Train du Centre Var Train Photo Festival

More than two dozen train enthusiasts gather this Saturday May 26 in a Provençal countryside in Spring time, in a Green Provence with not only green vineyards but also filled with blossom everywhere, dominated by red and yellow, and under blue skies and a brilliant sun.

More than 1000 passengers in April

The Train Touristique du Centre Var, the heritage train of ATTCV, has had a very good start this first month of operation 2012. More than one thousand passengers have enjoyed the Sunday afternoon journeys with the Caravelle railcar between Carnoules-les-Platanes and Brignoles.

At one occasion, one Caravelle was not even sufficient to take the 180 passengers wishing to make the yourney. The solution was, of course, to compose a train with both Caravelle railcars! Which meant that both Caravelles were fully occupied (they each take 141 seated passengers).

The whole team of active members of this non-profit association is of course very happy to note that their efforts to maintain and operate these historic railcars has received such attention and appreciation by the public.

Info about the railcars and the timetable: (FR) (EN)

Train des Pignes - first day of operation 2012

Sunday May 13 was the starting day for GECP's steam train operations this year. A large number of passengers were waiting on the platform in brilliant sunshine with a warm wind blowing when the locomotive, E 211 Portuguese, backed into the station in Puget-Thénier with a train composed of five old restored passenger carriages and a goods wagon.

A few moments earlier, the waiting passengers had the opportunity to see one of CP's new modern railcars, painted yellow and red, make a stop at the station. Quite a generation gap (a century) compared with the steam train. A few steam train passengers also arrived from Nice on this railcar.
The steam train with its passengers left as scheduled for the yourney up the Var valley to Annot, which it reached after a stop in Entrevaux. The passengers had three hours in Annot for a promenade down to the centre of the village, for a lunch at one of its restaurants and a sightseeing walking tour.


Some passengers had brought a picknic and stayed at the station for a while. They had the opportunity to see one of the earlier CP railcars still in operation, arriving from Digne, stop at the station prior to taking off for its onward journey to Nice.

At the stops in Entrevaux and Annot, many took the opportunity to take photos of the steam engine.

GECP =  Groupe d'Etude pour les Chemins de fer de Provence
CP = Chemins de Fer de Provence

Heritage railways in Provence

Historic Provence

Even if you are a train enthusiast, heritage railways may not be the first thing you think about when you hear the words Provence or French Riviera. In your mind will rather pop up visions of unending sunshine, nice temperatures, blue water, blue skies, rosé wine and fields of blue lavender.

Heritage railways are almost without exception run by associations established by interested individuals. Heritage railway associations usually as their objectives to collect, maintain and in operation show historic rail vehicles, often on abandoned tracks.

GECP  (Groupe d'Etude pour les Chemins de fer de Provence) was established in 1975, head-quartered in the village Puget-Thénier, where the association's workshops and rail vehicles are located at the Puget-Thénier station. It has since offered the public journeys in carriages pulled by steam locomotives (the Train des Pignes steam train) between  Puget-Thénier and neighbouring stations along the Nice – Digne one meter narrow-gauge line. As the Nice – Digne has daily traffic with railcars, the timetable for the association's trains is adapted to the schedules for the railcar trains. The Train des Pignes usually operates on Sundays from May to October. SatelliteMap

Train des Pignes meets scheduled railcar at Annot station

ATTCV (Association Train Touristique du Centre Var) (websites in French and English) was established in 1994, head-quartered in Carnoules. The association has its collected railcars and other rail equipment stored at the former Besse-sur-Issole station on the Gardanne – Carnoules standard gauge line. Since 2001 it operates a tourist train service on Sundays and Wednesdays from April to October between Carnoules-les-Platanes and Brignoles, with extension to Saint Maximin when necessary administrative and other conditions are met. SatelliteMap

The Train des Alpilles was created in 2001 and is managed by the Bouches-du-Rhône Transport Department (exception!). The rolling stock is located at the Arles station. Tourist trains run four days per week from June to September on the standard gauge line from Arles to Fontvielle (7 km). SatelliteMap

NOTE - The Train des Alpilles has now ceased

Besides being geographically differently located, at the eastern limit, in the center and at western limit of Provence, respectively, the three heritage railways may be of interest to different passenger groups:

• The Train du Centre Var attracts railcar enthusiasts and those wishing to see vineyards and a hilly green landscape passing by.
• The Train des Pignes is more of interest to steam enthusiasts and those looking for a Alpine landscape experience and living/staying not too far from the eastern part of Provence.
• The Train des Alpilles addresses a young audience, on the plains around Arles. 

They all three offer an interesting and un-forgettable break to your Provence or Riviera visit or vacation.

Notes:

1. The name “Train des Pignes” was originally given to the two one meter lines Nice – Meyrargues and Nice – Digne. The latter is still in use, but the former was disbanded in 1950, after having had three major bridges destroyed by the retiring German Army in August 1944 (but not finding the funding for their reconstruction).
2. The 1 km long 600 mm narrow-gauge railway, erected on the now disbanded standard gauge Aubagne – La Barque railway line's trackbed, located at the La Barque-Fuveau station on the Gardanne – Carnoules line is a part of the Provencal Transport Museum (Musée Provençal des Transports). It has heritage equipment collected from mining sites, but is not further addressed in this context.

Dates of traffic 2012 for Provence Heritage Railways

The table collects the dates during the period April - October 2012 when each of the three Provence Heritage Railways have regular traffic for individual passengers, according to their relevant web sites.

The number of trains that operate a particular date and the timetable for this/these is not indicated in the table, but is available at the each railway's website.

Links to the websites

Train du Centre Var (English) (French)
Train des Pignes (English/French)
Train des Alpilles (French)

Train des Alpilles

The tourist train "Le Petit Train des Alpilles" operated by RDT13 runs on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 1 June to 8 September 2012. The train pulled by a diesel engine runs on the 7 km line between Arles and Fontvielle, through fields of rice, wheat, rapeseed and sunflower.

Details at their website.

NOTE - Train des Alpilles has ceased to operate.

Train des Pignes à Vapeur - Folder 2012

The folder for the GECP operated steam train Train des Pignes can be downloaded from the GECP site.

The train runs on Sundays from 13 May to 28 October. In May, June, September and October there will be one train Puget-Théniers - Annot at 10.45 - 15.55. In July and August there will be two trains Puget-Théniers - Villars-sur-Var, one 10.45 - 11.45 and one 15.30 - 17.00. All details are in the folder.  Download the folder

Heritage railway ticket

Edmonson railway ticket printer at ÖSlJ in Taxinge, Sweden

A heritage railway ticket has to be an Edmonson railway ticket!

Thomas Edmonson's invention replaced handwritten tickets, issued for each individual traveller. His invention was in general use for more than a century. Today, the circle is almost closed - tickets for travellers are often again issued individually - but now by a printer (and in various paper qualities).

There is still a few machines in use for printing Edmonson tickets, some owned by heritage railways and railway museums (the upper photo shows the machine at ÖSlJ).

Many heritage railways use Edmonson tickets. One of them is Train Touristique du Centre Var.

Edmonson tickets often have graphics or a logo of the railway, have different colours and markings for different passengers groups, and often have print on both sides.

Many heritage railways date-stamp their Edmonson tickets with a special machine, to make them into nice souvenirs.

Carnoules station at steam age

This nice painting is one of the railway related paintings in the Provencal Restaurant Castel Fleuri, located a few steps from the Carnoules station.

The train pulled by the steam locomotive may be heading for Marseille on the Nice - Marseille part of the PLM line, or may have arrived from Gardanne, on the Gardanne - Carnoules line.

Today the steam has disappeared but the Maures mountains in the background, the station building and the water tower are still there.

Other posts related to Carnoules:

• Steam engine 4b9 - symbol of Carnoules
• Allies bomb Carnoules station
• Travel tip for the Train du Centre Var

The Castellas castle

When the tourist train Carnoules – Brignoles stops at the level crossing with road D15, prior to entering the village of Sainte Anastasie, you will to the south-west on a hilltop see the ruines of the castle Castellas.
The area of the castle, which overlooks a part of the Issole valley to the north and the villages of Garéoult, Forcalqueiret and Rocbaron to the south and west, had human settlements already during the Iron Age.
A castle was built on the site during the 11^th century and substantially modified during the 15^th century. It became one of the most important Middle Age Provencal military buildings. After Provence having been integrated with France in 1481, it was twice during the 16^th century besieged by the Spanish army, but resisted. It served during the War of Religions a military function.

The castle was abandoned after the French Revolution in 1789 and is now largely a ruin, despite various efforts during the last few decades to restore parts of it. The castle ruins are for security reasons not accessible by visitors, but there is a small exhibition in the Forcalqueiret town hall - Salle du Castellas - with objects found in the castle yard as well as photos and historical fact sheets.

Allies bomb Carnoules station

The D-day of Provence was 15^th August 1944. Units of Allied Operation Dragoon landed in eastern Provence on the shores from north of Fréjus to La Londe, and were air-dropped east of Draguignan.

The landing had for months been preceded by heavy air bombardement of the naval installations in Toulon and bridges and other installations for communications.

The railway station of Carnoules was one of the major targets for these bombardments. On the 25th of May 1944, allied aircraft dropped some 600 tons of bombs over the station area. Escorted heavy bomber aircraft of types B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24 Liberators from the 5^th Air Force stationed in southern Italy attacked this strategically important marshalling yard. Part of this attack were 85.5 tons dropped by 39 planes of type B-24H from the 484^th Bombardment Group.

The installations at the Carnoules station – once a large hectic locomotive maintenance centre as well as terminal for the Gardanne – Carnoules railway line - were heavily damaged. To an extent that most of them were never restored.

View Larger Map

The Carnoules – Gardanne line was only lightly damaged during the liberation. Part of this line, Carnoules – Brignoles – Saint Maximin, is today used for the tourist trains with railcars, more at railtrain.org/attcv/ (English) or attcv.fr (French).