Les Chapelon du dépôt de Calais

Chapelon... a name that has become synonymous with excellence in French railway history. These mythical locomotives, the result of the transformation of the Paris-Orléans company's Pacifics, left a lasting mark on the glorious era of steam. The undisputed queens of the Calais depot for Compagnie du Nord, from the post-war years to the 1960s, they operated the most prestigious trains, including the famous Flèche d'Or, made up of Pullman cars.

Thanks to their exceptional performance - power, speed, endurance, low coal consumption and reliability - the Chapelon cars embodied the quintessence of steam traction.
The book also pays tribute to the regular crews, the mechanics and drivers for whom serving a Chapelon represented the culmination of a career. A vibrant story, both technical and human, dedicated to these true "lords of the railways".