fbb, The Magenta Presenter! (4)

 They Foresee Extra For C ...

But where, actually?

... and where's that?

... Clever You See!

It all started with the branch from St Lazare to Auteuil (GREEN on the map extract above). This was eventually incorporated into the Petit Ceinture railway. 

In order to serve the big 1900 exhibition at Champ de Mars (where sits M Eiffel's famous thingy), a branch was built from Passy to cross the Seine on the Pont de Rouelle.

Here we see the bridge under construction next to an older wooden crossing.

The crossing is magnificent, built in two main sections viewed from the banks of the river on the narrow Isle de Cygnes.

The southern section curves to join the tracks on the southern bank.

This branch off a branch carried huge numbers to the exhibition ...

... but by 1924 better Metro and the roundabout route from St Lazare  meant the line was closed.

Then along comes the RER lune C with a master plan.

1. Reinstate the line from Tour Eiffel to near Passy

2. Use a chunk of the old PC line as far as Periere Levallois

3. Build a tunnel from Periere Levallois ...

... (above bottom left; YELLOW line), waving goodbye to the PC route ...

... and continuing to St Ouen (below upper right).

4. Take over the former branch to Ermont Eaubonne.

5. Extend the service to Pontoise.

And, hey presto, yet another line to join RER C which opened in 1988!

Just In Case 

You may be wondering how a Parisian or a Tourist might unravel the complexities of the RER. Each train carries a four letter headcode, some of which spell real words.

Above is NORA and below is MICK.

Confused.com? But the helpful news is that the codes appear on departure screens ...

... and in printed timetables.

Once you get used to it, it is a helpful system -  IF you can read the letters!

For a visitor it is probably better than wrestling with French spelling and some ludicrously long station names. Some are so long they would never be legible on the front of a train!

PLEASE NOTE

Yesterday's lengthy eye test revealed no real change since Januaty 2025. Next check in six months. Praise God for the stability.

   Next Variety blog : Sat 19 July