The lively and historic town of Argentan is part of the region of Normandie. And if that brief description seems a little familiar to you, it may be because there are already several other mentions and a blog post about this beautiful little town. Want to catch up on that previous post? Just click the following link: Argentan
In the mid-nineteenth century, Argentan sat at a major junction of rail lines – the north-south route from Caen to Tours and the then-proposed east-west route between Granville and Paris. In 1851, Napoleon 3 oversaw the review and re-organisation of the 27 already existing rail companies in the west of the country. He merged these into 5 other larger elements to create the Compagnie de Chemin-de-la-fer de l’Ouest. The new organisations included Paris-St. Germain-en-Laye, Paris-Rouen, Rouen-Havre, Dieppe-Fécamp, Caen-Cherbourg and the creation of the Granville-Argentan-Paris connection in 1855.
The original station was constructed in the mid-1850s, with the first train arriving on February 1st, 1858. At that time the journey to Paris took about 10 hours. By 1860 that time had been reduced to 6.
In 1858, the depot attendant to the station had room for 3 locomotives. By 1870 that number had increased to 13 and, following subsequent expansions and extensions, the depot could house a maximum of 90 by 1935. By then, the new company Chemin-de-la-fer de l’Ouest had run into severe financial difficulties in 1908 and had been merged with the sister company serving the east of the country, and subsequently became part of the national network with the creation of SNCF on January 1st, 1938. In the 1970s, national management was reviewed, and the decentralisation to the regions began.
As I walk across town to the station, I wonder what I might find. I’m certain, having already seen photos of the devastation of the town as a result of the Normandy landings in 1944, that there must have been some damage. Nevertheless, I hold out hope that some vestige of the original station might still be here.
Argentan, like the rest of northern and western France, was occupied in 1940 and remained under German control until August 1944. The city had become a very important rail hub and therefore an essential target for the Allies. On August 15th and 16th, the American forces attempted to take the town and the rail hub. The enemy fought fiercely to maintain control. The Allies responded with relentless bombing of the town and the rail infrastructure. When the American infantry finally entered the town on August 20th, it was decimated. The station, depot, tracks, and rolling stock were completely destroyed. Argentan was part of the battle for the Falaise Pocket, and at the nearby museum you can see a film outlining the battle plans and the progress toward routing the enemy.
The building that is the station today is very different from the one that stood here in 1944, and in October 1895 when the travellers on the Granville-Paris express arrived here. There are old photos of the depot, the engines and the railway station which was very much in keeping with the style of building in the mid-nineteenth century. What we see today is a clean-lined, modern building with all the facilities needed for 21st-century travel. Outside, travellers arriving for the first time are met with a wide-open space that has been appropriately planted, and an easy walk into the centre of this fabulous little town.
There will be more from my journey following the Granville-Paris Express next month.
If you enjoyed this post, you can find the previous posts by clicking the links Granville part 1, Granville part 2, Vire, Flers, Briouze and my review of the book, The Paris Express, is Here
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