European Railroad Discussion > Older SNCF railcars, 1969

From my trip to Europe in 1969, two types of SNCF diesel railcars. Tiny numbers to frustrate train spotters and photographers trying to figure what class they are and who made them.

I'm thinking both of these are diesel mechanical cars with engines in or under the operating cab.

Picture #2 looks like a Renault ABJ 2 (X3400 series) from the 1930s.

Ray

   I believe the ones in the first photo are the "Standard" [ sic ] type, built in 1936-39.  The rooftop radiators were a postwar change to improve cooling, especially trailing units in a consist;  this was probably done when they were reengined with Renault diesels.  These machines were ( all ? ) built with MAN diesels, so the engines were I believe removed from most of them during the war [ as a general rule, railcar operation for civilian purposes ceased in 1939 in France to conserve fuel ];  the stored demotored cars did make nice targets for Allied aircraft though..... .
   These cars had SNCF numbers in the XA 3000 series, later X 23000.  With a few exceptions, they were concentrated in the Northern Region;  all were out of service by 1970.

SZ