It is thought that European land trains developed from the lightweight narrow gauge trains built by Decauville and others between the wars. When the steam engines were replaced with petrol or diesel locos they were often given fake chimneys to look like steam trains. When the diesels also wore out, various French railways began to pull their railway coaches with farm tractors which were wide enough to straddle the narrow tracks. These tractors were also modified to look like steam locos. It was a small step to abandon the rails and build equivalent road coaches to emulate their Decauville ancestors.
![Royan.jpg](_Media/royan_med_hr.jpeg)
Decauville train
![Cap-Ferret.jpg](_Media/cap-ferret_med_hr.jpeg)
Steam-outline diesel
![Saint-Ambroix.jpg](_Media/saint-ambroix_med_hr.jpeg)
Steam-outline farm tractor running
astride the rails and pulling
railway coaches
Steam-outline farm tractor running on the road at Quend-Plage
Steam-outline farm tractor running on the road at Fort-Mahon