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• The three-axle wagons
  
• The two-axle wagons
  

The three-axle cars

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The entire original rolling stock roster (135 cars) was based on the standart three-axle underframe. This has been especially designed for the SGLM by the French "Compagnie de Fives-Lille". The three-axle design allows to reduce the mechanical stress, and to increase pay load. The end axles are said "radiant", i.e. mobiles in transverse mode (a few centimeters). These self steering axles ensure that the car remains strictly parallel to the track (or tangent on curve).

So, this system minimises the abrasion of wheel flanges and rail heads. The middle axle is not radiant, and without brakes (on the first sets). The two end axles are brake equipped (vacuum Smith-Hardy type brake). Some cars were equipped with a brakeman cabin.

The wheel base of these vehicules was very large (4 m).

The three main deliveries occured:

10 T Coal-wagons, gondolas and side-door vans (between 1888 and 1806)

15 T Coal-wagons and side-door vans (between 1908 and 1913)

10 T Coal-wagons and side-door vans (1932)

All were built and delivered successively by the following companies:

Cie de Fives-Lille (Givors plant- France)

Chantiers de La Buire (Lyon - France)

Compagnie Française de Matériel de Chemin de Fer (Maubeuge - France)

The highest number of cars in operation reached 535, mainly coal hopper. This was the most important rolling stock roster of all time French narrow gauge railroads. The roster progressively decreased. In 1960 scrapping began.

The two-axles cars

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	In 1961, the SGLM received from the RICHARD works (St Denis de l'Hôtel - Loiret - France) 72 two-axle center-flow hopper cars (total weight : 30 T). The wheel-base of these hoppers is of 4,45 m, and the total lenght is of 7,6 m. The coal was gravity unloaded through two hinge doors.
	Vacuum-brake equipped, with four brake shoes by axle, these hoppers were operating by consists of 13, forming unit trains. Some time after the end of coal transportation, around 20 of these hoppers were sold to the Madagascar Railways. The swiss BVZ railway (Brigg - Visp - Zermatt) bought five hoppers too. These were quite entierly re-built, and now in operation as ballast hoppers.

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