The French Collection

[Ali Smith]

Bore 125mm, stroke 130mm, two inlet valves and one exhaust valve, single overhead camshaft.
In the '80s Honda came up with a four-valve single (XBR500) with radial valves operated by multiple rockers. They called this arrangement RFVC, standing for Radial Four Valve Combustionchamber. It could equally stand for Rudge Four Valve Copy.

[Hiawatha]

Just above the right-hand smoke deflector you can see can see some shields attached to a pillar. These consist of the coat of arms of a town with its name above and what appears to be a locomotive number below. I assume these are nameplates of a class of engines named after French towns.

There were several classes that wore such town crests – some engines of the CC-6500, BB-15000, BB-22200, CC-40100 and CC-72000 classes did but there may be more. The numbers shown below are additions from the museum and were not there on the locomotives.


© Wolfgang Koenigsfeld, from bahnbilder.de

The left one is from the BB-22311 (can't read the name: starting with "Pierre..." maybe?) and the next one is "Chambly" from the BB-15032.


© Finn Møller, from finnmoller.dk

The right one is "Vaucresson" but I haven't found the matching engine for that town. Maybe there are books listing the engines with their names but this info is not found on the 'net. Looks to me like XXXX 6506 but the text left of it is too long for CC?

[Ali Smith]

Thanks @Hiawatha. I embiggened my original photo and found that the left-hand shield is for 'Pierrefitte'. The one on the right is as you say Vaucresson, number 76505-6506.

Cheers, Ali

[Hiawatha]

It's actually Z 6505–6506, an EMU. I thought it was from the CC-6506 as I didn't know that even commuter EMUs carried these crests.


© Bernd Kittendorf, from bkcw-bahnbilder.de