Trams in Avranches

Last updated

Electric tram in Avranches
Leprovost - AVRANCHES - La rue de la Constitution et Tramway.JPG
Electric tram in Rue de la Constitution
Technical
Line length2.7 km (1.7 mi)
Track gauge 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
Route map

Tramway d'Avranches en Guide Bleu Normandie de 1919 (retouchee).jpg

Contents

BSicon exSTR+r.svg
BSicon xKRZo.svg
BSicon STR+r.svg
BSicon exBHF.svg
BSicon STR.svg
Gare du Tram de Granville
BSicon exHST.svg
BSicon BHFl.svg
Avranches-Etat
Connections to Lison and Lamballe
BSicon uexmABZgl.svg
BSicon exSTRq.svg
BSicon uexABZl+l.svg
BSicon uexKBHFeq.svg
Malhoué
now Rue de la Liberté [2] [3] [4]
BSicon uexHST.svg
Bourg-l’Evêque
BSicon uexHST.svg
Hotel de Ville, [6]
Place Littré [7]
BSicon uexHST.svg
Rue Valhubert
BSicon uexHST.svg
Place Angot
BSicon uexHST.svg
Octroi du Centre
now Place Patton
BSicon uexSTR.svg
BSicon exKBHFa.svg
Avranches-Est
BSicon uexSTRl.svg
BSicon uexABZmgr.svg
BSicon exKSTRe.svg

The Tramway d'Avranches was a 2.7 kilometres (1.7 miles) long tramway system serving the coastal town of Avranches, France. [11]

Inaugurated in April 1907, the network consisted in a 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in) line stretching across the town centre. Traction was electric. The tram closed on 2 August 1914.

History

In December 1904, the Société française des tramways électriques, which had been awarded the concession for the steam operated Granville-Avranches-Sourdeval tramway, informed the municipality of Avranches of its intention to install an electric tramway between its railway station and town centre instead of the originally planned 1.7 kilometres (1.1 miles) long rack railway. [12] The energy was supplied by a power plant built by Mr Ravous, a building contractor from Granville, and located near the Avranches station. It consisted of steam boilers, an engine room and an accumulator room.

The tramway was inaugurated by mayor Maurice Chevrel. [13] Twelve departures per day were offered to passengers, from 6:30 to 20:45.

Operations were suspende during the World War I and the electrical operation was subsequently not reinstated, but a horse-drawn carriage link then replaced it, until a bus link was introduced in September 1939.

Avranches-Est station, also known as the tramway station, was demolished around 1990. All that remains is the Place des Tramways. [14]

Stations

The tramway had initially seven and later nine stations, as follows:

It had been originally planned that the terminus of the line in the town would be located at the terminal station of the Avranches–Saint-James tramway, using its track between the Octroi du Centre (now Place Patton) and the station. The track and the switch connecting the two lines had been laid, but a fault in the switch had caused an accident in March 1907, when the Avranches to Saint-James tramway ran onto the track of the electric tramway towards the station, causing the derailment of a car at the end of the train. [18] As the Société des chemins de fer de la Manche operating the electric line and the Compagnie des tramways normands operating the tramway from Avranches to Saint-James were initially unable to agree on how to operate the section together, the electric line ran initially only to Octroi du Centre.

The tramway at the Avranches-Etat station Tramway d'Avranches a la gare.jpg
The tramway at the Avranches-État station

During 1909, part of the services were extended from Avranches-État station to the Gare du Tram de Granville (also known as Gare de Chemins de fer de la Manche). They just stopped at the Gare de l'Etat to pick-up passengers. [6] By October 1909, the line was extended from Octroi du Centre to the Avranches–Saint-James tramway terminus. [19]

Connections

The electric tramway had the same gauge and was connected to the steam operated Granville-Avranches-Sourdeval tramway and Avranches–Saint-James tramway at either end of its line. [17] [14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ligne de Sceaux</span>

The Ligne de Sceaux was a railway line in France running from Paris, which initially linked the Place Denfert-Rochereau (then called the Place d'Enfer, in Paris, to the town of Sceaux.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arrondissement of Avranches</span> Arrondissement in Normandy, France

The arrondissement of Avranches is an arrondissement of France in the Manche department in the Normandy region. It has 134 communes. Its population is 134,724 (2016), and its area is 1,888.2 km2 (729.0 sq mi).

The Compagnie des chemins de fer de l'Ouest, often referred to simply as L'Ouest or Ouest, was an early French railway company which operated from the years 1855 through 1909.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tours station</span>

Tours station is a railway station serving the city of Tours, Indre-et-Loire department, western France. It is situated on the Paris–Bordeaux railway, the Tours–Saint-Nazaire railway, and the non-electrified Tours–Le Mans railway. The Gare de Tours is a terminus; most TGV trains only serve the nearby Gare de Saint-Pierre-des-Corps.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dijon-Porte-Neuve station</span>

Gare de Dijon-Porte-Neuve is a French train station located at Junot Avenue in Dijon. It is in the Côte-d'Or department, within France's Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region. Gare de Dijon-Porte-Neuve is the secondary station for the city of Dijon, with the primary station being Gare de Dijon-Ville. TER trains take six minutes to go from one station to the other, crossing the city. Gare de Dijon-Porte-Neuve is an SNCF train station, served by TER Bourgogne-Franche-Comté trains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dachstein station</span>

Dachstein station is a French railway station located on the Strasbourg–Saint-Dié railway. It is located in the communes of Dachstein and Molsheim, in departement Bas-Rhin, in northeastern France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duppigheim station</span>

Gare de Duppigheim is a French railway station located on the Strasbourg–Saint-Dié railway. It is located within the commune of Duppigheim, close to the village of Kolbsheim, in departement Bas-Rhin, in northeastern France. It serves the economic zone of the Bruche plains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vayrac station</span>

Vayrac station is a French closed train station on the ligne de Souillac à Viescamp-sous-Jallès, close to town in the Commune of Vayrac, in the departement of Lot, in the region of Occitanie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hantzbahn</span>

The Hantzbahn was a 25.7 km (16 mi) long narrow-gauge railway with a gauge of 600 mm from Saint-Blaise-la-Roche in Alsace over the Hantz Pass and beyond.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Condé-Granville tramway</span>

The Condé-Granville tramway was a 68 (42¼) long metre gauge railway from Granville to Avranches in the Manche department of the Normandy region, which operated from 1908 to 1935.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Granville-Avranches-Sourdeval tramway</span>

The Granville-Avranches-Sourdeval tramway was a 71 km (44 mi) long 1,000 mm gauge railway from Condé-sur-Vire via Granville to Avranches in the Manche department of the Normandy region, which operated from 1908 to 1935.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sedan–Corbion–Bouillon–Paliseul railway</span>

The Sedan–Corbion–Bouillon–Paliseul railway was a 44 kilometres (27 mi) long cross-border metre gauge railway in northeastern France and southwestern Belgium, commissioned in sections from 1890 and operated until 1933 and 1957/1960, respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asfeld-Montcornet railway</span>

The Asfeld-Montcornet railway was a 44 kilometres long, metre gauge railway in northeastern France, commissioned in 1909 and operated until 1957.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tremblois-lès-Rocroi–Petite-Chapelle railway</span>

The Tremblois-lès-Rocroi–Petite-Chapelle railway was a 17 kilometres long narrow gauge and later metre gauge railway in the north of France, the first section of which was put into service in 1895. It operated until 1950.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wasigny–Renneville/Berlise railway</span>

The Wasigny–Renneville/Berlise railway was a 25 kilometres long metre gauge railway in the north of France, which was commissioned in 1909 and operated until 1948.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wasigny–Mézières railway</span>

The Wasigny–Mézières railway was a 43 kilometres long narrow gauge and metre gauge railway line in the north of France, which was put into service in sections from 1897 and operated until 1948.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guignicourt–Rethel railway</span>

The Guignicourt–Rethel railway was a 35 kilometres long narrow gauge and metre gauge railway in the north of France, commissioned in 1904/05. Three sections were closed in 1940, 1947 and 1961, while the remainder was re-gauged in 1971 and operated as a standard gauge railway until 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amplepuis–Saint-Vincent-de-Reins railway</span> Former railway in France

The Amplepuis–Saint-Vincent-de-Reins railway was a 15 kilometres standard gauge railway in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region of France, which was operated by the Compagnie du chemin de fer d’intérêt local d’Amplepuis à Saint-Vincent-de-Reins (ASV) from 1907 to 1928.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avranches–Saint-James tramway</span> Railway line in France

The Avranches–Saint-James tramway was a 17 kilometres metre gauge railway on the English Channel in the Manche département in the Normandy region of France, which was put into service on 29 July 1901 and operated until 31 December 1933.

References

  1. Jean Randé and Francois Librini: Granville Avranches Sourdeval. In: Archéologie ferroviaire (v2) – Atlas des lignes de chemins de fer disparues.
  2. Jean Randé und Francois Librini: Tramway d’Avranches. In: Archéologie ferroviaire (v2) – Atlas des lignes de chemins de fer disparues.
  3. Tramway d’Avranches.
  4. Rue de la Liberté (Avranches).
  5. Rue du Général-de-Gaulle (Avranches).
  6. 1 2 3 Time table of Tramway d'Avranches, 24. Juli 1909.
  7. 1 2 Time table of Tramway d'Avranches, 17. April 1907.
  8. Jean Randé und Francois Librini: Avranches Saint-James. In: Archéologie ferroviaire (v2) – Atlas des lignes de chemins de fer disparues.
  9. Journal de la Manche et de la Basse-Normandie. Nr. 506, 24. Oktober 1908.
  10. Ligne ferroviaire Avranches-Saint-James.
  11. "Longueur approximative: 2.670 mètres." In: Annales des ponts et chaussées. Mémoires et documents relatifs à l'art des constructions et au service de l'ingénieur. Lois, arrêtés et autres actes concernant l'administration des ponts et chaussées. Personnel France. Conseil général des ponts et chaussées. 1 January 1906.
  12. "Avranches-Ouest à Avranches-Ville, longueur 1 700." In: Rapports et délibérations / Département de la Manche, Conseil général Manche. Conseil général. Auteur du texte, p. 114.
  13. L'Ouest-Éclair: journal quotidien d'informations, politique, littéraire, commercial. 23 August 1906.
  14. 1 2 Tramway d’Avranches.
  15. Rue de la Liberté (Avranches).
  16. Rue du Général-de-Gaulle (Avranches).
  17. 1 2 Jean Randé und Francois Librini: Tramway d’Avranches. In: Archéologie ferroviaire (v2) – Atlas des lignes de chemins de fer disparues.
  18. Avranches. - Déraillement. Journal de la Manche et de la Basse-Normandie, No 341, 27 March 1907, p. 5
  19. Time table of Tramway d'Avranches, 23 October 1909.

48°41′06″N1°21′22″W / 48.68511795501748°N 1.3561732073836121°W / 48.68511795501748; -1.3561732073836121 (Place du Tramway, Avranches)