On returning from one of these expeditions in Africa, Dr. Balay and M. Mizon conceived the idea of applying to M. Decauville for advice as to whether the narrow-gauge line might not be profitably adapted for the expedition.  M. Decauville proposed to them to transport their boats without taking them to pieces, or unloading them, by placing them on two pivot trollies, in the same manner as the guns are transported in fortifications and in the field.  The first experiments were made at Petit-Bourg with a pleasure yacht.  The hull, weighing 4 tons, was placed on two gun trollies, and was moved about easily across country by means of a portable line of 20 in. gauge, with 14 lb. rails.  The length of the hull was about 45 ft., depth 6 ft. 7 in., and breadth of beam 8 ft. 2 in., that is to say, five times the width of the narrow-gauge, and notwithstanding all this the wheels never came off the line.  The sections of line were taken up and replaced as the boat advanced, and a speed of 1,100 yards per hour was attained.  Dr. Balay and M. Mizon declared that the result obtained exceeded by far their most sanguine hopes, because during their last voyage, the passage of the rapids had sometimes required a whole week for 1,100 yards (1 kilometer), and they considered themselves very lucky indeed if they could attain a speed of one kilometer per day.  The same narrow gauge system has since been three times adopted by African explorers, on which occasions it was found that the 20 in. line, with 9 lb. or 14 lb. rails, was the most suitable for scientific expeditions of this nature.

The trucks used are of the kind usually employed for military purposes, with wheels, axles, and pivot bearings of steel; on being dismounted the bodies of the two trucks form a chest, which is bolted together and contains the wheels, axles, and other accessories.  The total weight of the 135 yards of road used by Dr. Balay and M. Mizon during their first voyage was 2,900 lb., and the wagons weighed 5,000 lb.  Hence the expedition had to carry a supplementary weight of 31/2 tons; but at any given moment the material forming this burden became the means of transporting, in its turn, seven boats, representing a total weight of 20 tons.

It is impossible to enumerate in this paper all the various kinds of wagons and trucks suitable for the service of iron works, shipyards, mines, quarries, forests, and many other kinds of works; and we therefore limit ourselves to mentioning only a few instances which suffice to show that the narrow gauge can be applied to works of the most varied nature and under the most adverse circumstances possible.

It therefore only remains to mention the various accessories which have been invented for the purpose of completing the system.  They consist of off-railers, crossings, turntables, etc.