Crochat Explained

Crochat was a French railway equipment construction company founded in 1899 by Henry Crochat. It is best known for building locomotives and railcars with petrol-electric transmission.^[1]

History

Reference^[2]

• 1899 - Company founded by Henry Crochat
• 1908 to 1918 - Construction of 420 petrol-electric locomotives for le Ministère de la Guerre (Ministry of War) and a small number for other customers. See table below for details
• 1924 - Acquisition of patents by Decauville
• 1926 - Foundation of Société Auxiliaire d'Entreprise (SAE) by Henry Crochat
• 1928 - Company liquidated

Locomotive types

Petrol-electric locomotive types^[3] This is not a complete list.

Type	Weight	Axles	Gauge	Number built	Customer
14 L 4 60	14 tonnes	4	600 mm	200 5 10	le Ministère de la Guerre la Compagnie des Chemins de Fer du Maroc Oriental les chantiers de l'entreprise Collet, Rabat/Maroc
22 L 2 N	22 tonnes	2	1435 mm	130 38 2	le Ministère de la Guerre la Compagnie des Chemins de Fer du Nord la Compagnie du Gaz de Paris
44 L 4 N	44 tonnes	4	1435 mm	90 40	le Ministère de la Guerre la Compagnie des Chemins de Fer du Nord
?	?	6	500 mm	19	les Salins du Midi

Crochat and Colardeau

Henry Crochat obtained some patents jointly with Emmanuel Colardeau, e.g. patent US1416611.^[4] There is no evidence that Colardeau was involved in Crochat's railway business but he may have been involved, with Crochat, in the design of the Saint-Chamond (tank).

Equipment preserved

• Crochat AT1 petrol-electric railcar (1922) from Tramway de Pithiviers à Toury preserved at Musée des transports de Pithiviers
• Five Crochat 6-axle locomotives of 1918 (ex Salins du Midi) preserved at Chemin de fer touristique du Tarn. One of these is a historical monument
• Decauville-Crochat AT3 petrol-electric railcar (1926) preserved at Le p'tit train de Saint-Trojan^[5]
• Crochat standard gauge locomotive 44 L 4 N preserved at the Museum of Engineering in Angers (not on public view)

References

1. Web site: Locomotives Henry Crochat, Paris.
2. Web site: Locomotives Henry Crochat, Paris.
3. Web site: Locomotives Henry Crochat, Paris.
4. Web site: Espacenet - Original document.
5. Web site: Le P'tit Train de St Trojan.