Merioneth Railway Society
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      • MM No. 1. October 1974
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    • Mercury Articles 7 - 10 >
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        • Festiniog & Blaenau Railway locomotives.
        • The weekend at Hassocks 7 - 9 January, 1977.
        • Quarry Workers Coach.
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        • ELECTRONICS AND 16mm
        • THE WATERMOOR LIGHT CLOSES
        • Redlake Revisited
        • Rubbish
        • PHOTOPAGE `NO. 2
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        • A Double Fairlie in 16mm scale
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        • Copyright & Credits Page
        • Les Tortillards
        • The Presidents Carriage
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        • Cerrobend Casting
        • A Double Fairlie in 16mm scale
    • Mercury Articles 11- 20 >
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        • Skip Wagons
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        • Victoria Amused Me
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        • Cerrobond Casting Part II
        • Coffee Pots III
        • Excelsior
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        • The Binnie File
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        • Trains by Emett
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        • Ashbury Contractors Van
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        • The Gentle Annie
        • Portable & Permanent Trackwork
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        • The Cherry Tree Brisk & Tile
        • A Chest of Drawers
        • The Planet 60HP Diesel
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        • Open Day Pictures
      • Mercury Issue 16 >
        • Portable Trackwork
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        • Bryant Switch
        • A Chest of Drawers
        • General Electric
        • The Ten Laws for Narrow Gauge Modellers
      • Mercury Issue 17 >
        • A Chest of Drawers
        • An Article for Cranks
        • Ffestiniog Gunpowder Vans
        • Ramblings on a Sunny Morning
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        • The Mostest Two Footers
        • Bagnall at Birmingham
        • Drawings From Issue 18
        • Lynton & Barnstable Album
        • Decauville Type KE Trailers
      • Mercury Issue 19 >
        • Hookers & Shunters.
        • 10hp Planet & Penrhyn carriage.
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In the heyday of secondary railways, many lines, particularly those likely to have tourist traffic in season, kept among their stock a few open or semi—open trailer coaches which they used for summer trains, or even to reinforce the normal trains in times of stress. Whatever the gauge or country, these were much the same, being of simple construction with no elaborate upholstery for the weather to spoil end usually with canvas side curtains for use in inclement weather.
 
A very popular type among those French minor lines which used the 60 cm gauge was the Decauville "Type SE", which is illustrated above. This was a 48 seater; it had wooden, slatted seats back—to—back on a metal—braced underframe, with a pillar handbrake at one end acting on one bogie only. It was unusual in having side curtains which were pulled horizontally instead of down from the roof, and had one odd feature in the Decauville Company's claim that there was room for eight standing passengers — presumably ranged at the ends!
 
Individual vehicles differed in minor details. One slightly more luxurious variant for second class passengers had boarded—in ends to the seats and three oil lamps on the roof, but all had the same running gear.
 
The type was first introduced at the Paris International Exhibition of 1889 and continued in production, virtually unchanged, until after the First World War. The drawings accompanying this article were taken from an engraving which appeared in the main Exhibition catalogue. Among the railways which used the "KE's" were the Royan steam tramway, the "Tramway de la Trinite a Etel", the Tramway de Rotheneuf and various branches of the Calvados system.

 
BELOW. Elegance on the "two foot". One of the Decauville—built Trinite a Etel saloons.

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All them, were near the coast end the benefits of the open cars were doubtless appreciated by their users. Even now the history of this design is not finished, for a new tour­ist railway built at the southern end of the Ile d' Oleron in Charente Inf. in the early 1960'a had Type KE coaches specifically mention­ed in the (successful) plan­ning application. The numer­ous preservation schemes all over this country might do well to consider something similar; after all, it is basically a flat wagon on very simple bogies - the same ones in fact that were used on the standard Decauville bogie wagons; and that is the kind of underframe that is likely to be available. The nearest that we have come thus far in this country is with the coaches on the Whipsnade & Umflosi Railway, which utilised ex-Bowaters Sittingbourne 2'6" gauge paper wagon underframes. On the standard gauge, the Torbay and Dartmouth Steam Railway came within an ace of building similar vehicles a couple of years ago when a kindly tramp unintentionally provided them with two burnt-out BR Mk. 1 coach underframes. Unfortunately, the traditionalist GWR lobby managed to block the scheme. It would have been fun in Greenway Tunnel (1/4 mile long, single bore, nice gradient!).
 
Dimensional Details;
Length ever roof pillars* 27' 11"
Height rail to roof:            8' 4"
Width over body:               5' 9"
Wheelbase (bogie):            3' 1"
 
* Exact length overall depended on the type of roof or awning used by indiv­idual railway companies.
 
Sources: 'Railway World', July 1961, page 236 and October 1962, page 353 ­ by kind permission of the Editor.


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  • Home
    • Introduction
  • About Us
    • In the beginning
    • Copyright notice
    • Acts of Parliament >
      • Original Act
      • Extension Acts
    • Contact
  • Mercury Reprints & Articles
    • Copyright Notice
    • Mercury Reprints 1 - 6 >
      • MM No. 1. October 1974
      • MM No. 2. May 1975
      • MM No. 3. December 1975
      • MM No. 4. Spring 1976
      • MM No. 5. June 1976
      • MM No. 6 Autumn 1976
    • Mercury Articles 7 - 10 >
      • Mercury Issue 7 >
        • Festiniog & Blaenau Railway locomotives.
        • The weekend at Hassocks 7 - 9 January, 1977.
        • Quarry Workers Coach.
      • Mercury Issue 8 >
        • ELECTRONICS AND 16mm
        • THE WATERMOOR LIGHT CLOSES
        • Redlake Revisited
        • Rubbish
        • PHOTOPAGE `NO. 2
      • Mercury Issue 9 >
        • A Double Fairlie in 16mm scale
      • Mercury Issue 10 >
        • Copyright & Credits Page
        • Les Tortillards
        • The Presidents Carriage
        • Coffeepots I
        • Cerrobend Casting
        • A Double Fairlie in 16mm scale
    • Mercury Articles 11- 20 >
      • Mercury Issue 11 >
        • Skip Wagons
        • Fiji
        • Port Class Pictorial
        • Hohenzollern
        • Coffeepots II
        • Victoria Amused Me
      • Mercury Issue 12 >
        • Cerrobond Casting Part II
        • Coffee Pots III
        • Excelsior
        • Side Tip Wagons
        • The Binnie File
        • Westcock Tramway
        • Drawings from Mercury 12
      • Mercury Issue 13 >
        • Trains by Emett
      • Mercury Issue 14 >
        • Ashbury Contractors Van
        • Corris
        • Flocking
        • Lady M
        • Lister Auto Truck
        • Ruston 16hp
        • Sauterelles
      • Mercury Issue 15 >
        • The Gentle Annie
        • Portable & Permanent Trackwork
        • The Boat
        • Trevellas Quarry
        • The Cherry Tree Brisk & Tile
        • A Chest of Drawers
        • The Planet 60HP Diesel
        • Excelsior The Facts
        • Railplane
        • The Finishing Touch
        • Open Day Pictures
      • Mercury Issue 16 >
        • Portable Trackwork
        • Permanent Trackwork
        • Bryant Switch
        • A Chest of Drawers
        • General Electric
        • The Ten Laws for Narrow Gauge Modellers
      • Mercury Issue 17 >
        • A Chest of Drawers
        • An Article for Cranks
        • Ffestiniog Gunpowder Vans
        • Ramblings on a Sunny Morning
      • Mercury Issue 18 >
        • The Mostest Two Footers
        • Bagnall at Birmingham
        • Drawings From Issue 18
        • Lynton & Barnstable Album
        • Decauville Type KE Trailers
      • Mercury Issue 19 >
        • Hookers & Shunters.
        • 10hp Planet & Penrhyn carriage.
  • Gallery
    • Drawings Register
    • Archive
    • Outings >
      • Mad Hatter's Tea Party - 2014
      • Statfold Barn - 2014
      • Apedale Gala Day - 2014
      • FR and WHR (Dave P) - Aug 2014
      • Statfold Barn - 2015
    • Models >
      • 7mm Narrow Gauge (Chris Holmes)
      • Clockwork Models
    • Members Open Days >
      • The Startops And Tringford Railway - 2014
      • Dave's July 2015
      • Dave's May 2016
      • Dave's December 2016
      • Dave's January 2017
      • Dave's July 2017
      • Graham's August 2017
      • Dave's July 2018
  • Technical
    • Scales and Gauges
    • Wheel & rail standards
    • Data sheet
    • Binnie Conversion chart
    • Pontifications
    • Muddling through with Desperate Dan
    • Mercury Drawings Index
    • Links
  • Modelling News
    • EPITAPH FOR A TRAIN SPOTTER
    • Dave P's Mogul
    • Sentinel double locomotive 6412 of 1926
    • Kerr Stuart geared locomotive 4412 of 1928
    • "Wilstone" O-16.5 layout
    • "Cei Ward" O-16.5 layout