With a foreground of old farm machinery 37058/37376 cross the valley at Donzere with the 2nd line stores and sleeper train..10 march 2000..

37100/37077 with 37250 and 37069(now DRS) runs down hill out of the sun moving between work-sites.This area known as Puygiron..08 march 2000..

37010/37170 stand parked on a new overbridge at feveyrolles.Having now emptied the wagons train now waiting to return to base at Eurre in the evening..09 march 2000..

37100/37077 stand ready for another days ballasting.Seen at Allen,the gathering point for most of the trains early in the morning..08 march 2000..

37515/37803/37891/37894/37074 and 37162 are all seen framed in some drainage pipes left lying around at the worksite at Les-Branches..10 march 2000..

37074/37162 with 37146/37137 on the rear stand at Espeluche adjacent to the local toll motorway(Nice to Paris) waiting for the gang of travelling algerians to commence ballast dropping..09 march 2000..

The lead railhead train was sometimes treble headed and ran out from the Eurre base in the reverse direction so that all the stores and tools were as close as possible to the work-site.Here we see 37796/37261 and 37196 basking in the sun under clear blue skies at a village called Les-branches..09 march 2000..

One morning at Allen there was a bit of a holdup and at one stage there was 15 37's all throbbing away in the sunshine!This shot shows just 8 of them viewed through the local vineyard..08 march 2000..

Railhead train for 1st line seen heading back to the base at Eurre.Locomotives are working flat out(all 4 of them) as after crossing this bridge at Donzere. Next 1/2 mile is up an incline that makes the Lickey-incline look flat.TGV lines go in straight lines and largely ignore need for level track due to the trains(tgv's) being so powerful.37515/37803/37891 and 37894 do the honours.Pretty impressive thrash this was! Of interest in the background can be seen one of France's many nuclear power stations..08 march 2000..

37803/37515 with the "1st line" tools and stores train,seen backing up the hill away from Allen towards the railhead some 5 miles away..07 march 2000..

At Donzere a local freight branch-line passed under the new TGV route.Here we see an SNCF 0-4-0 diesel switcher with a train of steel gondola's containing stone products?Train passed directly under a pair of EE type 3's..09 march 2000..

Inter-city liveried 37685 with 37672 moving between sectors at a place called Couvent de beauvoir.loco's on rear were 37696/37708..

37071 stands sentinal on the Pierreletta embankment with a local Chateau in the background..06 march 2000..

Standing on the embankment built across the valley at Pierreletta are 37376/37058 with a rake of ballast wagons ready to dress fresh track laid in this area.note only one line laid at this time.2nd track being laid about 1/4 mile behind this train..06 march 2000..

37293 and 37294 stand on the high embankment across the flat valley at Pierreletta waiting the call forward to drop ballast..06 march 2000..

37894/37891 sit at Allen waiting to return to Eurre after a days work..06 march 2000..

37894/37891 with 37010/37133 on the rear are seen laying ballast.In the foreground is the Megane we had to hire after demise of our own transport for a few days.Bit of luck really as the Renault had A/Con and it was certainly needed in the heat of the day..06 march 2000..

37894/37891 stand at Allen waiting to return to base at Eurre..06 march 2000..

37010 and 37133 (Both now sadly dismantled for scrap) stand adjacent to one of the many vineyards in this area around Allen..06 march 2000..

Some of the local trains were loco & coaches(nice) sncf bb class no 7406 goes south at Saulce's rhone.note the graffitti on 1st coach,not just an english problem!!!..05 march 2000..

On the first day after we arrived our car failed and so we were confined for 1/2 a day to the area around about our Hotel.Luckily it was near the local main-line so a few hours were spent "doing the local stuff"Here we see TGV-4509 heading north at a place called Les-Tourettes..05 march 2000..

37683/37693 seen at work laying ballast with a ganger crew of algerians.Location is Chateaneu..09 march 2000..

Pair of Transrail liveried 37's stand on new overbridge at Feveyrolles straddling the D59..date to be identified..