Les Tramways de Valenciennes & les lignes rurales des C.E.N. au temps de la vapeur

If ever a book’s cover mis-sold it, this is it, as it indicates this is about the electric trams of Valenciennes, but the subtitle reveals that much of this brilliant book is devoted to steam trams.

The Valenciennes system itself was steam powered from the opening of its first line in 1881 until after World War 1 when it was progessively electrified, this lasting until 1966 when buses took over.

The system’s owner, the C.E.N. (Chemins de fer Économique du Nord) also operated a number of initially steam operated tramways in the Nord, Pas-de-Calais, Haute Savoie and Isère regions and these are also covered. Plus there is a chapter on the steam tram engines, all built by Tubize or Blanc-Misseron, with basic drawings.

143 pages. French text. Around 300 illustrations and photos, inc some colour. Hardbound.