Association Française des Amis des Chemins de Fer

The Association Française des Amis des Chemins de Fer (AFAC) is a French non-profit association founded in 1929 by railway enthusiasts. It brings together people interested in railways in all their forms, both in France and abroad, and works to inform and defend this mode of transport. It is a member of the Fédération nationale des associations d'usagers des transports (FNAUT). AFAC is also active in railway modelling. It publishes the bimonthly magazine Chemins de Fer, which has been published since 1937 and features contributions from leading specialists on diverse railway topics. The association maintains a specialised railway library and operates miniature train layouts in the basement of the Gare de l'Est in Paris, where three layouts of different scales are run by members on Saturday afternoons. As of 2010, the association comprised 12 sections with approximately 1,500 members. Its membership profile is varied, including passionate amateurs as well as railway professionals; railway workers represent about 20% of members. Sections are located in Aquitaine, Auvergne, Centre Loire, Méditerranée, Midi Pyrénées, Rhône-Alpes, and Switzerland (Geneva). The association organises rail trips and discoveries, including steam excursions and visits to remarkable railway sites in France and abroad. Through its publications, library, modelling activities, and advocacy, AFAC serves as a reference point for French railway heritage and enthusiast culture.

The Association Française des Amis des Chemins de Fer (AFAC) was founded in 1929 by a small group of railway enthusiasts. From its early years, the association aimed to bring together people interested in railways in all their forms, both in France and internationally, and to inform and defend this mode of transport. In 1937, the association installed miniature train layouts in the basement of the Gare de l'Est in Paris. Since then, it has managed the room containing three layouts of different scales with numerous decors. Members come to run their own steam or electric locomotives on Saturday afternoons. Also in 1937, AFAC began publishing the magazine Chemins de Fer, which remains a bimonthly reference publication featuring contributions from leading specialists on diverse railway themes. Over the decades, AFAC developed a network of regional sections. By 2010, the association consisted of 12 sections animated by approximately 1,500 members. The membership profile is varied, including passionate amateurs as well as people working in the railway profession; railway workers represent about 20% of members. Sections are located in Aquitaine, Auvergne, Centre Loire, Méditerranée, Midi Pyrénées, Rhône-Alpes, and Switzerland (Geneva). The Aquitaine section, for example, works in partnership with regional associations and is a founding member, along with the FACS, of the ABAC (Amicale Bordelaise des Amis des Chemins de fer), which publishes the review Ferrovia-Midi; its modelling activity is carried out with the Club des modélistes ferroviaires de Bordeaux (CMFB). AFAC is a member of the Fédération nationale des associations d'usagers des transports (FNAUT). It maintains a specialised railway library described as an exceptional and continually enriched documentary heritage, serving the living memory of rail. The association also organises rail trips and discoveries, including outings, travels, steam circulations, and visits to remarkable railway sites in France and abroad. Today, AFAC continues its mission of nearly a century, uniting those interested in railways through its magazine, library, miniature layouts, and travel programmes.

• 2010

  Association comprises 12 sections with approximately 1,500 members.

• 1937

  Miniature train layouts installed in the basement of Gare de l'Est, Paris; magazine Chemins de Fer begins publication.

• 1929

  AFAC founded by railway enthusiasts.

Non-profit railway enthusiasts' association and reference publisher for French railway heritage and modelling.

• Chemins de Fer (bimonthly magazine)

  Reference magazine published since 1937, covering diverse railway topics with contributions from leading specialists.

• Railway library

  Exceptional and continually enriched documentary heritage serving the living memory of rail.

• Miniature train layouts

  Three layouts of different scales in the basement of Gare de l'Est, Paris, run by members on Saturday afternoons.

• Rail trips and discoveries

  Outings, travels, steam circulations, and visits to remarkable railway sites in France and abroad.

1. 1Site AFAC – Toutes les information sur l'AFAC et ses activitésafac.asso.fr
2. 2Association française des amis des chemins de ferfr.wikipedia.org
3. 3法国铁路爱好者协会wikidata.org