The former Automobile museum

Roger Pichon (1903 Francheville 27 - 1973 Clères 76) opened the Clères Automobile museum in 1957 helped by his son Jacky (1932 Francheville - 1993 Clères).

Roger, who owned the Auberge du Cheval Noir in Clères set up the museum in premises he had arranged on a site opposite his restaurant and the covered market. He opened his collection with a 1894 Panhard that he had restored. His collection of various vehicles and objects, cars, motor cycles, bicycles, posters and accessories covered a period from the end of the 19th century to the middle of the 20th century. His son added military vehicles. Before long an American aeroplane, a T6G 1942, hovered in the museum yard.

SOME OF THE MUSEUM COLLECTION PIECES :

• A rare 1936 front-wheel drive coupe

• A 1936 artillery tractor

• A 1902 De Dion-Bouton vis-àvis

• A racing BRM

• A Type N Ford

• A Georges Richard

• A racing Jaguar XK 120

• An 1899 De Dion engine Renault

• A 1937racing Salmson converted to an amphibian

• A 1955 Simca 9 sport coupe

• A 1910 Ballot engine Delage Torpedo

• An early 20th century Lacroix de Laville three-wheeler car

THE RENAULT 40 CV DES RECORDS

The showpiece of the collection was the copy of the Renault 40 CV des Records. Roger had contributed to the construction of this car which beat the world speed record in Monthéry in 1926 with an average speed of 173km/hour in 24 hours. At that time he worked in the drawing office of the Renault special workshops and had kept the documents. Michel Chodan, coachbuilder and vehicle repair manager in the museum contributed to this lovely piece of work.

Michel Chodan’s wife heard her husband talking about building the T40 and she said that ‘to form the sheets for the bodywork he put them on the floor and beat them into the chosen shape with a hammer; wing, door, hood…’

After his father’s death Jacky took over the restaurant and the museum and completed the collection with military vehicles.

However, the museum, heavily in debt, closed its doors in 1991 to the regret of everybody who loved mechanics and beautiful cars. The collections were sold and the Renault 40 CV des Records went into the Renault collection. In 2019 it made a brief weekend return to Clères to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the park (April 13th-14th 2019).

MUSEUM ASSOCIATED ACTIVITIES :

A children’s book ‘On Holiday' tells the story of two dolls, Delphine and Sylvain, on holiday in Clères in a 1910 Torpedo Deluge with a Ballot engine, that is taken out of the museum for them. The chauffeur, Uncle Roudoudou, is Marcel Maucomble, Roger’s wife’s brother and the museum security guard, nicknamed Pasnous.

On Sundays Marcel Maucomble used to run rides in the Torpedo from Clères to Le Tôt chapel and back with a snack in the restaurant.