The illustrious Micheline was the first rubber-tyred train. André Michelin frequently travelled in a sleeping carriage, and it is said that his insomnia played a major role in the Micheline project. To provide smoother train travel, the company sought from 1929 onwards to reduce the jolts and noise caused by the steel wheels against the rails. Until then, trains could only use hard materials for contact with the rails, because tyres could not carry loads that sometimes exceeded 1.2 tonnes. On 26 January 1931, Michelin presented the various French rail networks with a chassis equipped with a 95 hp Hispano-Suiza engine and riding on 6 Michelin rubber tyres. This “Micheline” was used for travel between Paris and Trouville and could reach speeds of up to 107 kph (66 mph). One promotional leaflet in 1937 even stated that “at 125 kph, or in a 250 metre bend, glasses and bottles on tables were remarkably stable”. The Michelines were very popular and have stuck in the French public’s memory, right up to the start of the 21st Century, because they became a symbol of seaside travel and summer holiday camps. Today, they have been replaced by TERs (regional express trains). (Source Cité du Train)
