The Chemin de fer du Cambrésis was a 120km (80miles) long metre gauge railway in the Nord and Aisne departments of France. There were four lines with Caudry at the centre.
The Cambrésis railway opened in 1881. It was a voies ferrées d'intérêt local system. From Caudry, lines ran to Cambrai in the north, Denain in the east, Catillon in the south, and St. Quentin Cambrésis in the west.
The first section of line to open was the 26km (16miles) section from Cambrai to Le Cateau in 1881, this was extended by 9km (06miles) to Catillon in 1886. In 1887, a 19km (12miles) branch from Caudry to Villers-Outréaux was opened, extended by 6km (04miles) to Le Catelet-Gouy in 1888. The 28km (17miles) line from Caudry to Denain opened in 1891. In 1892, the line was extended by 25km (16miles) from Le Catelet-Gouy to St. Quentin Cambrésis, with a final extension of 7km (04miles) to St. Quentin Nord opening in 1904. Caudry and St. Quentin are only 32km (20miles) apart, but the railway took a route that followed contours and avoided heavy engineering, thus lengthening the distance by train.[1]
The Germans destroyed the CF du Cambrésis' infrastructure when they retreated in 1918. The lines were rebuilt, with Caudry - Villers-Outréaux reopening in 1921 and Villers-Outréaux - Saint-Quentin-Cambrésis reopening in 1923.[2] St. Quentin Cambrésis - St. Jean reopened to freight only in 1923. The line west of St. Jean did not reopen after the war.[1]
In 1943, the CF du Cambrésis received three Corpet-Louvet 2-8-2T locomotives that had been destined for the Chemin de Fer Conakry-Niger in French Guinea. These locomotives were numbered 40, 41 and 42 in the CF du Cambrésis fleet. They were returned in 1947, and subsequently delivered to their intended customer.
Closure occurred in stages. The line between Cambrai and Awoingt closed in 1936. Passenger service ceased between Le Catelet-Gouy and St. Quentin in 1936.[1] Le Catelet-Gouy to St. Quentin Cambrésis closed in 1954, and the entire system except Caudry - Denain closed in 1955. Final closure occurred in 1960.
The main freight was coal from Denain. Agricultural produce and general merchandise was also carried.
The CF du Cambrésis had some four-wheeled Renault-Scémia railcars. These were only used on the lightest of trains.[7]