Not among Péchot's babies

 Progress on the book is steady. The printer says that it will be ready for delivery 'in the week beginning November 24th' That probably means November 28th.

Jacket design by James Albon

It is hard to imagine the experience of the trenches, 1914-18. My grandfather wrote: 'We march up daily to work and it is rather like having the sea in front of you, that funny no-man's-land. One doesn't think of it as enemy country. It's just a kind of  "this far and no further" sort of place that one sees on the maps, almost wondering if it is for real. Of course you realise that you mustn't put your head up or march over the open in daylight but then again the impersonal feeling comes in and you accept it as a dispensation of Providence that this particular atmosphere should be full of bullets just as another is full of rain'

Over the period of the War, there was a significant change in British trench life. In the early stages of the Great War, the British were supposed to rely on the existing standard gauge and metre gauge railways to get them to within, say, 5 miles of the Front. The rest of the journey had to be achieved on foot, by horse or bicycle. My grandpa did acquire a bike. Provisions had to be lugged up by General Service wagons, pulled by teams of horses or mules, under cover of darkness on unmade roads which all seemed to share one characteristic - the ditch, invariably filled with freezing water.

Grand-pa and horse. Behind can be seen two General Service wagons

 'Top brass' considered trench railways a distractor, though they did sanction improvements to standard gauge lines.  Here and there, unofficial proprietory prefabricated rail was in use, often using material scrounged from the French. Early in 1916, the British took over a French Army sector. It had 'official' trench railways - three short 60cm lines linking the Front with the standard gauge network. Official eyes were half opened and 'Programme A' was born - mainly small wagons to be pushed by humans were supplied to run on 60cm gauge rail. During 1916. 'top brass' had more reason to look at the Péchot system proper. In the build-up to the Somme offensive, summer 1916, the attention of the British Establishment was focussed on shell production. The many problems of converting the peacetime economy and manufacturing of Britain began to be addressed but by July, it was clear that ammunition was not reaching the Front in sufficient quanities.  Eric Geddes, largely credited with solving the Munitions Crisis, was authorised to solve the crisis of Forward Transportation. The Directorate of Light Railways was formed and the seeds of the War Department Light Railways were sown. A thousand miles of track were ordered, and locomotives and wagons in proportion.
The British adopted many characteristics of the French, especially in the design of rail - though there were Bristish quirks. The gauge adopted was the French one, 60cm. The little push trucks 'Programme A' were rapidly superseded by 10 tonne bogie wagons which echoed the Péchot pattern.
One of the ways in which the British showed originality was in their Prime Movers. The four-wheeled petrol mechanical tractor built by the Motor Rail and Tramcar Company Ltd, better known as the Simplex, was completely British. In 1914, as the machines of war rumbled into action, Mr Abbott of the MR & TC  approached Lord Kitchener with his ideas. No doubt, he expected his design to be constructed to 2'6" (75cm) gauge which was then the British Army norm. Lord Kitchener himself dismissed him with 'This is not our way of working'

England doesn't need you! In 1914, Lord Kitchener turned down the offer of a rail tractor. Picture courtesy of the Moseley Railway Trust/Common Source

 It was a pity that the Army didn't look a little closer. Over the next couple of years, the French discovered the merits of internal combustion on the battlefield. A picturesque plume of steam during the day or glowing cinders at night were a delight for enemy gunners, less so for engine drivers, and thus petrol and later diesel rail tractors were used for forward working. In 1916, as the British began to adopt French ideas, the first order for a 20h.p. version of the Simplex was received - in 60cm gauge. By April, the prototypes were being field-tested. They were rugged and simple; by the end of the War, about 600 had been delivered. The two-cylinder petrol engine sat in the middle of the loco frame, the radiator at one end and the driver and controls at the other.  The seat faced sideways so that the driver could see both ways. What is more, the Dixon Abbott gearbox had three speeds in both directions. When a quick sharp exit was called for, and no turntable was available, the Simplex was your machine!

This 20h.p. Simplex tractor can be seen at the Welsh Highland Heriatge Centre. Photo courtesy of Steve Currin

 The War Office invited a design for a larger machine that could carry armour, useful for Front-line work. The MR & TC submitted a design which weighed six tonnes and had a 40h.p. engine which was immediately approved. Like the 20h.p. version, the driver sat sideways and the tractor could go equally fast in both directions. Unlike on the smaller one, the driver sat in the middle with the radiator to one side, the engine and transmission to the other. Three versions of the 'Tin Turtle' were produced: open; weather-protected; and the true tin turtle, the fully armoured model. 200 of these 40hp petrol tractors were delivered to the WDLR. There was another order for 112 but WJK Davies (Light Railways of the First World War) was not certain how many were delivered.

This bonny rake of 40 h.p. Simplexes were snapped at the Moseley Tracks to the Trenches event, September 2014. The middle one has the roof at the original height, the rear most has an altered roof  - taller and additionally supported.

The Simplex was truly British.What more can we say?

More of Péchot's little ones: various designs of rail

You have already heard about the Tracks to the trenches event at Apedale, Staffs, 12th-14th September this year.We had a lot of fun admiring the many locomotives and wagons running on 60cm track. Once they had been on different sides during the Great War, now they could all run together. A sleek German D-lok, a Péchot wagon and various khaki-clad British locomotives could all travel over the same track because they were all the same gauge.
Yet a few years before 1914, this would not have been possible.

Henschel 15968 built in 1918 It can usually be seen at Toddington, on the North Gloucestershire Railway. After the Great War it passed into civilian use but was bought by the preserved line in 1985. Photo M.D.Wright

Just before I get down to the level of the track, here, courtesy of the North Gloucestershire railway, is German No 1091 0-8-0T, D-lok for short. Don't offend her by remarking on her dazzling red buffer beams. We know just how she looked in the sad days of war. Admittedly, most people and machines of 1914-18 were all black, white or shades of grey - film and photographs of the period prove this. The Germans were different. Tell them that something is colour no 208 and they will immmediately see magenta, colour 106 and they will see burnt umber und so weiter.
I'm making this up, but the Germans did have precise colour charts - a sort of precursor of pantone. With these charts, the good people of the North Gloucs. Railway were therefore able to match the colours precisely and so are confident that the D-lok appeared just as shown.
It could all have turned out differently. The trench railways of the various nations could have run on varied gauges. Before 1888, the French military were seriously considering metre gauge for military supply. At the same time, they were already using Decauville 40/50cm gauge industrial railways in some of their military bases. 75cm track was available in Germany. The Austrians tended  to 70mm. For Germans and Austrians there  was plenty available as it was a commercial design, available from Arthur Koppel of Berlin. Zezula, in his contemporary account of narrow gauge in central Europe mentions Kopppel by name as a track supplier.

Although this rail is stamped Decauville, photographs of the time show that Koppel produced prefabricated rail to this pattern which was put to military use. It was sturdier than some. The sleepers are corrugated to give extra rigidity and project slightly beyond the rails themselves giving a wider and more stable  'footprint'. Courtesy JIm Hawkesworth

The British flirted with 15" gauge, but settled for a very small stock of 2'6" gauge. It is a complicated story, and I say more in "Colonel Péchot: Tracks to the Trenches"

The Book! Published December 2014

Someone changed this outlook and this exuberant variety of gauges. That person was Prosper Péchot. In 1882, he sent his Memorandum to the Ministry, explaining that a system based on 60cm gauge could answer the needs of an army. For the rest of his career, he struggled to convince his superiors that prefabricated 60cm track was the way to bring the battle to the enemy's doorstep. Carefully he designed the right sort of track to ensure that his railways could be quickly rolled out. He realised that there was a trade-off between axle load, durability and portability and so he settled on 9kg/metre rails, and eight sleepers per 5 metre length. The sleepers were of 'box-lid' shape, to prevent the substrate from slipping away. They extended well beyond the rails and were set closer together than commercial prefabricated track of the period.

Track to the Péchot design. It appears in catalogue 130, being marketed commercially by the Decauville company. Courtesy Jim Hawkesworth

 By 1887, a 60cm test track was set up at Toul, north-east France.  In 1888, there were serious trials - 60cm against metre gauge. We know that since 1886, the world's Press had been watching French military developments. In June 1888, the Ministry decided in favour of his system. 'Artillerie 88' ie the Péchot system became the one in official use.
Quite suddenly, the Prussians and in due course all the other Germans adopted 60cm gauge. We have to remember that the Press had been invited and reported on the French trials. Records mention 60cm gauge being used in Prussia for the first time in spring 1888. By 1889, the strange little locomotives that the Germans used had been superseded by locomotives that looked suspiciously French.
Péchot track was and wasn't copied. The Germans tended to use prefabricated track sparingly, moving on to rail conventionally laid on wooden sleepers as soon as possible. A reserve was kept for quick repairs, as can be seen in photographs of the period. Photographs taken on German lines in the Great War show that the 'corrugated-sleeper' commercial pattern was still sometimes used.
Yet although the commercial design was convenient the Germans copied the Péchot sleeper, though not completely. Fach and Krall in their book on Heeresfeldbahn - German military narrow gauge show the new standard in prefabricated railways. The military pattern was pressed, like the French ones. For ease of manufacture, there was an obvious 'fold' which did the job of gripping the substrate.

This metre length of  prefabricated track is as used by the German Army. Something very similar was used by the British. Although it is a much simpler pressing, the track exhibits most of the essentials oif the Péchot design. The sleepers extend well beyond the rail, they are set close together and have a box-lid shape. Courtesy MD Wright

The British came very late to 60cm gauge - officially not until 1916. Though they were suspicious of Johnny Foreigner's Metric system, they saw the merits of standardising. They mixed prefabricated and conventionally laid track - in the proportion 60%:40%. They had great difficulty imitating the beautiful pressed steel Péchot sleepers and so theirs also have a 'folded' look, with corners. The rail was in 20lb/yard weight (the nearest Imperial equivalent to 9kg/metre) though supplied in metric lengths! The prefabricated track had nine, rather than eight sleepers per 5 metre length - super for durability, but a greater weight to carry by squaddies labouring in battle conditions.  People such as the author of 'Colonel Péchot: Tracks to the Trenches' can easily confuse the German and British designs.

HUNSLETS, first batch progress

Hi, it has been a few weeks since the last workshop report.  I have not been sitting doing nothing. Three weeks have gone by on a trip abroad, to France to see some friends; last Monday we were sitting having lunch at the Brasserie de la Gare in Agen 29' in the sun,  tidying up a garden with three days of bonfires, draining down the water before winter and seeing family on the way out.  Now back in Aboyne, we walked into a howling gale and horizontal rain. So it was unpack and get into the chill of the workshop. 
The Hunslets, the first batch of eleven locos, are taking shape with all the frames erected.

Two of the eleven frame sets of the first batch.

 I decided to review how I was going to detail the frames which led me to revise the etch.  I produced a nicely detailed overlay for the steel frames that avoids the time and money wasted on fitting 32 small rivets  and 16 very expensive hex headed bolts. Heavy cylinder flanges were added to the design.

The part completed frame showing the new detailed overlay and the cylinder bolting flange.

The other platework parts in place.  The additional etch parts are the detailed buffer beam overlays.

The last photos show where most of the time has gone, making the couple of hundred parts that eleven locos need for their valve gear, cranks and wheels.

Some of the machined parts needed for the valve gear and chassis (15 parts x 12 locos!)

The final push before the chassis will run on air is to machine the cylinder covers, pistons, rods and spindles, oh yes and machine up the slide valves. (The wheels, axles and bearings are already made)
There is, though, a good chance this might get done next month.  The most recent annoyance is that 1 1/2" by 20 gauge copper pipe is no longer made.  Since all my small locos use this for their boiler shells I have just had to pay out £1600 to have some drawn for me.   As a friend said "at least if you die before you use it all the price of copper is always going up......" Seriously it is getting harder to source a lot of materials. I suppose this is the consequence of two trends, one being a further contraction of manufacturing in the UK and so many folk purchasing their models from China, the other the trend towards metrication.

About the book and other babies

After twenty years, many travels together and much care, our baby is ready to leave home!

My Book ready to print.

It is easy to explain how our interest started. To people interested in trains anyway, the Great Little trains of Wales appealed greatly. Long before it was rebuilt, we paced the line of the Welsh Highland Line.We had happy afternoons at Leighton Buzzard and sneaked into old quarries. In France, we visited the 'petit train de la Haute Somme' All of these, and many others already closed had chosen 60cm/two foot for their gauge. All of them exuded atmosphere, quaintness and just a touch of melancholy, a hint of ghosts flitting left-of field.

When we investigated, we found that every one of these lines was indeed haunted. Moelwyn in Wales, Lion in Leighton Buzzard, and a host of relics at the Somme railway were left over form the First World War.

Some of the relics found at Froissy, Haute Somme.

They were survivors - people, animals, machines had all perished during fifty months of carnage. Much has been written about soldiers and horses, tanks and aeroplanes but nothing much about the railways.

To explain why we kept on with our research, you have to understand that we are born contrarians. Once we suspected that something was buried, we had to start digging. More than once, we have been called terriers - with some justice! We found out that there was a forgotten network of 60cm railways, used by both the Allies and the Central Powers during 1914-18. If laid end-to-end it would have stretched nearly ten thousand kilometres. Unlike the usual prewar agricultural or industrial railway, this network could manage tonnages normally associated  with properly laid and engineered standard gauge lines.

Yet all was forgotten.

Only last night on television, a respected historian trod the familiar dodgy ground. We all know that in Europe in 1914, there was a network of railways, standard gauge and metre gauge, serving the towns and villages of the time. Suddenly, the Western Front was constructed in this landscape, with very little regard for the railway network; each side was obsessed with denying as much territory as possible to the other. This meant that the Front was, on average, a good 5 miles (8 kms) from the nearest railhead. 

BEF troops entrai in France. It was march or take the narrow gauge to the Front.

Later in the War, the average distance from railhead to front increased to around ten miles (16 km) to keep loading stations out of the range of enemy artillery. Every five miles of three hundred plus miles of Front needed per day, in quiet times, at least 800 tonnes of supplies (including fresh water) and in the period leading up to an offensive about 3,600 tonnes. It was exactly as if a great belt of new towns, with all their requirements, had been suddenly dumped on open country. The respected historian explained that some horses were imported from America to provide transport from standard gauge railway line to front line.

Let us do the arithmetic. The very best equine transport, the mule, can carry up to 72kg with any sort of endurance. The ponies etc drafted in were simply not capable of that. Four mules hitched to a General Service Wagon can transport up to 2 tonnes. Remember, the unmetalled roads of the time were less than optimum. Transport had to be at night, because they were tempting targets. Looking at my grand father’s war letters, we see that, what with the dark, the mud and other obstacles, they could only manage 1000 yards an hour. In other words, a 10 mile round trip would, without mishap take all night. 11,500 mules plus muleteers were required to transport the supplies needed for every 5 miles of Front on quiet days.  Productivity would rise if wagons were used, but one’s imagination would be rather stretched; 2000 wagons coming and going daily on a few unmade country roads. On the other side of No-Man’s Land was the equally ponderous German front, the equivalent of another string of new towns whose industry was destruction and whose needs were equally great. The Germans of course could not import American horses and mules.

Ah! other respected historians interpose. The technology of the lorry was just coming into its own. A Thorneycroft J-type lorry, for instance, could transport 3.5 tonnes of supplies and move rather faster than a mule. The Voie Sacrée, supplying Verdun, is then cited. Every night, a procession of French lorries made its way from the station of Bar-le-duc up to the beleaguered citadel. What has been forgotten is that, parallel to the road ran a military-built multiple track narrow gauge rail way.

Given these problems, you may now be wondering why the war of 1914-18 went on for so long. There had been wars before. Since the American Civil War half way through the 19^th century, conflict was either resolved in a few months, as in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1, or took the form of asymmetrical warfare, as in the Boer War 1899-1902. What the respected historians don’t seem to ask is how millions of combatants over hundreds of miles managed to exist in their trenches for four long years.

The difference was due to the life and work of Colonel Péchot. For years, without modern trucks, tanks and aircraft, supply in the field was limited. The standard gauge railway network was useful – up to a point. Vast armies could slug it out for a few weeks or a guerrilla force could harry a larger force for years. It was not possible for grand action on a long timescale, not until Péchot devised an efficient system of military 

A British built loco for the French Army.  A Kerr Stuart Joffre Class engine (Apedale- Tracks to the Trenches 2014)

transport. His superiors in the French Army grudgingly adopted it. The Germans copied his technology and made effective adaptations. By 1914, the Germans had almost perfected their system and the Allies, particularly the British, spent long years trying to catch up. More than one contemporary French general felt that victory needed a good narrow gauge network.

Our 'baby' tells you the story of this quiet man who had such a profound influence .

Forget War Horse meet Charlie

We must not forget that the Pechot military railway system did not only affect human beings. He designed it from the first to do away with animal haulage. This was humane. Horses and other beasts of burden were usually issued with one-way tickets into war zones.  There are stories of dead horses used as blankets during Napoleon's retreat from Moscow. A horse expiring in the siege of Stalingrad hardly touched the frozen earth before a dozen hungry citizens were carving off horse-meat. To these sad stories have to be added the tales of the Western Front. The British and French kept cavalry behind the lines, awaiting the moment of the break-through. At the beginning of the war, especially behind British lines, horse power was used to lug supplies to the newly dug trenches. Poor horses!
In November 1915, my grand father went to the Front near Le Touret with the 222nd Field Company RE . It was very wet and he was not comfortable. In a letter to my grandmother, 12th December, he described his cheerless morning. 'A Bosche sniper heard me splashing along in 3ft of water in the front trenches. Every time I fell into a hole and got extra wet, I cursed and he fired, and made very good shooting too. But I was quite safe as I was in a trench' A couple of days later he added 'None of us are very bright at present. I have my fourth cold since I came outy, Cassells has a West Coast liver, Stevens is seedy and the Little Man (their Major) sits and mopes all day long'

Here is Charlie, looking wary, which is perhaps not surprising. Behind him, a bit out of focus, are the wagons used by the British Army up until mid 1916 to transport supplies up to the trenches, often under the most miserable conditions. Courtesy Jackson family

 At least they were alive! His letter continued by describing their latest return to the Front. ' We had a very funny march back up here. We found three inches (7.5cm) of water over the road, and as all these roads have deep six foot (180 cm wide) ditches on either side, they are pretty difficult. If you drive a little out of the straight, you disappear, wagon and all. We dropped two wagons and a corporal into a ditch but pulled them all out again without mishap. Tomlinson's company which went through in the dark left half their wagons there all night. We have not drowned anybody yet, but a lot of drowned horses are lying about the roads. I don't suppose you can conceive what this countryside is like in parts. Where we were, 1000 yards an hour was jolly good going. and one had probably been down on one's nose three times before the hour was up. Of course that is by night. Walking 1000 yards by day is not encouraged. The Bosche is great believer in flares and sends one up every five minutes to keep his spirits up. At first one hates them but after a bit ones one comes to regard them as a blessing as one can get one's bearings by them'

Here are Charlie and my grandpa.

That winter, he met Charlie the horse. By March they had got to know each other quite well. He wrote to my grandmother. 'March 9th 1916. A beautiful frosty morning, and I am feeling quite jovial which is a new thing for me. I was very late up for the last two nights and am in late tonight as I had to go up to the 212th (the sister Company) to arrange about a working party. I had a slight disagreement with Charlie on the way. Charlie said that "by the rules of his Trade Union an eight hour day was long enough" Our argument lasted some considerable time but in the end I persuaded him.
You wouldn't know him these days. He has had his hair cut and is awfully pleased with himself'

This is an Artillerie 88 wagon as used by the French. It runs on bogies, so that the long overall length of the wagon does not matter. It has a well to keep the centre of gravity low and for ease of loading and unloading, the stanchions can be removed. Its capacity is 5.5 tonnes of compressed hay; animal forage was an important item of freight. Courtesy Raymond PECHOT

 Fortunately for all the Charlies, the British Front were about to learn what the French and Germans already knew. Even as man and horse were having their disagreement about the proper length for a working day, some of the British took over a section of front-line from the French 10th Army. This had three 60cm gauge railway lines which included Artillerie 88 rolling stock and the new lighter Decauville 1915 wagons. Even the 'top brass' realised that what the French had was useful. A railway line doesn't stray into a ditch, even in the dark or wet. A train requires a fraction of the man-power needed by a wagon train. From Charlie's point of view, such trains were of interest because a serious quota of all wagons carried forage. Best of all, for the few, the fortunate few, some mechanical tractors scrounged, stolen or improvised, and the horses could wait peacefully at the rear of the lines..

Tracks to the Trenches

We attended the Apedale 'Tracks to the Trenches' (12th-14th Seprtember) commemoration of transport to the front line of World War One.(organised with the Moseley Trust) It was a vibrant event. Everyone from primary school-children to venerable grand-parents were there, both enjoying a day out and trying to get to grips with the experiences of the foot soldiers. You can visit the event's own website.  www.ww1-event.org

Raising steam for the big day ahead

 The guidebook to the weekend was beautifully produced. The introduction 'The narrow gauge railway at war' explained the point of the event and all the locomotives and wagons assembled there. Briefly, logistics - the trail ensuring that timely supplies reach the battlefront - are not glamorous but they are vital. The front-line, especially on the Western side, depended on 60cm gauge railways, quickly laid and relaid to provide soldiers with weapons, ammunition, food and forage. 
Unfortunately, the article had relied overmuch on an article written elsewhere. Mistakes had crept in. For example, the Paris Exposition (Exhibition) for which the Eiffel Tower was built was in 1889 not 1878. The Germans adopted 600 mm gauge in 1888, not 1889 when their first locomotives were built. The story about Arthur Koppel visiting the Paris exhibition and having an epiphany under the Eiffel Tower is charming, but just a story. For many months, hard-nosed Prussian 'observers' had been watching the French Army. The future enemy was the source of their ideas!

Henschel"Brigadelok" of 1918. One survivor of arround 2500 built. The attractive wine red frames are prototypical, the red buffing beams are not but are necessary for safety.

The father of portable railways was a French artillery officer, Prosper Pechot. From the time of the Franco-Prussian war (1870-1) he had been agonising over the next war, and how to avoid another defeat for his country. Victory, he knew, would go to the side which was better supplied. The Decauville Company started marketing portable track, largely for agricultural purposes, from 1876. Pechot saw the potential for military applications. Genius is application as well as  inspiration. With much theorising and experimentation, he worked out that 60cm/600mm track with the right design of sleepers, bogies and mechanical haulage could carry supplies in the volume required by a serious assault.
Paul Decauville, Director of the Decauville Company was the first to encourage him, from 1880 onwards, building prototypes so that he could test his ideas. For various reasons, his superiors were suspicious. Early in 1886, the Navy realised the potential and Pechot helped them move 34 tonne guns up vertiginous slopes and remote beaches. The Press finally brought the Army round and Pechot's ideas were officially adopted in 1888.  Then the French Army took a long rest. By 1914, the initiative was with the Germans who had no less than 1000 kilometres of portable track, wagons and locomotives, all ready to support the Schlieffen Plan and invasion. France, then Britain and later the AEF had a lot of catching up to do.

Built for the French Army, a "Joffre" class 0-6-0 built by Kerr Stuart in Stoke

 

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Recent progress on the Hunslet

The start of the month saw the arrival of the laser cut steel frames, buffer beams and rods.  The design work for the etches was completed and sent to the etch company.  Two weeks later this arrived and was assembled.  It went together quite well and exactly fitted the laser cut frames.

The laser cut frames assembled and the test etch made up

At this stage I could have gone ahead but there were some problems.  The first was the tank wrapper had been etched at full thickness to allow for a riveted tank version to be built at some point.  However this was a mistake since it took too long to form the thick metal to conform to the tank frame even after annealing.  The other problem was the detailing of the steel frames was time consuming and expensive.  So, like the buffer beams I decided I would use an etched overlay for the frames that had all the detail on to exact scale.  I also took the opportunity to tweak the etches to simplify their assembly.
The last photo shows this revised etch. I will probably assemble the parts again just to check that everything fits before I go into serious production . If there is a market later on for an etched tank version the overlay can be a separate small etch.

The new etch showing the frame sides and half-thickness tank wrapper.

Time is not being wasted while waiting for these parts.  The Britan lathe is hard at work making bearings, steam fittings, and all the turned parts each engine will need.