For the very first time, the diesel railcar X # 2403 of the association Chemins de Fer de la Haute-Auvergne (CFHA), built in 1951 by Renault and Decauville with 2 Renault engines of 250 kW each for the French state railroad SNCF, reached La Rochelle-Porte Dauphine during a 7-day round trip over about 1360 kilometers from Ussel through the Périgord to the Atlantic and back for the Swiss tour operator Servrail. Beside the railcar the very nice and excellent crew of the association CFHA with Jean-Michel, Bruno, Jean-Paul and Dominique. These X 2400 railcars with a maximum speed of 120 km/h were built in a series of 79 units from 1951 to 1955 and used until 1989. The third vehicle built in the X 2400 series was decommissioned in 1987 and taken over by the Chemins de Fer de la Haut-Auvergne (CFHA) and was subsequently stationed in Nimes, but today in Ussel. Excellently restored, this oldest operational former SNCF railcar is licensed for the entire French railroad network of the RFF (except high-speed lines).
