Renault AET

The Renault AET was a unique prototype standard-gauge railcar built by Renault in 1936. Renault itself took the initiative, seeking to add a large-capacity railcar to its catalogue; construction ended in December 1936 and it was delivered to the PLM on 14 January 1937 after test and demonstration runs for engineers of several railway companies. It ran little in commercial service, hindered by its great length and the fragility of its diesel engine, and was rented rather than bought by the PLM, whose director blamed Louis Renault for the shocks the body took in curves. It joined the SNCF on 1 January 1938 as ZZ R 6001. The body is 32 m long, a record for a French single-body railcar, so the ends are tapered to clear curves, and it weighs 47 tonnes in working order. It was destroyed on 26 May 1944 in the Allied bombing of the Lyon-Vaise depot.