Tramways de l'Indre
| Tramways de l'Indre | |
|---|---|
 Graçay station, before 1920
| |
| Route length: | 182 km |
| Gauge : | 1000 mm ( meter gauge ) |
| Maximum slope : | 50 ‰ |
| Minimum radius : | 30 m |
The Tramways de l'Indre (TI) were three narrow gauge railways in the French department of Indre , by the railway company Compagnie des Tramways de l'Indre were operated (CTI). The town of Vierzon in the neighboring Cher département was also reached with their steam trains on tracks with a gauge of 1000 mm ( meter gauge ) . The company was based in Paris , 13 rue Auber, and the chairman of the board of directors was initially Georges Tartary .
history
The Declaration d'utilité publique required for the construction of the railway was pronounced on June 12, 1900. On February 21, 1901, the Compagnie générale de construction de Saint-Denis passed the concession to the Compagnie des Tramways de l'Indre . The assignment agreement stipulated that the department should bear the costs for the infrastructure. The operating risk, however, should be borne by the operator.
The CTI received approval for the construction of the section to Vierzon in the eastern neighboring department on August 4, 1902.
A first section was opened in 1902 with the 23 km long route from Châteauroux to Levroux . On April 12, 1903, it was extended by 27 km to Valençay , where a community station with the also meter-gauge Chemin de fer du Blanc-Argent (BA) was created. Shortly before this station, the BA track had to be crossed, which made numerous agreements and contracts necessary. By the end of the year, the trains returned to Valençay at the provisional “Tivoli” terminal. With the section from Argenton-sur-Creuse to Saint-Benoît-du-Sault , another line went into operation on September 19, 1903, which continued to Le Blanc from January 25, 1904 with a total length of 64 km . In 1905 it received an 11 km long branch from Saint-Benoît to Chaillac .
From March 6, 1904, trains ran from Issoudun to Vatan , then on June 1 to Graçay , which is already in the Cher department. In the same year Vierzon was reached.
Traffic was severely restricted during the First World War . Due to the requisition of locomotives and wagons and the mobilization of personnel, only a reduced offer was possible after the outbreak of war. Infrastructure and vehicles could only be maintained poorly. After the end of the war, the company went into a loss and in the 1930s the financial situation deteriorated further.
In November 1936, the Conseil général (about: Départementrat) of the Département Indre decided to discontinue the Tramways de l'Indre on April 1, 1937. In fact, it did not take place until May 15 of that year, some freight trains and railcars even operated beyond that. By the beginning of the summer of 1938, however, the TI was largely history. Only the route from Argenton via Saint-Benoît to Chaillac was retained for the time being for reasons of military strategy for the transport of iron ore from the mines of Chaillac and Chéniers . After the Armistice of Compiègne , this traffic lost its importance and was discontinued in September 1940 after the German occupation of France in World War II .
26 kilometers of track as well as three locomotives, three passenger cars and 22 freight cars were sold as early as 1938 in order to finance buses and tractors with the proceeds. The official closure of the Argenton – Chaillac line was delayed until 1942 in the hope that the material would not be handed over to the occupiers.
stretch
From the end of 1904, the following, all single-track lines existed:
- Châteauroux – Valençay (50 km)
- Argenton-sur-Creuse – Le Blanc (64 km) with branch line Saint-Benoît du Sault – Chaillac (11 km)
- Issoudun – Vierzon (57 km)
In Argenton, Châteauroux, Issoudun, Le Blanc and Vierzon the trains reached the stations of the regular gauge network of the PO, in Le Blanc and Valençay also the narrow-gauge railway of the Blanc-Argent.
For cost reasons, the tracks were preferably laid in the street area. This led to curves with minimum radii of 30 m and gradients of maximum 50 ‰. The travel speeds of the trains were therefore low. Were laid 18 kg / m serious Vignole , on sleepers from oak rested.
vehicles
The specifications provided for vehicles with a maximum width of 2.30 m and a height of 3.30 m.
All of the locomotives were built by Pinguely in Lyon , all of them were tank locomotives with the wheel arrangement C. The machines 1 to 12 of the type 107 had an unladen weight of 17 t, they were built in 1901 (No. 1–5) and 1902 (No. . 6-9) and 1907 (No. 10-12). In 1903 three 20-ton type 117 locomotives were purchased, which were given the operating numbers 50 to 53.
The company purchased three steam railcars from Pinguely for passenger transport . The three-axle vehicles known as “Voitures automobiles” were given the numbers 101 to 103. They were 9750 mm long over buffers and had 27 seats in two car classes . However, the railcars stationed at Argenton disappointed with their low output of 55 hp and were parked as early as 1907.
Remarks
- ↑ The Déclaration d'utilité publique (declaration of non-profit status) was the prerequisite for land expropriations.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Bernard Moreau: Le patrimoine en devenir des Tramways de l'Indre . In: Revue d'histoire des chemins de fer . No. 24-25 , 2002, ISSN 0996-9403 , pp. 360-367 , doi : 10.4000 / rhcf.2084 .
- ↑ Le Petit Parisien . January 12, 1907 (French, gallica.bnf.fr ).
- ^ Bulletin des lois de la République française. No. 2212, accessed June 26, 2019.
- ^ Bulletin des lois de la République française. No. 2250, accessed June 26, 2019.
- ^ Bulletin des lois de la République française. No. 2412, accessed June 26, 2019.
- ↑ Vincent Lepais, Michel Jacobs, Jean-Louis Audigué: Le chemin de fer du Blanc à Argent . Éditions LR Presse, Auray 2011, ISBN 978-2-903651-71-8 , p. 248 .
- ^ Daniel Bernard, Bernard Gagnepain: La Champagne berrichonne autrefois - Châteauroux et Issoudun en 1900 . Horvath, Le Coteau 1985, ISBN 2-7171-0390-2 ( books.google.de ).
- ↑ Yves Machefert-Tassin: L'évolution et l'apport des chemins de fer secondaires en traction électrique et thermique (automotrices et car rails) . In: Revue d'histoire des chemins de fer . No. 24-25 , 2002, ISSN 0996-9403 , pp. 146-174 , doi : 10.4000 / rhcf.2043 .