Brake/Guards Van

Were brake or guard van type cars used by French light railways (voies metriques)? If so, does anybody have any drawings or photos of such a car? Thanks.

Bill:

Tramways de L'Ain - but there were many others. Vivarais links, anybody?



Phil

Bill:

Tramways de L'Ain - but there were many others. Vivarais links, anybody?



Phil

Bill:

Tramways de L'Ain - but there were many others. Vivarais links, anybody?



Phil

Bill:

Tramways de L'Ain - but there were many others. Vivarais links, anybody?



Phil

the UK idea of a guards van where the guard, at the end of the train,could aid in applying the brakes in an emergency has a slightly different use in europe. the 'Chef de Train' was in charge of the train (as is/was the guard) but the vehicle he travelled in was often the next after the engine. He also had a function as guard of the post , ref the fourgons of vivarais (sorry no pics), which had a small desk, heater and safe as well as dog kennel and hand operated braking system.

mikey

Is this one of the fourgons to which you refer?

That's a fourgon conclusion isn't it?

(Sorry - love the tail-light!)

Bredebahn wrote:

That's a fourgon conclusion isn't it?

(Sorry - love the tail-light!)

Quite alright- I truly appreciate a good pun- and that's a good one.

'Tis very similar Bill but the dog kennel door appears to be missing. i'll have another look and see if iI can find a piccie in my files.

mikey

Not sure if this qualifies as one of those wagons, but I took this pic at WEMFAL last year. It looks as though there is some sort of dog kennel built in to it:

Here we go. You will see on this pic ,lifted from apocopa's site, that the door to the kennel is on the right lower corner;


copyright;Apocopa

Mikey

thats it clive. not a vivarais fourgon but it highlights the responsibilites of the chef de train!!

mikey

Pardon my ignorance, but what was the role of the dog? Or was the kennel used for conveying dogs belonging to passengers?

clive_t wrote:

Pardon my ignorance, but what was the role of the dog? Or was the kennel used for conveying dogs belonging to passengers?

I was wondering the same thing myself. If it was for passengers' pets, it raises an interesting question, i.e. why is it OK for one to have one's dog sitting at the table with them at a restaurant (and even eating off the table), but not OK for one's dog to accompany them on the train? Could the dog ride in the dining car with his owner?

Interesting subject.

The fourgon is not a brake or guards van as in the English sense although they often ran at the end of the train.

A fourgon is just...a van really. Hence it's use in motor vehicle terms a 2CV fourgon for example.

A fourgon was usually the only wagon that travelled all the way through from Paris on the Golden Arrow/Flèche d'Or carrying luggage, newspapers and some mail plus the odd box of stinky cheese and claret no doubt.

The dog kennel was used on some fourgons to carry dogs for hunting so I am told.
People in rural areas would often travel to hunt and these dogs were not welcome in the passenger vehicles.

For goods wagons with a brakeman there existed a 'vigie' which was a small outside lavvy shaped cabin perched on the end of a normal wagon.

Here's a link to a model one showing some nice interior detail.

Wagon +vigie

Interesting, Carl. The "vigie" wagon looks a bit like LGBs "Bremserhaus" beer wagons.

Interesting, indeed. I bet it got a bit 'testy' in the kennel bit if there was a bunch of hunting dogs being conveyed together