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Le Vésinet–Le Pecq station

railway station in Le Vésinet, France

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 18, 2026
Entity authorityQ2334089 ↗
Source-derived summary

Le Vésinet–Le Pecq is a railway station in Le Vésinet, France, built in 1972, on the A1 branch of the Paris Region RER commuter rail line A. It primarily serves the communities of Le Vésinet, Le Pecq, and southern Montesson in the western suburbs of Paris.

History

The station was first established as the western terminus of the Paris–Saint-Germain-en-Laye railway in 1837. The desired terminus at Saint-Germain-en-Laye was on a bluff at the far side of the Seine, at the end of a gradient that the steam locomotives of the time could not climb. Instead, an atmospheric railway was built across the Seine to Saint-Germain, which could accommodate the grade. The atmospheric railway operated beginning in 1847. In 1860, when more powerful steam locomotives were introduced that could reach Saint-Germain, the atmospheric line was removed. A new station was built in 1861, and the old station was abandoned. The buried site was exhumed during archaeological excavations in 2017. The time from Le Pecq to Paris dropped from a four-hour boat trip to 25-30 minutes by train. An 1858 accident attributed to faulty brakes on the atmospheric line killed three people, hastening the conversion to steam power.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Le Vésinet–Le Pecq station” as railway station in Le Vésinet, France. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Vésinet, Pecq and station.

Editorial reviewA valuable geographic starting point for tracing changing names, boundaries, uses and administrative responsibility. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1972, 1837, 1847, 1860—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1837-01-01. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Vésinet, Pecq and station providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Le Vésinet–Le Pecq station”, the useful work is to connect “railway station in Le Vésinet, France” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 18, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2334089. Authority coordinates are 48.898, 2.122. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1972, 1837, 1847 and 1860.

Critical limits

Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Le Vésinet–Le Pecq station”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Le Vésinet–Le Pecq station primary sources, Le Vésinet–Le Pecq station archive and Vésinet research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Le Vésinet–Le Pecq station”?
  2. What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
  3. Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Subject index

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Le Vésinet–Le Pecq station” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.