This appears to be the first TGV turbine prototype (TGV 001). The French government was looking to improve it's passenger service throughout the country especially in light of efforts in other countries such as Japan and even the US. The government thought steel rail /steel track speeds had been maxed out and was looking at technologies such as Maglev or even Hovercraft but SNCF's desire to stay with conventional rail won out due to the existing network of station and rail networks. The pictured unit was jet turnbine powered (as was the US DOT project called the UA Turbo Train). Due to the gas crisis of 1974, it was decided electric powered trains would be more practical with the advent of cheap nuclear power. This photo was likely taken between 1970 and 1972. On Dec 8th, 1972 this train achieved a world speed record for a non-electric powered set at 198 mph, a record that holds till this very day, 36 years later. Bombardier has basically reintroduced this technology with it's Jet Train but has yet to sell one. It should be noted that the design of the TGV was introduced by Jack Cooper - born in England, moved to the US and worked with Raymond Loewy (responsible for the looks of the PRR GG-1, among other things), and later moved to France to work on the TGV. Small world, incredible history. Thanks for adding the photo to the database!
|
| Posted by on November 28, 2008 | |
Well... after the excellent comment that Mitch wrote, there is not much to add. But I'll give it a try. Indeed, this is the famous TGV001, a gas turbine prototype that was delivered to the SNCF on April 4, 1972. It was carrying the SNCF hopes for a high speed future. At that time, the first French high speed line - Paris to Lyon - was only a project, and was considered to be a non electrified line. The first section would open in 1981, and it was of course electrified. The picture might have been taken anywhere between September 1972 and February 11 1976, the day when the TGV001 tests ended. The picture was probably shot on the South-West region. The TGV001 used to go from its Villeneuve Saint Georges base (south of Paris) to Bordeaux, for high speed test runs on the long tangent between Bordeaux and Dax. This was the longest section of tangent track in France, and it was there that the 1955 world rail speed record took place. It is on this section that the TGV001 reached its 318km/h record speed.
|
| Posted by on November 28, 2008 | |
Jacques Cooper drew the TGV001 and later worked on the first series of TGVs, the “Sud-Est” train sets. Jacques Cooper was born in France in 1931 from an English father (born in France) and a French mother. He started his career as a designer in 1953 at CAEI, Compagnie Americaine d’Esthetique Industrielle (American Industrial Design Corporation), which was Raymond Loewy’s French subsidiary. Jacques Cooper started drawing the TGV001 in 1968. At that time, he was not any more with CAEI. He was working for Brissoneau Et Lotz, a train maker that was later merged into Alsthom. During the very first briefing that he got for the TGV001, he was asked: “Monsieur Cooper, draw me a train that does not look like a train”. RPN picture 180151 shows the TGV001 in colors at a time when it had lost its prime movers and was used as a test bed for the new electric TGVs.
|
|