Train des Merveilles - Retro 2016 - Train of Marvels

Train des Merveilles - Retro - arrives in Breil-sur-Roya

This year's Train des Merveilles - Retro, the railway journey with ATTCV railcar Caravelle X 4567 between Toulon and Tende took place on Saturday 14th May.

Brignoles Train Festival 2016

The Brignoles station's yard was the central point for the ATTCV 15 year anniversary celebrations on Saturday and Sunday 23rd and 24th April 2016.

The yard was used to exhibit a part of the association's set of railway vehicles collected since its creation in 1994: railcars, trailers, locomotives, passenger carriages, goods wagons, MoW vehicles ...

In addition to these rail vehicles a few road vehicles belonging to the other associations were also on display.

Please enjoy viewing some photos from the exhibition.

Caravelle Inaugurates Line Extension Project Brignoles - Saint-Maximin

The former Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume station will become the western terminal of the Carnoules - Brignoles - Saint-Maximin tourist line

The non-profit heritage railway association ATTCV, created by a group of voluntaries in 1994, started on August 19, 2001, a tourist passenger service between Carnoules and Brignoles on the Carnoules - Gardanne railway line, using its only railcar at the time, the Picasso. Since then the association has maintained a railcar service from April to November every year. And has drastically increased its collection of railway vehicles.

To celebrate the 15th anniversary of this inauguration train, the ATTCV arranged during two days - Saturday and Sunday 23rd and 24th April - an event in and around Brignoles station.

Train du Centre Var - ATTCV starts 2016 traffic season in spring colours

X 2204 enters a Carnoules-les-Platanes station filled with flowers

Sunday April 3 is the first day this year 2016 with regular tourist traffic between Carnoules-les-Platanes and Brignoles. Railcar X 2204 in its original colours was selected for this introductory journey, leaving Carnoules-les-Platanes with passengers at 15.00. Some photos below from the journey.

Train du Centre Var (ATTCV) - Timetable 2016

The timetable for circulations of ATTCV railcars in 2016 between Carnoules and Brignoles is the following

ATTCV gets another DU 65 speeder

The new speeder DU 65 in front of the previously received and railcar Caravelle X 4567

The Association has recently received one more MoW/speeder/draisine type DU 65 of railway vehicle. It is placed in the ATTCV depot in Besse-sur-Issole but not (yet) in trafficable state.

The previously received DU 65 was baptized "Camps-la-Source" and is by the Association often used for transport of small groups of passengers, on short distances. Remains to be seen how/for what this speeder will be used.

ATTCV Acquires Heritage Railway Mail Car

One of the two remaining French railway mail cars ("mobile post office"), type PA (Poste Atelier) (OCEM PAtf 50 87 00 17 073-3), has recently been received by the ATTCV association.

The car was manufactured in 1933 for the Alsace-Lorraine railway network, and was during its last years of operation used for mail services between Nice and Ventimiglia (in Italy). Retired in the early 80s, it was taken over by a local private collector, who last year sold it to the Association. It now forms part of the ATTCV collection of rail vehicles at the depot in Besse-sur-Issole.

The car contains two compartments, one used for storage/transport of mail, the other for mail sorting.

The following photos show the car's interior and its on-board electric generator.

ATTCV Railway Depot in Colours

A visit in early May to ATTCV's Besse-sur-Issole railway depot allows interesting, colourful views.

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Train Festival in Brignoles in April

DU 65 and X-2204

A Tourist Train Festival will be held on Sat-Sun 25-26 April 2015 at Brignoles station, in connection with the 86th Brignoles Fair (86e Foire de Brignoles), an annual agricultural fair.

In addition to ATTCV, which will present a subset of its collection of rail vehicles, other railway heritage associations in Provence will participate with stands. The railroad museum in Savigliano in Italy will also be represented.

Train du Centre Var (ATTCV) - Timetable 2015

The ATTCV railcar trains between Carnoules-les-Platanes and Brignoles will during 2015 run from April 12 until October 25 on the following times and dates

Railcars in the Train du Centre Var

Railcars on the Carnoules - Brignoles line

ATTCV has four railcars used for its heritage rail operations between Carnoules and Brignoles,  of which at present three are operational and one (Picasso) is undergoing engine revision.  In addition, a draisine (speeder) is used for very small groups of passengers.

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X-2204 - "Ville de Brignoles"

Cut into service:  1985 - Arrival at ATTCV: 2012 - More info X-2204

ATTCV Open-Air Railway Museum

 ATTCV depot in the yard of former Besse-sur-Issole station

The ATTCV depot in Besse-sur-Issole is a railway museum in being. From the Association's creation in 1994, the collection of rail vehicles has increased from zero until today's almost 25 vehicles. Most prominent, and important for the Association's financing of its activities, are of course the very first railcar Picasso (now awaiting total renovation of its diesel engine), the two Caravelle DMU railcars (one of which still has its approval for operation on the national railway network) and the former Train des Merveilles railcar.

Draisine DU 65

Draisine DU 65 No 6.100

This motorized vehicle (speeder; motor car; crew car; in France called draisine) arrived to ATTCV in 2012. It was manufactured in 1965 and is intended for use as track inspection vehicle, including to move track and other work crews to/from the place of work.

Railcar X-2204

"Ville de Brignoles"

This is the latest arrival and the youngest railcar in the railcar collection. It was built in 1985 and arrived at ATTCV in March 2012.

Railcar Caravelle X-4590

Caravelle X-4590

The X-4590 arrived at ATTCV in June 2006, only two months after the arrival of the X-4567.

When it arrived at ATTCV it carried the color scheme of the lower Normandie line (Basse Normandie), and had in addition been "decorated" by some "open-air artists".

Tour de Provence with Caravelle X-4567 - Part 3

Day 3 - Côte Bleue, Etoile d'Aix and Ste. Baume Express

This third and last day - 2 October 2010 - of the tour presented three legs

• Côte Bleue - Late morning train from Marseille to Miramas, with stops at intermediate stations.
• Etoile d'Aix - Miramas to Marseille, via Rognac, Aix-en-Provence, Gardanne, with no stop, except for traffic control reasons.
• Ste. Baume Express - Marseille to Carnoules, via Gardanne, with short stops at a few of the stations on the Gardanne to Carnoules line.

Tour de Provence with Caravelle X-4567 - Part 2

Day 2 - Marseille - Nice - Marseille InterCity Train

Marseille St Charles

The following day, Friday, had an early morning start from Saint Charles, scheduled for 06.13 (actually leaving at 06.20).

Tour de Provence with Caravelle X-4567 - Part 1

Day 1 - From Carnoules to Marseille St. Charles

Last minute adjustments to the Caravelle prior to leaving the depot in Besse-sur-Issole

The ATTCV organized from 30 September to 2 October 2010 a public excursion with one if its heritage Caravelle railcars, the X-4567.

• The first day took participants from Carnoules to Gardanne and then on to Marseille.  
• The second day provided a return trip from Marseille to Nice (and with passengers continuing on TER to the street market in Ventimiglia).
• The third day's excursion included a trip along the Blue Coast west of Marseille, to Miramas and Aix-en-Provence, prior to a late evening return to Carnoules.

Over a total of ca 22 hours of railcar operation over these three days, and roughly 700 km of track distance covered, the ATTCV association demonstrated its members' capability to effectively and reliably run a railcar service in the midst of regular scheduled rail traffic (with local, regional as well as TGV services). From a technical point of view a very successful three days.

Railcar Caravelle X-4567

X-4567 with its trailer XR-8380 (in front of X-4590, X-3976 and a passenger carriage) at the ATTCV Besse depot

The X-4567 arrived at ATTCV in April 2006, after having been operated by the state railways, SNCF, since its cut-into-service in 1966.

During 40 years of service on SNCF rails it has covered a total distance of close to 3,800,000 km (corresponds to almost 100 tours around the globe, or 10 times the distance to the moon!).

Railcar X-3976 Picasso

ATTCV railcar X-3976 Picasso

Picasso at Brignoles station

It's a nice little beast. It weighs 31 tons. Not that heavy, though, compared with many other rail vehicles. It was put into service in April 1956 at the depot in Tours southwest of Paris. It served railway passengers for more than three decades before becoming a member of the tourist railway in Guîtres-Marcenais's rail vehicle collection northeast of Bordeaux.

It arrived to ATTCV's depot in Besse-sur-Issole in April 1996. After five years in Besse it was ready for service under the ATTCV banner. On 19th August 2001 it ran as the Association's inauguration train on the Carnoules - Brignoles tourist train line.