... came with the lad's usual challenge. What is it? What was it? What is it doing in Meyzieu line 3 tram depot?
Dave the Driver didn't use "zoom" on his camera, so an enlargement of the screen is the best that fbb could manage ...
... which wasn't much help. It appeared to be a single car with "stuff" on the roof and three sets of doors down the side. Was it a French railway railcar of some sort? There have been plenty of those over the years.
The squat ones with the driver in a pod on the roof were particularly noteworthy ...
... but everything researahed looked very different from the Meyzieu mystery machine.
Could it be something to do with the "rhône expess" tram?
This services shares the tracks with T3 as far a Meyzieu, providing a limited stop tram route to Airport and the Saint Exupéry TGV station - we would call it Lyon Parkway.
The service charges a premium fare of about €15 and runs every 15 minutes seven days a week ...
... with running time from city to airport being 29 minutes. To allow it to run "limited stop", several T3 stations have passing loops ...
... as here at Vaux-en-Velin. Here both tram services connect with Métro line A.
But you wouldn't park anything "rhône expess" in the Lyon tramways depot; (a) they are distinct and separate companies and (b) just along the road from the line 3 tram depot is the separate base for the airport stock.
Much of the infrastructure around the sheds is very new and Le "Streetview de Google" only gets part way. But you can see some of the extensive Pylon Collection ...
... as you peer through the gates!
We now know that the mystery vehicle is nothing to do with the rhône expess and, equially surely, is nothing that runs normally on T3. Dave the lorry driver was baffled; fbb was baffled - so what next?
Try asking!
Dave approached the man in a peaked hat at the depot gates ...
... but access was denied!
La santé et la sécurité règnent OK
As Dave departed in dismal despondency, along came another man who knew the answer, Hourrah! The Meyzieu mystery machine was ...
tada!
... an old car from Lyon Métro Ligne C.
Thither we will hie on the morrow.
In the meantime, two snippets from Northampton correspondent, Alan.
Here is his small but beautifully formed collection of old Dinky Toys. The Rolls Royce and the left hand pair of BBC outside broadcast vans date from Alan's childhood. Now if only he had the original boxes, he would be not quite a millionaire.
Aunty Nicola (the Big Fish of Caledonia) wants her own country to run and the doomed Irish Assembly has collapsed, amongst other things, over the recognition of Irish Gaelic; so it is good to see bi-lingual signs supporting the Welsh Celts in their desire for cultural recognition.
And where is this helpful sign? Of course, it is in Northampton (England?) just down the road from Alan's pad.
... as they say in Northampton's leafy western suburbs. New signs recently installed at the local Post Office are shown below.
Next mystery tram blog : Wednesday 29th March
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