Jardin d'Acclimatation railway
The Jardin d'Acclimatation railway is a 500 mm (19 3⁄4 in) minimum gauge park railway, located in the Bois de Boulogne in Paris. It was opened in 1878 and connects Porte Maillot and the Jardin d'Acclimatation (zoological gardens), 800 meters apart. It was the first passenger-carrying narrow gauge railway of France.
The French narrow gauge railway pioneer Paul Decauville wanted to experiment with passenger transport using his portable railways, already successfully introduced in the industry and agriculture. For the 1878 Exposition Universelle he proposed to use his concept for the exhibition by a line Trocadéro - Military Academy passing the Champ-de-Mars, but permission was denied. He then offered the same facility at the Zoological Gardens, which was accepted. Two kilometers of railway line at the track gauge of 500 mm (19 3⁄4 in) was constructed for the transportation of the exhibit visitors over a circular track, having a maximum speed of 15 km/h. The line carried up to 3000 passengers on some Sundays and received a very positive response from the visitors. But for some unknown reason, the network was quickly removed.
In 1880, a new modified line connected the garden to the Porte Maillot. It was constructed by another company and operated as a streetcar line with American vehicles hauled by ponies. These gave way to tractors in 1910. By 1930, the line was shortened at each end. Since then, it continues to link Porte Maillot to the garden, without being altered significantly since then.
The line originally featured a terminus loop at Porte Maillot, crossing the road at the Porte de Sablons, and follows a route through the woods to the garden, which is traversed for its entire length. It was constructed in double track with each track following a slightly different alignment, with a total track length of five kilometers. Curves had a minimum radius of eight to fifteen meters .
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