CdF de Paris a Lyon et a la Méditerranee 1920

The Compagnie des chemins de fer de Paris à Lyon et à la Méditerranée ("Railway Company of Paris to Lyon and the Mediterranean"), also known as the Chemins de fer Paris-Lyon-Méditerranée or simply PLM, established in 1857, was one of France’s main

railway companies This is an incomplete list of the world's railway operating companies listed alphabetically by continent and country. This list includes companies operating both now and in the past. In some countries, the railway operating bodies are not compani ...

until the

nationalization Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...

of all French railways and establishment of the

Société nationale des chemins de fer français The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (; abbreviated as SNCF ; French for "National society of French railroads") is France's national state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the country's national rail traffic ...

(SNCF) on .

History

Established on 3 July 1857, the PLM grew between 1858 and 1862 from the amalgamation of the earlier Paris–Lyon and Lyon–Méditerranée companies, as well as subsequently incorporating a number of smaller railways. The PLM operated chiefly in the Southeast of France, with a main line which connected

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

to the

French Riviera The French Riviera (known in French as the ; oc, Còsta d'Azur ; literal translation " Azure Coast") is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is usually considered to extend fro ...

by way of

Dijon Dijon (, , ) (dated) * it, Digione * la, Diviō or * lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920. The earlies ...

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

and

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

. The company was also the operator of railways in

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. The PLM was absorbed in 1938 into the majority state-owned

, and its network became the southeastern region of the SNCF.

Artworks

The PLM commissioned poster artist

Roger Broders Roger Broders (born Paris, France, 1883, died, Paris, 1953) was a French people, French illustrator and artist. He was best known for his travel posters promoting tourism destinations in France, typically fashionable beaches of the Côte d'Azur and ...

, sponsoring his travel to the

and the

French Alps The French Alps are the portions of the Alps mountain range that stand within France, located in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regions. While some of the ranges of the French Alps are entirely in France, others, such as ...

so he could visit the subjects of his work. Lithographs of travel posters Broders rendered for PLM are still available commercially. Several of their

draughtsmen A drafter (also draughtsman / draughtswoman in British and Commonwealth English, draftsman / draftswoman or drafting technician in American and Canadian English) is an engineering technician who makes detailed technical drawings or plans fo ...

went on to notable careers, including

Alfred Grévin Alfred Grévin (28 January 1827 – 5 May 1892) was a 19th-century caricaturist, best known during his lifetime for his caricature silhouettes of contemporary Parisian women. He was also a sculptor, cartoonist, and designed costumes and sets for ...

and David Dellepiane.

Headquarters in Paris

The PLM head office was the most opulent headquarters building of any of the French railway companies. It was built in the late 1860s on the former grounds of the

Tivoli Garden The following is an overview of public housing estates on Tsing Yi, Hong Kong including Home Ownership Scheme (HOS), Private Sector Participation Scheme (PSPS), Flat-for-Sale Scheme (FFSS), Tenant Purchase Scheme (TPS) and Subsidised Sale F ...

, with main entrance at 88, rue Saint-Lazare. As soon as the

SNCF The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (; abbreviated as SNCF ; French for "National society of French railroads") is France's national state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the country's national rail traffi ...

was created on , the former PLM's head office became the new state company's headquarters. The SNCF head office remained there until 1999 when it moved to a new building next to the

Gare Montparnasse Gare Montparnasse (; Montparnasse station), officially Paris-Montparnasse, one of the six large Paris railway termini, is located in the 14th and 15th arrondissements. The station opened in 1840, was rebuilt in 1852 and relocated in 1969 to ...

. The former PLM building was subsequently purchased by the insurance arm of

Crédit Agricole Crédit Agricole Group (), sometimes called La banque verte ( en, The green bank) due to its historical ties to farming, is a French international banking group and the world's largest cooperative financial institution. It is France's second lar ...

, renovated under plans by architect Anthony Béchu, and branded with reference to the site's pre-railway history. From 2003 it became an office of

AXA Axa S.A. (styled as ''AXA'' or GIG in the Middle East) is a French multinational insurance company. The head office is in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France. It also provides investment management and other financial services. The Ax ...

then, from 2014, the head office of insurer

Covéa Covéa is a French mutual insurance company that covers property, liability and reinsurance businesses headquartered in Paris. It was formed from the merger of three separate French mutual insurance companies ''Garantie Mutuelle des Fonctionnair ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chemins De Fer De Paris A Lyon Et A La Mediterranee Railway companies of France French companies established in 1858 Railway companies established in 1858

History

Artworks

Headquarters in Paris

See also

References

External links