Grand Train- Paris La Chapelle

Inside the traverser cabin looking towards the train shed.

The depot at Paris La Chapelle was opened in 1845 by the Chermin du Fere du Nord and served the railways north of Paris for 167 years until it finally closed it's doors at the end of January 2013. Now the site is to be put up for sale by SNCF. This prime spot in inner Paris is sure to realise it's value to the property developers but before it does in the summer of 2016 for probably the final time La Chapelle is opening it's doors to trains- and the public- as part of an exhibition 'Grand Train'.

Grand Train is a celebration of railway history though exhibitions as well as a venue with pop-up bars restaurants and stalls. Many of the exhibits have been brought from the French national railway museum, Cite du Tren at Mulhouse for exhibition in Paris for one summer only. The public can wander parts of the depot and admire the trains. Areas which once would have been off limits can be seen, and you can even sit and enjoy a beer from a deck chair in the traverser pit should you so choose!

Beer in the traverser pit- there may not be many opportunities other than here!

For the railway enthusiast many of the exhibits are well laid out within the old engine sheds with displays of mostly diesel and electric locomotives. There is one steam engine and also exhibits including a TGV power car and diesel railbus (though these are not so easily accessible). Early in the afternoon the venue was fairly quite with plenty of opportunities to photograph the visits however I suspect it may become somewhat more difficult as the evening draws the crowds in. The oldest exhibits include some very ancient electric locomotives dating to the 1930's while the newest include a freshly painted 'Sybic' loco BB26172 withdrawn just last year.



Whether you fancy having a beer and a bite to eat in an unusual environment or long to see some of the preserved SNCF fleet (but don't really have an excuse for a visit to Mulhouse) I would definitely recommend a visit to Grand Train if you are passing through Paris this summer. The venue is open Wednesday - Sunday from 11am to midnight until October 16, 2016. Best of all- admission is free!

Parts of the depot retain their abandoned industrial feel.

Locomotive name crests hang on the wall of the old depot.

'Steeplecab' B13052 is one of the nicest electric locomotive exhibits at Grand Train- part of the collection from Mulhouse.

Introducing the e320

e320 train sets at London St Pancras. Behind can be seen one of the first of the original class 373's to be refurbished (and rebranded as e300)

Since the channel tunnel opened in 1994 the Alsthom built class 373's have been the face of Eurostar cross channel operations. Now Eurostar's new class 374 (branded as e320 to indicate the top speed of 320kph) trains have launched bringing a new standard of channel tunnel to Paris and soon beyond.
The e320 Eurostar sets are part of the Siemens 'Velaro' family and break the traditional French high speed train format of a power car at each end with trailer coaches in between as was the case on the class 373's. These EMU's have 16 vehicles (formed of 2x 8 coach sets) and without power cars, or the restrictions of the UK loading gauge there are more seats on board and the passenger vehicles feel more spacious. The trains are kitted out with WiFi, power sockets, and reading lamps for passenger comfort as well as the ability to run through more European countries in order to extend routes.

Lunch in Standard Premiere from London to Paris.

Standard Premiere accommodation with 2+1 seating.

First impressions of the train are good and the feel is very much different and more modern than the older class 373 fleet. Coaches are light and airy and the seats are large and comfortable. My first trip is in Standard Premiere with comfortable reclining seats and a pleasant meal served to my seat. The conditions in Standard class for my return trip are noticeably less spacious, but never the less still of a good level of comfort as you would expect from a journey of this length. TV screens in both classes display information about on board services and also from time to time display the speed of a train- a simple feature I have often lauded on high speed trains. One of the most noticeable differences is how much brighter the e320 is than the traditional trains- I still haven't decided whether this is something I like or not! There is something quite nice about slumping into the seats of a dimly lit coach on a late night Paris to London train.

Standard class seating on the e320.

Currently e320 sets are operating on a large number of services between Paris and London, and while some of Eurostars ambitions to expand further into Europe seem to have been dropped, for now, it has been announced that an extended route to Amsterdam will begin operating in 2017. Passengers hoping for direct services to German cities such as Cologne will have to keep waiting for now.

SNCF Trip Report 1st - 3rd May 2016

En Voyage BB67628 passes south of Le Cendre with TER874009 the 14:11 Moulins-sur-Allier to Vic-le-Comte 02/05/2016.

Day 1 Sunday 1st May-

BB26073 prepares to depart Paris Bercy with the 14:00 to Clermont-Ferrande.

A rail trip straight after a party was always going to be a good idea wasn't it? Wasn't it? I still don't entirely know why my alarm didn't go off, but I woke to a call from my friend to check my progress towards St Pancras. Delayed. Fortunately I had allowed plenty of time for the journey and was still able to make it to St Pancras 25 minutes before departure of our train to Paris. Slightly relieved and feeling quite ready to slump into a seat we settled into our Standard Premiere seats on 374006 our first e320. Also in the station was one(?) of the refurbished e300 sets 373016, also the first time I had seen one of these. The e320 was smooth and very bright inside and despite an initial grimace at being offered wine with my meal that was quite palatable as well!

My head feeling slightly better by Paris we decided to make a very rushed trip to 'Grand Train' at La Chapelle which should have opened the previous day. Unfortunately, as since reported, it hadn't! As it turns out we really wouldn't have had time to get round it anyway and we retraced our path back through Gare du Nord and down to Bercy for the 14:00 train to Clermont Ferrande with Sybic BB26073, one of only a handful which were not required!

BB67555 at Moulins-sur-Allier with the 19:37 to Cleremont-Ferrande

In order to try to achieve something with the day we left the Intercity at Moulins sur Allier for a fester of around an hour before picking up a TER diesel on the 19:37 to Clermont-Ferrande, one of very few Sunday turns. Fortunately this produced with BB67555 which sounded a tad quiet, not that any of the class are particularly noisy. We had a nice chat with the gripper on board  who informed us that the dormant volcano (definitely not a mountain) Puy du dome had received a fresh coat of snow during the week- an unexpected plus for our photos in early May!

On arrival at Clermont-Ferrande we checked into the usual hotel; Les Commercants opposite the station and then headed to our usual crepe restaurant 'Le 1513' on the other side of the Cathedral. Somehow on the way to the restaurant I managed to loose my print out of the Nevers BB67400 diagrams and the simplifyer I had made for the locos at Clermont for the Monday. After the meal I was more than ready for some sleep... it would take more than one night to catch up for having had less than two hours sleep the previous one. Especially given the hour we would be getting up!

Day 2 Monday 2nd May- 

The driver chats with station staff before departure from
Clremont-Ferrande with the 06:28 to Issoire.

Don't you love it when your plan for the day has gone slightly wrong before the day even begins? We were up at 05:30 in preparation to see Saint Chely steel train with BB67400's but there was a problem- it was dark! Now it isn't dark at home at this time but we had clearly overlooked checking the sunrise time! We'd just have to hope the train ran late as chasing the train down to Neussargues wasn't an option (we'd miss the push-pull sets we were actually here for). The freight of course had different ideas and passed through the station at 06:05 with BB67563, BB67453 and, unusually shunter 8053(?). Well, we had seen a freight with the BB67400's even if we didn't have any photos.  

BB67556 and BB67574 pass at Vic-le-Comte.

Anyway- on to what we had actually come for, some local TER BB67400 action, which we had seen precisely none of on our two previous trips to Clermont-Ferrand (both failed attempts to ride the Le Cevenol loco hauled). 

Having seen some previous trip reports from the area I was fully expecting several kart vices and swapping of locos on the TER's- but in a strange turn of events every train that we saw that was booked to be hauled was (I had managed to download a copy of the files I had lost to my phone). 

With Le Cevenol no longer being hauled six locos can cover the diagrams and these were BB67555, BB67556, BB67557, BB67574, BB67601 and BB67628.

BB67574 is seen shortly after departure from Clermont-Ferrande with TER873763 to Issoire. The presence of snow at the top of Pays du Dome indicates how unseasonably cold it had recently been. 02/05/2016.

All locos were easily covered and there was time for some photos as well. The sun came out and it was a jolly pleasant day- We had clearly done something right as everything went just as it should have done. Would our luck with the SNCF gods continue!?

BB67556 basks in the sun as it waits for the 17:19 to Brioude.

We left Cleremont-Ferrand on the 19:10 to Montlucon Ville and despite this being a 'flying bannana' unit we had a very pleasant ride along this beautifully scenic line on a lovely summers evening.

Arrival at Montlucon was on time and our next move the 08:44 to Paris was already being shown on the platform for the following morning. We stayed at Hotel Le Faisan near to the station, I can't say I'd stay there again. The town was fairly dead on a Monday night but we found somewhere to get some dinner.

Beautiful french scenery between Clermont-Ferrande and Montlucon.

Tuesday 3rd May- 

It wasn't to be. BB67377 not working our train at Montlucon.

Woke up and used WiFi to check any gen and discovered that CC72084 was planned to work the 19:42 Paris Troyes... there was a target for later. Anyway, back to the original plan picking up some breakfast and heading to the station for a loco hauled run to Paris. We got back to Montlucon Ville station and sure enough the Corails were sitting in the platform as advertised the night before- but something was not right. BB67377 was sitting about a half a coach length in front of the train, cold, and this was 10 minutes before departure. Even worse- a pair of 'bananas' were sitting in the opposite platform advertised as the 08:44 to Bourges. Ah- the SNCF gods were back on form- a Kart vice. Disappointing was the word, we had come all the way to Montlucon and we weren't even going to get a diesel. With no other option we boarded the somewhat busy kart and kept our fingers crossed that there might at least be some Corails waiting for us at Bourges. Fortunately there were and BB26046 took us forward to Paris. Also at Bourges were BB67330, BB67345, BB26049 and ECR 66203.

BB67567 and BB67421 stabled with a train at Les Aubrais.

We left BB26046 at Les Aubrais where BB67567 and BB67421 were in the yard with an Infra train. Ghostly BB75329 was also present. Dud BB7204 was picked up into Paris Austerlitz. Here there was a pleasant surprise with Fret liveried BB7212 on ECS duties. 

BB7212 provides a splash of colour as ECS loco at Austerlitz.

The lines from Melun to Juvisy and Montereaux are the last
stronghold of the X5300 'Petit Gris' EMU's. X5333 approaches
Le Grande Paroisse with a service to Melun.

With a few hours to kill before the diesels at Paris Est we headed over the river to Gare du Lyon where we took a unit to Melun in order to have a go at a few 'Petit Gris' on the line from Melun to Montereau. BB72046 took us back into Paris and we made it over to Est just in time to see CC72140 leave with the 16:42 to Belfort. The train unusually was right at the far end of the platform, maybe due to the recent emissions/noise complaints? Either way the front of the loco was under the road bridge making any sort of photo impossible. CC72177 was on the blocks. CC72190 was in the platform (in a more usual position) with what must have been the 18:12 to Culmont-Chalindrey- stock brought in by BB17079. 

BB67406 at Crouy-Sur-Ourcq with the
17:05 Paris Est - Le Ferte Milon 03/05/2016.

We took BB67406 on the 17:05 Le Ferte Milon with just a single RIO set. Taking this to Crouy Sur Ourcq meant we could be back at Est to see the 19:42 Troyes. BB67599 worked the 18:05 to Le Ferte Milon with a normal 8 car set, passed at Trilport. 

Back to Est and we had already worked out that CC72084 was not going to appear on the 19:42- it was sitting turned off at Pantin. We couldn't see anything else to form the train however, until we spotted a Champagne-Ardenne AGC- it looked a bit cosy! 

We stayed to watch the departure of BB15003 on the 19:42 to Chalons-en-Champagne. It was then time for a McDonalds before heading back to Gare du Nord for the 21:03 Eurostar back to reality, another new e320 set in the form of 374002. 

Conclusion- 

The closest we came to CC72084, stabled at Pantin.

Once again France had managed to deliver some of what we had set out to achieve. The BB67400 turns out of Clermont-Ferrand are now probably the last decent concentration of TER push/pull activities with these locos and the scenery is reasonable as well. These were covered well and with some decent photos as well, unfortunately the Montlucon turns, which are very difficult to cover have evaded us which really wasted most of a day. Travel was with FIP coupons and no trouble was encountered with these, not that we were gripped very often. The only problem with photography was at Bourges where apparently it wasn't allowed- we had most of our pictures by then anyway.

Taken from a passing train BB15005 in the attractive 'Grand Comfort' livery makes a fine sight outside the station as it awaits it's next duty from Paris Est 03/05/2016.

SNCF Trip report- 23rd - 28th May 2015

Saturday 23rd May-

CC72158 works the 16:42 Paris - Belfort seen here at Langres approaching journeys end.

It was up early to head to Dover to get across to France. The plan to go the 'traditional'  way to Paris was already in tatters as engineering works had the Boulogne blocked for our chosen train down to Paris. South Eastern's service from Victoria to Dover Priory was a bit of a stagger but with an on time arrival we decided we just about had time to walk to eastern docks for the boat. We were right- we did *just* have time. The bus to the boat  leaving minutes before our departure.
It was a grey crossing over the channel on board the 'Pride of Burgundy'- this is however a  sedate and pleasant way of travelling.
Less sedate and pleasant was the dash across to Calais Ville for our TGV into Paris. We knew  that we had not allowed a huge amount of time, but with the boat arriving around 10 minutes  late and then the usual faf to get onto land we had only around 18 minutes from clearing  customs to the departure of the 13:25 from Calais Ville to Paris- I knew I could just walk it  in 20... so we ran it. Arrival into Paris Nord was on time now in beautiful sunshine.
There was a bit of time to kill, photograph BB22333 and BB22244 and to stock up on supplies before heading over to Est. Note that one side of the nice old 'Solari' board at Nord has  been covered up- maybe the beginning of the end for this nice old display?
CC72176 was on the blocks, with winning CC72158 provided for the 16:42 Paris - Belfort.  Settled into a comfy bay in the steaming hot first coach for the run. Clearly there was a  problem with the A/C and about 30 minutes into the journey the chief du train came round and  opened the windows- a little bit more noise from the loco then!
On time arrival in Belfort and about an hour to explore the town and get some food before the sleeper. There was some sort of festival going on by the river- clearly Belfort was the place  to be. Unfortunatley the kebab shop across from the station was not the place to get dinner.  I had incorrectly assumed that getting food here would be fast- this was not the case. 25  minutes after having first stood behind the counter and just 5 minutes before the sleeper was  due to leave I was finally handed my food. No chance for a shot at Belfort then!
Loco was another winner- CC72147. Usual farce settling into our beds- door to the compartment  was locked from the inside and once the incumbents had finally opened it we were greeted with a rammed compartment with 5 beds occupied with bodies and the sixth stacked full of luggage.  I don't think our presentation of reservations for the bottom two went down too well! A  little while later and some re-arrangement of the compartment and our beds were cleared-  though no room for our bags. We were tired and fortunately the compartment was a reasonable  temperature. After the diesel had left at Culmont-Chalindrey it was time for some shut-eye.  Didn't check the electric loco as I could of course see that at Marseilles in the morning.

Sunday 24th May-

BB22374 basks in the morning sun with the Strasbourg/Luxemborg to Nice
overnight sleeper at Marseilles St Charles where it reverses.

A reasonably good night's sleep considering I can't sleep on sleepers! Plan to check the loco at Marseilles could have gone better... BB22326 was on the front of Sybic BB26165, which was clearly dead. But was it dead leaving Culmont-Chalindrey? Can I underline it??
BB22374 lead the train out to Nice before an odd 'definitely not in the UK' move where the broken-nose pushed the dead Sybic out of the station- nobody in the cab of the leading loco!
Time for a brisk walk down to the harbour and back, and then a rather bad photo of BB7258 and the AVE bound for Madrid. Also sighted a Regio 2N set which looked to be testing. First time I've seen one in the flesh. 08:06 to Mirimas was a unit- the first bowl out of the trip.
Got into position at Niolon for the 07:59 ex Mirimas. Everything crossed that it would produce a loco, and very pleasing to see BB67568 cross over the viaduct- especially given our disaster on this line exactly a year ago when the whole day fell into chaos due to a PACA strike!
A quick dip in the Med to celebrate having finally got the shot. Expected the same loco to work back on the 10:36 Marseilles- Miramas but of course it didn't- even more graffitied BB67560 however was a winner and suitable substitute.

BB67568 crosses the viaduct at Niolon with the 07:59 Miramas - Marseilles 'Cote Bleu' service.

Infra liveried BB67433 at Miramas.

AGC unit on to Nimes for lunch and back to the station in time to try our luck at Le Cevanol to
Cleremont Ferrand. We had discovered about a month before our trip that the line was blocked
in the middle... but would loco and stock work the two portions? It was worth a go. The squeal of brakes as we came up the stairs confirmed our fears- it was to be an AGC to La Bastide. The replacement coach between La Bastide and Langeac was prompt and no hassle- but the 1hour 40 + journey was really not idea for a rail trip. Less ideal again was another AGC waiting at Langeac to continue to Cleremont-Ferrand. Cevanol still very much required.

Alstom Prima diesels BB75059 and BB75005 pull away
from the yards at Miramas.

Not a lot at Cleremont-Ferrand, no diesels out and just BB26055 on a Paris train so retired to a shower and a good (if slow) meal at our favourite Crepe restaurant.
Stayed in Hotel Les Commerciates across from the station as last year- Very creaky floors and
unable to connect to WiFi- but got the job done.

BB26055 at Cleremont-Ferrand with a Paris service.

A PACA AGC unit at La Bastide with the curtailed 'Cevenol'

Monday 25th May-

A single coach X73500 works the daily train to Le Mont Dore seen at Laqueille.

A Bank Holiday, so as usual for my trips to Cleremont-Ferrand, no diesel loco action. Wandered
round the town and took an AGC up to Volvic because, why not? Friendly crew invited us into
the cab for the journey back down the line- we were the only passengers on the train anyway!
With the line climbing straight up almost the whole way to Volvic, I'd like to come back and do it loco hauled!

X2907 and X2844 at Cleremont-Ferrand with a L'autorail
Limousin excursion to Montlucon. A pleasant surprise!

Between Laqueille and Ussel the only option is to take a bus.

Vermillion BB26037 at Cleremont on an arrival from Paris, then- a surprise! What is this appearing from the south??? A L'autorail Limousin excursion to Montlucon using X2907 and X2844. Not the best of places to photograph it and it had started to rain, but a very nice surprise and break from the monotitny of AGC's and 'flying bananas'. Todays main move was to Bordeaux via Ussel and another bus. We had worked out that taking the (once daily) train to Le Mont Dore would cut down the bus journey significantly and this worked well with a 'flying banana' taking us up the pleasant branch. You can continue all the way to Le Mont Dore, and then return to Laquille by TER bus, conecting with the TER bus to Ussel. We didn't risk it but it would have worked as the bus connection made. Boarded the reasonably busy TER branded bus to Ussel (never did find out what happened to the two cyclists who were refused boarding) and  contemplated our fate- would we get another long distance unit bowl out? Not this time. BB67432 + 3 was provided for the twice weekly 16:11 Ussel - Bordeaux running on the Monday vice Sunday due to the Holiday.

BB67432 is a pleasant sight at Ussell with the twice weekly
train to Bordeaux Saint Jean.

An uneventful journey (nobody seemed to be bothered that there was smoke coming from
underneath one coach at Tulle during the run round). Arrival in Bordeaux roughly on time.
BB67455 + BB67542 arrived with 3378 17:05 Nantes - Bordeaux
BB67477 + BB67475 arrived with 3839 19:05 Nantes - Bordeaux

Trains reverse, and our loco must run around at Tulle.

As has been mentioned before there is a massive re-building program at Bordeaux St Jean with the north half of the station totally obliterated by scaffolding. It is going to look stunning once the work is complete, but in the mean time the station is a total mess until at least 2017!
A Regio 2N set was seen in service.
Turns out it's a long walk into town- should have got a tram! Ended up eating by the station. Stayed in Hotel Fasian, right opposite the stations main booking hall. Creaky floors and a tiny bathroom with a translucent door which, if shut too far (not closed) would then not re-open from the inside! A useful feature! WiFi only seemed to work down in the foyer. Other than that ok and can't be faulted on price or proximity to the station.

BB22331 stands at Bordeaux Saint Jean with a northbound service.

Tuesday 26th May-

BB67419 and BB67431 arrive into Rochefort with the 06:11 Quimper - Bordeaux.

A day out on the Nantes- Bordeax line.

BB67419 and BB67431 at Saintes.

A plan was devised working with the limited service of 4 Intercities trains each way. Not many booked for pairs on a Tuesday from the diagrams I had, but with it being a 'Sunday' on the holiday Monday there was hope of some extra pairs returning south. First move was out to Rochefort on the 07:55 unit. Another long run on an AGC- if only these trains were as smooth as Corails they would almost be quite pleasant (oh, and if they could sort out the automatic sensor taps to give you a second dose of water)! Unfortunately they rattle and don't ride jointed track too well at speed making postcard writing somewhat tricky.

Y8101 is seen parked with some wagons at Lucon.

Once on the line it is not so difficult to devise moves to cover most of the trains, though getting photos as well without a car is challenging.
Shunter 8101 was sighted on some ballast wagons at Lucon-it had gone by the following day.

A matching pair of locos, BB67436 and BB67442 on the 10:55 Bordeaux - Nantes.

Southbound trains-
13899 05:56 La Rochelle - Bordeaux Unable to ID (single loco on short train)
3830/1 06:11 Quimper - Bordeaux BB67419 + BB67431 (taken Rochefort- Saintes)
3835 13:05 Nantes - Bordeaux BB67424 + BB67578 (taken Lucon - Jonzac)
3837 17:05 Nantes - Bordeaux BB67442 + BB67436 (taken Jonzac - Bordeaux)

Northbound trains-
3842 10:55 Bordeaux - Nantes BB67436 + BB67442 (taken Saintes - Lucon)
3854/5 14:55 Bordeaux - Quimper Not seen
3856/7 16:55 Bordeaux - Nantes BB67445 + BB67477
3888 18:55 Bordeaux - La Rochelle BB67549

Of course the sun went in for our photo of the 16:55 Bordeaux - Nantes (we'd only been
waiting 90 minutes for it) however found Jonzac to be a pleasant town and eventually had a
very good burger and chips for dinner.
Into Bordeaux for the evening- taking the tram this time to actually find the city centre.
Not a bad day at all but a shame only one of the loco pairs was in matching livery (BB67436 +
67442 in Multiservice). All others being an En Voyage/Multiservice pairing.

BB67424 + BB67578 at La Rochelle with the 13:05 from Nantes. 

BB67442 stands next to BB27014M at Bordeaux Saint Jean.

BB67445 and BB67477 head north towards Jonzac with the 16:55 Bordeaux - Nantes.

Wednesday 27th May-

TGV 334 leads 321 under classic Midi catenery at Allouette-France on the line from Bordeaux to Dax and Hendaye.

The 06:00 Hendaye - Bordeaux with BB7404.

With plenty of non-diesel action around Bordeaux we headed down on the line towards Dax and
Hendaye ending up at Allouette-France shortly outside Bordeaux, this line having the attractive
Midi catenery. The most interesting train seen was BB7404 (with cast numbers) on the 06:00 Hendaye - Bordeaux. Of course the photo was obscured by a tiny cloud which cleared 30 seconds after it passed. A few freights were also seen (Primas BB27009, BB27013M and BB60019) as well as a Regiolis working TER services.
Back to Bordeaux for the 10:55 to Nantes which was now dud pair BB67424 and BB67578, taken
throughout.

BB67578 and BB 67424 run around their train at Nantes ready to form the 17:05 service back to Bordeaux.

X2200 railcars still work with trailers on some local services
from Bordeaux. X2225 is seen departing ECS.

My companion for the week left here by TGV to Paris. Thanks Rhys for the company, I continued by unit to Rennes in search of some BB25500's. The diagrams I was working with dated to 2012, but with these I made a plan to get in 5 locos during the evening. This soon went wrong after the first two departures I was expecting to be hauled produced units (several Regiolis working in the area).
A few locos did eventually appear:
BB25643 17:35 Rennes - Montreuil sur Ille
BB25590 17:49 Rennes - La Brohiniere
BB25689 17:40 Rennes - Vitry
BB25650 18:01 Vitry - Rennes

BB26107 passes Rennes with eastbound freight.

I took the 17:40 to Vitry and then made a massive error. I bailed at Les Lacs planning to pick up the 18:01 return from Vitry to then do a few more moves from Rennes. Unfortunately this station has only the level crossing to cross between platforms and the barriers were already down for my return train! No matter... I could take the BB25689 back to Rennes on it's return- only it doesn't stop!!! A quick panic and look at my Interrail journey planner revealed that I had indeed made an enormous balls up- the next train anywhere was the 19:23 to Rennes, and that missed all the remaining loco hauled departures! Oh dear- lesson maybe learnt about doing short desperate leaps at shacks?!

BB25650 pushes and RRR set for Rennes through Les Lacs.

Went for a wander around the pleasant town and had a very nice meal to commiserate.
Accommodation was Hotel Magenta, just round the corner from the station. More than I ideally wanted to pay, but there was nowhere else cheaper without a massive trek- glad I paid the extra to stay near the station in the end. No creaky floor here but still no luck with WiFi!








Thursday 28th May-

BB25689 on the banks of La Vilaine near to Guichen-Bourg-des-Comptes between Rennes and Redon.

It was up very early this morning to try to make up for the previous evenings disaster!
It didn't start well with the 06:15 to St Breiuc producing a unit- I had even seen the diagram that should have formed this hauled the previous night! Still I persevered to Montauban de Bretagne to pick up the return 06:10 from St Breiuc to Rennes. This had to be a loco, and was BB26590.

BB25590 arrives into Montauban de Bretagne.

Took a unit to Sesson Cevigne to pick up BB25689 on a fill in move back to Rennes on the I had worked out fairly confidently by now that only diagrams 8-12 were still loco hauled, with 1-7 all being units.
BB25650 arrived for my next move, the 08:26 to Messac Guipry, then BB25681 arrived with the
07:20 St Malo - Rennes, diagram 1, just to ruin my assessment of what was running!

BB25590  06:10 St Breiuc - Rennes
BB25689  07:26 Vitry - Rennes
       08:05 Rennes - Messac Guipry
       08:50 Messac Guipry - Rennes
BB25650  08:26 Rennes - Messac Guipry
       09:45 Messac Guipry - Rennes
BB25681  07:20 St Malo- Rennes

Happy with a very nice photo of BB25689 (all had been right into the sun the previous evening) I boarded the 10:35 TGV for Paris.

BB25681 arrives into Rennes from St Malo.

The afternoon plan was to head to Melun in search of some 'Pettit Gris' Z5300 units. All was nearly
thwarted when my line 6 metro train slammed on the brakes and went very dark on leaving a station on the way towards Gare du Lyon- I needn't have feared the worst as the driver soon had the unit back into life and I had plenty of time to make the unit down to Melun. A little wait for the Z5300 units to turn up during which time 26007 passed with a Corail to Cleremont-Ferrand (only the second 'ghost' photographed on the trip- a very plain looking train when coupled with 'Vermillion' corails). Also BB26078 and BB64633 on freight.
The X5300 still work peak hour services from Melun to Monereau and Juvisy. 3 were seen  
in my short visit, the highlight being original (ish) condition Z5332 with a Juvisy service- complete with brown interior and smoking passengers! A real blast from the past!
Back at Melun 66205 passed with a freight and I boarded BB7241 with a train from Laroche Migennes back into Gare du Lyon.

En Voyages liveried BB25650 approaches Guichen-Bourg-des-Comptes with a train from Messac-Guipry to Rennes.

Just time to cross to Paris Est for the 17:05 to Le Ferte Milon. I queued up patiently for some time to obtain my 'billet contremarque' to access the Ile de France platforms. Got the ticket no problem and then found an open gate...

BB67451 17:05 Paris - La Ferte Milon
BB67470 18:05 Paris - La Ferte Milon
CC72147 17:12 Paris - Troyes
CC72074 18:12 Paris - Culmont Chalindrey (presumed)
CC72176 19:42 Paris - Troyes

BB26078 with a southbound freight at Melun.

CC72074 was viewed on rear of stock heading into Paris Est at about 17:08 (viewed from La Ferte Milon train) with BB17102 leading in. Presumably stock for the 18:12 departure?
CC72049- totally caught me by surprise when my unit back to  Paris passed it LE outside Trilport just where the line from La Ferte Milon joins the electric line. Lights were on and lpoked Paris bound- presumably to Pantin? But where from and why? Unfortunately I didn't have time to see what it did next.
Maybe one day I'll actually get a photo or a ride with one!

I had a leisurely wander across to Nord, with a McDonalds to finish the trip before boarding 3215 on the 20:40 Paris - London.

The X5300's are remarkable survivors. X5332 prepares to
depart Melun for Juvisy in the Paris suburbs.

Overall generally a very good and successful trip- excursions such as these are always subject to the perils of the weather, delays, unforeseen muck ups and of course SNCF itself. While Cleremont-Ferrand was once again disappointing, generally the weather was kind to us and to give them fair credit SNCF performed admirably. The largest delay encountered was about 5 minutes, and that was only once. Even the 'TER Car' services which unfortunately had to be endured were punctual. Once again no problem with photography anywhere- staff and the French in general being very polite and pleasant.

The interior of X5332 harks back to bygone days of the SNCF!

Travel was by Interrail one country pass. Journey log filled in religiously but never looked at or requested by the grippers- it provides quite a good record of the moves though. The journey log is clearly not designed for desperate moves to shacks with long names though, or even rather larger shacks such as Cleremont-Ferrand which does not fit in the box.
Until next time- thanks for reading, thanks to all those who post gen and diagrams and I hope I haven't rambled on for too long!

BB67470 approaches Trilport with the 18:05 Paris Est - La Ferte Milon.