Locomotives and multiple-units - France: books - overviews

French Railways A-Z

The railways of France present a uniquely interesting picture, consisting as they once did of two entirely separate but overlapping systems: the standard-gauge network of the great railway companies and the mostly metre-gauge network of the local rural railways.

This book attempts to provide a comprehensive picture of this fascinating diversity. Featuring a variety of locations throughout France, subjects covered include the seven pre-nationalisation railway companies; locomotives of all types, including both the successful and the spectacular failures; freight and passenger trains; the great railway engineers; famous lines, such as the Vivarais, as well as the not so famous; tourist railways; some of the great engineering marvels, such as the Viaduc du Garabit; accidents and disasters; railways in wartime; and even railways which were built but never saw a train.

Using the author's own photographs as well as historic postcard views, this book will appeal to anyone with an interest in railways.

French Railways : Locomotives and Multiple Units (6th Edition)

The complete guide to all locomotives and multiple units working on the railways of France. It includes:
- A brief historical background to the railways of France.
- Detailed fleet lists of all locomotives & multiple units in service with national operator, SNCF.
- Suburban trains operated by Paris-area transport authority, RATP.
- The fleets of private train operators and track maintenance companies.
- Narrow-gauge lines operated by SNCF and independent narrow-gauge lines.
- Former SNCF locomotives now in industrial service.
- A general overview of the organisation and structure of French Railways.
- Information about tickets and rail passes.
- Detailed maps of the French railway network.
- An explanation of the SNCF numbering system and the European Vehicle Numbering scheme.
- Livery information.
- Depot allocations.
- Technical data for every class of locomotive and multiple unit.
- Full lists of steam, diesel and electric locomotives and multiple units in preservation.
- Information about museums and museum lines with contact details, line lengths and brief summaries of the number of exhibits usually present at each location.
- Over 80 colour illustrations.
- An extensive list of locomotive and multiple unit builders
- A list of common railway-themed terms in French and English

This book has been compiled and updated by the former editor of Today's Railways Europe, David Haydock. A resident of France, David has spent many years reporting on rolling stock matters and is widely regarded as a leading authority on the subject. It is the most comprehensive guide to rolling stock operating in France.

Loks der französischen Staatsbahn SNCF - seit 1938 (Typenkompass)

Ce livre de référence présente les locomotives à vapeur, les locomotives thermiques et électriques ainsi que les automotrices utilisées par la SNCF depuis 1938.

Chaque type est présenté à l'aide d'une photo, d'une description historique et d'une fiche technique.

Le matériel moteur SNCF 2016

Destiné aux spécialistes, un ouvrage de référence qui répertorie, sous forme de fiches, le parc moteur SNCF au 30 juin 2016. Plus de 110 séries d'engins y sont détaillées et présentées avec des photos pleine page, des diagrammes cotés et des renseignements techniques complets.

Au fil des chapitres, le lecteur retrouvera l'histoire du "Mat Mot", l'inventaire du matériel SNCF acquis depuis 1938, l'évolution de la numérotation (y compris celle européenne), la traduction des marquages de bas de caisses, mais aussi l'histoire des modes de traction, des moteurs diesel, du parc TER, de l'histoire du logo SNCF, des livrées des engins par activité ou encore le patrimoine SNCF.
Egalement actualisés, le catalogue des pantographes, les engins spéciaux et le parc de certaines filiales, dont Akiem, inclus dans cet ouvrage.

Nouvelle édition revue et complétée.

French Traction

With its size, France is home to a huge number of locomotives. The country can basically be split in two, with the northern half running on AC traction, and the southern half on DC traction. A vast number of locomotives are dual-powered, and so can run all over the country.

Locomotives can be found on passenger workings, but are mostly dedicated to freight. Main operator SNCF runs most, if not all, the services within France. The number of locomotive-hauled passenger services is dwindling, but both diesel and electric locomotives can still be found.
The main diesel-hauled passenger workings are in the hands of Class 67 or Class 72 locomotives, while electric-hauled passenger workings are in the hands of Class 17, 22, 25, 26 or Class 27 locomotives. A large number of passenger workings are to be found in the Paris area, with the Class 17 an endangered species.

On the freight side, there are a large number of different traction types in use, from the Class 7200 in the south to vast numbers of Class 26, 27 and 37 electric locomotives, which can be found all over the country. There are quite a few different classes of diesel locomotives running for use on non-electrified lines, including Class 60, 63, 66, 69 and 75.

In French Traction, Andrew Cole explores all this variety and more in a collection of detailed images and captions, which capture many of the thousands of locomotives in France today - from the humble shunter to the modern freight locomotive.