We wrote about the renovation of Gare de l’Est here quite a while ago (nearly 7 years ago in fact!). We still love the building, despite the obligatory shopping centre it houses at its heart.

However, the other day we had an amazing opportunity to explore the basement of the station where the Association Française des Amis des Chemins de Fer (the French association of friends of the railways) has its headquarters, including a couple of rooms with giant train sets running on over 600 metres of track.

A major train station with toy trains in the basement! This we had to see…

It’s thanks to Seine-Saint-Denis tourisme that we learned about this incredible, secret spot (they have a lot of other great visits on offer too).

We were told to meet up at 3.30pm on a Wednesday, at the bottom of a ramp leading to the undergorund car park at Gare de l’Est. Not the most glamorous of settings, but there were already a few hints that great stuff was to be discovered down here – the original tiles for example…
Through a door, up some stairs… it was like touring backstage at a theatre, decades ago – the lighting was yellow, the paint was peeling, there was quite a lot of dust and the men – no women to be seen – all have oversized, worn out jumpers that were probably bought over 40 years ago, if not more
So here we are in a world that has not changed very much since the 1950s, a place where train buffs meet.

The AFAC train buff group has around 1,500 members throughout France, and their headquarters under Gare de l’Est has a large library of train-related books, magazines and objects, a reading room, and even a mini-cinema so they can watch their super 8 films!

Every wall is covered in something to do with trains – plaques, maps, ads.. It’s an odd place, otherworldly…

But what we wanted to see above all were the hundreds of metres of miniature train tracks!

The association had two large rooms filled with giant model railways, with several trains running round and round the miniature landscape. The first room was our favourite – although it’s smaller than the second, the smaller gauge makes the details more impressive.
Surprisingly, this set-up is mechanical, not electronic. There’s even an old telephone dial used for signals!
The second room is much bigger, with bigger gauge trains, but part of the setup doesn’t seem to be in working order any more, and we weren’t allowed to sneak underneath and take photo from inside, as had been possible next door.

That said, it’s impressive nonetheless…
A lot of work has evidently gone into creating the miniature countryside. For example, there’s a tunnel based on the Sampanges tunnel which is no longer in use since the line was moved.
And hey! Look! Women! This is where the wives gather – at a small table at the back of the second big room. Bot don’t think they’re bored – they are actually quite busy chatting and… reading magazines about trains! Perhaps they are as train crazy as their husbands?
The photos give you an idea of what the model railways look like, but it’s better to see them actually moving, right? Well you’re in luck – we’ve put together a little film to show you how cute everything is. Click the play button, then click the fullscreen button to see better…

We loved exploring this really quite odd place in the depths of Gare de l’Est. It’s something so unexpected and geeky, but you really don’t need to be a fans on model railways to love it.

The next visits (8€) are 30th July, 17th September, 19th November and 10th December 2014. More info (in French) here.

Official AFAC site: afac.asso.fr

Other visits organised by Seine-Saint-Denis Tourisme: here

Facebook: facebook.com/seinesaintdenis.tourisme

Twitter: twitter.com/CDT93

To see all our photos of the model railways hidden under Gare de l’Est, click the play button on the slideshow below, then click the four little arrow to activate fullscreen mode.