THE IMPERIAL CARS
Gallery N°42 : The Imperial cars (C.F.E. period)
Gallery N°43 : The Imperial cars (C.D.E. period)
In 1935, the French government donated a train made up of two carriages solely for the use of His Majesty the Emperor Haile Selassie. These were manufactured by the Société Franco-Belge in Raismes.
- Carriage No 1 comprised a lounge, sleeping compartments and office.
- Carriage No 2 comprised a restaurant and kitchen.
These have the distinctive feature of having "Pensylvannia" type bogies.
They would be followed in 1954 by two other carriages built by the Decauville Ainée workshop, and donated by the British government. They were equipped with intercommunicating doors.
- Carriage V1 1001 comprised lounge, sleeping compartments and office
- Carriage V2 1002 comprised a restaurant, office and kitchen.
The composition of the train, from 1954, generally included :
- Two locomotives
- A white baggage car (manufactured by Nicaise and Delcuve of 1913 and containing the generator that provided electricity to the Imperial train during trips and while stopped).
- Four carriages for His Majesty and his family.
- Two lit-salon 1st Class carriages for his guests and collaborators.
- Two 2nd Class carriages for his followers.
The final journey undertaken by the Imperial train took place in 1973. The train can be seen at the Imperial Train Museum of Addis Ababa.