Decauville Railway At Diégo Suarez on:
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The Diégo Suarez Decauville railway was a long gauge
The gauge Decauville railway was built in 1900 from Antsirane (now 
The route was designed by Captain Brunet to generally follow the terrain and thus to avoid large earthworks. At the Gorge of Antanamitara, a curve with a radius of only was needed. A deep cut and a bridge diagonally across the ravine had to be built. For track construction, Type No. 10 Decauville rails weighing 9.5 kg/m (19 lbs/yd) with 8 sleepers per long element. Due to delivery difficulties, rails with 7.5 kg/m (15 lbs/yd) were occasionally used in some sections, which had to be replaced at a later stage.
Construction of the initially long track was carried out by civilian entrepreneurs from Antsirane under the direction of engineer-captain Fénéon. Initially, the track was not ballasted, which excluded the use of a locomotive. The track was partly owned by the military administration and partly by private entities. Rails were laid onto the quays in the harbour, leading to various warehouses. The line was completed in 1904 to Sakaramy with a length of . The originally planned long extension to the military barracks at Camp d'Ambre in Joffreville at an altitude of about above sea level was never built. Digital Elevation Model data from Shuttle Radar Topography Mission.
The goods and passenger trains were initially pulled by oxen or large mules, respectively, and later in the lower part between the port and the Tunisian Fountain by steam locomotives. From 1904, animal traction was occasionally substituted by three steam locomotives. For the downhill gravity run, the cars were uncoupled and braked with two independently acting brakes.
A road was built between Sakaramy and Camp d'Ambre in 1908 instead of extending the narrow-gauge railway. Due to a lack of maintenance of the tracks and steam locomotives as well as due to supply problems of spare parts and coal, the steam operation was discontinued in 1908, but animal-drawn trains continued to be operated. In 1911, trains were still running on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. During the war between 1914 and 1918, there was only one round trip per week. At least sections of the route were still used in 1925 and 1936.
At least three 0-4-0T Decauville steam locomotives, including the 3.5 t N° 342/1901, were used on the track. One of the three Decauville locomotives, ''La Mignonne'', was presented the Exposition Universelle 1889 in Paris, before being exported to Madagascar. After its retirement, it was finally shipped to Asia.
Suzanne Reutt
Histoire de Madagascar – les Rues de Diego Suarez : le Quartier Militaire
10 July 2011 Suzanne Reutt
25 July 2012. Suzanne Reutt
25 July 2012. Rob Dickinson
/ref>
{{Coordinate , NS=-12.3805 , EW=49.3054 , type=landmark , region=MG
narrow gauge railways in Madagascar
Decauville
Tram transport
600 mm gauge railways
Former buildings and structures in Madagascar
Diana Region
Rail transport in Madagascar
military railway
The military use of railways derives from their ability to move troops or materiel rapidly and, less usually, on their use as a platform for military systems, like very large railroad guns and armoured trains, in their own right. Railways have ...
from Antsirane to Sakaramy
Sakaramy is a rural municipality in Madagascar. It belongs to the district of Antsiranana II, which is a part of Diana Region. The population of the municipality was estimated to be approximately 3400 in 2012.
It is situated between Antanamit ...
in Madagascar
Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...
.
Construction and route
The gauge Decauville railway was built in 1900 from Antsirane (now Antsiranana
Antsiranana ( mg, Antsiran̈ana ), named Diego-Suárez prior to 1975, is a city in the far north of Madagascar. Antsiranana is the capital of Diana Region. It had an estimated population of 115,015 in 2013.
History
The bay and city originally u ...
) to the Tunisian Fountain (''Fontaine Tunisienne'') at today's STAR factory. It started at the port and ran on the ''Rue Gouraud'' and the ''Boulevard Bazeilles'' up to the ''Cercle Français'' (now ''Suarez Art'') and up the ''Boulevard Militaire''. It turned into the ''Boulevard de Sakaramy'' at the height of ''Camp Lubert'', from where it led past the present town hall to ''l'Octroi'' and the Tunisian Fountain. At the end of 1900, it was extended from the Tunisian Fountain via Antanamitara and Andranomanitra to the junction of today's road to Joffreville
Joffreville or Ambohitra is a town and commune ( mg, kaominina) in Madagascar. It belongs to the district of Antsiranana II, which is a part of Diana Region. According to 2009 commune census the population of Joffreville was 3532.
Joffreville is ...
.
The route was designed by Captain Brunet to generally follow the terrain and thus to avoid large earthworks. At the Gorge of Antanamitara, a curve with a radius of only was needed. A deep cut and a bridge diagonally across the ravine had to be built. For track construction, Type No. 10 Decauville rails weighing 9.5 kg/m (19 lbs/yd) with 8 sleepers per long element. Due to delivery difficulties, rails with 7.5 kg/m (15 lbs/yd) were occasionally used in some sections, which had to be replaced at a later stage.
Construction of the initially long track was carried out by civilian entrepreneurs from Antsirane under the direction of engineer-captain Fénéon. Initially, the track was not ballasted, which excluded the use of a locomotive. The track was partly owned by the military administration and partly by private entities. Rails were laid onto the quays in the harbour, leading to various warehouses. The line was completed in 1904 to Sakaramy with a length of . The originally planned long extension to the military barracks at Camp d'Ambre in Joffreville at an altitude of about above sea level was never built. Digital Elevation Model data from Shuttle Radar Topography Mission.
Operation
The goods and passenger trains were initially pulled by oxen or large mules, respectively, and later in the lower part between the port and the Tunisian Fountain by steam locomotives. From 1904, animal traction was occasionally substituted by three steam locomotives. For the downhill gravity run, the cars were uncoupled and braked with two independently acting brakes.
A road was built between Sakaramy and Camp d'Ambre in 1908 instead of extending the narrow-gauge railway. Due to a lack of maintenance of the tracks and steam locomotives as well as due to supply problems of spare parts and coal, the steam operation was discontinued in 1908, but animal-drawn trains continued to be operated. In 1911, trains were still running on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. During the war between 1914 and 1918, there was only one round trip per week. At least sections of the route were still used in 1925 and 1936.
Locomotives
At least three 0-4-0T Decauville steam locomotives, including the 3.5 t N° 342/1901, were used on the track. One of the three Decauville locomotives, ''La Mignonne'', was presented the Exposition Universelle 1889 in Paris, before being exported to Madagascar. After its retirement, it was finally shipped to Asia.
References
Histoire de Madagascar – les Rues de Diego Suarez : le Quartier Militaire
10 July 2011 Suzanne Reutt
25 July 2012. Suzanne Reutt
25 July 2012. Rob Dickinson
/ref>