Années 1970

The railway atmosphere of the 1970s at SNCF was marked by a transition between tradition and modernity. The 140 C and 141 R steam locomotives had almost disappeared, giving way to powerful electric locomotives like the BB 9200 or CC 6500, and diesels like the BB 67000. Trains sported emblematic colors such as wagon green, Capitole red or the metallic gray of the emerging Corail. Stations, still very much alive, were meeting places where station managers' announcements set the pace for passenger life. The noise of shunting, the smell of fuel oil and hot metal were the hallmarks of workshops and marshalling yards. Sleeping cars and the famous "great European expresses" like the Mistral or the Train Bleu were an invitation to travel across Europe. The 1970s were thus a pivotal period, combining nostalgia for the past with the promise of modernity.