Anybody familiar with Monte Carlo?

[Sensibleboy]

I know a few will have been there to check out some of the cars. One thing that amazes me about the place is how it is built. Half of Monaco seems to be underground. Having seen the foundations for new buildings it's amazing how much of the building is actually below ground level.

Anyway, I've been in the train station in Monte Carlo, all underground of course. It doesn't look that old but once inside all the tunnels and up the various escalators it's hard to work out where you are.

I saw this picture on the Autocar website with a train visible on the hill in the background. Question is, is the railway still there? Or has it moved elsewhere? Every building seems to be new in that area so it's entirely possible that it has simply been built over...although I can't imagine where it would exit in the Fairmont hotel area...

[F1GTRUeno]

Looks like the bit above the wall next to chicane after the tunnel.

Looking on satellite/google maps I'd imagine it's not there anymore.

[davepoth]

Moved in 1999 apparently.

http://trail.yoll.net/zola/transport/monteCarloRai...

[Sensibleboy]

I see, excellent. I thought the station looked very modern. I can't quite work out if the raised area above the Meridean Beach hotel at Larvoto once had the railway on it. The roadway looks just like that pictured above Monte Carlo with the train on it.

[ejenner]

I went to look at a Monte Carlo once.








The one I looked at was an auto and the box was a bit slippy. So when I went to drive it out of the parking space I put it into drive and it rolled into the car behind. Good start to a test drive when going to view a car. It would have been cheep though.

[Sensibleboy]

Hilarious.

[FourWheelDrift]

Sensibleboy said:

I saw this picture on the Autocar website with a train visible on the hill in the background. Question is, is the railway still there? Or has it moved elsewhere? Every building seems to be new in that area so it's entirely possible that it has simply been built over...although I can't imagine where it would exit in the Fairmont hotel area...

Photo is from where the Rascasse is today, then it just used to be a flat straight "through" the swimming pool down to that hairpin then back up the other side where todays start finish straight is, the railway went to the Railway station, the Loews hairpin (now called the Grand Hotel Hairpin), used to be called the Station hairpin as that's where the station was. The line has gone now though.

Peter Collins exiting the old Station Hairpin, station in the background.

[ejenner]

Sensibleboy said:

Hilarious.

Username

[Sensibleboy]

FourWheelDrift said:

Photo is from where the Rascasse is today, then it just used to be a flat straight "through" the swimming pool down to that hairpin then back up the other side where todays start finish straight is, the railway went to the Railway station, the Loews hairpin (now called the Grand Hotel Hairpin), used to be called the Station hairpin as that's where the station was. The line has gone now though.

Peter Collins exiting the old Station Hairpin, station in the background.

I see, that's really good. I've often watched old grand prix films and tried to work out where things were and how they have changed. The tunnel has changed a bit - from a rocky tunnel to a concrete tunnel.

So I guess the railway must have gone along the roadway pictured below (not got a better picture). Not the one with the cars on but the raised section you can just about see to the right- the F1 cars must have gone under a bridge (as they currently do) just before they drop down onto the sea front.

[williamp]

I used to think that bridge before thevtunnel on the circuit was a railway bridge!! The one with the Zepter adverts

When I visited i found out the new station comes out bt st devote church. Only after taking the lift to the top and spending hours finding my wy down.....