Another V wagon, this time loaded with what appears to be a container of washrooms/toilets?



regards
Kimball

Hi,
To follow up on this, I found a network map (as of 2006) which indeed shows the right side running.
With acknowledgment to Rail Passion magazine.

It appears that in this modern day, bi-directional running is allowed on the main lines (in red), but the old rules still apply on the secondary lines (in blue).
And you can see at Molsheim/Mutzig south west of Strasbourg, where the right hand running changes to left hand running (and vice versa) by means of a flyover.



regards
Kimball

Pocher's Pulmann car + Restaurant car will do , but they are hard to find!
On the other hand there are plenty of Jouef similar coaches that could do the trick, unless you really want to have scale models...which the Märklin coaches aren't anyway.
And then you still need the (blue) generator car that was made by VB

I now only have the the VB Mistral locomotive, but it may be VB-Lejeune, not sure how to tell the difference. The coaches and and the blue generator car have long since been lost. Too many children!

Well, you could run 2 trains, one "each way". Or...

Jimmy

I have also stumbled across this, though some may already know of this prototype resource:

http://openarchives.sncf.com/

Great images of SNCF

Jimmy

Good observations!

The electrification of the "Imperial line" Paris Lyon Marseille (Cannes) occurred in the late 40's and through the 1960's

First electrified section was Paris Lyon.

But in those day, the SNCF was still using the pre-war standard electrical system of 1500 V DC. (only later, newer electrification were made with 25kV/ 50 hz)

This implied a number of load limitations on these lines and the Mistral was really the first commercially used train to be fully AC equiped and the power demand (about 480 kW for the whole consist) would exceed what the older electric locos could supply. (e.g. 2D2, CC 7100)

Besides, the generator cars were designed to produce AC current , which is much more efficient to ditribute along and run motors/pumps/fans of the trains' air conditionning system

The section from Lyon to Marseille and onward remained under steam for a some time and thus the generator car also kept running for a long time.
The section along the Cote d'Azur from Marseille to Cannes was later served with diesels (BB 67000) but occasionally a few steam locos of the 141R type had to intervene.
So one could say that the Mistral was probably the only TEE ever to be operated under steam!

The original Mistral 56 coaches (plus a few upgraded CIWL restaurant and pullman cars) with their generator cars were later used on some international TEE services like the Goethe and the Arbalète

BTW, the concept of generator car was also used a little later (and on a even bigger scale) by the Italian FS for the supply of their fabulous range of TEE coaches used both internationally (e.g. on the Mediolanum and the Lemano) and internally (e.g. Ambrosiano, Vesuvio, etc.)

Jacques,

Fabulous Information Indeed

PM sent...

Jimmy