There exists a social group in the image and likeness of Ettore Bugatti: elegant, well-off, sporty, citizens conscious of belonging to an elite…
And the cars he designs Ettore Arco Isidoro Bugatti“The Boss” as he is called in his Molsheim factory, in the company of … his son Jean, are designed for this clientele who demand fast sports cars to get to Arcachon, Dauville, La Baule, Le Touquet…, where the great spas and the big fashionable hotels await them.
But the excessive Bugatti Royale, type 41, did not find customers, the crowned heads for whom it was intended. In 1931, only six of the twenty-five planned for construction were sold… Thus, of the sixteen 12,763 cc eight-cylinder engines manufactured up until then for ’41, ten were dozing silently in a warehouse in Molsheim.
With power of up to 300 hp at 1,800 rpm, the Type 41’s extraordinary engine could propel its 3.5 tonnes to an incredible speed of 200 km/h. Among its many cutting-edge features were overhead camshafts operating three valves per cylinder, combustion chambers equipped with two spark plugs instead of one, and an advanced dry-sump lubrication system intended for racing cars.
What if we used them on a train? But of course, in no train does Ettore design “nothing”. If you dream of a train, it must be something different, special, and one that reaches a speed unthinkable at the time.
On the other hand, the State Railways was looking for a new rapid rail transport solution that would replace old steam locomotives on low traffic lines. A meeting with Raoul Dautry, director of the state railway network, in 1932, brought Ettore’s idea to fruition. Enthusiastic, Dautry ordered a prototype. In just nine months, Ettore and his son Jean gave shape to this dream, a railcar called “WR” or “Wagon Rapide”, which they presented in the spring of 1933.
Inspired by racing cars
It is made up of two symmetrical parts joined in the center by a compartment in which four of the 8-cylinder engines initially designed for the Royale were placed transversely.
The driver was in a cabin raised above the central part
Above, the “kioske-vigie” was designed, from which the driver directs the train with a 360-degree vision. The aesthetics of the railcar are striking, with their profiled, very aerodynamic ends, which are reminiscent of Bugatti Tank racing cars. The cockpit of the “WR” is a structure made up of spars and crosspieces, and an oak floor. It rests on two “bogies”, each with four axles and eight wheels, suspended by leaf springs inspired by racing Bugattis.
The locomotives, initially intended for the Bugatti Royale, were located in the central part of the train
The interior style and functionality of Bugatti trains were equally radical and innovative, offering passengers the opportunity to create a personalized environment through modular layout. For example, the seats could rotateallowing passengers to travel facing forward if they wish, or to adopt a square configuration, recreating the intimacy of a private lounge.
As with every Bugatti creation, Ettore ensured that the aesthetics of the train’s interior, as well as the exterior design, were of the highest quality, perfectly embodying the “Art, Form, Technique” philosophy.
Inside the driving position
Ettore had designed everything, from the technical design to the industrialization, but he did not know that the prototype would be finished before the construction of a railway line to the Molsheim factory: the first “WR” had to be pushed by hand on temporary rails for two kilometers to reach the network…
Nearly 200 km/h
During the first approval tests for the Bugatti railway, in the spring of 1933, speed tests were carried out in the vicinity of Le Mans, reaching the “WR”, 172 km/h, a record for the time.
The interior design allowed the rotation of the seats, a revolution for the time
Subsequently, other tests allowed it to reach 192 km/h, far from the symbolic objective of 200 km/h. But, in the end, it didn’t matter: between the prestige of the Bugatti name and its unrivaled operating speed (between 130 and 140 km/h), it was something incredible for a train of the time.
The “WR” railcar entered service in the summer of 1933, linking Paris to Deauville. At the end of July, he made a special maiden voyage to Cherbourg, with President Lebrun on board. Subsequently, individual WR trains were called “Presidential”, which differentiated them from other models. Orders from the French government kept the factories busy until 1939, when automobile production in Molsheim ceased.
A total of 88 Bugatti automobiles were manufactured. Of these, only 19 were equipped with four engines. The others were the so-called WLs (Light Wagons), with just two 8-cylinder engines developing a combined 400 horsepower. They were more economical and consumed less fuel, a mixture of gasoline and ethanol.
Only one unit of the 88 built survived.
When war broke out in September 1939, Bugatti automobiles were withdrawn from service and did not return until the end of 1945, once the war was over. It was then that several WL wagons were transformed into wagons to increase the capacity of the other WL and WR wagons. The 800 HP WR railcars will be in service until 1953, and the WL railcars until 1958, with the exception of one example which will remain active with the SNCF until 1972, as a signaling verification vehicle.
It is only kept one of 88 highways or wagons built by Bugatti. This is “Le Présidentiel”, currently on display at the Cité du Train museum in Mulhouse.
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