La saga des nez cassés - Les séries BBB et CC – Tome 2

This book takes you to the heart of the career of the imposing CC 6500s, SNCF's flagship of the 1970s. With their 74 units, they made history by pulling the prestigious TEE Mistral, Capitole and Aquitaine, while demonstrating their unrivalled power on the steep slopes of La Maurienne, pulling heavy freight trains.

The book continues in Slovenia with the 39 "Bržita" SZ 363s, very close cousins of the CC 6500s, before dwelling on the Moroccan E900s, machines whose career was unfortunately brief on the other side of the Mediterranean.

The journey continues in Asia with South Korea's 94 BBB 8000s, true technical twins of the CC 6500s, before returning to Europe to present the elegant CC 21000s, famous for pulling the TEE Cisalpin Paris-Vallorbe, whose CC 21003, which for a time became the X996, enjoyed a unique adventure under the Amtrak colors in the United States.

The book also highlights the pioneers of the broken-nose family: the CC 40100, four-current locomotives that operated international trains between France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.

The exploration continues with the powerful CC 72000, SNCF's most efficient diesel-electric locomotives, which hauled prestigious trains such as the TEE Jules Verne and the Arbalète. They will later give birth to a modernized, more environmentally-friendly version, the CC 72100, while several units will join Morocco in 2009 to reinforce the local DF100 fleet.

Finally, the book travels to Portugal to retrace the careers of the 1900 (freight) and 1930 (passenger) series, some of whose machines continued their adventure as far afield as Argentina in the early 2000s.

A true international rail journey, a must for enthusiasts of powerful locomotives, emblematic series and technical epics across several continents.