it for today folks, off to get jabbed shortly.

 

Jamie

 

 

A typo I assume - Z2s were of course all 2-car so it's a 3 unit lash up.

[jamie92208]

On 30/03/2021 at 23:53, Gordonwis said:

 

A typo I assume - Z2s were of course all 2-car so it's a 3 unit lash up.

Yes, a type that I will correct, Thanks.

 

Anyway good moaning again.   First of all to finish the discussion about the crash, here's a picture that my son took from the cab of the recovery vehicle.  The remains of the caravan are on the flatbed at the rear having come to rest on the other side of the armco on the right,  The car was in the V of the markings.

We actually ended up having a cracking holiday and the insurers paid for a return from Paris by Eurostar  including using the short lived HST from Waterloo direct to Doncaster, quick walk across the platform and into a 321 then a taxi home. I got me some rare mileage in north London. With a crew change at the bottom of the Kings Cross incline where we joined the ECML.

Anyway back to trains.   We now move on to 1997 and we were back in South West France in a Gite near Dax.  

Not to far south of us in the Pyrenees was Le Petit train D'Artouste.   Built in 1924 as part of the Midi railway's electrification schemes to give access to a major dam.  This line, which was 500mm gauge, runs at altitude from the top of two cable lifts, up to the dam along the sides of a very steep valley. The original goods lift was still in use for goods but a new passenger lift had been built to serve the developing ski area.  Here we are at the western terminus at the top of the passenger lift. 

The locos were, I think  Whitcomb's with some French ones, labelled SNCF

It sets off through a tunnel to get to the valley and there were several trains out on the line at any one time with 3 or 4 passing loops.

The scenery can only be described as spectacular.

And at the end you go round a cliff ledge with a drop of over 1000' below you.

 

Why the uploader has rotated the file I don't know but it does do this sometimes and there doesn't seem to be any way to correct it. I've tried rotating the slide before uploading with no joy.

 

Jamie

 

Edited August 11, 2022 by jamie92208

[jamie92208]

Good moaning again from a sunny place.  The Tardis is still in the Pyrenees in 1997 en route to the Lac d'Artouste, the water from which powered the early Midi Railway electrification in the 1920's.  Now managed by the energy company Suez. The accommodation is somewhat spartan but I seem to remember that there were rudimentary safety chains.

At the top end there's a cafe and if you feel inclined you can walk up to the top of the dam and look at the lake,  The layout is interesting with various tunnels disappearing into the mountainside.

This is the dam. Not many passengers went up the path as the air is relatively thin at over 2000m.

The seats could aptly be called bucket seats and they are reversible.

A good experience and well worth the trip.

 

Jamie

Edited August 11, 2022 by jamie92208

[jamie92208]

Good moaning from a warm and sunny Charente.  The Tardis is still near Artouste in July 1997.  On our return we were sitting at the back of the train. Great views.

Even better as we went round the high cliff. 

At least this time the uploader behaved itself. Then we got back to the tourist terminus.  The line to the freight lift can be seen in the distance.

And one of the Whitcomb locos.

Then it was back to the Gite and on my morning cycle rides, the main line from Dax to Bordeaux was only a nice ride away so of course I stopped to catch some trains.  Here a TGV Atlantique heading south.

More tomorrow I hope.

 

Jamie

 

Edited August 11, 2022 by jamie92208

[Allegheny1600]

On 01/04/2021 at 09:21, jamie92208 said:

 

This is the dam. Not many passengers went up the path as the air is relatively thin at over 2000m.

 

Jamie

Wonderful shots Jamie,

This one would make the perfect prototype for all those “rabbit warren” narrow gauge layouts we all saw in the seventies and eighties.

In your most recent post, I don’t think my vertigo could cope with that ride.

Merci beaucoup!

John

[jamie92208]

8 minutes ago, Allegheny1600 said:

Wonderful shots Jamie,

This one would make the perfect prototype for all those “rabbit warren” narrow gauge layouts we all saw in the seventies and eighties.

In your most recent post, I don’t think my vertigo could cope with that ride.

Merci beaucoup!

John

I had similar ideas and actually made a proper sketch of it in my notebook.  However like many modelling ideas it's still waiting.  As to the vertigo, it wasn't too bad.  I actually think that it was over 2000' to the valley floor.

 

Jamie

[jamie92208]

Good afternoon, it's sunny but windy and cool.   The tardis is still near Dax in July 1997. Near our Gite was a level crossing on the Link line from Dax towards Pau and Tarbes. It was a nice evening to head down with the rest of the family, Beth our daughter and the daughter of a French farmer friend who was staying with us as our son stayed with them. I think it's a 9200.

Then on to Dax on 27th July and 7224 ws shunting the goods yard that still received wagon load traffic.

TGV's divided here with portions going to Hendaye and Tarbes.

Z7300's were doing local services on the main line.

This was the 29th of July with TGVA 404 waiting for it's other half with a northbound working.

Jamie

 

 

Edited August 11, 2022 by jamie92208

[brushman47544]

1 hour ago, jamie92208 said:

Then on to Dax on 27th July and 7224 ws shunting the goods yard that still received wagon load traffic.

Nice to see a petit cabine for a change.

[jamie92208]

Good afternoon from a warm and rather sunny Charente.  Day 1 of Lockdown 3 or is it 4, we don't really know the difference.   Anyway the Tardis is still in the Dax area in  July 1997. The first one is at Dax on 29th July. 9235 is waiting to set off south as both pantographs are raised.

Now we head down to the Spanish border.   On 6th August we had a trip down to Hendaye and then Irun and San Sebastian. Hendaye had a loco depot just before the station and 6512 and 7325 were visible.

There were more locos round the turntable including 7320 and 7243

Later on that day 9205 was working north on the main line towards Dax.

Then 9325 came along.

The next day I escaped to Dax again and 9265 was waiting to head south in the sun.

I think it was my last chance to 'play out' and whilst I was there a 7200 came through with two Swiss registered 4 wheel vans behind it. The second was full of pigeons but the first van had the sliding centre doors wide open and inside were a group of men, obviously pigeon fanciers, sitting wound a table with glasses of wine and food as they rolled along.   What a way to travel and I don't have my camera ready.

 

Jamie

 

 

 

Edited August 11, 2022 by jamie92208

[brushman47544]

Interesting to see those BB9200s. I had forgotten how many liveries overlapped and certainly not Green and Multiservices. 

[weave]

Hi Jamie,

 

Please excuse my ignorance but you said that the BB 9200 was heading South as it had both pantographs raised and was just wondering why that is? Is it that more power is required on that line?

 

Thanks for any help.

 

Cheers Chris (weave).

 

PS Great pics as usual.

[jamie92208]

2 hours ago, weave said:

Hi Jamie,

 

Please excuse my ignorance but you said that the BB 9200 was heading South as it had both pantographs raised and was just wondering why that is? Is it that more power is required on that line?

 

Thanks for any help.

 

Cheers Chris (weave).

 

PS Great pics as usual.

Yes, you see it when electric locos start off on the 1500v dc lines. They raise both pantographs to limit the current draw at the contact point when the speed is very low. 9ne of the pantographs then drops at about 5 mph. They usually raise the 2nd one just before they set off.

 

Jamie

[jamie92208]

Good afternoon the Tardis is still in France in August 1997.   2 days after the last photos we headed north and got as far as Orleans where we stayed overnight in a hotel.  Next door to the hotel was this.

The southern end of an aerotrain experiment from, I think, the 1960's.  The track runs for about 10 kms alongside the N10 north from Orleans.  I think it was some sort of monorail using magnetic levitation. There is a grounded section of track on the ground next to it but no explanatory boards.

After a meal I was allowed my statutory half our trainspotting so headed south to Les Aubrais depot, where I was received with the usual hospitality and allowed to wander round the depot at will. Nearest the yard was a long line of 66200's.

I was also allowed into the cab on what I think was a 7200.

There was a mixture of dual voltage and DC only locos.   The dual voltage could work either to Paris with through freights or via Tours to St Nazaire which is 25Kv. Visible are 8626, 9210 and 25530

An inspection gantry allowed me a shot of most of the yard L to R, 72??, 25558, and 66253.   Al 9th August 1997.

As you can see a nice sunny evening.   I think that this was about 7.30pm.

 

Jamie

 

Edited August 11, 2022 by jamie92208

[BernardTPM]

Not maglev, but air-cushion/hover. We had a similar experimental train around that time too.

[Fat Controller]

54 minutes ago, BernardTPM said:

Not maglev, but air-cushion/hover. We had a similar experimental train around that time too.

The 'Bertin' aerotrain.

[jamie92208]

Good evening again.  We are still at Orleans Les Aubrais depot, 9th August 1997.  After taking the last set of photos my half hour was up so I went to the office to thank them and tell them that I was on my way. When I got there I was summoned to see the shedmaster, who had just arrived.  I thought I was in trouble but he just wanted to say hello and had I enjoyed the visit.  I thanked home then he said to one of the staff, "Have you shown him the steam engine"  They all answered "No".  An underling was despatched to get some keys and I was escorted up to the wagon repair shop.  The doors were opened and this was what I saw was this magnificent Chapelon Pacific.

No less than 231K8 of Calais shed.

The guy who had taken me saw that I was struggling for light so opened another set of doors and then started up a diesel shunter and moved it outside for me. What hospitality.  This was the photo I managed to get. A magnificent machine.

Apparently it had run a hot box and needed to use the wheel drop that was in the shed for repairs.  Then the chance for one final photo of 6549 that had come on shed. Another of the ex Maurienne batch that had snow plough fittings and used to have 3rd rail pick up as well as pantographs.

Then a big thank you to the staff and the shedmaster before going back to the Campanile to face the music for overstaying my pass out.  The next morning we followed the RN20 and this was the north end of the Aerotrain track, obviously serving a useful purpose.

We then move on to 1998 and headed south via the tunnel.  This was taken from a service station on the A1 heading into Paris which the LGV Nord parallels.

Jamie

 

 

Edited August 11, 2022 by jamie92208

[JeffP]

Jamie, you seem to have done what I did for a few years, "finding" campsites near to rail installations.

By this method I managed to visit Chalindrey, Nevers shed and works, Dijon Perrigny and Autun for the class 20's.

I also have a wife who looked after me and was able to buy a Eurodomino ticket giving me five days in 31, unlimited travel on French trains. I even managed a couple of nights away from the campsite.

By the time we bought our place, sadly in a cultural, railway and gastronomic desert, I had visited every large depot except Paris la Chappelle and the one that served Gare de l'Est. Both now closed.

Happy days indeed.

I'd love to be able to continue visits now, but cannot leave my poor wife alone for more than half an hour at the French place.

Next job is a wheelchair ramp at the house entrance to replace the portable folding alloy one.

And don't get me started on wheelchair accessibility in France...despite them supposedly being subject to the same EU laws we were. Sigh.