16mm scale Rail Mounted Crane

The French narrow gauge rail-mounted crane is a fascinating and elaborate piece of engineering. Only special circumstances could have brought it into existence. Indeed, the story of this crane and the whole system of narrow gauge portable railways begins under special circumstances. The picture below shows a 16mm model of an ammunition crane, built from a Wrightscale kit. Photo courtesy MD Wright.

In the War of 1870-1, France suffered catastrophic defeat against Prussia. As a result, most German-speaking states united under William of Prussia and France was forced to cede territory in the east – the Lost Provinces. In the early 1880s, Prosper Péchot devised a system of portable military railways. His motive was to create transport for the French Army which would strike into the Lost Provinces and recover key cities such as Metz.

Backed by Paul Decauville, he struggled to persuade his superiors to adopt his innovative system. The diagram of a Péchot bogie (Type 1) shown below demonstrates the care and detail that went into every part of Péchot's designs. Diagram drawn by Malcolm Wright. In fact, between 1884 and 1886, the Navy was the Service which were most interested; thanks to Decauville and the Ministère de la Marine, several kilometres of portable track, and about a hundred special bogies were built. The Navy was particularly worried about Britain! The Army professed no real interest; they were going to depend on a line of modern earth-sheltered forts to keep out the enemy.

In 1886, the first of a new generation of ammunition was introduced – the high-explosive shell. The Army were foolish enough to demonstrate the value of their forts in front of the Free Press. Modern guns were lined up against Fort de Malmaison. The place was blown to smithereens in an afternoon; worse still, under the noses of newshounds.

Something had to be done!

Senior generals were still keen on their forts. It was clear from the exercise that the real problem was letting guns get too close. If a protective screen of subsidiary forts, defended in their turn by small batteries, defended in their turn by subsidiary batteries and so on ad infinitum, could be constructed, the enemy could be kept away.

These sub-fortifications had to be supplied efficiently. The Army realised it had just the system, the système Péchot.

Between 1886 and 1889, this was refined and expanded. At the Great Centenary Exhibition of 1889, the public were moved around on Decauville 60cm gauge railways. Péchot style locomotives were used and, displayed in pride of place, was a 64 tonne gun carried on Péchot bogies. By way of thanks, within a couple of years, Decauville was removed from his office in the Company he had built up and Péchot was virtually exiled in Castres. But that is another story.

Péchot was always considerate of his foot soldiers. He designed everything to be within the limits of what could be reasonably carried or pushed by a human being. On the other hand, his wagons were designed to carry loads almost unimaginable for portable track – artillery ammunition was getting bigger and angrier. Stations and loading areas were equipped with gantry cranes. Away from permanent installations, the Army and Marine depended on pulleys and winches mounted on sheer-legs. The French called this type of lifting gear the chèvre (literally goat). Colonel Péchot: Tracks to The Trenches has photos showing these sheerleg cranes in use between 1886 and 1890.Over the years, ordinance grew in bulk and mass, as the picture below shows.

As anyone knows, sheer-legs have their disadvantages, particularly in cramped spaces and when time is of the essence. Prosper Péchot wasn’t going to let his squaddies down. Two sorts of rail-mounted crane were devised. We have reason to believe that they were designed and built in the 1890s (the photographic record and studies by Jacques Pradayrol.)

One type was the grue Magnarde with a theoretical rating of six tonnes. This was basically a scaled-down version of a standard gauge rail-mounted crane. We can tell from the name that there was another hand as well as Péchot’s in the design. Grue is a crane with a movable jib, Magnarde the name of the officer which commissioned it. The grue Magnarde was a large device carried on four Péchot bogies, which required stabilisers when in use.

The other type was definitely more ‘Péchot’. This was a small crane suitable for single shells or, as we might say, pieces of heavy ordinance weighing over 30 kg. Mounted on a single Péchot bogie, its typical use was to handle large calibre shells and their propellant. They were needed when a supply wagon reached a gun battery and then again at the point of fire. Its official name was the grue a obus - crane for shells.

The crane was brought up by rail then positioned over the wagon. It picked up a shell in a scissor-grip. The load was balanced by a counter-weight that ran out on a parabolic track. The greater the load, the further out the counterweight travelled. The device was safe without a safety ratchet or brake. Thanks to the design of the bogie, the jib could be turned, if necessary through 360 degrees. The picture below shows a 16mm model made from a Wrightscale kit.

A 370mm gun, just one of the uses, would be supplied by Péchot track. A turntable was inserted in the track and the wagon would be diverted to a siding at right angles running alongside the gun. When firing a the available crane would pick up a shell, run along the back of the gun, swing around and release the shell on to a track which led up to the breech of the gun. The crane was then withdrawn. A painting by Henry Cheffer shows the crane in action.  Interestingly, Cheffer has omitted the system of track around the gun.

Wrightscale has produced a 16mm scale model kit for this, the ‘people’s’ rail-mounted crane. It is designed to be mounted on a Péchot bogie. The standard support provided by the bogie is a turntable, capable of turning through 360 degrees. The circular baseplate of the crane acts like the rotating top. To the baseplate are attached the jib supports. They in turn support the jib and the counterbalance rails.

With the cable rig in place, the lifting gear is connected to the counter-balance. The cable travels from the fixing point on the drum, three turns around the drum and then on to the second top pulley, up round the hook, over the top pulley, round the pulley  fixed to the rear of the counterbalance rails and finally is fixed to the back of the counter-balance itself.

A handle equipped with gears moves the drum. Thanks to the gears, no extraordinary effort is require in lifting a significant weight. Thanks to the counterweight arrangement, there is no danger of the weight suddenly falling. Thanks to the bogie, the crane can be pushed along easily. It has brakes, operated by screws; because of the protruding jib and counter-balance, the brakewheels, as used on the standard bogie, have been removed.

The colour varied. When originally used in the 19^th century, most military railways were painted ‘horizon blue’ – a sort of grey, as can be seen from hand-tinted postcards of the period. This is the colour of the 16mm models shown in the pictures above. During the Great War, the science of camouflage came into its own. Military equipment was more likely to be painted a khaki green, and perhaps decorated with splodges to further break up the outline. By now, colour printing was more widespread and there are a number of pictures of camouflaged material – the picture below, featuring a 370 mortar, as used in the First World War, shows the crane in new colours.Picture courstesy MD Wright.

The Péchot model crane has proved to be a popular product. It has a fascination – a charming little crane which finds a place on many sorts of layout. It can be installed line-side or the mobile version runs along the track.

Further, we all like a model which works. The bogie runs along the track, the crane turns on its pivot. Turn the little handle and the hook goes up while the counter balance runs out. The only disappointment is that we supply a hook rather than a scissors grip. We would be delighted if an enthusiast sent us a picture of a 16mm scale working scissors grip!

The grue a obus offers something else – a story. It is an old-fashioned story. It is how an officer spoke to decorated generals and the elite of French society but also cared for the lowly men who laboured under his command.

If you can, find out a copy of Dr Cénac’s ’60 centimetres for supplying the French Army during the 14-18 War’ (French language)

Sarah Wright ‘Colonel Péchot: Tracks to the Trenches’