Quick Facts
Biography
Paul Decauville (1846–1922) was a French engineer and businessman. He was also mayor of Evry-Petit Bourg and senator from Seine-et-Oise.
He is the inventor of a railway system that bears his name (Decauville). By extension, the name is associated with Decauville railway narrow track through the vast business acumen of its promoter. Paul's name is also associated with the towns of Corbeil-Essonnes and Evry, Essonne, on whose territories the company Decauville erected its factories, he directed until 1885.
He founded a construction company in 1910 to exploit the patents it had obtained. This company, Counter Tooling and compressed air equipment, survived until the late 1980s. Another of his companies, Emidecau, specializing in hydraulic presses, still exist.
In politics, Paul Decauville was mayor of Evry-Petit Bourg from 1881 to 1892. He was also Senator of Seine-et-Oise from 1890 to 1900, member of the Board of Customs, Secretary from 1897 to 1899. After leaving Paris, Paul Decauville was also a mayor of the town of Saint-Léger (Manche) time.
Other narrow gauge pioneers
- Abraham Fitzgibbon
- Carl Abraham Pihl
- Everard Calthrop
- Robert Fairlie
- Thomas Hall