Compagnie du chemin de fer de Paris à Strasbourg
The Compagnie du Chemin de fer de Paris à Strasbourg was one of the first railway companies in France . It was founded on December 13, 1845 and only existed for a good eight years before it became part of the Chemin de fer de l'Est on January 21, 1854 .
founding
The purpose of the company was the construction and operation of the Paris – Strasbourg line , which began immediately and had reached its first destination with the opening of the first section in 1849, before it could be completed in 1853 over the entire length of a good 500 km. The construction planning for the almost 17 km long Paris – Marles-en-Brie railway , which went into operation on September 22, 1859 with its first section to La Varenne, has already been carried out by the successor company.
Railway construction was favored by the state towards the middle of the 19th century, as the country lagged behind its neighboring countries. The trade complained about this condition. François Antoine Teste , General and Minister of the Cabinet of the First Empire pushed the construction, which was initially estimated at 2,400 km and 150,000 francs state costs per kilometer. The concessionaires were supposed to bring in another 125,000 francs per km. The seven projected targets in June 1841 from Paris were the border with Belgium, the Rhine, the Mediterranean along the Rhône, the Atlantic along the Garonne and Loire and the Canal along the Seine. The basis for this construction was the law for the structuring of railway construction, the Loi Legrand , which was enacted on June 6, 1842.
On August 2, 1844, the state granted a loan of 88.7 million francs for the implementation of the previously decided plan to build a double-track railway line from Paris to Hommating near Epernay, to Chalons-en-Champagne, Bar- le-Duc, Toul and Nancy as well as the construction of two connecting lines to Reims and Metz. This made it possible to found the company, whose president was Count Hainguerlot († October 26, 1868), who was also the director of the Ourcq Canal and the Banque Seillière-Demachy . The lead engineer Émile Vuigner , who had also previously worked in the canal construction for Compagnie Hainguerlot, was responsible for planning the route .
All traffic routes built after 1842 were under state supervision because the state had recognized the high military value they could have. The maiden voyage on the Paris – Meaux section, which was opened first, took place in the morning at 8:20 am from Paris. With an intermediate stop in Noisy, the train reaches its destination at 10:00, before traffic was opened to the public on July 5th.
society
When the company was founded, a capital of 125 million francs was achieved through the sale of 250,000 shares, each worth 500 francs. The company estimates that these 125 million francs were necessary for the construction. On August 17, 1853, the Compagnie du chemin de fer de Montereau à Troyes, including the Dizier – Gray railway line, the Compagnie du Chemin de fer de Blesmes et Saint-Dizier à Gray joined the company. In order to be able to ensure traffic, 53 locomotives and 300 passenger cars and 700 freight cars were ordered on November 10, 1849. In the first week after opening, the company earned 76,000 francs with 15,100 passengers, in August a year later on the still unfinished route 148,000 francs with 30,000 passengers.
Railway line
The railway line was divided into seven sections for the construction and each was named with a responsible person:
- From Paris to Meaux : Pierre-Sophie Cabanal de Sermet; 45 km - opening: July 1, 1849
- Meaux after Vitry-le-François : Jean Marinet; 97 km - opening: August 21, 1849; 33 km - opening September 4, 1850
- Vitry-le-François to Bar-le-Duc : NN
- Bar-le-Duc to Pagny-sur-Meuse : Charles Collignon
- Pagny-sur-Meuse after Frouard : Charles Collignon
- Frouard to Lutzelbourg : Charles Collignon
- Lutzelbourg to Strasbourg : Charles Schwilgué
Construction began in several places at the same time in order to counteract delays that could result from local official permits. The President of the Republic, Napoleon Bonaparte, attended the inauguration of the second stage in person. In the morning at 9:00 a.m. the train started in Paris and after many stops it reached Epernay at 2:00 p.m. , where Napoleon mounted a white horse and rode into town. The return trip on the 142 km long route took three hours.
literature
- André Schontz, Arsène Felten, Marcel Gourlot: Le chemin de fer en Lorraine. Ed. Serpenoise, 1999, ISBN 9782876924147 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Ligne Paris-Est - Nancy on structurae.info (French)
- ^ Karen Bowie: Expertise et aménagement en Région parisienne au XIXe siècle. Les enquêtes sur les projets pour une ligne Paris-Meaux, 1838–1841. In: Histoire urbaine 2005/3 (n ° 14), pp. 99–122 (French)
- ↑ Micheline Nilsen : Railways and the Western European Capitals. Verlag Palgrave Macmillan 2008, ISBN 978-0-230-61577-9 , p. 120
- ↑ Decree No. 4045 of March 26, 1852, p. 1222, digitized in Gallica (French)