Chemin de Fer du Nord

1930 poster for cross-channel service of Chemin de Fer du Nord and the Southern Railway

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.

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]

The Nord network in 1853

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.