Old tram of Rheims

Horse slow trains (1872 - 1887)

In 1872, the municipality receives a proposal on behalf of Sieur De Lahaut, owner of several other networks, aiming at developing a network of tram on tire in the city. Considered to be too ambitious, this project is refused by the municipal council which will make the choice of a second project, is filed in and is quasi simultaneously carried by Sieur Jonathan Holden, local manufacturer, consistent in two diametrical lines of slow train. The Company of the Slow trains of Rheims, then the General Company of the Slow trains of Rheims, exploits as of and church, June these two lines Saint Thomas to the door God-Light, Cérès door to the door of Paris. These lines meet on the Royale place.

The network is exploited officially as from August. Success is such as a third line is inaugurated in April 1873, of the door Mars to the bridge of Fléchambault. The following year, it is cut down by its course between the Royale place and the door Mars due to double-employment with the first line.

In 1875, whereas the first line serves from now on the station, the municipal council makes the decision to modernize the network. The concession of the G.C.O finishes in July 1878 with the favor of the Company of the Trams of Rheims. The slow trains start to disappear, in spite of their success, in 1881, and they will not remain that on the section Royale places - carries God-Light until 1887.

Horse-drawn trams (1881 - 1901)

After the deliberation of the municipal council of July 1875, the public survey is launched in May 1876. The project of service road comprises four lines: around a circular Parks - Town hall - Royal Place - Cathedral - Station, the Faubourg lines of Laon - Station - Royal Place - Fléchambault Bridge, Faubourg Cérès - Royal Place - Bridge of Épernay, and Carries God-Light - Royal Place will irrigate the city.

The installation of this network, from which construction began in 1878, is long, because expropriations necessary are numerous; thus the network starts in June 1881, after various adventures relative in particular to dissensions concerning the central point of the network or the service road of common the peripherals. Thus, are inaugurated the sections North of the first and second lines, as well as the Western section of the third (however with a course in the slow train between the Theater and the Royale place, a few meters of line being still missing), exploited by Sieurs Belgian Sopers and Vercken.

The next month, it is with the tower of the Southern section of the first and second lines to be operational. Two years later, in 1883, the first line is re-studied, it doubles the second starting from the station to the Saint-Remi basilica. During this time work of completion of the third line starts finally, while the fourth remains always exploited in the slow train. The first of these two sections is delivered in March 1885 and the second in July 1887. It was time since the slow trains became increasingly unpopular.

The integral completion of the network, operation under the principle of the cutting, makes climb its annual frequentation to three million travellers for between 90.000 and 100.000 inhabitants.

In 1893, new modifications are made to the network in order to start again its attractivity. If the third line hardly changes, line 1 takes again the Faubourg route of Laon - Bridge of Fléchambault, the second Saint Thomas - Saint Remi and the fourth, two years later, is prolonged towards Clairmarais, at the same time as the cutting is abandoned.

Because of obligation carried to the owner to invest in all new technological advancement, this one must make electrify its network at the dawn of XXère century. The first horses “are reformed” since 1900, and their similar last disappear during the following year.

Electric trams (1900 - 1939)

The “beautiful Time”

In 1899, after study of three distinct projects, the future network is revealed, composed of 6 lines:

has : Cérès suburb - Royal Place - Haubette
B : Suburb of Laon - Station - Royal Place - God-Light - Bridge-Huon
C : Park - Theater - Holy-Anne
D : Clairmarais - Station - Suburb of Cernay
E : (circular) Neufchâtel - Station - Pont-Neuf
F : (circular) Station - South-eastern Boulevards - Pont-Neuf

The dealer engages, with the turning of this new century, to exploit, without monopoly, this network modernized until in… 1962! Thus work of replacement of the ways begins in October 1899, they will divide by place the streets with those of the all young people Railroads of the Suburbs of Rheims (C.B.R.).

The line has is inaugurated in June 1900, that is to say two years before the effective signature of the concession contract, then it is with the tower of the line B in October. Follows D and the Northern section of the E, in December, as for the line C it opens only in the month of March 1901. Working services are also set up, while the principle of tariffing in cutting is given in work, n the other hand of the installation of lit shelters, then later on heated, at the principal stops.

Work of the circular lines continues; the second segment of the E is open in March 1902, then the F in September 1904. One year later, the Northern branch of the E integrates the line C. In spite of several projects of extensions (antenna of the street of Courlancy, prolongations of the suburb of Laon to the cemetery of Neuvillette, of the Pommery boulevard to the line of the Company of the East, or Clairmarais to the bridge of Saint-Brice), the network remains unchanged to the war, with the day before of which its frequentation exceeds the ten million voyages for more than 120.000 inhabitants. The services are stopped until new order and part of the cars is evacuated.

“Mad years”

The network is, with leaving the conflict, completely destroyed and it is necessary to wait February 1920 so that one intends to speak again of the network of the trams, and of its repairing envisaged. March first, a provisional service Saint-Thomas - Saint-Remi is set up, under the index B, with oars of fortune. One week later it is with the tower of the line has between the bridge of Épernay and the Theater, while waiting for the extensions which will follow one another for one month in order to find the entirety of the line. Lastly, the provisional line B is it also extended twice from Saint-Remi to Holy-Anne. The working services are also of return. To November, the line D is completely given in service, while the vestiges of the circular lines E and F are, after reserves of the municipality, displaced.

In February 1923, the company receives finally its first four motor coaches given in state. In April, the section Parks - God-Light of old B is réouvert, as well as C, initially between Neufchâtel and the Station, then, in May, on its totality. In February 1925, D is extended to the Bridge of Saint-Brice. Eleven months later, in January 1926, a new line C (a) is brought into service between the street of Barbâtre (connection at the line C) and the entry of the garden city of the Rémois Hearth, is followed after six months of another antenna, D (a), between the Place of the Republic and the Knoeri Place.

Parallel to that, the alphabetical codes, curiously disappeared from the oars, are replaced by indices with figures according to the following correspondence: To = 1, B = 3 then 2, C = 2 then 3, D = 4, while the lines C (a) and D (a) are gathered under number 5. This one is brought into continuous service in July, and is prolonged until the granting of Bétheny.

In April 1931, at the end of negotiations which will have lasted nearly two years, line 3 (ex-C) is prolonged to the White House by using the ways of the C.B.R. starting from Holy-Anne. For that, the oars are tractor drawn by an engine of the company périurbaine. The alphabetical codes are also of return, but the users meanwhile learned how to indicate the lines by their termini. Other changes: introduction of a single class and the abandonment of differentiation between obligatory and optional stops.

The arrival of the buses and decline of the tram

In 1932, and after 3 years of reflection, the municipality makes the decision to acquire buses (standard Renault Y.P.A.C.). They circulate initially between the Law courts (Theater) and the cemetery of the Suburb of Laon, via the city of the Deposit. After three months, the line, with catastrophic profitability, is stopped. During this time, the agreement with the C.B.R. is broken, in spite of the success of this service serving the hospital in particular. To compensate for this nuisance, the buses take again service between the Station and the White House, by borrowing old sections of the tram line E of before 1914. This line carries number 1 then, at ends of harmonization, the letter F.

The year 1936 is that of the beginning of the decline, with an erosion of profitability and the frequentation; the services are reduced so much so that the services of the line E becomes completely irregular. The C.T.R. terminates its contract with the City on November 28th, 1938, and the trams disappear gradually from the lines D, C, E and B. Lastly, in November 1939, the line has stops. Whereas the Second world war approaches, the buses took possession of the city, the old oars of trams carrying out their retirement as barricades laid out against the invader.

Random links: