The Péchot System and Morocco

In 1882, the young Captain Péchot conceived a system of portable railways to be used for military transport. The aim of his original plan was to attack the German Empire, formed a mere eleven years previously. The photo shows Péchot on one of his locomotives, the Péchot-Bourdon 0-4-4-0

The ‘worked example’ he used of his system in action was a plan to recapture the fortified city of Metz, a particularly emotive site. Metz was in the ‘lost provinces’ which France had been obliged to hand over to Germany. At the core of his plan was a prefabricated railway of 60cm gauge. This narrow gauge system could be laid with minimal preparation yet could convey serious tonnage. It would be possible for an attacking army to reach a convenient railhead, and then transport guns, ammunition and other necessaries to a suitable artillery park. Then, he reasoned, they could make short work of enemy fortifications. When the system was officially adopted, six long years later, the French Army wanted it for defence, not for attack as Péchot had wanted. Outside France, beginning in 1888 the Péchot system was used for attack. The story which follows is more than somewhat short in political correctness, but it is history and the tale should be told. When the Navy wished to impress a point upon some uppity local administration, a ship would draw up beside their coral strand, unload a freighter with guns and a prefabricated railway and send them into action. They had four such ‘kits’. Short 60cm lines also existed in Tunisia between Sousse and Kairouan, and in Algeria to connect out-of-the-way places such as the Ras-el-ma-Redjem-Djemouch and Marhoum, and other small extensions running west of Kralfallah and Tiaret respectively (south of Oran. The most impressive 60cm gauge network was built in Morocco. The map below shows Morocco in relation to Algeria, which the French colonised bit by bit during the 19th century, and Spain.

The reasons for choosing a narrow guage rather than standard or metre gauge were political. Unlike most North African territories, throughout the 19th century, Morocco had eluded the armies, navies and diplomacy of European countries. Spain was an exception: it had territory between in the Tangiers area adjoining the Straights of Gibraltar. For most Moroccans transport depended on ships, donkeys and camels. In 1887, a Belgian took a small demonstration railway to the Sultan and a French trade mission tried again in 1901. In 1908, a 50cm line was built out of Casablanca in the direction of Rabat, for the ‘protection of Europeans’ who got involved in a power struggle between claimants to the throne. No doubt for purely disinterested motives, Germany’s Kaiser Wilhelm II insisted on putting a halt to nationalistic interference in a free and sovereign State. A treaty was solemnly signed in 1911, binding all Great Powers. None were to build a railway on Moroccan soil for carriage of people or goods. No-one thought to include temporary and portable railways in the ban. Almost immediately, the French government saw a reason to build one. In that very year, a new pretender to the throne emerged and sought to capture Fez, in the foothills of the Atlas. The French wanted to mount a rescue for their civilians, but as they were starting from Casablanca, this was going to be a stretch. They planned a railway which, they explained was for purely military and not economic reasons from the coast up to Fez. The Péchot system – non-permanent of course – fitted their parameters. The French created a base which they called Port Lyautey (modern name Knitra) and started on their railway.The photo below shows an 0-6-0 'Joffre' class locomotive going over a wadi. For a temporary railway, it uses quite impressive civil engineering!The photo is courtesy of Jim Hawkesworth.

The plan was poorly received, both by the Moroccans and by Kaiser Wilhelm. Even the name of the new port set alarm bells ringing. Colonel, later Marshall Lyautey, terror of southern Algeria, was not widely loved by the locals. In addition, the new line was hardly a temporary railway. German agents and local observers saw building supplies arriving at Casablanca by the boatload. To create a way through the foothills of the Atlas mountains, even for the lightest of track, serious civil engineering was needed. It was obvious that 60cm gauge would soon be replaced with standard. I think I heard you asking, so here is a more detailed picture of the 'Joffre' locomotive, courtesy of Armley Museum.It is one supplied by Kerr, Stuart Ltd to the French government in 1916; of the 70 plus which were supplied by various makers, a number worked not on the Western Front but in Morocco.

When things quietened down around Fez, it might have seemed that the railway was no longer needed. On the contrary, the French set about extending their railway system along the coast. By 1912, 3000 tonnes of track, 20 locomotives and 150 assorted items of rolling stock, not to mention vast amounts of engineering stores and pre-fabricated bridges had been unloaded at Casablanca. By December 1912, they had reached Fort Lyautey/Knitra and were ready to complete the route to Fez. In 1913, they were pushing north towards Tangiers and south to Marrakech. An existing 50cm railway going in the Marrakesh direction was re-gauged. Orders for material included the Decauville 0-6-0 T (some of these 'Joffre' class were rebadged Kerr Stuart productions) and the Weidknecht 4-6-0T as well as the 0-4-4-0 Péchot-Bourdon locomotive. By 1916, a version of the Baldwin 4-6-0T, also well-known on the Western Front appeared. To my mind, the most wondrous locomotive of all was the 16 tonne 06-60 articulated tender ‘Série 6000’ that was ordered in 1912 and delivered in 1914. Soon on order were carriages, one hundred guards’ vans and 1200 wagons of various sorts, including 50 water tankers.

The photo above, courtesy of Jim Hawkesworth, shows the Decauville Série 6000 ‘Marocaine.’ This is remembered with affection but alas no examples survive. Originally, 32 were ordered. It is certain that 6 were used – for a while - between Marnia (Maghnia) and Taourirt pulling such prestigious services as the Great North Express. Not all of the other 26 examples ever came to Morocco; some may have served on the Western Front. They were known as ‘improved articulated Mallet type’ - two sets of cylinders, the exhaust steam of the first cylinders feeding the second. Because they were articulated, they could cope with lightly engineered track. Because there were six sets of driving axles, track distortion was reduced and they could put a lot (relatively speaking) of power on the track. If anyone finds a Marocaine secreted in a forgotten engine shed, those in the know will rejoice. Ironically, soon after the First World War began, the French Army realised that the Motherland needed locomotives and rolling stock; exports were paused for a time. In another twist, ‘Fort Lyautey’ became Port Lyautey using vessels which could navigate Wadi/River Sebou to the settlement. The photo, courtesy of Raymond Duton, shows the Station Restaurant at Kenitra/Port Lyautey and, yes, that is a Decauville 6000 waiting for the passengers to finish their lunches!.

The railway was here to stay. With the First World War, the treaty banning railways was considered no longer valid. Any pretence at a military railway was dropped; anyway, they reasoned, the locals would like the new trains. On 27th March 1916, Colonel Bursaux, director of Moroccan railways, was given permission to proceed by General Lyautey himself. Ad hoc cuttings and embankments were to be replaced with bridges and viaducts. Stations were to be upgraded. The permanent was wide enough to take standard or metre gauge. Here is a picture of Lyautey when he was Minister of War in the French wartime Cabinet, a post which abruptly ended early in 1917. He insisted that no matter how senior the civilian politicians, they could not be trusted with military secrets. (Photo author's collection)

With one eye on military narrow gauge and one on commercial gauges, Lyautey authorised lines stretching east towards Maghnia in Algeria and south into the Sahara. When the Armistice was signed on 11th November 1918, engineering supplies could move in freely. By 1920, the phrase ‘Protectorate of Morocco’ was in use. The network, until then administered by the Army, was transferred, sort of, to the civilians. The Protectorate was responsible for finances. Engineers from the Paris-Lyon-Marseille PLM, a French Grande Ligne provided the technical administration. As for the Moroccans – they provided financial support – but of course they benefitted from improved transport. The end As new links were started, prefabricated 60cm track was lifted, replaced with standard gauge, and re-laid in progressively more remote areas.The photo below shows a Decauville 1st/2nd class 'mixed' 60cm gauge carriage which was used at first on the lines between important towns and then on secondary routes as narrow gauge was replaced and relaid elsewhere. Courtesy Jim Hawkesworth.

There was also metre gauge, especially adjoining he border with Algeria. The process began in 1923 and by 1937, the last significant 60cm gauge branch had been lifted. At its apogee the 60cm network extended to 1300km, over 800 miles. On the whole, transport was good for the Moroccans though if it had been designed primarily for civilian purposes, it would have been better. General, then Marshal, Lyautey, is not remembered with affection. He tried to do a ‘Franco’ and take his troops into metropolitan France to quell an overly socialist government. Marshal Pétain managed to dissuade him. Port Lyautey is now called Knitra. Books Colonel Péchot: Tracks to the Trenches, Sarah Wright Birse Press 2014 Les Chemins de Fer de la France D’outre Mer Vol 2, Bejui, Raynaud, Vergez-Larrouy 1992 La Régordane especially Chapter 4 Le Maroc Decauville: Ce nom qui fit le tour du monde, Roger Bailly 1989 Eds Amatteis especially Chapter 6