4x4s.org NAMED MODEL · 1925–27
NAMED MODELFrance

P4 T canal barge tractor (1925–27)

Half-tracks that towed barges along the towpaths of northern France and Belgium. In 1925 the Société d’Exploitation d’Autos-Chenilles ran about a hundred barge tractors; seven P4 Ts worked between Calais and Saint-Omer and 21 between Saint-Omer and Béthune.

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Sources & evidence
BASE VEHICLEKégresse K1 and P4 T (10 HP B2, 1921–26)BUILT BYCitroënIN SERVICE1925–27OPERATED INFrance, BelgiumPRODUCTIONAbout 100 barge tractors in serviceLAYOUT2 wheels · 88.6″

The record

A half-track took a barge from Calais to Saint-Omer in two days where horses took seven. Electric haulage on rails replaced them from 1927.

Specification

MANUFACTURERCitroën ↗
Paris (half-track department at Suresnes, then Courbevoie)
MANUFACTURED1925–27
ENGINECitroën 10 HP four, 1,452 cc, 20 hpCitroën 10 HP four (B2/B12)
PRODUCTION RUNAbout 100 barge tractors in service (1925)
COUNTRY OF ORIGINFrance
OPERATED INFrance, Belgium
STATUSout of service
RECORD KINDNamed model
MODEL LINEKégresse 10 HP
FAMILYKégresse 10 HP
WHEELS2
NOMINAL WHEELBASE88.6″

Catalogue fields describe the vehicle's structure and body as this registry records it. They are not certified factory measurements, and no performance figures are published here.

Variants & colours

Base model variants

AI rendering impression

An AI rendering impression starts from a 3D model of this vehicle, which an image model then paints into a scene. It is an artist's impression of the type, made to give a feel for the vehicle in its element — not a photograph, and not a record of any particular vehicle.

Proportions, fittings, markings, colours and the setting can all drift from the original in the process. For the vehicle's actual details, rely on the specification, the photographs and the cited sources on this page.

Sources

  1. 1Les autochenilles Kégresse (Pascal Honegger, 2015) ↗Krybebåndssocietetet (kegresse.dk) · accessed 2026-09-24SOURCE

Registry record updated 2026-09-24 · status: researched