SNCF Class X 3800

SNCF X 3800
Preserved example, unit number X4042, shown in 2009.
ManufacturerRenault / ANF / De Dietrich Ferroviaire / SACM
Constructed1950–1961
Number built251
Fleet numbersX 3801 – X 4051
Specifications
Car length21.851 metres (71 ft 8+1⁄4 in) over buffers
Width3.090 metres (10 ft 1+5⁄8 in)
Height3.952 metres (12 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
Wheel diameter860 mm (33.86 in)
Maximum speed120 km/h (75 mph)
Weight31.5 tonnes (31.0 long tons; 34.7 short tons)
Prime moverSaurer BZDSe or Renault
Engine typeDiesel
Power output250 kW (335 hp)
Transmissionmechanical
UIC classificationB′2′
Bogies
  • Motor: Y 107
  • Trailer: Y 108
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)

The SNCF X 3800 class are diesel railcars with an elevated off-center control cabin. It is often said that they were nicknamed “Picassos” because the off-center cabin was reminiscent of paintings by Pablo Picasso featuring faces where the eyes and nose were completely offset. The nickname may though have come from the number of early paint schemes applied to the class.

The X3800 served on secondary lines all over the French rail network. The elevated control cabin allowed the railcars to operate in forward and reverse modes, allowing for ease of operation. One example is preserved at the Cité du Train.

Technical Details

The X 3800 featured a mechanical transmission with a truck-type clutch and gearbox. The units had a 20 m (65 ft 7 in) long carbody that rested on two bogies, and weighed 34 tonnes. They ran at speeds of up to 110 km/h (68 mph) (with 120 kilometres per hour or 75 miles per hour possible). They could haul unpowered trailers and could be operated singly or twinned with other units. The direct mechanical engine controls required each powered unit to have its own driver so they could not be operated as true multiple units. Units were built with two types of diesel engines: Renault 517 diesel-powered units 3801 to 3835 and a Saurer BZDS diesel units 3836 to 3856.

The units were designed to be robust and simple (but were noisy), often parked outside in the winter. The driver sat facing sideways in a raised cabin above the engine compartment, accessed from the baggage compartment. The main mechanical controls were directly connected by levers to the diesel engine, clutch and gearbox. The units were widely used from the 1950s to the 1980s, particularly on secondary lines with often poorer quality track than the main lines, at a lower cost than comparable steam trains of the era. The units were reliable and, from the end opposite the engine compartment, offered passengers a wide-open view of the track. The diesel engines produced 300 hp and were water-cooled. The X 3800 burned 50–55 litres of diesel fuel per 100 km (5.1–5.1 mpg‑imp; 4.3–4.3 mpg‑US), giving the unit a range of about 700 kilometres (430 mi). The car bodies were of welded construction.

The X 3800 were built from 1950 to 1961. 251 units were built, given unit numbers X 3801 to X 4051 by the SNCF. Each X 3800 could hold 62 passengers, with smoking and non-smoking compartments, a toilet, and a baggage area located behind the engine compartment

Routes Served

The X 3800 units were used on the majority of non-electrified lines across the entirety of France. Some of the routes served include:

Base Depots

Notable Units

Preserved Units

Operating

Non-operable or preserved for parts

Scrapped

  • X 3810 : Train touristique du centre-Var (Scrapped in 2024)
  • X 3846 : Autorail Touristique du Minervois (ATM) (Scrapped in July 2012)
  • X 3865 : Train touristique de l'Ardèche méridionale (Scrapped in July 2010).
  • X 3897 : Association du Chemin de Fer Touristique de l’Aubois (ACTA) - stationed at Montmirail (wrecked and scrapped in 2018)
  • X 3907 : Train Touristique Étretat-Pays de Caux (Scrapped in January 2014)
  • X 3934 : Agrivap (Severely damaged in a 1998 collision, select pieces recovered, chassis scrapped)
  • X 3937 : Association de modélistes Rambolitrain, Rambouillet (scrapped in 2011, motor purchased by Agrivap)
  • X 3971 : private property, sold in 1995 to Chemin de Fer de Vendée - stationned at Elbeuf (used for spare parts, scrapped around 2005)
  • X 3989 : Train touristique de l'Ardèche méridionale (scrapped in July 2010)
  • X 3997 : Rail inspection vehicle (sent to the Culoz demolition facility in February 2014)
  • X 4013 : Served as a locker room for a night club in the old Sancerre station (scrapped)
  • X 4025 : Autorails de Bourgogne-Franche-Comté (ABFC) (scrapped in 2001)
  • X 4028 : Autorail Touristique du Minervois (ATM) - stationned at Narbonne (scrapped in March 2013)
  • X 4051 : Société générale de chemins de fer et de transports automobiles (CFTA) in Carhaix (scrapped)

Model Renditions

This unit has been represented in HO scale by the Jouef, LS Models, Mistral Trains Models groups and the Editions Atlas (static), as well as N scale by Transmondia. In O scale, AMJL offered Picasso kits or assembled.

Anecdotes

X 4046 preserved by l'association Autorail Lorraine Champagne-Ardenne, served as the setting for the song by Laurent Voulzy, "Paradoxal Système" in 1992.

References

  1. ↑ Caron, François; Bachet, Olivier (1999). Le patrimoine de la SNCF et des chemins de fer français, Volume 2 [Heritage of the SNCF and of French Railways, Volume 2] (in French). Flohic. ISBN 2842340698.
  2. ↑ Papazian, André. Encyclopédie du train, volume 1, locomotives & automotrices [Encyclopedia of the train, Volume 1, locomotives and railcars] (in French). éditions E.T.A.I.
  3. ↑ "Quai No. 4". Les quais de l'histoire. La Cite du Train. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
  4. ↑ "Michelines et Autorails, L'autorail X-3800 dit Picasso". Editions Atlas (in French). 2015. Retrieved March 4, 2016.
  5. ↑ Michel Joindot. "Les autorails- L'X3890 : autorail "Picasso" baptisé "Ville de Loudéac"". CFCB - Chemins de Fer du Centre-Bretagne (Central Brittany Railroads) (in French). Retrieved March 4, 2016.
  6. 1 2 "Autorail X3800, dit "Picasso"". vendee-vapeur.fr (in French). Association Chemin de Fer de la Vendée. Retrieved March 4, 2016.
  7. ↑ "X 3800 "Picasso"". Autorails.com (in French). 2015. Retrieved March 4, 2016.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "Préserver le-matériel ferroviaire historique". Chemin de Fer Touristique du Sud des Ardennes (in French). Retrieved 2025-12-31.
  9. ↑ "CFTSA - Matériel" (in French). Archived from the original on 2008-11-11. Retrieved 2009-08-25.
  10. ↑ JOINDOT, Michel. "La restauration de l'X3890 : le déroulement du projet de restauration (1991-2005)". Association CFCB (in French). Archived from the original on 2014-11-03. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
  11. ↑ "Les matériels préservés". Association CFCB (in French). Retrieved 2025-12-31.
  12. ↑ "L'X 4039 remis à neuf". Rail Passion. 253 (in French). La Vie du Rail. November 2018. p. 3.
  13. ↑ "SNCF autorail « Picasso » X-4046 – ALCA". Patrimoine Ferroviaire Français (in French). Retrieved 27 October 2025.
  14. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-11-08. Retrieved 2019-07-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  15. ↑ Laurent Voulzy-Paradoxal systeme (1992). YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-11.