Chemins de fer de l'Ouest

























Compagnie des Chemins de fer de l'Ouest
Ouest.png
Locale
Normandy, Paris and Brittany
Dates of operation 1855–1909
Track gauge
1,435 mm (4 ft 8 12 in) standard gauge
Headquarters Paris

The Compagnie des chemins de fer de l'Ouest (CF de l'Ouest), often referred to simply as L'Ouest or Ouest, was an early French railway company.




Contents






  • 1 History


    • 1.1 Birth of the company


      • 1.1.1 Paris à Saint-Germain


      • 1.1.2 The old Ouest


      • 1.1.3 Paris à Rouen




    • 1.2 Expansion


    • 1.3 Accidents


    • 1.4 Paris stations


    • 1.5 La Ligne d'Auteuil


    • 1.6 Line openings




  • 2 Architecture


    • 2.1 A sense of identity


    • 2.2 Station photos




  • 3 Locomotives


    • 3.1 Heilmann locomotives




  • 4 References


    • 4.1 Sources




  • 5 External links





History



Birth of the company




St Germain en Laye train station. The station is now underground.


The Compagnie de l'Ouest was created in 1855 by the merger of various small railway companies active in the western outskirts of Paris, in Normandy and in Brittany. These were:[1]



  • Paris à Saint-Germain

  • Paris à Rouen

  • Rouen au Havre


  • Dieppe à Fécamp

  • Paris à Caen et à Cherbourg

  • the old Ouest (two lines from Paris to Versailles and Paris–Rennes)



Paris à Saint-Germain


The Ouest's oldest line (still open to this day) is the line from Paris to Le Pecq, built by Émile Péreire's Compagnie du Chemin de fer de Paris à Saint-Germain and inaugurated on 24 August 1837 by Marie-Amélie, wife of King Louis-Philippe. The line was 19 km (12 mi) long and the trip took 30 minutes. Initially greeted with fear and lack of interest, the railway was a success that paved the way for other new railways, for instance to Rouen. In 1847, the line to Le Pecq was extended to Saint-Germain-en-Laye. The section between Saint-Germain-en-Laye and Nanterre – Université is now part of the RER line A. The section between Paris Saint-Lazare and Nanterre is part of the main lines to Rouen and Caen.



The old Ouest


While the line to Saint-Germain-en-Laye was being built, a line to Versailles, another popular Sunday destination, was projected. Two lines were built, one from Gare Saint-Lazare to the terminus Versailles-Rive-Droite, the other from Gare Montparnasse (Barrière du Maine) to the terminus Versailles-Rive-Gauche. James Mayer de Rothschild in conjunction with the Chemin de Fer de Versailles-rive-Droite, created in 1837, were given the concession to operate the lines. The line to Versailles-Rive-Droite, opened on 4 August 1839 and still in use today as Transilien line L, is 19 km (12 mi) long, branching off the line to Saint-Germain at Asnières-sur-Seine. The line to Versailles-Rive-Gauche is also still in use today. The part between Montparnasse and Viroflay is used by trains from Paris to Chartres and Brittany as well as Transilien line N. The part between Viroflay and Versailles is used by RER C local trains.



Paris à Rouen


Two lines to Rouen in Normandy were projected: one passing through La Garenne-Colombes and following the left Seine bank from Poissy, the other passing through Pontoise and following the high plateaux on the right Seine bank. Due to the lack of confidence in the second project, the first one was granted and the concession given to Charles Laffitte and Edouard Blount. Construction began in 1841 under the orders of engineer Joseph Locke and with the help of British workers. Inauguration of the line was on 9 May 1843. It was an immediate success, so much so that issues with the Chemin de Fer de Saint-Germain with platform allocation at Gare Saint-Lazare occurred.



Expansion


The Imperial Government imposed the construction of several lines:




  • Argentan - Granville


  • Rennes - Brest


  • Rennes - Saint-Malo


  • Rennes - Redon


  • Le Mans - Angers


  • Serquigny - Rouen


  • Lisieux - Honfleur


  • Mézidon-Canon - Le Mans


The Government also imposed several secondary lines.


The network was rapidly expanded:[2]


To better use the Rive-Droite line, a 15 km (9 mi) long branch was built from Saint-Cloud to Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche at the cost of the French State. The line was declared of public utility in 1880 and the Chemins de fer de l'Ouest opened the line to l'Étang-la-Ville in 1884. Passenger services were extended to Saint-Germain Grande-Ceinture in 1889, services were then reported back to Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche in 1894 when passenger services on the Chemin de fer de Grande Ceinture were stopped.


A second line from Saint-Lazare to Mantes-la-Jolie was opened in 1892, following the right Seine bank. The new line started at Argenteuil, and passed Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, Triel and Meulan.[3]


Because of the company's bad financial situation due to the region it served (agricultural for the most part), the law of 13 July 1908 saw the integration of the Companie des Chemins de fer de l'Ouest into the Chemins de fer de l'État on 1 January 1909.



Accidents




Train goes too far at Gare Montparnasse, Paris



  • On a Sunday in May 1842 one of the worst accidents in French railway history happened near Meudon: 164 victims; the 55 dead were burnt alive (see Versailles train crash). After this incident the company no longer locked doors on passenger coaches.


  • Montparnasse derailment: On 22 October 1895 an express train originating from Granville traversed Montparnasse station, ploughed into the buffers, wrecked the station building's front wall and dropped to the ground on the street below. The only fatality was the wife of a newspaper vendor, filling in for her husband (who had gone to get the evening newspapers), who was killed by falling masonry from the wall.

  • In 1881 there were 2064 railway related accidents: 185 derailings, 190 collisions, 692 accidents on the line. 512 passengers died in these accidents, 1/10 of those who died in accidents on stagecoaches.

  • Lists of rail accidents



Paris stations


L'Ouest built several stations within Paris; the two main terminals St Lazare and Montparnasse as well as Pont Cardinet at the beginning of the line to Auteuil.


In 1851 the Ouest's Paris terminus, the Gare Saint-Lazare, was enlarged to comprise six groups for each main destination served:



  • Group I & II: Versailles

  • Group III: Auteuil

  • Group IV: Argenteuil

  • Group V: Saint-Germain-en-Laye

  • Group VI: Rouen, Le Havre & Dieppe (the line to Caen served by this group was not opened until 1855)



La Ligne d'Auteuil





Courcelles-Levallois station now part of Paris' RER C line but originally part of La Ligne d'Auteuil.

L'Ouest was the first company to pioneer suburban transport. St Lazare station was by 1931 dealing with 13.2 million passengers annually compared to merely 3 million in average in the other Parisian stations. In 1854 L'Ouest opened a typically Parisian line; 'La Ligne d'Auteuil'. This line started within Paris and ended in Paris, serving the Parisian inhabitants mainly for work purposes. The line was 7 kilometres long (4.3 mi) and served St Lazare, Bâtignoles, Courcelles-Levallois, Neuilly Porte-Maillot, Avenue du Bois de Boulogne, Avenue Henri-Martin, Boulainvilliers, Passy and Auteuil. The line was built in a cutting, removing the need for any level crossing, which was the first line of its kind. The line also boasted elegant station buildings such as the Auteuil terminus and Courcelles-Levallois station. All stations were built above the line with access to the platforms. The line was part of the Petite Ceinture circular line, which linked all Parisian termini for freight purposes.


Line openings













































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































Date

Section

Length (km)
26 August 1837

Paris St Lazare - Le Pecq
19
2 August 1839

Asnières - Versailles Rive Droite
18
10 September 1840

Paris Barrière du Maine - Versailles Rive Gauche
17
9 May 1843

Paris St Lazare - Rouen Saint-Sever

22 March 1847

Rouen Saint-Sever - Le Havre
94
14 August 1847

Le Pecq - Saint-Germain-en-Laye
3
1 August 1848

Malaunay - Dieppe
50
12 July 1849

Viroflay - Chartres
73
28 April 1851

Asnières - Argenteuil
4
20 July 1852

Viroflay - Porchefontaine
1
7 September 1852

Chartres - La Loupe
36
16 February 1854

La Loupe - Nogent-le-Rotrou
25
2 May 1854

Les Batignoles - Auteuil
7
1 June 1854

Nogent-le-Rotrou - Le Mans
63
1 July 1855

Mantes-la-Jolie - Lisieux
133
14 August 1855

Le Mans - Laval
89
29 December 1855

Lisieux - Mondeville (near Caen)
49
25 February 1856

Beuzeville - Fécamp
20
15 March 1856

Le Mans - Alençon
52
1 May 1857

Laval - Rennes
73
1 May 1857

Mondeville-Caen
2
1 February 1858

Alençon - Argentan
43
1 July 1858

Lisieux - Pont-l'Évêque
18
17 July 1858

Caen - Cherbourg
133
20 November 1858
Through Fécamp
2
1 February 1859

Argentan - Mézidon-Canon
43
1 November 1859

Falaise
7
1 May 1860

Lison - St-Lô
19
7 July 1862

Pont-l'Évêque - Honfleur
25
23 March 1863

Le Mans - Sablé
48
7 July 1863

Pont-L'Évêque - Trouville-Deauville
10
7 December 1863

Sablé - Angers
47
15 June 1864

Saint-Cyr-l'École - Dreux
59
27 June 1864

Rennes - Saint-Malo
81
24 July 1865

Serquigny - Oissel
57
2 July 1866

Argentan - flers
43
1 October 1866

Dreux - L'Aigle
60
5 November 1866

L'Aigle - Conches
40
6 November 1866

Laval - Mayenne
20
23 April 1867

Saint-Pierre-du-Vauvray - Louviers
7
5 August 1867

L'Aigle - Surdon
41
23 August 1867

Glos-Montfort - Pont-Audemer
17
16 September 1867

Flers - Vire
29
4 October 1867

Pontoise - Gisors
40
9 November 1868

Flers - Berjou-Pont-d'Ouilly
19
28 December 1868

Gisors - Pont-de-l'Arche
54
15 July 1869

Gisors - Vernonnet
36
14 February 1870

Rouen - Le Petit-Quevilly
3
15 May 1870

Vernonnet - Vernon
2
3 July 1870

Vire - Granville
57
25 January 1872

Fougères - Saint-Brice-en-Coglès
18
10 May 1872

Louviers - Évreux
26
10 October 1872

Saint-Brice-en-Coglès - Moidrey
29
1 May 1873

Vernon - Pacy-sur-Eure
19
6 May 1873

Alençon - Condé-sur-Huisne
66
10 May 1873

Caen - Berjou-Pont-d'Ouilly
46
2 June 1873

Lisieux - Orbec
18
2 August 1873

Chartres - Dreux
42
22 December 1873

Neufchâtel-en-Bray - Dieppe
34
15 April 1874

Falaise - Berjou-Pont-d'Ouilly
28
18 May 1874

Flers - Domfront
21
21 September 1874

Domfront - Mayenne
38
15 August 1875

Louviers - Caudebec-lès-Elbeuf
18
14 January 1876

Caudebec-lès-Elbeuf - Elbeuf
1
1 July 1876

Motteville - Clères
22
1 October 1878

Harfleur - Montivilliers
5
30 December 1878

Saint-Lô - Coutances
29
30 December 1878

Avranches - Dol-de-Bretagne
43
15 June 1879

Mézidon - Dives-sur-Mer
28
29 December 1879

Coutances - Lamballe
112
11 June 1880

Motteville - Cany
38
19 September 1880

Alençon - Pré-en-Pail
27
22 November 1880

Sainte-Gauburge - Gacé
17
3 January 1881

Mamers - Bellême
20
11 April 1881

Redon - Châteaubriant
45
26 May 1881

La Ferté-Macé - Couterne
15
26 May 1881

Pré-en-Pail - Domfront
41
20 June 1881

Bréauté-Beuzeville - Bolbec
5
20 June 1881

Barentin - Duclair
14
20 June 1881
Through Courbevoie
2
27 June 1881

Questembert - Ploërmel
34
9 October 1881

Gacé - Ticheville-Le Sap
13
16 October 1881

Bellême - Mortagne
18
23 October 1881

Pré-en-Pail - La Selle-en-Luitré
86
13 November 1881

Plouaret - Lannion
16
22 November 1881

Échauffour - Bernay
46
28 December 1881

Châteaubriant - Vitré
98
28 December 1881

Mortagne-au-Perche - L'Aigle
37
29 December 1881

Mortagne-au-Perche - Sainte-Gauburge
35
24 July 1882

Auray - Quiberon
26
31 July 1882

Duclair - Caudebec-en-Caux
15
31 July 1882

Bolbec - Lillebonne
9
4 September 1882

Achères - Versailles-Matelots (GC)
23
18 September 1882

La Trinité-de-Réville - Orbec
13
18 September 1882

Dives - Beuzeval (Houlgate)
2
18 September 1882

Trouville-Deauville - Villers-sur-Mer
9
8 January 1883

Gare de Rouen Rue Verte - Elbeuf
23
30 June 1883
Through Rouen (Gare de Rouen Saint-Sever - Gare de Rouen Rue Verte)
2
22 October 1883

Pontorson - Mont-Saint-Michel
1
27 January 1884

Sottevast - Coutances
72
6 April 1884

Ploërmel - La Brohinière
41
6 April 1884

Miniac - La Gouesnière
12
5 May 1884

Saint-Cloud - L'Etang-la-Ville
15
26 May 1884

Sablé - Sillé-le-Guillaume
44
20 July 1884

Beuzeval (Houlgate) - Villers-sur-Mer
9
18 May 1885

Châteaubriant - Saint-Nazaire
72
18 May 1885

Saint-Mars-la-Jaille - Nantes
49
22 August 1885

Eu - Dieppe
37
27 July 1886

Verneuil-sur-Avre - Damville
28
22 August 1886

Caen - Aunay-Saint-Georges
32
18 April 1887

Saint-Brieuc - Légué
6
10 July 1887

Dinan - Dinard
18
21 August 1887

Dreux - Maintenon
25
18 December 1887

Mortain - Vire
30
20 December 1887

Saint-Aubin-du-Vieil-Évreux - Évreux
7
2 January 1888

Évreux - Le Neubourg
24
1 July 1888

Le Neubourg - Glos-Montfort
24
1 July 1888

Saint-Aubin-du-Vieil-Évreux - Damville
20
2 December 1888

Pouancé - Laval
58
1 May 1889

Javel - Puteaux
12
8 June 1889

Pont-Audemer - Quetteville
16
16 June 1889

Pontaubault - Mortain-Le Neufbourg
39
11 July 1889

Saint-Georges-Motel - Prey
24
11 November 1889

Verneuil-sur-Avre- La Loupe
39
1 June 1891

Aunay-Saint-Georges - Vire
40
3 April 1892

Auneau - Maintenon
25
3 April 1892

Saint-Lô - Guilberville
25
1 June 1892

Argenteuil - Mantes
52
12 November 1893

Domfront - Romagny
27
8 July 1894

Carentan - La Haye-du-Puits
22
8 July 1894

Fougères - Saint-Hilaire-du-Harcouët
36
22 June 1895

Les Ifs - Étretat
15
31 May 1896

Saint-Pierre-du-Vauvray - Les Andelys
17
26 July 1896

La Brohinière - Dinan
38
9 August 1896

Châteaubriant - Messac
41
14 August 1896

Rolleville - Montivilliers
6
24 December 1896

Rolleville - Les Ifs
22
20 February 1898

Dieppe - Saint-Vaast-Bosville
37
12 April 1900

Courcelles-Levallois - Champ de Mars
4
12 April 1900

Champ de Mars - Invalides
4
30 August 1900

Épône - Plaisir-Grignon
18
25 October 1900

Cany - Fécamp
24
1 July 1901

Issy-les-Moulineaux - Meudon-Val-Fleury
4
19 August 1901

Blain - La Chapelle-sur-Erdre
29
31 May 1902

Meudon-Val-Fleury - Viroflay Rive Gauche
6
3 August 1902

Coutances - Regnéville-sur-Mer
8
5 April 1903

Messac - Ploërmel
51
13 July 1907

Charleval - Vascœuil
10


Architecture



A sense of identity


As with many other railway companies, the Ouest adopted its own architectural style. Stations in large cities such as Le Havre, Lisieux, Deauville and Paris are unique. More modest halts were graced with 'type' building, which are called 'type Ouest', the best-preserved examples can be found in Dives-sur-Mer and Houlgate.
According to the size of the town or village close to the proposed site for the station, a station of a certain size was built. There are three generic types of station buildings; the BV3, BV5 and BV7. BV stands for Bâtiment Voyageur (station building) and the number, the number of doors accessible. The larger the town, the larger the station building.


As well as stations, infrastructure was also in mind when saving money so the Ouest created a level crossing guard house template (see below).



Station photos




Locomotives




CF de l'État 2-2-2T No 12-010, formerly CF de l'Ouest No 0134. The locomotive was built in 1844.




Heilmann locomotive No. 8001



Heilmann locomotives



In 1893, Jean Jacques Heilmann [fr] built a steam-electric locomotive of Do Do wheel arrangement, which was trialled on the CF de l'Ouest. Named La Fusée Electrique (English: The Electric Rocket), it was successful enough that two larger locomotives were constructed in 1897. These were numbered 8001 and 8002. Although considered successful, the design was not proceeded with and all three locomotives were dismantled.




References





  1. ^ Joanne, Adolphe (1859). Atlas historique et statistique des chemins de fer français (in French). Paris: L. Hachette. pp. 21–22..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}


  2. ^ Direction Générale des Ponts et Chaussées et des Chemins de Fer (1869). Statistique centrale des chemins de fer. Chemins de fer français. Situation au 31 décembre 1869 (in French). Paris: Ministère des Travaux Publics. pp. 146–160.


  3. ^ History of Triel




Sources




  • (in French) Histoire du réseau ferroviaire français, 1996, Editions de l'Ormet / Imprimerie Bayeusienne Graphique.
    ISBN 2-906575-22-4


  • (in French) Le tour du Calvados en 80 cartes, 1996, Direction Départementale de l'Equipement (Calvados).


  • (in French) Paris et l'Île de France - Tome 1: Les réseaux Est, Nord et Saint-Lazare, 2002, Le Train. ISSN 1267-5008


  • (in French) Electrification des lignes Paris-Caen-Cherbourg et Paris-Trouville-Deauville, 1996, Conseil Régional de Basse Normandie (Rémy Desquesnes).



External links














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