Sprague-Thomson

Sprague-Thomson is the name of the first on the Paris Métro made completely of metal.

In light of the Paris Métro train fire of 1903, the Compagnie du chemin de fer métropolitain de Paris (CMP) searched for a that was both durable and safe. The Thomson Multiple stock was the most adopted at the time, but was complex. At the same time, the American Sprague stock did not fit the requirements.

The Sprague-Thomson was conceived in 1908 by the synthesis of already-existing systems. Beginning in 1907, the CMP was constructing metallic stock. The motrices 500 (motor cars) formed the first series of Sprague-Thomson, which was referred to familiarly as simply "Sprague". The cars were constructed entirely of metal and had two motors. One train set consisted of five cars and three motor cars, and contained a large compartment of electrical components, referred to as a grande loge. After World War I, the motor cars were improved so that the electrical components did not take up so much space and thus were called petites loges.

Certain grande loge motor cars were regrouped into sets of two in order to form work trains with two compartments. These were first painted gray, but later repainted yellow. The arrival of the TMA material in the 1980s and the TME material in the 2000s allowed for many of these motor cars to be retired. A project to convert some MF 67 cars running between depots is in progress to replace the Sprague trains that are currently dedicated to this task. The last Sprague tractors are planned to be replaced by 2010. The T.74, T.91 and T.94 models are preserved by the ADEMAS association and the T.95 model is preserved by the RATP.

The Compagnie du Nord-Sud began construction in 1910 of a new type of Sprague, with four engines on the two motorcars per train instead of three motorcars. They are painted gray and blue, unlike the dark green color of those of the CMP.

Little by little the cars have been elongated, from their initial length of 12,600 mm (41 ft 4 in) to 14,200 mm (46 ft 7 in). Motorcars with four engines were first used in 1927 and are all 14,200 mm (46 ft 7 in) long. The color (dark green, light green, and bluish gray) has varied over time, as well as the number of doors (from three to four). The first class cars are red on the CMP network, and yellow on the Nord-Sud. Some cars are colored half green and half red. The classic electric multiple unit trainset contains two motorcars with four engines each, powering three cars with the middle one being first class. Motorcars with four engines began use in 1936, some being older models reconstructed but practically identical to the new ones.

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