St-Etienne-en-Caux is at the heart of the Tramways de Caux, a 60cm gauge railway system set in the Pays de Caux in eastern Normandy. The model, although freelance, is based on a number of northern French narrow gauge railways, in particular the Chemins de Fer (CF) du Calvados, the CF Froissy-Cappy-Dompierre, the Tramways de Pithiviers à Toury and the CF de la Baie de Somme. The station at St Etienne Quai is based on the harbour side station at St-Valery on the metre gauge CF de la Baie de Somme; the main station at St-Etienne is based on that at Le Crotoy, also on the CFBS. Although the Calvados system is closed, happily the other three lines are still with us and well worth a visit. The model is set in the late 1950s. The railway uses a variety of locomotives, including the original tramway ‘bi-cabines’ Decauville Mallets, ex-WW1 locomotives (English, French and German), and machines built by French and Belgian manufacturers such as Blanc-Misseron, Haine St-Pierre, Couillet and La Meuse.
