Jouef - post Hornby

[Gordonwis]

The first of these is now a museum. I believe it shut as a commercial operation in the very early 1950s; even prior to that, production had only been about a thousand tonnes per week..

 

I concur, that's why I initially questioned the notion of coal traffic even into the 1950s. I believe the coal mines were all very small (some seems were given mining concessions but never even exploited). The Molay Littry museum site implies the mine closed in 1949 and suggests that it was not worked out and that therefore there remains a small seem of untapped coal..

[Fat Controller]

I concur, that's why I initially questioned the notion of coal traffic even into the 1950s. I believe the coal mines were all very small (some seems were given mining concessions but never even exploited). The Molay Littry museum site implies the mine closed in 1949 and suggests that it was not worked out and that therefore there remains a small seem of untapped coal..

The figures I looked at suggested that there were several million tonnes of untapped reserves; however, the geology of the area (the seams are overlain by several different clays of considerable thickness, being a southwards continuation of the Weald) would make large-scale deep-mining prohibitively expensive, whilst open-cast would be politically 'difficult'.

[Gordonwis]

A good starting point for the diesels (there is even a Piko loco with a Caen shed allocation:

 

040DG:

http://cgi.ebay.fr/Piko-HO-locomotive-Diesel-040-DG-52-Ep-3-Depot-toulouse-Ref-96100-TB-BO-/200815065196?pt=FR_YO_JeuxJouetd_TrainsElectriques&hash=item2ec182b86c#ht_500wt_1204

 

040DE (Le Mans depot)

http://cgi.ebay.fr/PIKO-96160-040-DE-697-MANS-VERT-EXTERIEUR-SNCF-EP-III-HO-/290764447981?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_23&hash=item43b2e960ed#ht_500wt_1204

 

040DE (Caen depot)

http://cgi.ebay.fr/PIKO-96161-040-DE-752-CAEN-VERT-EXTERIEUR-SNCF-EP-III-HO-/290764447998?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_23&hash=item43b2e960fe#ht_500wt_1204

[Horsetan]

.....Over the years when I lived in France, I did think about producing Comet-style etched chassis for various Jouef locos. Might do it yet.

 

Please do.

 

Wouldn't hurt to cover German steam either......