Some Corners at Paris (mini-blog)

The ancient railway line between Denfert Rochereau and Sceaux (south of Paris centre) was a pioneer at going round sharp corners. Even today, you can see the curved station building at the Paris terminus of the line. It is more distinctive when viewed from the air.

An old engraving shows how it was …

… but better is an old map.

And it really was that tight a curve. So how did the steam hauled trains get round the corner? 

The locos had extra guide wheels nearly at right angles to the drive wheels …

… which are a bit easier to see on the line drawing.

Effectively, these locked the wheels to the rail! and probably squealed like a strangled ocelot when rounding the sharp turns.

The carriages were short, very short, and articulated …

… using a series of linked two wheel “pony trucks”.

At the southern end of the line (Gare des Sceaux), the access to the terminus, labelled “Chemin“, was decidedly serpentine …

… with wiggles necessary to get the trains up the hill to the station.

Little remains of the original southern terminus of this sharp-cornered line, but an aerial view does show some very odd bits of curved road which follow the line of the original wiggle.

The church is still there near the former terminus, but, in reality, nothing obvious remains of the old building.

The station area is now a park.

By 1900 the line was rebuilt as a conventional railway and subsequently electrified.

The sharp corners were no longer used. But they still appear faintly on the detailed Carto map of Paris Metro and RER as here at Denfert Rochereau …

… and here showing all the wiggles at Sceaux.

The extended route is now incorporated into RER line B.

 Next Liepaja tram blog : Weds 16th Oct