Translated from French:
The MW antenna in Tramoyes will not survive its 90th birthday. This December 15 at 1:15 p.m. the MW pylon in Tramoyes near Lyon was destroyed. Tramoyes is a commune in Ain in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Its transmitter covered the entire Lyon region. Construction dates from 1934, but its history begins in 1930: General Ferrié heads the commission responsible for organizing the technical infrastructure of French public broadcasting: this is the “Ferrie plan”. According to the Ferrié plan, eleven transmitters were to comfortably cover France, which will lead, among other things, to the construction of the Lyon-Tramoyes station. The site was chosen because it was flat, well cleared and without obstacles.
In 1934, work began: The antenna is of the single-pylon umbrella type and the building includes a 100 kW transmitter and a backup studio.
In July 1935, the station was put into operation. With its 100 kW, it transmits over 463 m (643 kHz). The broadcasts leave the new studio, 47 cours Gambetta in Lyon.
The station was seriously sabotaged at the end of August 1944 by the occupying German troops before their departure. The mast was dynamited. The transmitter only regained full power in 1947, with a new 100 kW transmitter installed by the French Thomson Houston Company and the installation of a new antenna with a height of 220 m.
In the 1960s, the transmitter was replaced by a 300 kW unit and ensured the broadcast of France Culture.
During the second half of the 1990s, the center was modernized. The transmitter is replaced by two 150 kW units which are coupled to develop 300 kW. The new transmitters are transistorized and offer better quality and save energy. It broadcasts the Radio Bleue program.
In 2000, France Info was broadcast instead of France Bleue.
On January 3, 2016, the transmitter permanently stopped its broadcasts, like all other medium wave transmitters of Radio France (France Info and France Bleu), in order to save operating costs.
For seven years, the building, which belongs to TDF, has housed the company’s offices and those of ITAS, a subsidiary of the TDF group. This company provides studies, design, installation and maintenance of radio site infrastructures.
As for the antennas, there are only a few mobile phone antennas on the building. The pylon, which no longer has any use, will certainly be deconstructed very soon.
Radio Magazine FB group via Mike Terry, WRTH FB group (2023-12-29)