See you at the 16mm Society AGM Peterborough April 9th

As you know, we love all things 2' or 60cm gauge. Malcolm is coming with 16mm bogie kits for  WD wagons and French Péchot system wagons. He will have examples of his WD Baldwin 4-6-0 live steam locomotive and best of all, you will be able to see progress on his latest batch.  (of Quarry Hunslets)

Wrightscale WD Baldwin 16mm model

Sarah will come with copies of  her biography of Colonel Péchot. If you are mean, you can browse the inspection copy, and come away with information about the man who changed history. If you already have a copy, please come anyway and record your reactions, and any new information. She will bring along her notebook and you'll find your views on tour blog in due course. If you haven't already got a copy of Colonel Péchot: Tracks To The Trenches, buy one at our special Show discount.

Colonel Pechot: Tracks To The Trenches Hardback, 259 pages, about 300 illustrations including drawings and contemporary photographs RRP £36.75 Discount at Show

What is the link between Malcolm's and Sarah's interest?
Malcolm was the first to be hooked. Survivors from the First World War ended up on small rural and industrial lines in Britain. Ancient rolling stock and locomotives could be found when we were young, holed up in Penryn, the Great Little Trains of Wales, Amberley or across the Channel at Froissy. These were tiny kingdoms of track, remote and romantic. How could a fellow resist?

The romance of 2' gauge Photo MD Wright

16mm quarry Hunslet model. Come to the Wrightscale stand at Peterborough and see how it has progressed since January!

Sarah' first reaction was: 'Why?' Why did an idea born on the Festiniog Railway in Wales get taken up in France? Why and how did 60cm gauge become so important? Who was Prosper Péchot, and how did he manage to persuade the entire French Army and Navy to adopt his Péchot System?  

The celebrated Péchot-Bourdon lococmotive. Photo courtesy of Raymond Duton

Why did all the combatants on the Western Front develop their own versions of 60cm field railways? Why did networks rivalling in scale the trans-siberian railway just all disappear?
What could she do but embark on a book! We hope that it helps to answer some of the questions you may have.

The real centenary of the Battle of the Somme

At Froissy, Somme, on 5th to 8th May 2016, there will be a commemoration of the centenary of the Battle of the Somme. Do come if you can. Wrightscale are going to be there, with a WW1 display and our book 'Colonel Péchot: Tracks To The Trenches'
The museum and preserved railway are Bray sur Somme on the D329. Full details are on the APPEVA website.
You will be asking two questions. Why was the Battle of The Somme important? Why are the French making their commemoration in May rather than July?
It is important to commemorate the battle, as so many British, Canadians, Australians, New Zealanders and people from other parts of the Empire died, not to forget the French and Germans. For the British, it was the beginning of a painful process of rethinking, in military and social terms. 
Thanks to the revolution in military transport, the First World War was not over by Christmas 1914. With 60cm portable light railways, millions could be sustained on the battlefield for years. As 1916 approached, the  Allies looked for a new battlefield toenable, they hoped the army of British volunteers to drive the Germans out of France. The area around the river Somme was chosen. On its way to Amiens and down to the sea, river and canal flowed through the Front. Verdun was under attck further south; the French wanted the battle sooner, the British later.  July 1st was chosen as a compromise, and that is the date we British remember.

This map dates from late July 16 showing the Front pushed east. On July 1st, Froissy was almost on the Front; the French managed to attack up the escarpment and take Dompierre. Map courtesy of Terry van Winkle

The French had been preparing the battleground since the previous year. By May of 1916, they had at least a dozen 60cm gauge railway systems, supplying their sector of the battlefield, south of the Somme. The British were to the north and along the valley of the Ancre, a tributary of the Somme.
The British had precisely one, taken over from the French. Their plan was to build conventional links - standard gauge railways and canals - and rely on motor transport in the mean time. One of the many lessons that the slaughter on the Somme was to teach them was ... to belatedly build their own WD narrow gauge system. This has since been celebrated in such events as the MRT 'Tracks To The Trenches' at Apedale Staffs in 2014 which pulled in a massive happy crowd. The Froissy event promises to be just as interesting.

This  0-6-0 locomotive in French military grey is of the pattern used in WW1 (not quite sure about the chimney!) Photographed by MD Wright at the Apedale Tracks to The Trenches event

This partly explains why, from the French point of view, the centenary should take place in the spring rather than the summer of 2016. In addition, France has chosen May 8th  to commemorate all the wars of the 20th century. It is a public holiday. In Britain, we just have the May Bank Holiday which wanders around the calendar between the 1st and 7th.

Also pictured at Apedale 2014, is this Brigadelok type 0-8-0 locomotive, also painted in authentic colours.  Yes, the buffer beams are red, but they were too low to be spotted by the enemy and the bright colour could just save the life of a soldier working on the line.

Thus, by French logic, we should be out there, remembering the Battle of the Somme at Froissy on 5th to 8th May. People wearing First World War uniforms have been invited, plus surviving locomotioves and rolling stock. Froissy was at the centre of the action, lying on the north/south boundary of the French and British sectors, and on the east/west divide of the Front itself. The Germans will be there too.

The British Simplex was one of the locotractors developed for use on the Front. THis was also photographed at Apedale by MD Wright

Take a train ride. It will be vastly more civilised than the journey the soldiers took. Engineering works such as teh tunnel were post-war additions. Wagon-loads had to be pushed up the slope by hand or pulled, one at a time, by crazy little petrol-motors, taking care not to damage the camouflage screens.  It all had to happen at night, when the enemy were least likely to see you. If there was a mishap and you were driven to profanities (all too common an occurrence) you were well advised to swear quietly. If the enemy couldn't see, he could still hear!
But enjoy the sun, the camaraderie, the very physical nature of the railway ride. Every contour is marked by a gasp, every bend by a little jolt. We are a hundred years away n time and a thousand years in spirit, but it is good to remember those distant people, almost all volunteers.

Colonel Péchot's children - lac de Rillé

The 60 cm gauge network at lac de Rillé (pronounced ree-ay) appears in my Péchot biography (page 206). Péchot himself never knew the network as it was established after the second world war, but it has some interesting preserved stock which would be very familiar to him.
An association of volunteers - AEFCM - was encouraged to build their railway by the side of the lake in the commune of Marcilly 37330 that is, in the department of Indre et Loire. Nearby are the famous châteaux of Chinon and Azay-le-Rideau, but more about those bygones below.

Steam train at lac de Rillé. Copyright Stevan Lira

Although the department does not have a history of 60cm railways comapred to the like of Loiret, Tarn and Calvados, the Powers That Be recognised the value of a preserved railway, recalling times when narrow gauge transport was vital to daily life.  The aims of the Asociation are interesting. They include the valuable ones of maintaining a railway, running steam engines and restoring old stock but also the aim of education. Their slogan is 'Welcome to train lovers and mechanical bodgers! We welcome and train youngsters from the age of 12'
In practice that means that volunteers work on the permanent way and maintain stock so that the public can take rides into the days of yore. They also preserve the know-how and techniques which belong to a by-gone era. This is practical history in action!
They have acquired locomotives and stock from various sources, industrial and military. Their oldest steam engine dates from 1913, the oldest wagon from 1890. The oldest wagons include ones of the Péchot design.

Péchot well-wagon at lac de Rillé. The Association plan to restore it to the original condition. Courtesy David Mumford

The first comment anyone makes when seeing a Péchot wagon is: 'Good-looking for its age! Eleventy plus years and still going strong!' (with apologies to Tolkien).
Manufacture of these wagons took place between 1889 and 1893. Péchot bogies had been first thought of in 1882 and  prototypes were at work in the mid 1880s.  My previous blog mentions them at Fontainebleau in 1886. Army documents refer to them in 1883-4.
To some, Péchot wagons were a short-lived and wonderful phenomenon. The French used them as transport in their frontier forts, pretty well unchanged in 1914. When the Germans noticed the advantages of French 60cm, they copied many aspects, but improved on them. Their standard bogie wagons were, if not exactly cheap and cheerful, much less sturdy. When trench warfare began in 1914, the French ordered bogie wagons in their THOUSANDS. Again, these were relatively light, compared with the Péchot design.
Where are all the THOUSANDS of French and German military bogie wagons? About as many remain as remain of the small number of Péchot originals. They are thus truly exceptional.

Péchot well-wagon photographed at Apedale just before their 2014 Tracks to the Trenches event. Courtesy James Hawkesworth

Above is another Péchot survivor photographed in England. This also looks good for its age.  Compared with the one at lac de Rillé, this one has been less modified.  In the Frenchexample, the well has been covered up. and the ends have been fitted with modern boards. The English example is, as designed, with flat ends and a proper well. The French called them dos d'âne/donkey back. The centre of gravity of a Péchot wagon was exceptionally low, the whole being very stable, even when loaded. When Jim took the picture, the wagon was still being used, loaded with lengths of track to make sidings for a commemorative gala. These lengths of track were supported over the well by the sleepers visible in the photo.
The wagon seen at Apedale was itself modified from the original. Pockets are visible along the side of the wagon; there are also ones along each end. These took stanchions which originally were intended as side barriers. They have gone. The wheels for operating the brakes have also gone.

Péchot wagon at Fermont, eastern France. The stanchions and one brake wheel have survived. Photo Author.

This Péchot wagon is nearer to the original. The stanchions are in place and one brake wheel survives. They were removable, which made the well-wagon a flexible load carrier. It could be completely open and loaded with dense and heavy items such as artillery shells. It could be given a flat base by covering over the well, and take a gun or vehicle, the brake wheel being removed to make loading easier.  Otherwise, ropes or more solid walls could be put around the stanchions and it could carry building materials. Stanchions could also be removed and put into rerailing pockets, acting as useful levers to lift a bogie which had sprung off the track.
This wagon stands outside the entrance to Fermont, one of the entrances to a Maginot line fortification. Placed there as a memorial, it is proof that this famous feature of the interwar years was being served by 60 cm railways.
Back to lac de Rillé ... It has much else of interest.

A Brigadelok 0-8-0 plus tender at lac de Rillé. Courtesy David Mumford

Once again, sun and steam have been photographed at lac de Rillé. This locomotive appears in 'Colonel Péchot: Tracks To The Trenches' In the book, the author located it at Marcilly, which is of course, the postal address. Attractive though the lake may be, I don't suppose that the French post office deliver many letters to the water! This fine locomotive, lovingly preserved, belonged to a class built for the German Army on the other side of No Man's Land in World War 1. They were a good design. While the French rested on their laurels after accepting the Péchot system, the Germans actively developed their 60cm gauge. This design was the fruit of years of experience, in Germany and German South West Africa. After 1918, the French eagerly accepted many of these locomotives as part of war reparations.
Come for a ride and enjoy what the area has to offer!
Interestingly, there is another link with the Péchot family. Prosper Péchot's late grandson used to spend his summers here in the Touraine. The author had the privilege of corresponding with him, and many of the letters had a local post mark. Raymond Péchot, observed that, as Scots, we had particular interest in le vieil Baugé a small town nearby.  During the Hundred Years' War, the Scots sided with the French against the English. We all know that at least one point. the French were holed up on the Loire.with the English in possession of northern France. The Scots weighed in to prevent an English incursion into the Touraine and helped to save their allies!