The Avranches–Saint-James tramway was a
metre gauge
Metre-gauge railways are narrow-gauge railways with track gauge of or 1 metre.
The metre gauge is used in around of tracks around the world. It was used by European colonial powers, such as the French, British and German Empires. In Europe, la ...
railway on the
English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
in the
Manche
Manche (, ) is a coastal French département in Normandy, on the English Channel, which is known as ''La Manche'', literally "the sleeve", in French. It had a population of 495,045 in 2019.[département
In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivity, territorial collectivities"), between the regions of France, admin ...]
in the
Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
of
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, which was put into service on 29 July 1901 and operated until 31 December 1933.
Right of way concession
President
Émile Loubet
Émile François Loubet (; 30 December 183820 December 1929) was the 45th Prime Minister of France from February to December 1892 and later President of France from 1899 to 1906.
Trained in law, he became mayor of Montélimar, where he was note ...
authorised on 8 June 1899 the construction of the
secondary railway line, to be operated by locomotives. Earlier, on 18 May 1899, the prefect of the Manche department had signed an agreement with the brothers Paul and Edmond Beldant and François Baërt, a public works contractor in Le Mans, to build and operate the line and, in particular, to transfer the tramway back when the concession expired.
The department had to finance the procurement of two locomotives, eight passenger wagons, two closed freight wagons and twelve open freight wagons, subject to being returned at the end of the concession, and provided the area of public roads of each category required for the substructure of the line and its ancillary facilities free of charge. A fixed-price agreement defined the rates for the infrastructure (studies, land and works), the superstructure (tracks, fixed material and stations) and the rolling stock.
''Journal officiel de la République française. Lois et décrets.''
S. 3857–3864.[''Ligne ferroviaire Avranches-Saint-James.''](_blank)
/ref>
According to the specifications, the tramway was to be run on the following public roads: Boulevard du Sud in Avranches, Chemin de Grande Communication No. 47, National Road No. 176 and Chemin de Grande Communication No. 12. The following stations or stops were to be established for passenger services: Avranches-Est (station), Saint-Martin-Saint-Quentin (stop), Pontaubault (station, connection to the western line), Bourg de Pontaubault (stop), Le Vey (stop), Juilley (station), Le Haut-de-la-Lande (stop), Saint-Senier-de-Beuvron (station), Saint-James (station).
The gauge was to be , the minimum number of journeys per day was fixed to three in each direction, a train could have no more than twelve carriages, be no longer than and its speed could be no more than .
Operation
The local railway was put into service by the Compagnie des Tramways Normands (TN) on 29 July 1901, the same day as the line from Pontorson
Pontorson () is a commune in the Manche department in north-western France. On 1 January 2016, the former communes of Macey and Vessey were merged into Pontorson.
Geography
Pontorson is situated about 10 kilometres from the Mont Saint-Michel, ...
to Mont-Saint-Michel
Mont-Saint-Michel (; Norman: ''Mont Saint Miché''; ) is a tidal island and mainland commune in Normandy, France.
The island lies approximately off the country's north-western coast, at the mouth of the Couesnon River near Avranches and is ...
.
In the aftermath of World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, the General Council of the Manche department questioned the future viability of the local railway in 1921 and took over the network in 1926. In 1928, the Compagnie des Tramways Normands (TN) handed over the operation to the Société des Chemins de Fer de la Manche (CFM).
The line was closed in 1933. In May 1938, it was declassified by the Conseil général de la Manche and had to be dismantled.
Route
The metre-gauge line started at Avranches-Est station on Boulevard de l'Est (now Place du Tramway on Boulevard de l' Amiral-Gauchet), where there was an interchange with the electric tramway between 1907 and 1914. The line was long, or including the electrically operated connecting line of the Tramway d'Avranches.
It ran via Saint-Martin-des-Champs, where the railway embankment is still visible in the valley of La Bourdonnière, via Saint-Quentin-sur-le-Homme in Le Grand-Chien to Pontaubault, where it crossed the Sélune on the stone bridge that still exists today. There, it was possible to change to Dol-de-Bretagne (Ille-et-Vilaine) or Saint-Lô or Saint-Hilaire-du-Harcouët.
After passing Juilley and Saint-Senier-de-Beuvron in La Croisette, the route ended in Saint-James.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:AvranchesSaintJamesTramway
Railway lines in Normandy
Railway lines opened in 1901
Railway lines closed in 1933