If you were to ask the average French railway "amateur" what he most closely connects with the house of Corpet Louvet there is little doubt that his answer would be the six-coupled metre gauge tank locomotive for service on French secondary railways. During ninety-eight years of locomotive construction the firm built steam locomotives of which no less than were six-coupled metre gauge tanks for light railway service in France or French colonies, whilst a further seventy were ordered but cancelled because of the declaration and events of the First World War.
As many more were also built to standard Corpet designs for contractors and other private owners, the gross total must be close on a thousand. To retrace the history of the firm it is necessary to go back to the year when the first four locos emerged from the shops of its predecessor, Anjubault, in the Avenue Philippe-Auguste in Paris.
In Lucien Corpet took over the firm and although for a short time it was known as "Corpet et Bourdon" it is very doubtful whether any locomotives carried works plates bearing this title as the name "L.
Corpet" was used from Lucien's daughter Marguerite married Lucien Louvet and on her father's death in it was Lucien Louvet who took over the management of the firm until the outbreak of War in Corpet et L. Louvet" "Vve" is short for "Veuve", "Vve L.
Corpet" meaning "Widow of L. Corpet" appeared on works plates from , and until most plates had the dual inscription "L. Corpet - Vve L. Then in the business was moved to La Courneuve, part of the Paris conurbation, and the present limited liability Company formed - Corpet Louvet et Compagnie.
