Chemin de Fer du Blanc-Argent
Encyclopedia
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The Chemin de Fer du Blanc-Argent (BA) is a gauge
Rail gauge
Track gauge or rail gauge is the distance between the inner sides of the heads of the two load bearing rails that make up a single railway line. Sixty percent of the world's railways use a standard gauge of . Wider gauges are called broad gauge; smaller gauges, narrow gauge. Break-of-gauge refers...
railway in the Centre region of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, part of which is still open to traffic, whilst another section is now operated as a heritage railway
Heritage railway
thumb|right|the Historical [[Khyber train safari|Khyber Railway]] goes through the [[Khyber Pass]], [[Pakistan]]A heritage railway , preserved railway , tourist railway , or tourist railroad is a railway that is run as a tourist attraction, in some cases by volunteers, and...
.
History
The BA was conceived as a standard gaugeStandard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
cross country route linking various lines of the Chemin de Fer de Paris à Orléans (PO). Although the scheme was abandoned, the PO built the line as a single track metre gauge railway, linking Argent with Le Blanc, and running through the departments of Loiret
Loiret
Loiret is a department in north-central FranceThe department is named after the river Loiret, a tributary of the Loire. The Loiret is located wholly within the department.- History :...
, Loir-et-Cher
Loir-et-Cher
Loir-et-Cher is a département in north-central France named after the rivers Loir and Cher.-History:Loir-et-Cher is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from parts of the former provinces of Orléanais and...
and Indre
Indre
Indre is a department in the center of France named after the river Indre. The inhabitants of the department are called Indriens.-History:Indre is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
.
The system had at total length of 191 kilometres (118.7 mi), with headquarters at Romorantin. The system opened in 1901 and remained intact until 1951 when the first closures took place. All traffic was steam hauled until the early 1930s, when Billard railcar
Railcar
A railcar, in British English and Australian English, is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a train consisting of a single coach , with a driver's cab at one or both ends. Some railways, e.g., the Great Western...
s were introduced to handle some of the passenger traffic. Steam locomotives were operated until the 1950s. In 1981, the Centre region and SNCF
SNCF
The SNCF , is France's national state-owned railway company. SNCF operates the country's national rail services, including the TGV, France's high-speed rail network...
agreed to rebuild the four Verney railcars, and built two new ones. The timetable was reorganised to give better connections with the SNCF
SNCF
The SNCF , is France's national state-owned railway company. SNCF operates the country's national rail services, including the TGV, France's high-speed rail network...
. The BA became part of TER in 1987. Freight traffic on the BA ended in 1989. The last regular freight ran in 1989.
Argent - Salbris
The section between Argent and Salbris closed to passengers in 1939. Argent - Clemont was the first to close completely, in 1951. Clémont - Salbris closed to freight in 1973Valençay - Luçay-le-Mâle
The section between Valençay and Luçay-le-Mâle closed in Oct. 2009 after a safety inspection. There is a replacement bus service.Luçay-le-Mâle - Buzançais
The section between Luçay-le-Mâle and Buzançais closed to passengers in 1980, freight lasting until 1989. It is this section which is used by the preservation society between Luçay-le-Mâle and Argy. The section Argy - Buzançais is rebuilt to standard gauge.Buzançais - Le Blanc
The section between Buzançais and Le Blanc closed to passengers in September 1953 and freight in December 1953.Steam locomotives
- 0-6-0T locomotives built by Blanc-Misseron.
- 0-6-0T locomotives built by Buffaud & Robatel.
- 2-4-0T locomotives built by Batignolles. Transferred from PO CorrèzePO CorrèzeThe PO Corrèze is a former meter-gauge railway in the Corrèze department in central France. The concession was granted to the Chemin de Fer de Paris à Orléans and constructed by the Batignolles company...
.
Railcars
- Four Billard railcars, introduced in the 1950s, ex CFD Charentes et Deux Sèvres.
- Four SCF Verney railcars, built 1950. Two more were transferred from the PO Corrèze in 1968.
- Two CFD railcars built 1984.
- X201-X206 De Dion-BoutonDe Dion-BoutonDe Dion-Bouton was a French automobile manufacturer and railcar manufacturer operating from 1883 to 1932. The company was founded by the Marquis Jules-Albert de Dion, Georges Bouton and his brother-in-law Charles Trépardoux....
OC2 railcars. Transferred from the Réseau BretonRéseau BretonThe Réseau Breton is a standard gauge, and former metre gauge railway in Finistère, France, with a few kilometres of line in Côtes du Nord, Ille-et-Vilaine and Morbihan. The hub of the system was Carhaix...
in 1967. Only X202 and X205 put in service, the rest were used as spares sources. X202 now preserved in Brittany. - X74501-X74505 CFD-Bagnères twin railcars, entered service in 2001.
Diesel locomotives
- 11-14 CFD 0-6-0 Diesel locomotives, built on the frames of steam locomotives. No. 12 now on the Chemin de Fer de la Baie de Somme, No. 13-14 still working on the BA.
Preservation
Part of the line between Lucay-le-Male and Buzançais has been preserved by the Société d'Animation du Blanc-Argent (SABA). The final section of line between Argy and Buzançais has been converted to standard gauge to serve a local agricultural industry so Argy is the southern terminus of the preserved part of the line.Preserved stock
- 11 Corpet-LouvetCorpet-LouvetCorpet-Louvet was a steam locomotive manufacturer based in Paris, France.-History:Founded in 1855 as Anjubault, based in the Avenue Phillippe-Auguste in Paris, the firm was taken over by Lucien Corpet in 1868. Corpet's daughter Marguerite married Lucien Louvet, the engineer of the Compagnie...
0-4-0T, ex enterprises Paul Frot. - X224 Verney railcar.
- X205 De Dion-Bouton OC2 railcar.
- X206 De Dion-Bouton OC2 railcar.
- 713 RenaultRenaultRenault S.A. is a French automaker producing cars, vans, and in the past, autorail vehicles, trucks, tractors, vans and also buses/coaches. Its alliance with Nissan makes it the world's third largest automaker...
DraisineDraisineA draisine primarily refers to a light auxiliary rail vehicle, driven by service personnel, equipped to transport crew and material necessary for the maintenance of railway infrastructure....
built 1930. - 208 Billard draisine built 1968.
- 56115 DeutzDeutz AGDeutz AG is an engine manufacturer, based in Cologne, Germany.-History:The company was founded by Nikolaus Otto, inventor of the four-stroke internal combustion engine, in 1864 as N. A...
4w diesel, ex Euskirchener Kreisbahn and mine-musée du BlégnyBlegnyBlegny is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Liège. On January 1, 2006 Blegny had a total population of 12,799. The total area is 26.07 km² which gives a population density of 491 inhabitants per km²....
, BelgiumBelgiumBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. - 56116 Deutz 4w diesel, details as 56115.
- BrookvilleBrookville Locomotive CompanyBrookville Equipment Corporation, based in Brookville, Pennsylvania, United States, manufactures railroad locomotives for industrial and light capacity switching needs. The company used to be known as Brookville Locomotive Company.-History:...
4w diesel, works number 3162.1945. Ex US Army. Reconstructed in 2002 with hedge flail - COMESSA 4w diesel, built 1935.
- 4 0-6-0 diesel built on chassis of a Couillet steam locomotive, works number 693/1884. Ex CF Indre-et-Loire Nord and CF Seine et Marne et Yonne.
- Various open wagons and vans. Passenger carriages are four wheeled, ex Swiss and also some converted from goods vans.