Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The loading dock of the former Gatteville-le-Phare station was built in 1942 by the occupied Germans. It was used to transport the sand extracted from the dune cordon of the Gatemare pond to Cherbourg, as part of the construction of the Atlantic Wall. This sand, transported by trucks and loaded into wagons, was essential for building coastal defences in the area. The dock, almost entirely preserved, offers a rare testimony of the logistical infrastructure set up by the Todt Organisation.

The Gatteville station, opened in 1911 by the Compagnie des chemins de fer de la Manche (CFM), was an important railway node on the Cherbourg-Barfleur line. It housed a depot with workshops and sheds for locomotive maintenance. In 1926, part of the activities of the depot were transferred to Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue, reducing its importance. During the war, the Germans reused the infrastructure for their logistical needs, before the station finally closed in 1950.

In December 2024, the loading dock was listed as one of eighteen remains of World War II. This ranking underlines its importance as a material witness to Normandy's military and rail history. Today, the dock remains a symbol of the transformations imposed by the German occupation and the resilience of local infrastructure after the war.

After the closure of the line in 1950, the railway station's passenger building was converted into a private home in 2007. The dock, for its part, is kept in its original state, with the exception of a small part at its end. It illustrates both Norman railway history and the lasting traces left by the global conflict in the territory.

External links