Renault ABJ

The Renault ABJ was a family of railcars produced by Renault between 1936 and 1949 and developed from the earlier Renault VH. Building on the good reputation of that predecessor, the series was ordered in quantity in France by the former railway companies, then by the SNCF, and for export. The four series ABJ 1 to 4 differed mainly in cooling: the ABJ 1 had two grille radiators linked by a pipe under the body, the ABJ 2 added a hidden radiator under the body, the ABJ 3 carried its radiator in a prominent roof housing that earned it a nickname from a Breton headdress, and the ABJ 4 of 1946 used forced-air cooling in a flatter roof housing. The ABJ 4 became SNCF series X 3600. Exports included six ABJ 5 to Tunisia, thirty-two to Spain and seven ABJ 9 to Greece, and the last were withdrawn in 1975.