Poste d’aiguillage n° 1 de la gare de Lyon-Perrache

English translation

The text above is the record as published by the Ministère de la Culture, in French. The English below is a machine translation made by TreeAlive, not by the Ministère de la Culture; it has not been checked by a person. Where the two differ, the original is the record. Report a translation error: privacy@treealive.com

History

Situated at the heart of a very important node of communications routes, between Perrache station and the A6 motorway tunnel, on the Saône, the Perrache signal box no. 1 is built on a pier of the Quarantaine railway viaduct. A modern electromechanical signal box, it is designed in 1928, brought into service in 1930 and replaces a Saxby box of 1900 which controlled only the west part of the station. It is built in concrete on a base course in stone. The signal box is modernised and enlarged in 1952. Echoing the style of the latter, an extension houses the staircase cage whose volume is pushed outside the original building. It is entirely realised in reinforced concrete. The space freed up allows accommodation of the many technical relays necessary for the constant increase in railway traffic. This P.L.M. equipment, of remarkable aesthetic, signals a city entrance for passengers arriving from Paris by this passage from 1856 onwards. It controlled all Perrache traffic, in the direction of the East, South and North. A notable presence on the banks of the Saône, it ceased to function in 2016. Its functions are now carried out at the central box at Jean-Macé station in the 7th arrondissement.

Description

The signal box is adjoining the Quarantaine viaduct, spanning the Saône. It is contemporary with it. The vertical structuring of the building is tripartite (base, storeys, cornice). The ground floor level is said to be that of the railway tracks. Access is via a metal door two storeys lower, at road level. There is also a basement storey, but with no access from outside, at the level of the Saône quay. It is a compact technical installation of Thomson-Houston type, whose arrangement in necessary overhang of the tracks imposed the use of cantilever (namely 22 m2 at ground level for 87.5 m2 at the 4th storey). The implementation of exposed corner chains, consoles and pilasters topped with capitals in the elevation, refers to a classical vocabulary mixed with Art Deco. The cabin is naturally located at the upper storey. In its centre is placed the control block, consisting of a desk with handles and the optical control terminal known as TCO. This cabin was the living quarters of the signallers who relieved each other in three eight-hour shifts. Toilets, a kitchen and a room dedicated to occupational documentation completed the organization of the space. The two lower levels of the device are established in the upstream extension of the western pier base of the viaduct. With the exception of the storey dedicated to the signallers (fourth storey), there are few openings. The roof with a reinforced concrete vault, girdled by an access platform, is accessible by a ladder and an airlock. The third and second storeys are filled with electrotechnical equipment, notably electrical relays. The second storey is level with the bridge deck. Access exists via an open-air gallery, with a view over the Saône. The upper cornice, which had the function of a sunshade, completes the silhouette of the 1930s of this construction, in keeping with the already very graphic design of the upper level of the elevation.