After visiting France in 1960, on my way to Israel in connection with acoustical consulting work in the Jerusalem Conference, Convention, and Concert Hall, I subscribed to La Vie du Rail. While railroads and specifically passenger service were in decline in the USA, there seemed nothing but progress, with electrification too, in France. So my moral was improved by the magazine. I dropped it in 1967 for verious reasons. I decided to subscribe again, and the first issue arrived, the Julyl issue, and I am delighted. 82 pages plus the two inside and outside covers. Color photos illustrate all articles. 1 page a Portugease tank-Mallet operating in Provence, 1 renovation of an articulated older high-speed train and a new low-floor tram for Saint-Etienne, 1 Pacific Paris-Reims railfan special and re-use of older doodlebugs in Reims-suburbs. 8 miscellanous news worldwide, all of interest. 10 replacement of catenary and renewal of rolling stock on the Paris regional suburban network, including good descriptions of just what constant tension catenary is all about with excellent photos. 6 the Marselles region, including freight traffic and map. 1 applcation of "Post d'aiquillage informattese" Gretz - Armeinvilliers. Here my high-school French is not adequate. What is D'aiquillage? I think, from the photos, this is automaric dispatching added to an existing CTC. 3 new regional intercity trains 2 renovation of d'Orly Val regional trains. 2 New Talgo Berlin - Moscow trains with gauge changing. 1 renovation of the Italian Pendolinos. 1 New Traxx series 3 147 German locomotives (elec) 6 Mount Blanc line renewal, signals, track, rolling stock. 8 History and technical description, 25 years of the first two German high speed lines, with maps. 2 SNCF track renewal 4 Vivarais tourist operation Mallets and doodlebugs. (Covered as commercial railroad in Trains some seventy years ago, meter gauge.) 2 Flying Scottsman Pacific in use 8 Amtrak California Zephyr. Thorough, but no discussion of habitual lateness. Excellent diagram of P42. 4 Model trains Plus the usual advertizing pages, not intruding into text pages. Very similar to Trains, except even the most beautiful photos are chosen specifically to illustrate text, no photos presented just as such.
Check the website for subscrition details, and I had zero difficulty in communicating with their subscription ("Abonnement") office in English. I am probably the only subscriber with an Israeli address.
Very highly recommended
Dave, La Vie du Rail seems to be a current title, and Rail Passion seems to be a spinoff or something.
http://www.laviedurail.com/
I sent my check to La Vie du Rail in May and was told to expect a July issue. I must say that now I am confused. But certainly what I got is both beautiful and very interesting.
And from your covers, it seems as if La Vie du Rail also still looks at the past, with a current issue having the Denver Zephyr on the cover. It probably is a great magazine still.
I have always been into French matters to some degree. Dad spoke Franch beautifully, and the language of secrecy in my parents' home was French, not Yiddish. My mother spent four years as a teenager in Montreal, and Dad had his prelilminary education at an Alliance Yisrael school in Rumania. While I wake up to Bach Trio Sonatas, I generally go to sleep to Franck Chorales. But not much opporunity to enjoy French food in Israel. Italian, Chinese (by Vietnamese), Thai. Scandanavian, Irish, but very few French restaurants. (And any of these can be Kosher and are.) Not that I can complain about food at the Yeshiva.
daveklepper And from your covers, it seems as if La Vie du Rail also still looks at the past, with a current issue having the Denver Zephyr on the cover.
And from your covers, it seems as if La Vie du Rail also still looks at the past, with a current issue having the Denver Zephyr on the cover.
The covers are of old magazines for sale on ebay. Denver Zephyr was from 1957.
Sounds like a very interesting magazine, I am learning French so this would probably help me. I am reading an interesting book on the history of French Railways, "L'Épopée Des Chemins De Fer Français"
Merci pour le partage!
James Sanchez
I remember colour, on the cover at least, was a feature of "la Vie du Rail". In 1973 when visiting France for the first time, I purchased a copy with a photo on the cover of the British Rail High Speed Train. This was the first colour photo of the train I had ever seen (although I'd seen the train itself).
Another French Magazine was "Chemin de Fer", a glossy metric A4 size publication (about the size of "Trains"). I purchased a copy in 1973 that listed the vehicles of locomotive hauled Trans Europ Express trains. It was published by "L'Association Francaise des Amis de Chemin de Fer" (AFAC).
It was quite technical in it approach which I found helpful. I was later able to purchase a number of issues from 1950/51 which gave great details of the development of the 25 kV electrification, then in its early stages.
One 1951 issue covered the introduction of the electric service from Paris to Lyons (which much later was the route of the first TGV line). The cover had the headline: "Paris -Lyon: les trains la plus rapide du monde" (the fastest trains in the world). At this stage CC7101 was brand new and a very extensive description was given, with photos of the two prototypes CC7001 and CC7002 which looked very similar.
Peter
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