Decauville

Decauville (French: [dəkovil]) was a manufacturing company which was founded by Paul Decauville (1846–1922), a French pioneer in industrial railways. Decauville's major innovation was the use of ready-made sections of light, narrow gauge track fastened to steel sleepers; this track was portable and could be disassembled and transported very easily.

Decauville
Company typePrivate
IndustryTransport
FounderPaul Decauville
Defunct?
FateDefunct
Headquarters
Corbeil-Essonnes
,
France
Area served
Worldwide
ProductsRail tracks, sleepers, steam locomotives, coaches
Track gauge
By transport mode
  • Tram
  • Rapid transit
  • Miniature
  • Scale model
By size (list)
Minimum
  Minimum
  Fifteen inch 381 mm (15 in)
Narrow
 
  • 600 mm
  • 610 mm
  • 686 mm
  • (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
  • (2 ft)
  • (2 ft 3 in)
 
  • 750 mm
  • 760 mm
  • 762 mm
  • (2 ft 5+1⁄2 in)
  • (2 ft 5+15⁄16 in)
  • (2 ft 6 in)
 
  • 891 mm
  • 900 mm
  • 914 mm
  • 950 mm
  • (2 ft 11+3⁄32 in)
  • (2 ft 11+7⁄16 in)
  • (3 ft)
  • (3 ft1+13⁄32 in)
  Metre 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in)
  Three foot six inch 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
  Four foot 1,219 mm (4 ft)
  Four foot six inch 1,372 mm (4 ft 6 in)
  1432 mm 1,432 mm (4 ft 8+3⁄8 in)
  Standard 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Broad
 
  • Italian broad gauge
  • Dresden gauge
  • 1,445 mm
  • 1,450 mm
  • (4 ft 8+7⁄8 in)
  • (4 ft 9+3⁄32 in)
  Leipzig gauge 1,458 mm (4 ft 9+13⁄32 in)
  Toronto gauge 1,495 mm (4 ft 10+7⁄8 in)
 
  • 1,520 mm
  • 1,524 mm
  • (4 ft 11+27⁄32 in)
  • (5 ft)
 
  • 1,581 mm
  • 1,588 mm
  • 1,600 mm
  • (5 ft 2+1⁄4 in)
  • (5 ft 2+1⁄2 in)
  • (5 ft 3 in)
  Baltimore gauge 1,638 mm (5 ft 4+1⁄2 in)
 
  • 1,668 mm
  • 1,676 mm
  • (5 ft 5+21⁄32 in)
  • (5 ft 6 in)
  Six foot 1,829 mm (6 ft)
  Brunel 2,140 mm (7 ft 1⁄4 in)
Change of gauge
By location
  • North America
  • South America
  • Europe
  • Australia

The first Decauville railway used 400 mm (15+3⁄4 in) gauge; Decauville later refined his invention and switched to 500 mm (19+3⁄4 in) and 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in) gauge.

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