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The Froissy Dompierre Light Railway (french: Chemin de fer Froissy-Dompierre, CFCD) is a narrow gauge light railway running from
Froissy Froissy () is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. On November 25, 1968, the village was the site of a fire at a home for disabled children that killed 14 boys and girls ranging in age from 10 to 14 years of age.
(a hamlet of La Neuville-lès-Bray) to
Dompierre-Becquincourt Dompierre-Becquincourt () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography The commune is situated on the D71 road, some east of Amiens. Population Gallery File:Dompierre-Becquincourt Cem 2011 02.jpg, F ...
, through Cappy, in the
Somme __NOTOC__ Somme or The Somme may refer to: Places *Somme (department), a department of France *Somme, Queensland, Australia *Canal de la Somme, a canal in France *Somme (river), a river in France Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Somme'' (book), a ...
department,
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 ...
. It is run as a
heritage railway A heritage railway or heritage railroad (US usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) i ...
by APPEVA (''Association Picarde pour la Préservation et l'Entretien des Véhicules Anciens'') and is also known as ''P'tit Train de la Haute Somme''. It is the last survivor of the narrow gauge trench railways of the
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 ...
battlefields.


History

In 1915, the
French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...
built a railway along the
Somme Canal The Canal de la Somme is a canal in northern France. Its total length is 156.4 km with 25 locks, from the English Channel at Saint-Valery-sur-Somme, Saint-Valéry-sur-Somme to the Canal de Saint-Quentin at Saint-Simon, Aisne, Saint-Simon. H ...
between Péronne and Froissy. Between 1916 and 1918 the railway was at the Allied front line, and transporting 1,500 tonnes of materials daily. At Froissy, the
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 ...
Réseau Albert The Réseau Albert was a set of railway lines in France from 1889–1955, part of the ''Chemins de fer départementaux de la Somme''. There were four lines in the Réseau Albert system:- Albert - Doullens, Albert - Ham, Fricourt - Montdidier ...
connected with the CFCD. After the war, the railway was used in assisting with the reconstruction and also to bring food into the villages it served. New lines were laid including a zig-zag to reach the Santerre Plateau. The line was by this time being used for the transportation of
sugar beet A sugar beet is a plant whose root contains a high concentration of sucrose and which is grown commercially for sugar production. In plant breeding, it is known as the Altissima cultivar group of the common beet (''Beta vulgaris''). Together wi ...
to the sugar refinery in Dompierre. In 1927, a further deviation was built to avoid Cappy Port, which required a tunnel. The line was extended to
Chaulnes Chaulnes () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography Chaulnes lies in the eastern part of the Somme department, 13 km north of Roye. The Chaulnes station is served by local trains between Am ...
in 1931. The line escaped
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
with little damage, although one train of molasses was attacked by a British aircraft. Two Coferna
diesel locomotive A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving whee ...
s were acquired in 1942, working alongside the Feldbahn
0-8-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles and no trailing wheels. Locomotives of this type are also referre ...
s. The
steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...
s were retired in 1946 and replaced by three
Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...
''loco-tracteurs''. The extensions to Péronne and Chaulnes had been removed by 1954 and increased competition from road traffic meant that the line ceased operations in 1972, by which time a preservation society had already started operations.


Preservation

APPEVA was formed in 1970 with the aim of preserving a narrow gauge railway as a working museum. The CFCD was a good location, being between
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
and
Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...
near
A1 motorway A1, A-1, A01 or A.1. may refer to: Education * A1, the Basic Language Certificate of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages * Language A1, the former name for "Language A: literature", one of the IB Group 1 subjects * A1, a ...
and close to
Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...
. APPEVA operated its first train in June 1971 between Cappy and Froissy, a distance of . By 1974 the line was operating as far as the top of the zig-zag and in 1976 the full line to Dompierre was opened to traffic, following improvements to the level crossing on the Santerre Plateau. In 1996, a new museum was opened in Froissy. The line starts from the Froissy terminus and follows the towpath along the Somme canal to the little station of Cappy. It then runs through a curved tunnel more than long followed by a bridge to cross the road from Cappy to Chuignes and a
zig zag A zigzag is a pattern made up of small corners at variable angles, though constant within the zigzag, tracing a path between two parallel lines; it can be described as both jagged and fairly regular. In geometry, this pattern is described as a ...
which was built after World War I to allow locomotives to climb the very steep slope towards the Santerre upland area. Once on the Santerre, the line runs on the side of the road to Dompierre. The terminus is located near the former sugar refinery of Dompierre. APPEVA owns or has in store 9
steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...
s, of which three are operating and some are considered as a ''
Monument historique ''Monument historique'' () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which National Heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a coll ...
'', and 24 diesel engines. The Froissy Dompierre Railway operates from April till the end of September, on Sundays and holidays, and every day of the week (except Monday) in July and August. The journey between the Froissy museum and the Dompierre terminus takes one hour. The CFCD is twinned with the
Leighton Buzzard Light Railway The Leighton Buzzard Light Railway (LBLR) is a light railway in Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire, England. It operates on narrow-gauge track and is just under long. The line was built after the First World War to serve sand quarries north of ...
. APPEVA publishes a monthly magazine in French devoted to narrow gauge railways and touristic railways (Standard, metric and narrow gauge) called ''Voie Étroite''.


Museum

The ''Musée des chemins de fer Militaires et Industriels'' (Military and Industrial Railways Museum), located near the line terminus in the hamlet of
Froissy Froissy () is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. On November 25, 1968, the village was the site of a fire at a home for disabled children that killed 14 boys and girls ranging in age from 10 to 14 years of age.
(French commune of La Neuville-lès-Bray), features a large collection of gauge railway material, steam engines, diesel engines and wagons, in an exhibition hall inaugurated in 1996. It also features an interesting Fairbanks-Morse speeder of 1917, used by the US Army.


Rolling stock


Steam locomotives


Diesel locomotives


Passenger stock

The CFCD operates a variety of open and closed passenger stock, most of which is built on chassis of freight vehicles dating from World War I.


Freight stock

The CFCD has a variety of goods wagons, both open and closed, that date from World War I, and also examples of wagons from the industrial use of the line after World War I.


Visiting locomotives

During the 40th anniversary of preservation of the line in 2011, three British-based locomotives visited, including
Darjeeling Himalayan Railway The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, also known as the DHR or the Toy Train, is a narrow-gauge, gauge railway that runs between New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling in the Indian state of West Bengal. Built between 1879 and 1881, it is about long. It c ...
DHR 778.


See also

*
Narrow gauge railway A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structur ...


References


External links


APPEVA, official web site




of a visit to the line {{Heritage railways in France
Froissy Froissy () is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. On November 25, 1968, the village was the site of a fire at a home for disabled children that killed 14 boys and girls ranging in age from 10 to 14 years of age.
Industrial railways Somme (department) 600 mm gauge railways in France Tourist attractions in Somme (department) Railway lines in Hauts-de-France Railways with Zig Zags