During the First World War, the French military decided to establish a facility at Chambly for repairing strategic infrastructure behind the front lines.

At the end of the war, the military relinquished the facilities and the Nord company took possession of them again in order to rebuild their track and installations, which had suffered considerably from the years of conflict.

The facilities continued to be enlarged with the creation of an electric power station, forge and machine shops, and in 1933 the works had 850 employees and included an apprentice school.

Moulin Neuf provided the Nord rail network with everything necessary for construction and upkeep in terms of wood, tooling, and track.

On 2 May 1944 the Royal Air Force dropped more than 1,200 explosive incendiary bombs, causing significant damage to the works.