The Disused Railway Where France Tested Rocket Trains

Hidden in the forests southwest of Paris is an old disused railway line with an extraordinary story. Because after it was abandoned in the 1950s, it had an incredible second life: it became the test track for an experimental high-speed hovertrain. I headed out to the suburbs to investigate...
GEOFF'S VIDEO
• Église d’Auteuil - Lea...
UN GRAND MERCI
Les amis de Jean Bertin - www.jean-bertin.fr/
INSTA - / the.tim.traveller
TWIT - / thetimtraveller
FACE - / thetimtraveller

[@geofftech2]

Hey Tim! Still waiting on that cup of tea, mate. I’m parched in fact.

[@Randomstuffs261]

I'm half expecting to see Geoff Marshall in the comment sect....

[@denisvermeirre1024]

Geoff, have you ever heard of the thermos bottle? You might want to look into that.

[@ZeroAnalogy]

We only serve coffee. Bit of a dispoint.

[@bentilbury2002]

@@denisvermeirre1024 He can't be trusted with that much tea at once.

[@Quark0611]

@@ZeroAnalogy, seriously, that's coffee? It's half a coffee!

[@ooglefluffg857]

I was like "Oh, there's a random guy watching Tim talk to himself," then it was Geoff and I burst out laughing.

[@qo92]

'Twas very nicely done :-)

[@veganguy74]

I love these KZbin Universe Crossovers.

[@DickHolman]

+1 :)

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

Geoff fills the role of random guy in the best possible way.

[@edwardmortimer2150]

Same

[@lillywho]

Best. Collab. Intro. Ever. I giggled. Loads. It was very well-acted, too!

[@TrondBrgeKrokli]

OK, I admit it. I laughed way too much when the text "They didn't have tea" appeared and the mournful music started playing. First of all: I would not expect tea to be as available in France as it is in England. Secondly: it felt like the build-up to trying to buy some tea from the Boulangerie - Pâtisserie was going to produce a good surprise. Thanks for the chuckle and smiles.

[@Darwinek]

As a tea person I completely understand Geoff's desperation. The fact they didn't have tea is almost criminal.

[@boycy69]

I loved the choice of music - Chopin's Funeral March.

[@__-cd9ug]

@@Darwinek As a frenchman it was pretty funny watching a british person ask for tea in a boulangerie it's comparable to asking for a baguette in a pub

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

That was some perfect storytelling, really.

[@rogink]

@@Darwinek Revelation! You can't get decent tea anywhere on the continent. Best be prepared. Always take your own teabags when travelling, and hope somewhere will have a kettle.

[@solarfish]

the thunderbirds piano cover is the best yet

[@WestEnderPAP]

The use of the theme from Pointless after mentioning the lack of need for the track upon the government's purchase of the West Railway (5:00) was perfect.

[@DickHolman]

It's not the Pointless theme, (which is just another boring TV game-show tune) it's the Funeral March by Chopin.

[@donaloflynn]

@@DickHolman Do you seriously think that someone could confuse the Pointless theme with the Funeral March? Both were featured in this video. If you are so negative about TV themes you should really avoid Tim's videos as he uses them regularly.

[@NopWorks]

I've just noticed that Tim's channel is nearly as big as Geoff's now, counting by subscribers. 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@grantgrow]

Geoff may get to the 1 million subscribers before Tim, and Geoff can buy the Le Dolmen first

[@sydnorth5868]

I suspect that the Venn Diagram of Geoff's subscribers and Tim's subscribers shows an unusually large overlap!

[@acciid]

Well it's the same people, isn't it?

[@webchimp]

They are both at about 285k at the moment.

[@theretard666]

@@webchimp And currently Tim as at about 2k more. Guess this channel has been growing a bit quicker!

[@davidlanchas5710]

I grew up in Gometz-La-Ville and my parents still live there. I remember the old aerotrain roting in an abandoned hangar behind the village's school, open for anyone to come in. It was pretty impressive even in its sorry state. They razed everything to build a new road and the only thing left is the sculpture on the roundabout. It is weird to see this on a youtube channel I follow. ;)

[@doudouard1132]

I was about to ask: are there any people still living there who remember it? Such testimonies would be priceless!

[@stewartellinson8846]

@@doudouard1132 loads i would think, and ones who worked on it I imagine. Even i remeber the UK equivalent and i was a small boy of five! There are still engineers around who worked on that too.

[@SecretSquirrelFun]

@@doudouard1132 STILL LIVING!! Wow, it wasn’t that long ago ha ha.

[@GerardMenvussa]

You make a good duo, guys. Sorry to hear that the fact the track is tea-shaped was no consolation to your buddy :p Also, first time I hear about the rocket booster (or maybe I just forgot). I only ever knew about the propeller and the jet engine. Still, I love the aérotrain, it was killed by the TGV, which was a better idea, and it probably would not hold the comparison with a maglev, but still love the concept :)

[@CiroMorra]

"Booster" seems te be trending these days...

[@letthetunesflow]

Seeing Geoff show up made me smile instantly! Really can’t wait to watch the rest of this now, more than even when you normally release a video!

[@prado5557]

lasdkjaskldj same i was just smiling uncontrollably

[@robseybaby1]

Yup. Geoff appearing in other people's video (and vice-versa), Never. Gets. Old.

[@unlapras9365]

Construction on the line continued after 1909 probably because there was hope it could serve as an alternative route to relieve congestion on the existing line which only had 2 tracks. This line was eventually upgraded to 4 tracks in the 1930s which made the Gallardon line useless. The nothernmost part of the line is still in use though. It's now part of the LGV Atlantique, the high-speed line which links Paris to western France !

[@raphaelnikolaus0486]

Thank you Tim for joining the crazy bunch of people showing Railways and related things, as quirky as they may be. You really bring joy into our lives. A big plus for the community.

[@user-fp6dt1os1l]

The "You can still just about imagine the old steam trains coming through here" + _train whistle sound effect_ which was perfectly timed with the shot of the person vaping had me rolling. There's some very underappreciated subtle comedy in your videos :)

[@mikosoft]

Oh, it's not underappreciated at all, at least if I'm concerned!

[@adrianpeters2413]

C...you think its vapeing, yeah o.k.

[@user-fp6dt1os1l]

@@adrianpeters2413 It looked like too big a cloud to be smoke to me, but I guess it could be

[@gg_vard]

The appearance of Geoff was so amazingly done!

[@sarkybugger5009]

The French hovercraft that used to run out of Dover was named "L'ingenieur Jean Bertin" in his honour. It broke down a lot...

[@refsmithy]

Interesting to see French engineers taking the Mythbusters approach to things: "Just strap a rocket to it!"

[@YetAnotherGeorgeth]

Any youtuber: *thinks about doing an abandoned railway* Geoff Marshall: "You rang?"

[@TheZapan99]

" And in 1907, after years of bickering about the exact route, and despite having absolutely no economic argument for it, the project went ahead. Which sounds daft enough, but two years later the State Railway bought the West Railway. And the project STILL went ahead. Why? I don’t know." Probably because it was nobody's job in the administration to point it out. France lost 1 billion euros this year, just because someone in the transport administration didn't bother to file an official complaint in time. That money was offered by a European court to all the clients injured by the illegal price cartel formed by the main truck manufacturers, you just had to file a complaint the same year.

[@harrytodhunter5078]

I audibly gasped when you walked past Geoff! Fantastic collab.

[@drop6564]

The old railway still exists (with its rails) between Chartres and Gallardon and you can ride a rail bike on it.

[@RedHillian]

1) I wish I'd watched this before Geoff's video - the reveal would have been *so* much better! 2) I think I did know there had been a rocket-hovercraft-train, but learning more about it is wonderful!

[@kyah117]

Two videos of Tim AND Geoff, in France at the exact same time. What a day !

[@Okurka.]

It's almost like they planned it.

[@Nlogax]

Even a retro Tomorrow's World theme hidden in there.. lovely!

[@Wheeze_NL]

The timing of that opening was so good!

[@tobiasheal]

Cool about la Hacquinière being the least used station on line B because I'm actually about to move into a flat just next to it. Always good to know local railway trivia before moving into a place.

[@kiles99]

Best intro since Geoff's outraged cameo that someone else was doing a Least Used video, and Vicky suggesting Tim was Simon Pegg! Still waiting for Toutes les Gares!

[@pwhitewick]

This is all kinds of Epic. Thanks to you both, what a fun adventure.

[@qwertyTRiG]

Of course this is right in your wheelhouse. Except that the Aérotrain doesn't have wheels.

[@qtip6736]

That thunderbirds cover, man just love your editing

[@ZeroAnalogy]

F A B!

[@egpx]

Tim and Geoff, my two favourite man crushes, together in the same videos. Today is a GOOD day! (I might have said this in the comments on Geoff’s video).

[@chattenmetchad]

Geoff explaining that he could easily fall of explains and sums up so much about British safety laws😂

[@oldmountainhermit3347]

Over here in France, some of us believe in natural selection.

[@A_nony_mous]

I think the French, unlike the Brits and us Aussies, still have a bit of common sense. Our safety laws protect those with "Ooh! that looks dangerous, let's do it anyway" mentalities and those who really don't see any danger.

[@mikepurdy1738]

Theme from UFO and Thunderbirds definitely appropriate, Aerotrain totally looks like Gerry Anderson creatioy

[@CannaCJ]

Tim's videos are alway a treat, but what a fun crossover! EDIT: Been 'round Geoff's. Previous point reiterated; far more than half Tim's videos are enjoyable.

[@CraigerAce]

Tim, I very much enjoy all your videos… but this one I loved! The interaction of you and Geoff was great and what was even better was the editing of the both the video and audio. As Yanks like me will often say, “You hit a home run with this one.” Thanks again!

[@julosx]

I went nearby a few weeks ago, to visit what was left (not much) of the line between St-Rémy-les-Chevreuse, end of the line B, and Limours. Limours had two stations, one of them for what wasn't the line B yet and the other for the Paris to Chartres via Gallardon line. This one was never completed, that's why it ended up being abandoned. Today, the the high speed line going through Massy-Palaiseau reuses a part of its infrastructure.

[@franc9111]

At Villebon near the Cultural Centre there still stands the station 'Villebon Etat' and there's still a locomotive next to it. The 'voie rapide' that branches out from the autoroute that goes up to Les Ulis and which goes along the side of the valley through Villebon (Villebon Etat station), above Orsay (across a very impressive bridge in 'meulière') and on to Bures-sur-Yvette before it turns up to Les Ulis was the original 'plateforme' of this line. There's a road that goes across the valley called la rue des deux gares - (Lozère and Villebon-Etat) and at La Roche (Villebon) there's la rue du viaduc (which came across from Massy-Pal).

[@momerath00]

Hi Tim, my dad was one of the engineers working on that record breaking machine... Nice to see your footage, it brings up memories from my childhood! I had forgotten about that place Gometz, often heard from dad back in the day... A big up to you!

[@pdxyadayada]

You guys compliment each other very nicely…

[@martino9143]

Complement

[@dannyhilarious]

Yeah! The aerotrain, so brilliant! Can't wait for the next part. Aside the aerotrain, did you know, that the test facility of the aerotrain was also shared with the facilities of the SAFEGE suspended monorail?!? This particular system didn't have much of a success here in Europe, but in Japan there are two fully operational commercial commuter systems in the cities/municipalities of Shonan and Chiba buld by Mitsubishi.

[@1UPWonders]

Geoff is awesome! So nice to see 2 interesting fellows in a video together

[@Morgan_64]

I died laughing when Goeff just popped up and basically completed your sentence for you 🤣

[@neilthehermit4655]

Wow ! So I never knew about this train. Brilliant. - And now you've done a collab with Paul and Rebecca AND Geoff, have I missed the one with Jago Hazzard ? Keep up the wonderful entertainment please.

[@Desmaad]

Hazzard doesn't seem to like showing his face. Also, he's said that most of his walks are to collect footage, with no room for conversation.

[@hairyairey]

@@Desmaad I think we are more likely to see a video of Banksy than Jago!

[@mikeblatzheim2797]

That intro was rather unexpected, what a great idea for a collaboration!

[@sahasrahla1015]

Tim and Geoff doing a video together, on a topic I find really fascinating, just made my night. Thanks guys!

[@robertpaulson2043]

Poor Geoff didn't even get to climb any highest urban peaks! Happy to see a collab between y'all.

[@southwesttrainspotter]

I like that Geoff uploaded his video and the notification didn’t even have time to disappear before Tim’s video popped up

[@creepermk]

Im so happy about this collab, you two are some of my absolute favorite youtubers and just so sympathetic :D

[@pedrogabory]

My family is in Dordogne, every couple of month i get to ride down from gare Austerlitz. The aerotrain is like a travel buddy to me.

[@stephendavies923]

I have no idea how I managed to miss this video, I loved it and now to re-watch the Least Used Paris Metro Station. Great work as always Tim.

[@timothywalsh866]

I can't get enough Geoff and Tim action

[@GeneralRandom1]

This is the content we've always needed. Fantastic.

[@riffraffselbow]

It was great to see you on Geoff's channel, I've been a fan of both of you for a while now.

[@bryana8357]

Hey KZbin! This is engagement- chalk it up. Thanks Tim.

[@mancubwwa]

I knew colab was comimg early december, and still sudden Geoff managed to suprise me. Good job, gentlemen.

[@plymouthmechanic3423]

Did I miss the second video of the rocket train? Tim you are making supurb video's. The mix of education, humour and tourism advise is great. They should be aired on the Discovery Channel

[@SamI-bv9kd]

Now that is how to do a collaboration! Thanks Tim, you had me laughing out loud.

[@Knifesake]

I love it when some of my favourite KZbinrs Collab. It's such a cool suprise.

[@rogerbond2244]

Unaccountably happy for ten minutes; thank you, both, for sharing your trip to see a lump of concrete in a French field...

[@sr6424]

Love this. French engineering has something Quirky about it. The old Citroen cars you could adjust the height of! Then the cars (again Citreon) with small engines.the the mopeds - bikes with small engines.

[@tekrunner987]

Even the mighty Concorde had a goofy moving nose.

[@donaloflynn]

Don't forget the Citroën cars with the rotating headlights and hydropneumatic suspension, or their cars and vans with the so-called "suicide doors" that hinged behind the front passengers rather than in front of them! In Geoff and Tim's "Least Used Paris Metro Station" video they visited a station nearby called "Javel-André Citroën" with ads for the company's latest cars on the wall.

[@himagainstill]

Good use of the theme from the OG Treasure Hunt, "La chasse au(x) tresor(s)", which pretty much every production other than ours used.

[@robertpavey5615]

Great video. A similar experiment was carried out in the Cambridgeshire Fens with the Hovertrain.

[@andrineslife]

Did anyone else struggle with choosing which one to watch first when you saw both at the same time? 😅

[@MartinBrenner]

Nice seeing you two together! That looks like an adventure to have and a reason to visit Paris again. When Geoff mentioned this video I thought of Petit Ceinture but this is a lot more interesting. The history of the Aerotrain is fascinating.

[@bbiwyou]

The history of the Aerotrain is indeed fascinating but came to a tragic end when the project was buried by the Giscard government and the 1973 oil crisis. Some even say that Bertin never accepted the fate and died of grief.

[@florian2199]

It's really funny and disturbing to watch this video, as I grew up in Orsay and perfectly know that forest, BC I spent my childhood init! And for the fun fact, you can actually ride on sections of the old railway (in a car tho) as I has been used as a base for the RN 118 between the Villebon-État station (where you can see a locomotive of the line) and after the viaduc d'Orsay!

[@jasongarufi8187]

Finally my two favourite train vloggers together in France.

[@DaveTexas]

I love seeing so much of Tim in this video! Fascinating topic, of course, but made more fun to watch by getting to see our favorite KZbinr’s smiling face.

[@NagelFox]

I've seen this roundabout a few times and I never knew what this weird plane looking thing was. I live 10min away from the south of the second track you teased at the end of the video and never heard of it before. Thank you so much for making us discover those stories, they're wonderful!

[@R2k2]

We all remember Geoff and Jay went up the A1 in a mini. Can we see Geoff and Tim go up the periferique in a deux-chevaux???

[@jennyd255]

Loving all the cross-overs. "... and in next weeks four presenter bumper episode Tim and Geoff meet Jago Hazzard in Paris, for an episode of Les Histoire du Metro, whilst Tom Scott provides extra surprising background info on the forgotten foundry where they make all the French rails ..."

[@Rekowagen]

... while Jay Foreman muses about unbuilt Paris Metro lines?

[@tinrobot1746]

What a great start to the week. A Tim video after an absence. Not just any one either - one with Geoff as well. And rockets. Thank you.

[@brettpalfrey4665]

Who needs TV, when there are quality videos like this on KZbin? keep it going guys!

[@bobsrailrelics]

Wonderful. Loved this, a great colab and a fascinating story as usual.

[@awkwardaquamarine19]

I love this collab! You guys have been threatening to do one since forever. I also love the level of research Tim does in his videos, complete with old-timey footage of the rocket testing. Kudos, Tim and Geoff!

[@curlynaima508]

Merci messieurs! C'était un réel bonheur de vous voir travailler ensemble. J'en veux encore, et idéalement à tous les ans svp! Thank you gentlemen! It was an immense treat to watch you work together! But now, I want more or this collaboration, and every year please! Gros câlins de la Province de Québec, Canada. Big hugs from the Province of Québec, Canada

[@xSweetPopp]

Oh this was so much fun to watch, love both your channels!!

[@wherethebirdsgo]

This video was such a blessing, thank you

[@zanelindsay1267]

This is definitely the channel for fascinating quirky stories about bizarre obscure esoteric historical railway artifacts ...

[@bjornkeizers]

Oh man, so awesome. I nearly spit my coffee out when Geoff popped in.

[@GrayCatbird1]

There's something strangely melancholic, nostalgic about seeing the remains of such a project today. Here were tried machines at the forefront of imagionation and innovation, and now, nearly nothing remains but the memories of it all, of one time when some people came together to dream big.

[@amonrei]

Loving this collab!

[@craigpswindon]

Great vlog, and thanks to Geoff for showing your vlogs. Thanks

[@lordsleepyhead]

I definitely need more of you two's videos in my life!

[@Raggo12345]

Thanks for another great episode!

[@retro61]

The Geoff reveal was pure gold [doffs cap]

[@bobclean10]

Love the thunderbirds references!

[@martinbeaumont1135]

Sooo good!! We need a few more of these collabs for sure!

[@Areuuseless]

This channel is golden. Im just a bloke from Asia with little to no internet in travelling, but this type of content delivery caught my eyes. Both of you deserve subs its highly underappreciated

[@minerva2kutube]

You guys are brilliant! Gold! Many thanks!!

[@JH-ty3ic]

Brilliant start, made me chuckle.

[@KriegerDelfin24]

Tim. Would you consider making a video on the Transrapid testtrack in the Emsland, Germany. could be interesting topic

[@YukariAkiyamaTanks]

Everytime you upload tim, I'm like "Must watch." Keep up the wonderful work!

[@105Gunner]

Abandoned French Railway? Tick Wacky French Engineering? Tick Geoff Marshall in France? Tick The intro theme from UFO?!? Mega-tick! Tim, you have truly outdone yourself on this one. Bravo!

[@changearoundthecorner]

I've definitely seen some footage of the bigger track somewhere, so cool to see the remnants of where it originated. Truly another great video, loved it!

[@briangarrow448]

Brilliantly done! This made my day.

[@janehigh5279]

Fabulous Tim & Geoff.

[@wemailbill2]

Loved this collaboration

[@darkknight8139]

Awesome cooperation with Geoff, I did not see that coming at 0:54 :D

[@bos2pdx2yvr]

Great collaboration!

[@chriskrebill1842]

OMG! THAT WAS GREAT! AMAZING TO SEE YOU TWO WORKING TOGETHER IN PERSON!

[@richardo2315]

Love this. More collabs like this would be great.

[@bawdydog176]

Thank you again Tim for another pleasant and amusing diversion from my day.

[@davidyarb5885]

Love the music. Knowing that you play it yourself is amazing.