Car and Train Museum Photo Gallery

As mentioned in the previous blog entry from Alsace, we visited 2 great museums; one on cars and one on trains. Here is a selection of my favorite photos.

Cite de l'Automobile

With close to 400 cars, this was an amazing museum. It covered from the very first years of car manufacture up till the 1970's. As it was originally a private collection it represented private tastes. There were an enourmous number of Bugattis reflecting Fritz Schlumfs passion for this Marque. Interestingly there is a note at the museum that says following the nationalisation of the collection certain additional "important" cars were added that had been excluded by Fritz because he didn't like the companies (unfortunately they don't say who!)

Lots of oldies

Billions of Bugattis

Eclectic race cars

For a museum of mostly french cars, I managed to be attracted to alot of Mercedes.

Mercedes

Mercedes

Maybach ( Mercedes reserected the super luxury brand Maybach in the early 2000's after it stopped production in 1940)

An Hispano-Suiza (for readers of Phryne Fisher mysteries). A French/Spanish luxury car maker who ceased production of cars at the outbreak of WW2.

Rolls Royce

Bugatti

A beetle I hear you say? Check the badge. This is actually a 1936 Mercedes, co-incidently designed by the same designer of the beetle.

I was amazed at this Bugatti. It has a front and profile of a sleekness comparable to a 1961 Jaguar, but was actually made in 1936!

No-one makes a coupe as elegant as Mercedes

I can't remeber what this it, but isn't it crazy!

Mercedes Gull-wing. See the blog entry on the Frankfurt motor show for its new successor

Mignon! Peugeot 204 cabriolet

This is the last model Panhard-Lavassor to be made (1968). Panhard started making cars in France in 1890, and the museum claims that they were the first company to mass produce cars (a run of 6 identical cars in 1894).

This is a customsed Citroen SM (early 70's). In standard form the SM is a coupe, but this one-off made for the President of France is a 4 door convertible. It is said that the quirky pneumatic suspension saved the President's life during an assasination attempt because it allowed the car to continue on at speed with only 3 functioning wheels .

Cite du Train

I confess to knowing nothing about trains, but the museum was quite interesting and there is much more thought in the aesthetic design of trains than I had imagined.

A really really old train

A really old train

A really big old train

An early French Presidential carriage (they had them up until the 1960's to get about France but then planes became more convenient)

Sleeper car

Lounge car

The French pioneered a form of Rail bus for use on country lines. We saw modern equivalents on little branch lines such as up the Munster Valley.

I think this one from the 60's is extremely elegant.

For links to either museum site see the previous posting on Alsace.