Arpajonnais

The Arpajonnais was a secondary railroad on road connecting the Markets Paris to Arpajon, brought into service in 1893 - 1894 and removed in 1937.

The line had a 32 km length., including 10 in old the department of the Seine (more 3 km. for the junction of Marcoussis).

History

a keen demand existed to link the market-gardening region of the south of Paris to the capital.
In February 1891, a convention is signed between the State and SA Compagnie of the railroad on road of Paris with Arpajon .
construction will be spread out February 18th 1891 at May 1894 and the startup:

March 25th, 1893: carry from Orleans in Antony
August 15th, 1893: Antony - Longjumeau
May 1st, 1894: between Longjumeau and Arpajon with the junction of Montlhéry towards Marcoussis.
May 10th 1894: official unveiling
October 30th, 1894: prolongation of the line of the carries from Orleans to the Markets.
February 1895: the town of Paris prohibits traction vapor inside the city. One replaces them by a compressed-air traction, then in 1901 by an electric accumulator tractor.

1901 : electrification of the line of Paris with Antony.
In 1911, Arpajonnais is connected to the Railroad of Outer suburbs (CGB) which connect Étampes to Arpajon, allowing the transfer of the productions of vegetables of the south of the Seine-et-Oise towards the Markets.
In 1922, Company of railroad on road of Paris at Arpajon , in financial problems like unit of distributers district and urban, is repurchased by Departments of the Seine and of the Seine and Oise, which entrusts the exploitation of it to STCRP, which gives to the line N°88 for the electrified line, and preserves index Pa for the suburban part.
on November 17th, 1930, the STCRP puts at double track and electrifies the section of one kilometer connecting Pont of Antony to Petit Massy , which creates the line 88 (a). It also brings into service more comfortable electric trams, and rail-cars on the not electrified part.

The layout of the line

The line started in Porte of Orleans, where STCRP establishes a loop of reversal on the site of old the fortifs' and a junction towards the workshops of the line, the tram was installed on RN 20, the ways being established on each verge, until Borough-the-Queen. With, the line was with single track (duplicated in 1925 to Pont of Antony, where was realized at the same time a loop of reversal for the electric trams. Beyond Small-Massy and departmental limit between the Seine and Seine-et-Oise, the line left RN 20 and was installed in exclusive right of way to serve Wissous, Morangis, Chilly-Mazarin then the station of Chilly- Grande Belt and Longjumeau (with the crossing of the Yvette by a metallic bridge.

With Ballainvilliers, the line found the verge of the RN 20 and following it to the station of junction of Montlhéry from where the junction was detached towards Marcoussis. On the principal line, the way continued towards Linas in a trench in masonry. Beyond that, the line found an exclusive right of way until the terminus of Arpajon, with the entry of the borough.

After 1911, CGB prolonged the line towards their station and that of the PO (today Gare of Arpajon).

Material

traction is ensured by:

of the engines with vapor of the type Tubize of manufacture Belgian or produced in the subsidiary company of the North of France,
of the electric railcars tram type on the electrified portion,
of the engines with compressed air Mékarski and accumulators is used in Paris,

the park of cars includes/understands cars of the 3 classes and cars with imperial
Speed of exploitation: 12 km/h in the agglomerations, 20 km/h elsewhere,
Of the Door of Orleans with Antony, the line are electrified in 1901 per air wire,
the way is standard 1,44 m broad.

Exploitation

Schedules

The frequencies " voyageurs" railroad remained weak, as one can see it on the schedules of 1914.

Deposits and workshops

At the origin, the workshops of the company were established with Chilly-Mazarin where they were connected with the Ligne of Large Belt.

Handing-over had been built with Montlhéry, with the Bridge of Antony and Arpajon (with a small maintenance workshop).

The terminus traveller of Porte of Orleans had of a handing-over, a station with goods and a generator of compressed air for the Mékarski engines.

Since 1901, the workshops of Chilly-Mazarin were transferred to Porte from Orleans and a factory from electrical production remplaçat that from compressed air.

Economic importance

The goods traffic always had an important role for Arpajonnais, and the trains of service road of the Halles of Paris functioned of 1894 to 1936. With of Door of Orleans, terminus of Paris-Arpajon, the trains emprumptaient the ways of line TG of CGO until Châtelet, then the established ways street of the Markets, then, later, the Boulevard of Sébastopol and the Rue Réaumur.

In 1926, one brings to the Halles, 15.000 tons of Légume S. To 42 coaches arrive per night. In 1929, tonnage reaches 19.300 tons; in 1927, 24.400 tons, including 411 tons of strawberries.
a share of the goods traffic is also consisted of the paving stones extracted the careers of Seine-et-Oise.
But increasing circulation in Paris prevents more and more this type of transport, competed with by the collecting by trucks.
the goods traffic is authorized only night between 1:00 and 4:00 of the morning to the Markets. The terminus travellers being located at Odéon.
In return, from the manure and the sludge returns from the capital to be used as manure to the owners, which causes the summer, of the " désagréments" with the residents of the stations.

Notable accident

In August 1909, the last passenger train returning of Montlhéry had to stop with height of Longjumeau because a horse fallen and empêtré into its harnesses blocked the way. The stop was prolonged when the train of market-gardening food products arrived which fed the Markets at one o'clock in the morning.

The shock was inevitable; one counted 12 dead and 40 wounded. It will be told that the driver of the market-gardening train was so much " ému" that the station master of Marcoussis had wanted to prevent it from going up on the engine…

End of the exploitation

the abandonment of the lines of tram serving the center of Paris will involve the suppression of the service goods towards the Markets on December 31st, 1933.

October 5th 1936: end of the exploitation between:

Antony and Longjumeau;
Marcoussis and Montlhéry
and of any service goods

January 25th 1937: Exploitation of line STCRP 88 by buses, and end of the railway exploitation.

rear the railway Club model making arpajonnais (CMFA)

Model making

Arpajonnais is reproduced on the HOm scale by association railway Club model making arpajonnais (CMFA). Its first panels were presented in 1995, for the centenary of Arpajonnais, and it work regularly is increased and exposed in living rooms model makers.

See too

STCRP

External bonds

page on Arpajonnais of the official site of the town of Montlhéry
page on Arpajonnais of association ADETTE 91

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