Chemin de Fer du Nord

Chemin de Fer du Nord (CF du Nord), often referred to simply as the Nord company, was a rail transport company created in September 1845, in Paris, France. It was owned by among others de Rothschild Frères of France, N M Rothschild & Sons of London, England, Hottinger, Laffitte and Blount.[1] Baron James de Rothschild served as the company's first President from its inception until his death in 1868.

Contents

History

A royal ordnance dated 10 September 1845 granted exploitation of the railway from Paris to Lille and Valenciennes, branch lines to Dunkirk and Calais and two new lines Creil - Saint-Quentin and Fampoux - Hazebrouck to the CF du Nord. From the Gare du Nord station the company built in Paris, the Paris–Lille railway line led north towards Belgium, first connecting in 1846 to Amiens, Douai and Lille, with a branch line from Douai to Valenciennes.[1] Lille and Valenciennes had already been connected to the Belgian railway network in 1842.[2] The new line made it possible to travel by train from Paris to Brussels and further.

In the following years, the network was rapidly expanded:[2]

Railway line Opened
Paris–Lille railway 1846–1859
Douai–Valenciennes railway 1846
Longueau–Boulogne railway 1847–1848
Creil–Jeumont railway 1847–1855
Lille–Fontinettes railway 1848–1849
Arras–Dunkirk railway 1848–1862
Amiens–Laon railway 1857–1867
Creil–Beauvais railway 1857
Hautmont–Mons railway 1858
Chemin de Fer de la Baie de Somme 1858
Busigny–Somain railway 1858
Paris–Hirson railway 1860–1871
Lens–Ostricourt railway 1860
Chantilly–Crépy-en-Valois railway 1862–1870
Lille–Tournai railway 1865
Boulogne–Calais railway 1867
Rouen–Amiens railway 1867
This transport-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Competition

The potential for expansion of the CF du Nord territory was limited by other companies: the Chemins de Fer de l'Ouest to its southwest, and the Chemins de fer de l'Est to its east. By opening a line to from Paris to Hirson via Soissons and Laon from 1860 to 1871, it protected its eastern border against CF de l'Est expansion. The concession for the line from Creil to Beauvais, owned by CF de l'Est predecessor Chemins de Fer des Ardennes, was exchanged for the Nord's concession for Laon–Reims in 1855.[1]

In 1937 the CF du Nord was nationalised, as were the other main railway companies, to become part of the Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Français (SNCF).

In the arts

In 1855 Baron Rothschild commissioned photographer Edouard Baldus to do a series of photographs of the various landmarks on the railway line between Boulogne-sur-Mer and Paris. The photographs were used to create an album for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert as a souvenir of their visit to France that year. The album can be seen today in the photographic collection in the Royal Archives at Windsor Castle.

Locomotives of the Nord

Wheel
arrangement		 Nord No. SNCF No. Manufacturer
Serial numbers		 Year
made		 Quantity
made		 Quantity
preserved		 Year(s)
withdrawn		 Comments
Tender locomotives
4-4-0 701 1
4-4-0 2.121 – 2.180 220 A 1 – 4 60
4-4-2 2.641 – 2.675 221 A 1 – 35 35
4-4-2 2.741 — Schneider 1905 1 — 1913 Water-tube boiler, 4-cylinder compound. Rebuilt to 4-6-0 nº 3.999
2-6-0 3.101 1887 1
2-6-0 3.1401 – 3.1402 130 B 1 Nord (La Chapelle) 1913–1914 2 Prototypes (compound); 3.1402 rebuilt as simple 3.1503
2-6-0 3.1501 – 3.1503 130 C 1 – 3 Nord (La Chapelle) 1913–1914 2 Prototypes (simple)
4-6-0 3.078 – 3.354 230 A 1 – 247 Hainaut
SFCM
Schneider
SFB
SACM
Fives-Lille
Batignolles
Cockerill
Énergie
Nord workshops		 1897–1913 277 4-cylinder compound
4-6-0 3.999 230 B 1 Nord (La Chapelle) 1913 1 Rebuilt from 4-4-2 prototype 2.741. 4-cylinder compound
4-6-0 3.513 – 3.662 230 D 1 – 149 150
4-6-2 3.1150 231 B 1 Fives-Lille 1920 (1) État type Pacific
4-6-2 3.1151 – 3.1170 231 A 1 – 20 20
4-6-2 3.1201 – 3.1248
3.1251 – 3.1290		 231 C 1 – 88 ANF Blanc-Misseron 1920–23, 1929, 88 1 "Superpacific"
4-6-2 3.1249 – 3.1250 231 D 1 – 2 ANF Blanc-Misseron 1929 2 "Superpacific"
4-6-2 3.1171 – 3.1190 231 E 1 – 20 20 Chapelon Pacific, ex-PO
4-6-2 3.1191 – 3.1198 231 E 21 – 28 8 Chapelon Pacific, new
4-6-2 3.1111 – 3.1130 231 E 29 – 48 20 Chapelon Pacific, new
4-6-4 3.1101 – 3.1102 2
0-8-0 4.001 – 4.075,
4.801 – 4.990		 040 A 1 – 2 265 108 rebuilt as tank locomotives 4.1801 – 4.1908 (1907–1913)
2-8-0 4.061 – 4.340 140 A 1 – 280 280 "Les Bœufs"
2-8-0 4.1301 – 4.1542 140 C 1 – 242 "General Pershing"
2-8-0 4.1551 – 4.1663 140 B 1 – 108 Canadian-built ex-ROD locomotives
2-8-2 4.1101 – 4.1150 141 A 1 – 50 Baldwin 1920 50 Identical to PLM 1013 – 1129
2-10-0 5.001 – 5.022
5.031 – 5.120		 150 A 1 – 112 112 34 rebuilt as SNCF 150 C 1 – 112
2-10-0 5.1201 – 5.1230 150 C 1 – 30 30
Tank locomotives
0-4-0T 2.001 – 2.034 020 TA 1 – ? 34
4-4-0T 2.311 – 2.380 220 TA 1 – 19 70 "Ravachol"
4-4-4T 2.231 – 2.305 222 TA 1 – 75 75 "Revolver"
0-6-0T 3.931 – 3.996 030 TA 1 – 65 66
4-6-4T 3.801 – 3.865 232 TA 1 – 65 SFCM
Nord (Hellemmes)		 1919–1914 65
4-6-4T 3.871 – 3.884 232 TB 1 – 14 Beyer, Peacock & Co. (14) ex-ROD locomotives
0-8-0T 4.1801 – 4.1908 040 TA 1 – 104 1907–1913 108
0-8-0T 4.446 – 4.460 040 TD 1 – 15 15
0-8-0T 4.2016 – 4.2095 040 TG 1 – 80 80
2-8-2T 4.1201 – 4.1202 141 TB 1 – 2 2 renumbered 4.1701 – 4.1702
2-8-2T 4.1201 – 4.1272 141 TC 1 – 72 72
0-10-0T 5.601 – 5.670 050 TD 1 – 70 SACM
Fives-Lille		 1930 70
2-10-2T 5.301 – 5.312 151 TA 1 – 12 Corpet-Louvet 1928–1930 12 Ex Grande Ceinture 5001–5012, acquired 1935
0-6-2+2-6-0T 6.121 – 6.168 031+130 TA 1 – 47 Nord workshops 1905–1911 48

References

  1. ^ a b c Joanne, Adolphe (1859) (in French). Atlas historique et statistique des chemins de fer français. Paris: L. Hachette. pp. 21–22. 
  2. ^ a b Direction Générale des Ponts et Chaussées et des Chemins de Fer (1869) (in French). Statistique centrale des chemins de fer. Chemins de fer français. Situation au 31 décembre 1869. Paris: Ministère des Travaux Publics. pp. 146–160. 
Major constituent railway companies of the Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Français
CF de l'Est • CF de l'État (CF de l'Ouest) • CF du Nord • CF PLM • PO-Midi (CF PO and CF du Midi)