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Stenlake Publishing - Reseau Breton – A Rail Network in Brittany


Reseau Breton – A Rail Network in Brittany



Author : Gordon Gravett
ISBN : 9780853615361
Cover : paperback
Price : £10.95

During the late 1950s and 1960s vast numbers of British enthusiasts were making the Channel crossing to visit the Réseau Breton, the remaining metre gauge railway in Brittany. It was the most successful, an long-lived, of a number of metre gauge railways in this area of northern France, eventually finishing in 1967. Despite being narrow gauge, this was no sleepy backwater of a railway – the network consisted of five routes radiating from a very busy junction station and railway centre at Carhaix. Carhaix also boasted extremely active locomotive and carriage workshops alongside a busy running shed that kept the railway supplied with locomotives for the main daily duties. In post-war days diesel railcars had been employed on all the scheduled passenger services, but steam was very active on the heavy goods services and mixed trains – with large Mallet tanks often hauling in excess of 300 tons.

One of the five lines was converted to standard gauge and continues to provide a service into an out of Carhaix and the book brings the story up to date with a look at some of the modern traction that now operates the line, along with details of earlier standard gauge equipment. The author has rounded up this account by giving suggestions of routes that could be walked or cycled – quite legally – along the old track beds.

A5 format, 176 pages, more than 100 illustrations.

Reseau Breton – A Rail Network in Brittany
£10.95