It was thanks to a tip from a visitor to the Lille Tram Museum that I discovered this tram. The visitor was from the municipality where this tram is located.

I was aware that this tram had once also served as a museum tram. But I also knew that it was ultimately decided to maintain and preserve the similar 432 instead. This 433 had been used as a work tram for years and was in poor condition. A photo from my collection dating from 1974 is now also available here.

In 1986, the tram company donated this tram to Villeneuve-d'Ascq. Such gifts rarely end well, and certainly not when the tram is parked in the open air.
Here, the opposite has been proven: after 40 years, the city continues to cherish this tram and it is still repainted very regularly – and, as it happens, this had also been done recently.

Regular trams don’t come here, and it’s certainly not a tourist spot, but there is a metro station nearby. It’s not too far from Lille either.