Grenoble -around
the Railway.
-disused,
forgotten, taken away or
abandoned lines.
9- The Rondeau, private lines and other interesting points.
All
the pictures can be enlarged with a mouse click!

100- The level crossing on the U2 express way access road at the
Rondeau.
We are now in the Rondeau neighbourhood, where many
main roads around Grenoble converge. Here, if you come on the A480 from
Lyon, you can go towards Chambéry by the U2 express way or you can take
the A51 motorway towards Sisteron or Gap.
Our single line railway for Pont de Claix, Vif and Veynes must cross
the express way here, as does the short Pierre de Coubertin road. On
doing so, it becomes Leo Fournier Street as it enters the Echirolles
district.

101- Automatic level crossing gates.

102- Google's shadow and the U2 down below.
It's Google that provides these images which are so
difficult to take now. Who would dare to stand in the centre of the
road to take pictures today! In the photo on the right, the shadow of
the camera mounted on the roof of their car is clearly visible.
If we forget the express way that passes beneath us, and if we close
our ears, the atmosphere here is reminiscent of a time when the railway
went through fields. But it does take a lot of imagination!
Now we are on the outskirts of of Grenoble and are entering into
Echirolles. To one side, small factories and warehouses, on the other
side, the gardens behind the houses on the Jean Jaures avenue.

103- Crossing the bridge over the U2 at the Rondeau.

104- The buffer on the Rondeau private sidings.

105- Points on the Rondeau private sidings.

106- Two sets of points for three private sidings.

107- The three private sidings.

108- The first line going to the SMG.

109- Looking back towards Grenoble.

110- The second line in front of the SMG.

111- The second line crossing Gaston Monmousseau road.

112- The third line going towards another factory.

113- At the end of the private sidings, the buffer.
We have now reached the end of the Grenoble and
Echirolles private sidings of the Grenoble-Veynes
line. Although we are in an industrial area, here there is a
countryside feeling from the gardens behind the houses on the Jean
Jaures avenue. We are on the track going to Nice that was once was
called 'the Alps shortcut', or 'Alpazur'. It was the shortest way
to Nice, but with a longer travelling time than the passage through
Marseilles. It would be nice to carry on a little bit further! Let's go
to 'Pont de Claix' at least!

114- Level crossing, Echirolles- Casino.

115- Level crossing, Echirolles- La Quinzaine.

116- Level crossing, Pont de Claix- Flottibulle, the swimming pool.

117- Level crossing, Pont de Claix- Les Olympiades.

118- Level crossing, Pont de Claix town centre.

119- Pont de Claix, the station and it's garage.
We will stop our trip south here, maybe some day I will
continue the trip to Nice. But now, we are going back to to Grenoble to
the junction with the Chambery line. There are still things to see on
the new track. Afterwards, we can go back to 'La Capuche' to visit the
old private branch lines that are still left, although they are fast
disappearing.
Some Internet Links:
Bibliography:
- La Vie du Rail, N°'s 1104, 1129, 1131 et 1137, Éditions NM Paris,
1967 et 1968.
- Le Bassin du Drac, Auguste Bouchayer. Revue de géographie
alpine. Tome
13 N°3. pp. 549-621. 1925.
- Histoire Populaire de Grenoble, Alphonse Vernet. Gratier, 1896.
- Le Chemin de Fer de Grenoble à Villard de Lans. Philippe
Guirimand et Patrice Bouillon, 2000.
- Grenoble Autrefois, Jean-Jacques de Corcelles. Horvath,
1996.
- Une Industrie dans la Ville, Bouchayer & Viallet à Grenoble.
Hervé Bienfait. Libris, 2004.
- L'Illustration Economique et Financière, numéro spécial, Grenoble
et l'Isère, 1923.
- Les Voies Ferrées du Dauphiné, Henri Boyer et Patrice Bouillon,
1983.
- Guide Catalogue Officiel de l'Exposition Internationale de la
Houille Blanche et du Tourisme, Saumane 1925.
- Grenoble Autrefois, Claude Muller, Editions des Quatre Seigneurs,
1974.
- Du Tram au Tag, JM Guétat, W Lachenal, G Muller, La Vie du
Rail,1987.