Narrow webs from Tavaux-Pontséricourt
| Narrow webs from Tavaux-Pontséricourt | |||||||||||||
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.jpg) Topographic overview map
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| Route length: | 14 km | ||||||||||||
| Gauge : | 1000 mm ( meter gauge ) | ||||||||||||
| Maximum slope : | 75 ‰ | ||||||||||||
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The narrow lanes of Tavaux-Pontséricourt were two matches 14 km long narrow gauge - industrial railways with a track gauge of 1000 mm at Tavaux-et-Pontséricourt in the department of Aisne in the region of Hauts-de-France . They were laid around 1867, eight years before Paul Decauville's inventions, to transport sugar beets on existing municipal and vicinal roads. They are a notable example of the fact that local railways could overcome gradients of 60 to 75 ‰ in regular operation.
Route
The narrow-gauge works railways of the Tavaux-Pontsericourt sugar factory consisted of two sections: One, 4.2 km long, ran in the Sevre Valley from the Tavaux plant to Agnicourt -Moranzy. The other, 9.8 km long, linked the Tavaux plant with Gronard , a village in the Brune Valley. It led on steep inclines over the watershed about 50 meters high, which separates the two valleys. The two railways were built for the exclusive use of the factory and were used for the transport of goods from two sugar beet storage areas to the sugar factory.
Track construction
concession
The tracks were laid on the route of the municipal and vicinal roads on the road body. They passed through two villages along their entire length and led directly past the front doors, which, however, did not lead to any complaints during the six-month operation. According to the builders of the railway, the steam locomotives neither frightened the horses, nor did the traffic of the numerous trains, which sometimes amounted to 40 per day, impede road traffic or bother the residents.
The track crown was 2.10 m wide. The track width is 1000 mm. When the narrow-gauge railway was laid, the streets were widened by one meter so that they were then 9.1 m wide instead of 8 m. 7 m of this was reserved for road traffic and 2.1 m for rail traffic, which fully met the needs of both.
Superstructure
The flat bottom rails had a weight per meter m of 13 kg /. Their length was usually 6 m. They rested on oak cross sleepers 1.50 m long, 0.16 m wide and 0.08 m thick after the sapwood was cut. The impact sleepers were 0.20 m wide and 7 sleepers were calculated on the rail length of 6 meters. The rails were lashed and fastened to the cross sleepers with screws 15 mm in diameter. The gravel bed was 20 cm thick.
The points were formed by moving rails according to the simplest system, and the crossings were cast in one piece. The turntables were made of wood and iron, the substructure of brickwork.
Inclination ratios
Since the railroad tracks exactly followed the profile of the existing road, the gradient between Tavaux and Gronard was rather unfavorable. They consisted of a sequence of inclines and declines, mostly in the range of 15 to 20 ‰. To reach the watershed, gradients of 75 ‰ were required over a length of 300 meters, 58 ‰ over a length of 300 meters and 31 ‰ over a length of 400 meters. The route led with a gradient of 50 ‰ through a saddle of the ridge. After overcoming the top of the pass, it led towards Gronard at the village of Burelles over a length of 1 km over a gradient of 52 to 60 ‰ down into the Brune-Thal.
The route from Tavaux to Moranzy followed the Sevre valley and was therefore less steep. It was also laid on the road surface, which, with the exception of three very short gradients of 30 ‰, led to gradients of 10 to 15 ‰.
Radii
The smallest radius of curvature was 30 meters. The steep section at Burelles with 60 ‰ ran through an arc with a 50 meter radius. The route from Tavaux to Moranzy was laid on very poorly routed country roads with radii of 30 to 45 meters.
Investment costs
The investment costs per kilometer of the route on the 14-kilometer route without the side rails were as follows:
| investment | Costs per km |
|---|---|
| Basic redemption | 857 francs |
| Earthworks | 2,800 francs |
| Masonry and carpentry work | 1,107 francs |
| swell | 1,857 francs |
| Ballasting and laying of the superstructure | 2,500 francs |
| Rails and fasteners | 7,214 francs |
| Locomotives, fixes and rolling stock | 9,357 francs |
| General costs and miscellaneous | 642 francs |
| total | 20,334 francs |
Rail vehicles
Locomotives
There were three Creusot steam locomotives. They were identical in construction to the locomotive of the Blanzy Railway, which had been exhibited at the world exhibition of 1867. The tank locomotives had a water tank with 850 liters and a coal chamber with 160 liters. When filled, each locomotive weighed around 7.5 t and when empty it weighed 5.7 t.
These locomotives had the cylinder and piston controls on the outside. They had four coupled wheels with a diameter of 0.76 m in the rim center, and the center distance was 1.25. The cylinder diameter was 204 mm and the piston stroke was 360 mm. The total heating area was 19.38 m², the heating area of the furnace 2.34 m² and that of the boiler tubes 17.34 m². The boiler tubes had an outer diameter of 35 mm and a length of 1.78 m. The grate had an area of 0.42 m².
dare
There were 42 wagons specially built for transporting beet and 18 ballast wagons with movable walls, which were also used for transporting beets after the construction work was completed.
The frame and box of the beet transport wagons were firmly connected to each other. The box has an inner length of 3 m and a width of 2 m, and its capacity was 7 m³. Two doors that could be opened from the bottom up on one of the sides made loading and unloading easier. The wheels were made of forged iron according to the Arbel system without a special wheel rim. They were 670 mm in diameter. The wheelbase was 1.85 m.
The weight of the empty wagon was 2100 kg and its load capacity was 6000 kg. The gross weight is 8100 kilograms. out. The wagons were provided with suspension and tension springs. However, the buffers were inelastic. The suspension springs had a flexibility of 100 mm per 1000 kg. In order to combine the elasticity required on the railway with the desirable economy when purchasing the car, the springs were attached in such a way that they were only functional when the load was less than half the load capacity of the car. If this load was exceeded, the racks rested directly on the grease cans. The tension springs were designed according to the Brown system . Each car had a very powerful brake, with a cast-iron brake shoe, according to the Stilmant system .
business
In the operating year 1867/68, the freight volume within 3-4 months was 12,000 tons.
The greatest volume of freight was in the direction from Gronard to Tavaux. It was almost twice the size of the one in the opposite direction. Therefore, the steep incline at Burelles caused difficulties. The incline was overcome with the help of a relay service. A locomotive hauled the train from Gronard to the summit at Burelles, another pulled it from there to the Tavaux watershed and a third finally from there to the factory.
In the worst seasons, a locomotive could pull a 7.5 ton car up the ramp at 15 km / h and very often it carried two cars.
The second locomotive carried trains of six wagons when the weather was favorable. H. 45 tons gross and a minimum of four wagons or 30 tons gross from the height of Burelles to the watershed. At the foot of the 50 ‰ slope, the train was split and the locomotive carried two cars at a time up to the top.
From the watershed to the factory, the locomotive usually pulled trains with eight and a minimum of six carriages.
Since half of the wagons were usually empty on the way back, a locomotive then hauled trains of six wagons, which were arranged so that an empty wagon always followed a loaded wagon. With a few rare exceptions, a locomotive could always climb the 75 ‰ gradient with an empty and a loaded wagon, i.e. H. with a gross weight of 9.7 tons, and in fog, snow and black ice, at least drive one loaded wagon over this slope.
Although operations on the steep section took place in October, November, December and January, it was very rare that you had to limit yourself to the transport of a single wagon.
On the route from Moranzy to Tavaux, the trains consisted of six to eight cars with a total load of 45 to 50 tons.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Description of the narrow webs of Tavaux-et-Pontséricourt by the builders Molinos & Pronnier. First published in: Memoires etc. des ingenieurs civils. 1868. First issue. Translation in: Wilhelm von Nördling (Ed.): Voices about narrow-gauge railways. Vienna, 1871. pp. 38-57.
Coordinates: 49 ° 43 ′ 51 ″ N , 3 ° 54 ′ 20 ″ E