There was once a tramway between Cagnes sur Mer and Grasse. The main line of this tramway was 25 kilometres long and there was a branch line to Le Bar sur Loup which was 3 kilometres long. Deatails of the route can be found on the second post in this series:

https://rogerfarnworth.wordpress.com/2017/11/29/the-tramway-betw…r-de-provence-21

Construction work started late in 1910 and the section from Grasse to Pre du Lac opened on 1st March 1911.The extension to Cagnes opened on 30th December 1911, and the Branch from Pre du Lac to Le Bar sur Loup opened on 1st October 1912.

The tramway remained open only until 1929, with the final journeys taking place on 16th May 1929.

On 17th September 1913, the line experienced a major accident. The worst that happened on the TAM network: the derailment of tram 428 at the Pont des Vignes. This led to many controversies and reports, but also improvements in the safety arrangements on the line. Ultimately, the accident was probably primarily responsible for the early demise of the Grasse-Cagnes line.

After the Great War, the section Grasse-Cour to Grasse-PLM, was closed in May 1921 as a result of competition from the funicular railway.

On 31st October 1923 there was nearly as significant an issue as on 17th September 1913. Tram 202 almost experienced the same problem at Le Pont des Vignes but finally derailed without too much damage further along the line near La Vanade.

On 3rd January 1925, a tram began to accelerate on icy rails close to the viaduct, fortunately the tram was stopped without derailing. In addition to these incidents, there were others of a less serious nature which were deemed to be the result of aging equipment and poorly maintained track, precipitated the decline of the tram and the Grasse-Ville / Grasse-Cours section closed in November 1925.

Competition from road transport and financial deficit, provoked the end of the line in 1929 and the official liquidation in 1930.

So what was it that happened in September 1913?

Wednesday 17th September 1913, stormy was a stormy and wet day. Tram train 428 from Grasse-Ville to Cagnes-sur-Mer departed on time at 16:36hrs. It consisted of self-propelled Bam-205, Aam-114 and trailer Bam-3108 and was driven by Jules Leotardi (25 years old) who had been with the company since May that year, having been authorized to drive trains in July. He was accompanied on the journey by Honoré Sauteron, a 25-year-old student who had been hired for 12 days and whom he was training.

In Pré-du-Lac, the conductor Louis Agnelly (33 years old) harnessed the trailer Aam-3010, without connecting the continuous brake because Leotardi judged that to do so would increase the consumption of air and instead of improving the braking of the train, would lengthen the reaction time.

The tram was full, very full in fact. Several units of alpine soldiers were returning to their garrisons on the coast after having participated in manoeuvers in the Grasse region. The soldiers of the 27th BCA, who were camped near Chateauneuf, also embarked to return to their quarters in Menton.

Shortly after, at following stops, soldiers from the 24th BCA who had left their bivouac at Rouret to return to their base at Villefranche joined the tram, as did some 2nd RA gunners and civilian travellers. The tram train was already quite full before others joined the tram at San-Peire, St.Pons, Le Collet and Les Moulins. Thectram was so crowded that a short stop was made at Rigamel to allow the conductor to change cars in order to continue selling the tickets.

The train stopped again at Roquefort, then took more passengers at Colombier halt, which it left 15 minutes  behind schedule and with seventy-six passengers on board. A fine rain began to fall and the train entered the forest on a steep gradient heading for Le Viaduc de Sept-Fonds.

Le Viaduc de Sept-Fonds.

The Sept-Fonds Viaduct is one of the last vestiges of the Cagnes-Grasse tram line. It was designed in 1908 by Armand Joseph Marie Hamon, engineer of the roads and bridges in Grasse. It crosses the Sept-Fonds valley (length: 139m, width: 3.70m, height: 23m at the highest point). It consisted of 12 semi-circular masonry arches, each spanning 10m. Today, the rails and the wrought iron railings have disappeared, but the masonry is still intact and clearly visible. 

In researching this post I have found some excellent pictures of the viaduct, and even some detailed drawings. These are available, in context, on the geocache site for the structure: 

https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC3TX2J_tram6-le-viaduc-des-sept-fonds.

As the tram-train continued down the line, witness accounts suggest that the speed increased significantly. Leotardi’s tesimony is that when he applied the brakes, rather than slowing the train, the wheels jammed and slipped on the rails. He applied the sanders, but to little effect. As this was quickly becoming an emergency, he invoke instructed procedures which were to release the brakes and throw the power car into reverse gear, but speed continued to increase.

The tram-train reached Le Pont des Vignes travelling at a speed in excess of 65 kilometres per hour. The leading power car seemed to be remaining on the track and so Leotardi took the decision to bring the power control back to neutral.

At the same time, in the rear car, the conductor was making his way through the military and their equipment to try to tighten the brakes.

An impression of what things were like can be gained from the following two pictures. On leaving the Viaduc de Sept-Fonds the tram followed the line which was tight on the wall in the first picture, soon this wall gave way to an un-fenced section of the line. The tram would have been travelling immediately above the drop on the right-hand side of the second picture.

While the conductor was trying to tighten the rear car’s brakes, the tram-train continued out onto the curve of the Pont des Vignes (Cloteirol) Viaduct) and left the tracks, it tore down the telegraph poles and the relatively flimsy guardrails and pulled with it the remaining two cars of the train.

The two rear cars left the viaduct and dropped 13 metres into the ravine. They were severely damaged and threw passengers out onto the hillside. The hitch to the leading car broke and it stopped teetering on the brink. Thankfully, it did not also fall into the valley. It remained on the viaduct but with both ends of the car extending out over the void!

The survivors in the lead car did not immediately grasp the extent of the disaster. This changed when they grasped that some doors of their car opened out onto the void and when  they heard the cries and lamentations of the wounded and dying at the bottom of the ravine.

A few of the passengers recovered enough to clamber out of the tram and went down the line to Villeneuve-Loubet to raise the alarm.

The able-bodied men, including Leotardi, his pupil, and several passengers, descended into the ravine to help the victims. Many people had been thron clear of the wreckage as the tram cars fell, but the most serious cases were stuck in the pile of tram cars and many here were fatalities.

Sixteen people were killed instantly or died in the moments following the accident. Another died that night at the hospital, and another two a few days later. There were 19 dead and 39 wounded.

A stone plaque was erected by the Commune on the face of one of the viaduct pillars to commemorate the dead and wounded. This can be seen on the face of the pillar in the second of the pictures below.

Le Pont des Vignes

There are two picture below of the bridge in its present condition.

References

1. José BANAUDO “Le Tram des Vallees” Tramways des Alpes-Maritimes (Editions du Cabri).
2. Geocache: https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC3TX2J_tram6-le-viaduc-des-sept-fonds.

We travel on from Le Pont de Loup to Grasse.

You can find a downloadable version of this length of the line, here, (the online version follows after the next picture …….)

Ligne de Central Var 4

The earlier sections of the line between La Manda and Le Pont de Loup can be found at:

Ligne de Central Var – Part 1 – Colomars (La Manda) to Saint-Jeannet (Chemins de Fer de Provence 12)

Ligne de Central Var – Part 2 – Saint-Jeannet to Vence (Chemins de Fer de Provence 14)

https://rogerfarnworth.wordpress.com/2017/11/27/ligne-de-central-var-part-3-chemins-de-fer-de-provence-18

The next post in the Line de Central Var series will start at Grasse Gare du Sud.

Excerpt from the map of the railroads of Provence in 1924

We start this section of the line with some more pictures of the iconic bridge destroyed by the Germans in 1944.

The viaduct features on a whole series of different post cards. It dominated the valley and gave the Gorge de Loup a distinctive character over the 50 years or so that it was in use.

Some of the cards above and below illustrate a distinctive feature of the Central Var line. For many years the line was required as a diversionary route by the military for use if the coastal route was compromised. So, although the line was a metre-gauge line, it had a third rail provided along a considerable part of its length. This third rail ensured that the line could accommodate standard gauge rolling stock if required by the military.

Among these pictures are graceful pictures of the viaduct under construction, in its prime and saddening pictures of its demise including one of the deconstruction work taking place after the War. The viaduct was made up of 11 masonry arch spans on masonry piers. Each arch spanned 20 metres. The curved alignment made the viaduct very photogenic.

After crossing the viaduct trains immediately enter the station of Halte de Loup. No more than a wayside halt on the line, it can be seen in the postcard view of the Viaduct (204) above.

The Halte de Loup today

After leaving the Halte, the line follows what is now called Route de l’Ancien Chemin de Fer which travels in a South-Southwesterly direction through Gourdon to reach the Viaduc due Riou-de-Gourdon. This viaduct is of a similar masonry construction to others on the route and has 8 arched spans of 12 metres.

The line continues following what is now the Chemin du Bosquet until it reached the Ribas Viaduct (or Fanerie), by which time the railway route is below the village of Le Bar sur Loup. Like Tourrettes sur Loup this is an attractive medieval perched village typical of the area around Nice.

The Ribas or Fanerie Viaduct is barriered off to prevent vehicular usage. A steel girder spans the road below and the remainder of the structure is a series of masonry arches. The Google Earth Streetview screenshot shows this well.

Our pictures of this Viaduct are completed by a view from the D2210 road which runs alongside it.

Immediately beyond the Viaduct de Ribas the line curved around the base of the village, flanked on one side by retaining walls and reached the station which is now a school. Not surprisingly the road in front of the old station is called Avenue des Ecoles. The old line follows this road out of Le Bar Sur Loup and continues along the Chemin de Chateauneuf to the Viaduct Riou-de-Bar and then immediately into the Tunnel Riou-de-Bar. Both portals of the tunnel are shown in the pictures below.

At Tourrettes sur Loup, a quarry cuts into the rocky hill above the current cemetery. Abandoned nowadays, its location is betrayed by the bare rock facing that village. That quarry was used for much of the stonework needed for the various viaducts and tunnels along the Central Var line. It was well used. As we have seen, the line travelled through rugged terrain with many hills and deep valleys. Viaducts, bridges, tunnels and retaining walls were a regular part of the construction work.

We noted above that the Central Var line was considered to be of great military significance. For strategic reasons, special arrangements were made to facilitate military transport. The stations of Saint-Jeannet, Bar-sur-Loup, Grasse and Tourrettes-sur Loup had lengthy sidings (250 to 300 metres long) to allow the passing of long military trains.

Before we continue our journey towards Grasse. I thought it would be good to see the timetable for 1912 which appeared in an internet search conducted on 28th November 2017. The service was not intensive, only 4 or 5 trains per day, but nonetheless significant given the rural nature of the line.

From the various pictures of the trains on the line, most trains appear to have been combined passenger and goods trains, this means that the timetable is probably representative of all the journeys on the route in June 1912.

Leaving the Tunnel Riou-de-Bar the route continues to follow the Chemin de Chateauneuf. The next station on the route was Maganosc-Châteauneuf reach after passing through the St. Laurent Tunnel (125 metres long 43 ° 40 ’53 “N, 6 ° 57′ 46” E (Coordinates of the Vence end), 43 ° 40 ’52 “N, 6 ° 57′ 38” E (Coordinates of the Grasse end)). It appears that all evidence of the tunnel at the Grasse end has been obliterated and the tunnel mouth at the Vence end is well hidden in the forest below the D2210 road.

After leaving the St. Laurent Tunnel the line immediately crosses a road and passes under the site of some modern buildings before following the line of the Avenue Saint-Laurent. It’s route goes through the concrete blocks on the photograph below.

By this time the line was travelling approximately East to West and is shown on the plan view below.

Travelling on from this point the route passes through another short tunnel which has been widened for the modern road and enters the site of the old Mangagnosc-Chateauneuf Station.
In the first monochrome image below the site of the station is highlighted by a red arrow. On the second image the red arrow points to the bridge to the West of the station which still remains. The adjacent picture shows it spanning the road to the West of what was the station. The road is still named Avenue Saint-Laurent and continues towards Grasse, eventually reaching the Pont Felix Martin.
This viaduct is well shrouded in trees. It crosses the Valley of Saint Christophe, in some quarters it is known as the Viaduc de Riou-de-Maganosc. The best photograph available is a Google Earth Screenshot. The picture below is taken looking East back up the line.After this Viaduct, the road has a new name – Avenue St. Antione de Exupery. The old line now entered the suburbs of Grasse.

The line was in cutting and after a short distance was spanned by a wrought iron girder bridge taking a narrow accommodation road across the line and then continued at grade round the hillside until reaching the Viaduct de Font-Laugière (sometimes known as Le Pont de Eiffel).

The bridge was the subject of a short report in Nice-Matin entitled “Grasse: Twenty years ago, the metamorphosis of the Font-Laugière viaduct” in 2008, reporting on the work done to the bridge 20 years earlier. Work started on converting the old bridge into a highway in 1986 and was completed in 1988.

The article included the memories of Georges Rainard, a retired teacher, who remembered, at the age of 15 in 1944 seeing the last steam train cross the viaduct which was soon after the allied landings in Provence and the closure of the line because of the damage done to viaducts further East.

After crossing the viaduct we end up nowadays on the Avenue de Provence in Grasse and within very short shrift we are at the location of Grasse Chemin de Fer du Sud railway station, or at least the site of the station, which is now a road and a modern apartment block!

The latest instalment of our journey on the Chemins de Fer du Sud Central Var Line takes us from Vence to Le Pont de Loup

We start this part of our journey at Vence Station.

Vence is at the end of a tramway from Cagne sur Mer and details of this tramway can be found by following this link:

https://rogerfarnworth.wordpress.com/2017/11/25/tramway-between-vence-and-cagne-sur-mer-chemins-de-fer-de-provence-17

This post focuses on the Central Var line from Vence to Le Pont de Loup. This is the third part of the journey from Colomars (La Manda)  near Nice to Meyrargues near Aix-en-Provence.

The earlier parts of the route can be explored by clicking on these links:

https://rogerfarnworth.wordpress.com/2017/11/23/various-railway-and-tramway-postcards-from-around-nice-1-chemins-de-fer-de-provence-13

https://rogerfarnworth.wordpress.com/2017/11/23/ligne-de-central-var-part-2-chemins-de-fer-de-provence-14

This next section continues our journey out of Vence towards Grasse. The station site is on the West side of the town. The large open square to the north-west of Lycee Henri Matisse. The pink line on the screenshot from Google Earth is the route of the line. This means that although the railway may have traversed the streets in the immediate area of the station, the pictures on postcards at the end of the last post are more likely to include rails from the Cagnes to Vence tramway. There is a link to a post about the tramway above.

The Central Var line left Vence Station on the Avenue Rhin et Danube, travelling pretty much due west for a kilometre or so, before turning West-Southwest in cutting and going under the accommodation bridge in the second picture below. After the bridge the line continued to turn towards the South West before crossing another Viaduct, this one crossed the Valley of the River Malvan. A view of the present road is in the third picture below.

After the Viaduct de Malvan the route of the line continued in a South-Westerly direction leaving the route of the present M2210 but remaining on Avenue Rhin et Danube

The line then turned North West on what is now called Rue de Ouahigouya which becomes Route de Provence, Tourrette-sur-Loup. The line traversed the Vallons de Notre Dame on a wide curve turning towards the South and following the contours via the Viaduct de la Téolière (Google Streetview picture below) toreach the Viaduct du Cassan which is in the fifth sixth and seventh photos below.

Immediately after crossing the Viaduct du Cassan the line passed under another road bridge which can be picked out in the picture below. A short journey further down the line was the Viaduct de Pascaressa. This viaduct was destroyed towards the end of WW11 by the retreating German army. The first, monochrome picture of Pascaressa Viaduct was taken in 1944 shortly after the attack by the German forces. The pictures that follow show it as it is now.

After Pascaressa the line reach the Station at Tourrette sur Loup, the village in the pictures above those of the viaduct on the last page and visible in this early postcard of Pascaressa Viaduct. The station building is now used as the club house for a Boules Club – pictures are below.

Travelling on from the station, the line follows what is now called Route de Pie Lombard along the contours of the hill side until it reached the Viaduct de St. Antoine (above) and then the Viaduct de Clare (also above to the right).

By this stage the line was travelling above the old road between Grasse and Vence, and below the D2210, the current route to Grasse. The line switched to the North side of the D2210 at a point close to Valettes. The Google Street view screenshot below shows the crossing keepers cottage.

From this point on the line follows Routes des Valettes on a retaining wall above the main road for 100metres or so and then on embankment following the contours of the hillside just above the D2210 for some distance until entering the Tunnel de Loup on the East side of the Gorge de Loup.

The first picture is of the entrance on the South end and the second picture is the opening on the Northwest end.

Very quickly after leaving the tunnel the line crossed the Pont de Loup a 310 metre-long graceful curved viaduct across the Gorge de Loup. I have included a number of pictures of this viaduct as it is iconic and perhaps gives the route its distinctive flavour. It was destroyed violently at the end of the war by the retreating German army. The destruction of this viaduct was probably the most significant factor in the demise of the line.

Please note, once again the dual track gauge over the viaduct in the image below.

The remains of the viaduct don’t give a good enough account of the structure that once carried the single track line over the Gorge de Loup. If it had survived the war it would have been integral part of a long metre-gauge line running along the foothills of Les Alpes Maritimes. I make no apology for the number of photographs in this post.

In 1924, an accident which left 17 wounded led to a growing distrust in the tramway as a means of transport. After just 13 years of operation people were suggesting that the line was unsafe and aging. However, the line remained in favour with many travellers and even withstood the first wave of line closures between 1929 and 1931. It did not last long! The formal closure took place on 31st December 1932. The last tram used the line on 4th January 1933.

The viaduct was destroyed in WW11 and little remains … just the abutments!

The carte postale below shows the tramway station for St. Paul de Vence. The colour pictures show a viaduct that is one of the few remaining vestiges of the line. The second of these is cropped from a screenshot from Google Streetview. This short viaduct sits a!ongside the road from St. Paul to La Colle. The monochrome picture below it shows a similar viaduct closer to St. Paul de Vence which I believe is no lon A length of the line can also be picked out (to the right-hand edge of the picture and running close to the road).

The line crossed another low viaduct before approaching the station at La Colle sur Loup. I could not find this viaduct and it appears that it has been swallowed up by earthworks for the modern day road.

The station at La Colle is similar in construction to that at St. Paul. Much of the building still remains as can be seen in the photos below. The largest of these images was taken in 2021 by Richard Bird.

After La Colle, the tramway followed Boulevard General Leclerc, Rue Yves Klein, then the Route de Cagnes (D6) before running along what is now the Avenue de la Colle south towards the coast and met the Grasse to Cagne-sur-Mer tramway in Villeneuve-Loubet.

The route then continued along the Avenue de Grasse into Cagne. The terminus of the line was at the south-east end of the Avenue de Grasse. I believe that the more modern buildings in the next photograph were built on what was the tramway terminus.

Cagne-sur-Mer Tramway station is shown in the following images ……

And finally …….. The tram from Vence to Cagne is the main actor of the final scene of one of Jean Renoir’s first films, “Catherine ou une vie sans joie”.

The last 12 minutes or so of the film show the tramway. This is a link to the film. ….

https://www.cinema-francais.fr/les_films/films_r/films_renoir_jean/catherine_une_vie_sans_joie.htm

It is really interesting to note the condition of the road and tramway between Vence and Cagnes in 1924!

I love some of these old picture postcards.

All of the ones in this post are of tramways in and around Nice.

We continue a journey along the line of the Central Var metre-gauge railway. We travel from Saint-Jeannet to Vence!

2. Le Tunnel de Les Champignonnieres, Saint-Jeannet to Vence Station

Map of the railrways of Provence in 1924

This next section of the follows the contours towards Grasse the centre of the perfumery industry in South East France. The route into Grasse itself will be for another post in this series.

A little more history

The Freycinet plan launched in 1879 by the minister of public works of the same name, Charles de Freycinet, provided for the construction of 8,700 km of lines of local interest. These lines were intended to promote economic development and open up communes which up until that date had been seriously isolated. The plane proposed more than a hundred projects including routes to Digne, Draguignan, Castellane, Cagnes, Barjols, Puget Théniers and Cuneo.

For economic reasons, the majority of secondary lines constructed in the South East of France were metre-gauge lines. This choice allowed the lines to follow existing contours utilising tight curves, minimising the use of steep grades and expensive structures. Main secondary routes which would end up being secured were these:

From Nice to Digne by Puget-Théniers (150 km) – this line continues in use and has been thoroughly modernised (http://tourisme.trainprovence.com/accueil-english).

From Nice to Meyrargues by Grasse and Draguignan (200 km) – the subject of this series of posts. The first of which can be found by following this link: https://wp.me/p45mBO-GX.

From Toulon to Saint-Raphaël by the coast (103 km) – a further series of posts are due at the end of 2017.

From Nice to Cuneo (standard-gauge line) – still existing (see for example, http://www.tendemerveilles.com/train-des-merveilles, https://www.ter.sncf.com/paca/loisirs/lignes-touristiques/train-des-merveilles).

From Saint-Jeannet to Le Bar de Loup

Another view of Saint-Jeannet Station.

Immediately after leaving the Tunnel de les Champignonnieres the railway crossed the River Cagnes. This steep valley provided the necessary water powers for a series of mills and the road, at this point in the valley was named Chemins de Moulins – the Road of Mills. The mills were predominantly Olive Oil Mills.

In the maps above, two show the line of the railway. The lower map is dated 1833. The railway, in both cases has been added to the map by hand. There are 8 mills shown and further details can be found on this link: http://sentiers.village.free.fr/Photos/Moulins/Moulins.htm.

The viaduct was built by 1892 and is known as the Viaduct de Cagnes. It is curved and of 90 metres in length (12 traditional stone arched spans – 43° 44’ 45”N, 7° 07’ 58” E). The larger picture below gives an interesting insight into the use of the line as it shows dual gauge track. This allowed the line to take some standard gauge rolling stock.

After the viaduct, the line quickly disappeared once again into tunnel – Le Tunnel des Canons. The tunnel was just 30 metres long (43 ° 44 ’35 “N, 7 ° 08′ 00” E) and opened out onto a short section of line travelling in an approximately southerly direction before another short tunnel was encountered – Le Tunnel des Fonts – 53 metres long (43° 44′ 09″ N, 7° 07′ 37″ E). The route between these tunnels is now a local road named Avenue de Provence. The first four pictures below look back along the line towards Saint-Jeannet. The fourth is the Tunnel des Fonts taken in the direction of travel and looking approximately South West. The final picture below is of the Tunnel des Fonts looking back along Avenue de Provence to the North West.

After the Tunnel des Fonts the line travelled for a short distance along the old N210 (now the D2210) immediately
before reaching another viaduct just under 1.5 kilometres from the tunnel. On the way it passed under the small accommodation bridge shown in the picture here. The next viaduct is Viaduct of Lubiane (43 ° 43 ’30 “N, 7 ° 06′ 28” E). It is a short viaduct of no more than 50 metres in length.

The screenshot from Google Earth shows both the length of the N210 that was traversed and the viaduct. The viaduct is now on Avenue de Henri Matisse and carries traffic leaving Vence to head towards Saint-Jeannet.

After crossing the valley of the Lubiane the railway travelled on the streets of Vence, first along the line of the N210 and then on into what is now the main square of the town. Another screenshot from Google Earth shows the square as it is now. The line in Vence travels East-West.

What is now an open plaza was once Vence station. The following pictures give some insight into what the station was like when the railway was still active and show rails on the streets of the old town!

And finally, for this post ……. the station in Vence was bracketed to the West by a girder bridge which still carries a road over the route of the line. As the line leaves Vence it now forms the Avenue Rhin et Danube.

As part of our holiday in Nice in 2017 my wife and I investigated the line between Nice and Meyrargues which closed at the beginning of the 1950s. Almost all of the route is can be accessed on foot and surprisingly much is accessible by car.

This blog covers the history of the line up to 1925 and the first length of the route from La Manda near Colomars on the Nice to Digne line to Saint-Jeannet.

History of the Line to 1925

The Treaty of Turin was signed on 24th March 1860. In it Nice was ceded by the King of Sardinia to Napoleon III. This needed to be ratified by the local population and a vote on 15th and 16th April produced an overwhelming majority in favour of the change. Consequently the department of Les Alpes Maritimes was created by decree on 24th October 1860. To accelerate the acceptance of the new department, and secure improvements to the local economy, significant grants were made by the French government to the department.

Nice was made the capital of the department much to the chagrin of Grasses. Grasses was part of the old France and assumed a priority over Nice. When it lost out to Nice as the capital of the new department it made strenuous efforts to develop local infrastructure improving local roads and seeking a place on the line of the new railway running East along the coast to Nice. That battle was lost and when the Emperor visited Nice on August 18, 1860, Grasse demanded and obtained a branch line from the main coastal line, insisting that “Grasse must inaugurate its railway on the same day that Nice inaugurate its railway.” However that branch-line and the costal railway took thirty years to complete!

Map of the railroads of Provence in 1924

The focus of the main coastal railway on standard gauge left the towns and villages of Central Var needing to promote their own line or lines. The fall of the Second Empire delayed the work. It was to be some time before proposals could be resurrected.

Eventually, Les Chemins de Fer du Sud was promoted as two separate lines during a period when France became particularly concerned about its more remote regions. Two lines were of approximately 350 kilometres in total length – Digne to Nice and Nice (Colomars) to Meyrargues. A metre gauge line powered by steam, sometimes called “Le Train des Pignes”. It was given this name because, it is said, travellers had time together off the train and pick up pine cones by the track when the train encountered a significant gradient. A metre-gauge was adopted which was complementary to many other lines being built throughout France and which provided for cheaper construction, steeper grades and tighter curves that the standard gauge – much more suited to the terrain through which it would travel. The project cost was, as a result, half that if standard gauge had been used.

Construction proceeded quickly. The 211 kilometre network was divided into sections entrusted to different contractors. The sections were of around 10 kilometres in length. Land was purchased by 1890 and work commenced immediately on all sections of the line. The line was completed in 1892.

These large sites made good use of local workforce.

By 1925, Les Chemins de Fer du Sud had been formed bringing the two lines together in one Company.

The Route

1. Colomars (La Manda) to Saint-Jeannet Station

The Ligne de Central Var left the Nice to Digne line at La Manda close to Colomars on the River Var. The station building at Colomars Station remains as evidence of the line. The line branched off the current Digne line just to the north of the hamlet of La Manda.
The station construction is typical of many of the stations still evident on the route of the line. A few historic postcards are reproduced here to give an idea of the station in the early years of the 20th century.

The second of these postcard views has been ‘adapted’ by Jean Giletta the photographer to include a hand drawn train. While it is a pity that the photographer did not wait for a train to cross the bridge, the picture illustrates the nature of the river crossing. The railway line crossed the river on the top of the truss girders with provision between the trusses for road traffic!

The destruction of several structures on 24th August 1944 led to the closure of the Colomars – Grasse – Tanneron section of the Central Var Line. The service was never restored. The western part of the line, between Tanneron, Draguignan and Meyrargues, was to survive a few more years with a rather limited service, closing on 2nd January 1950.
Although seriously damaged in 1944 the bridge at La Manda was repaired and reopened, but only for road traffic. The current bridge, inaugurated on 27th November 1967, was built just downstream from the previous one, which probably remained open during construction.

A link follows to photos taken in 1966 just prior to the building of the new structure. The photographs were taken by Jean-Henri Manara and are available on Flickr.

According to these photos, it seems that at least two bays on the east bank of the River Var, were not recoverable and were replaced by temporary bays lighter. These notes about La Manda bridge have been kindly provided by ‘Jeanmi67’ and ‘242TE66’ on Les Forums de Passions Métrique et Etroite!! (www.passion–metrique.net/forums).

Once the line had crossed the river it was carried on embankment across the wider flood plain as can easily be seen in the last of the post cards of the station at La Manda. The railway line is long gone but the bridge remains in use as a major road crossing of the Var. The current bridge was built in 1967, as a replacement of the former bridge which had been damaged in August 1944. Jose Baraudo (Le Siecle du Train des Pignes) says that a commando unit of the retreating German army blew up three major viaducts on the morning of 24th August 1944, (La Siagne, Le Loup and La Pascaressa) However, they did not need to blow the bridge at La Manda up. The Meyrargues line had been cut off from Nice already, three weeks earlier, when the bridge at La Manda was bombed by the Allied forces on 2nd August 1944, prior to the Provence landing. Two spans at the East end were destroyed and a third one is said to have suffered damage only.

Other bridges across the Var river at Nice – St Laurent-du-Var and Pont Charles-Albert were also destroyed or severely damaged by bombing, as were several bridges and viaducts along the Nice – Digne line (La Vésuvie…etc…) but those would be repaired and/or rebuilt, eventually. (Thanks to 242T66 for the english translation of part of Banaudo’s book on which these last two paragraphs are based).

Although this commentary starts from the Eastern end of the line. It seems strange writing about the line and starting in the East as when we travelled along the route in November 2017 we started from the West. Most of our own photographs of the route were taken from the Westerly direction looking East towards Nice.

Once firmer ground had been reached to the West of the river, the line set off to the South-west around the South side of Gattieres toward Saint-Jeannette. The picture below looks back towards the bridge across the Var along Boulevard de la Colle Belle at Carros. The bridge is hidden behind the vegetation on the modern roundabout.

The next picture looks back along the line of the old railway again a little further to the Southwest on Rue des Grillons in Carros. This picture and some of the others that follow are courtesy of Google Street view.

Leaving Carros, the line immediately headed out onto the Viaduct of the Enghièri (130 metres long, made up of 6 arches, 5 of which span 16 metres (43° 46’ 00” N, 7° 11’ 22”E). It is a traditionally built arch viaduct with a first wider span for the road below. The first picture is from Google Street view. The second is taken from a car window.

Much of the Ligne Central Var is still in use for transportation, often the old track formation has been used at its original width, in some places significant widening has taken place. Where original structures were damaged in the conflicts of the 20th Century, these have not been replaced and the ability to follow the line in a vehicle is interrupted. There are areas usually in the forested areas along the route where pedestrian access is possible, or the route can be traversed by a 4×4 vehicle. The Viaduct of the Enghièri has been preserved as a highway as the Google Street view picture shows. The route has been given the name, Chemin de Provence.

The plan view is also taken from Google Streetview. The red line is the plotted route of the railway which can be viewed with this link:

http://ollivier.haemmerle.free.fr/LigneColomarsMeyrargues.kmz.
Google Earth will be needed to open it. The plotting of the route was undertaken by Claudio Capaccio.

From the Viaduct of the Enghièri the route of the line follows what is now the Chemin de Provence in south-south-westerly direction crossing a small bridge at 43° 45’ 32”N, 7° 11’ 00” before turning to a more westerly trajectory on the North side of the Vallon des Trigands and South of Saint-Jeannet.

A couple of pictures along the way:

A Crossing Attendants House (43° 44’ 55”N, 7° 10’ 12”E) Further along the line.

The next substantial structure on the route is shown as a blue dotted line on the map of Saint-Jeannet above – The Tunnel of Saint-Jeannet. Just before reaching the tunnel the line turns in a north westerly direction. The route cannot be followed by car as it continues beyond the concrete blocks in the picture here. It is however possible to get along the line to the tunnel mouth.

The tunnel is 860 metres long running in a predominantly westerly direction (from 43° 44’ 22”N, 7° 09’ 21”E to 43° 44’ 31”N, 7° 08’ 32”E) and the line appears again South of the D2210 road, south-west of Saint-Jeannet close to Le Peyron. From the tunnel mouth at the West end of the tunnel (visible below right) there is a short section of the route accessible with care and known as the Chemin de la Champignonniere. A high retaining wall (below left) carries the old line above the Ancienne Route de Vence which falls away to the West and meets the line at grade just behind the camera and then climbing away above the old line on its way towards Saint-Jeannet.

A quick nip up the Ancienne Route de Vence above the old line allows a glimpse of the old Saint-Jeannet station off to the right of the road. This accurately places the station on the map. The next image is a postcard of the station in the early 20th Century.

After the station, the line travelled a short distance (along what is now the Chemin de La Champignonniere) before reaching another tunnel entrance. This tunnel’s official designation is Tunnel de Cagne, however it is apparently known locally as the Tunnel de Champignonniere. The tunnel is used to farm mushrooms.

Health Warning!! This blog of 2017 is based on some mis-information!! It must be considered to be a ‘Might Have Been’ Scenario!!

In this scenario, the route of the Levens tramway running North from Tourrette-Levens surprisingly did not follow the main road. Instead it diverted to St. Blaise before following the St. Blaise to Levens road into Levens.

The most startling structure to be built on the route was an 80 metre long suspension bridge just outside St. Blaise. Built for the tramway in 1908 it also carried the St. Blaise to Levens road.

This graceful suspension bridge was destroyed during the Second World War.

It was not rebuilt until 1953. The new bridge was similarly striking although a concrete arch construction. By this time the tramway was long-gone.

DEUX ENFANTS ONT CHUTES DU PONT MASSENA A ST BALAISE

For the first part of the route from Nice, please see the following link:

https://rogerfarnworth.wordpress.com/2018/03/20/the-nice-to-levens-tramway-part-1-chemins-de-fer-de-provence-54

The tramway route from the southern outskirts of Tourrette-Levens probably followed approximately the route of  Chemin de la Gorghette and Chemin de Saint Sebastien before rejoining the present M19. To get to St. Blaise the tramway would have had to follow the M719, the road to Aspremont. Any other route to St. Blaise would require extreme gradients. Sadly, however, I can find no evidence to support the assumption that Aspremont would have been included in the tramway system.

The route from Saint-Blaise to Levens would have been shown by some of the pictures below.

The final photograph shows the terminus at Levens. The location of this picture is however not clear in my own mind. I believe that the first terminus at Levens was probably on the Avenue General de Gaulle. The line was, however, extended into the centre of the village, it is highly possible that this is a view of that location, which is the point at which the Nice to Levens bus terminates right next to the heart of the perched village. I’d appreciate any comments readers are able to make on this.

For a re-interpretation of this story, this time based on better evidence, please see my later blog from March 2018!