Back in 2013, I wrote a short blog about the line from Plan du Var to St. Martin-Vesubie:

https://rogerfarnworth.wordpress.com/2013/12/16/chemins-de-fer-de-provence-7-the-line-to-st-martin-vesubie

Many of the images in that post were culled from a blog by Marc Andre Debout. [1] It feels appropriate that I should revisit my blog and update it. I have discovered significantly more about the route and I’d like to complete a detailed survey of the route.

An interesting survey of the line was undertaken for the French website “http://www.inventaires-ferroviaires.fr” (written in French) [2] which I have drawn on, along with the things, in producing this post.

The “Brissonneau” heads, a freight train in La Vésubie station. Bernard Rozé Collection – published by BVA, April 1956. [4] This will have been taken after the closure of the tramway (1929).Also taken at Plan du Var, this could only be a train off the tramway during the first year of its life 1909 to 1910. It is more likely to be a Digne to Nice train. [4]

Tramway services left Plan du Var Station travelling North and diverged from the Nice to Digne line before reaching the Vesubie River. The images below are old postcards of the location of the junction and show the development of the site over a number of years. Initially an stone arch bridge took the road over the Vesubie, but when this failed is was replaced by the concrete arch bridge visible in some of the pictures.

The first picture shows the location prior to the construction of a number of buildings to the North of the confluence. The second still has the old arch bridge and includes those buildings. The third shows both the tramway and the new bridge. The fourth encompasses both bridge and junction but it is [possible that the tramway peters out when it reaches the tarmac of the road over the Pont Durandy. If that is the case, then the fourth photograph was probably taken after the closure of the tramway in 1929.Taken from the railway in the 21st Century. This picture shows the truss girder bridge over the Vesubie on the Nice Digne Line and the road bridge (Concrete Arch) behind the vegetation.The two postcard pictures immediately above were found for sale on the collection-jfm.fr website in 2018. [5]The 1955 1:50,000 IGN map shows a track which was once the tramway along the Vesubie River Valley commencing at the road bridge, Pont Durandy, and running under the ’43’ (on the map) before turning North to cross the river and join the roadway up the valley. [3]The plan above shows the road route into the Vesubie Valley marked with the green arrow the blue dotted line is that of the old tramway. The tram line crossed the road just before the Vésubie bridge. She went up this last about 400m before crossing it in turn on a bridge that has now disappeared. [2] The image below shows the location of the tramway formation as it can be seen in the early 21st Century. [2]After traveling for around 400m on the South side of the Vesubie River the tramway crossed to the North side and joined the road at the point shown on the image above.

The General Council of the department decided to construct of three lines in the area on 10th February 1906. They were The Plan-du-Var – Saint-Martin-Vésubie line for the Vésubie valley and, for the Tinée valley, the “La-Tinée” line – Saint-Sauveur-sur-Tinée. These two lines were given to the TAM (Tramways of the Alpes-Maritimes) to manage [6] . The third line was the Nice – Levens line, allocated to the TNL (Trams of Nice and Littoral). [7]

Within just a few weeks of the establishment of a Municipal Council for St. Martin-Vesubie (1908) a campaign was inaugurated to see modifications to the proposed tram service to the town/village which included revisions to the planned station location and layout. The budget for the station site was originally 6,000 francs. The revised and agreed scheme amounted to 10,000 francs.

Considered a priority, the Vésubie line was commissioned in 1909. Construction took place, during that year and the line opened on 1st September 1909. However, electric powered tramcars were not delivered in time for the opening and for approximately one year steam engines were in use on the line. Electric trams finally entered service in 1910.

The trams allowed both good s and passengers to be transported quickly: the cans of milk from the pastures were delivered directly to the centre of Nice and other perishable items also reached buyers much more quickly.

In translating French to English in my last post on this line, I managed to misconstrue the history of the line. In that post I said that the line did not reach St. Martin Vesubie until 1928 and Roquebillière in 1926. What I should have understood at the time was that there was an interruption in the service betwen 1926 and 1928. A huge landslide that buried the village of Roquebillière also covered roads and railways. 24th November 1926, date of the tragedy, was engraved in local memories. As a result, the saints-martinois had to take a bus to complete their journey until the trams were again allowed to cross the landslide in September 1928. This transhipment promoted the use of coaches instead of trams and as a result it was decided to close the line in 1929. Tram transport was, by then considered archaic in the face of competition from the automobile.

Positive decisions in favour of the tramway were regularly made within the local communes and the tramway was seen positively until the advent of the Great War. However, the last action by the Municipal Council relating to the line was the refusal of an increase in tariffs on the line because of the increased competition from buses and lorries It seems that the demise of the tramway was already anticipated, long before the Roquebillière disaster provided what was ultimately the fatal blow to the line.

I came across the adjacent image of a Nice-St. Martin bus, while researching the route on the internet. I cannot remember where I found it. It is perhaps easy to see that the newer and more reliable buses provided very strong competition for the trams.

Once the tramway crossed to the north side of the Vesubie close to Plan du Var, it followed the road perched above the river [10] for some distance. There was a short tunnel through which the old road passed in the 1950s which was probably in existence at the time of the tramway.

The road leading to that tunnel (and the route of the old tramway) can be seen below diverging from the newer road and tunnel. [11] The image is taken from Google Streetview. A similar image shows the old road/tramway formation, close to the River Vesubie, returning to join the newer road/tunnel on the north side of the rock outcrop. After the tunnel the formation/road passes through La Madone (La Cros d’Utelle) still following what is the northwest bank of the river.A typical early postcard view of the road alongside the River Vesubie before the tramway was constructed. [8]A typical scene on the road up the Vesubie Gorge. This picture was taken in February 2017. The road was closed to allow the landslide to be removed and the site secured. [9]The station building next to the river at La Cros d’Utelle (La Madone). [1]

From La Madone (La Cros D’Utelle), the tramway continued along the West bank of the Vesubie and through a short (20 metre) rough-hewn tunnel which is shown in the map below and in the two images which immediately follow the map. [11]The pictures immediately above show typical scenes along the route of the tramway formation which is now hidden under the M2565 road through the Vesubie Gorge. The first picture is from Google Streetview and shows a narrow private footbridge providing access to a steep footpath on the East bank of the river. The second shows a tunnel and almost hidden a bridge supporting the road over the river. The third photograph shows the entrance to the tunnel (Tunnel de Pagary Longeur) which is located on the map below. [11]

Interestingly, the TAM lines were equipped with a single-phase electrical supply of 6600 Volts, 25 Hertz. The catenary was suspended from wooden posts or cliff walls by metal brackets. Th electric traction units worked throughout the life of the tramway (approximately 20 years) although some improved units were provided in 1920 on the line of Vésubie. In 1911, four to five round trips of trams were scheduled each day. But by 1914, because of the war, there were only two daily movements until the line was closed in 1929. [7]

North of the tunnel the gorge narrowed significantly and hemned in the tramway. The adjacent photograph gives an idea of just how narrow the gorge cut by the Vesubie is/was at this point. As the gorge widens out again the tramway took the opportunity to cross the Vesubie onto its eastern bank by means of a very graceful arch bridge.

In the image below, Google Streetview has allowed me to pick out the bridge through the local vegetation. That photo is then followed by an older postcard picture of the bridge [1] – the first Pont de St-Jean-la-Riviere. There is a later bridge built immediately adjacent to the village which took a road over to the Westbank and up to Utelle.The bridge in the two images above is shown at the bottom left of the IGN map above, close t toe Colombier. The second, newer bridge is immediately adjacent to the village of St-Jean-la-Riviere where the M32 leaves the M2565/M19. The newer bridge is shown below. [12] Between these two bridges the tramway followed the West bank of the Vesubie while the main road took to the East bank. [2]The station at St. Jean la Riviere on the south-west side of the river, circled in red on the map below. It is now the town hall! [1][2]From the new bridge, the line travelled up the East bank of the Vesubie northwards out of the village of St. Jean la Riviere. In a couple of kilometres, the tramway crossed back to the west bank of the river by means of the bridge below. Within 300 metres, the Tarmway returned to the East bank by means of the structure show below.The tramway and road then travelled in an easterly direction towards Le Suquet.

Close to Le Suquet, the Gorge opens out and the tramway formation/road drift away from the River Vesubie before turning northwards to cross the river once again. Then for a time the tramway and road kept their distance from the river.The station building at Le Suquet [1] is shown on the adjacent plan circled in red. The bridge in the postcard above is circled in blue. [2]

North of Le Suquet, a new tunnel takes the M2565 on a straighter course than the old road/tramway took. The older route can be seen on the right-hand side of the picture below.. The northern portal of the new tunnel can be seen in the second picture below with the old road (and so the tramway formation) joining the newer road from the left.The tramway route remains on the West side of the valley through Le Fourcat and on towards Lantosque. Tram-travellers faced none of the confusion of modern drivers about which route to take. The trams just followed their tracks which took the higher route alongside the retaining wall in the picture below and then passed through a tunnel at St. Claire.The tunnel was just 28 metres in length. [11] The first image below shows the South-West Portal  and the tramway, the second shows the same view but from the 21st Century and the third picture shows the North-East portal. The second and third images come from Google Streetview. The tunnel is rough-hewn from the rock. The first is an old postcard view. [13]The two postcards immediately above show the tramway following what is now the M173 but was in those days a separate route from the road. [1]

Trams approached Lantosque along the line of what is now the M173. The bridge shown in the image below was not crossed by the trams. It carries a road over the Riou de Lantosque.The trams followed what is now the M173 round to the left in the above image and then round a relatively tight bend into the centre of Lantosque. [14][15]In the light of the fact that the train on the viaduct is steam hauled we can date this image to the period from September 1909 to November 2010 when all trains were steam-hauled as the electric traction had still to arrive from the manufacturer. [16]The 5 images immediately above all show the same viaduct North of Lantosque and close to La Bollene-Vesubie. The bridge was built for the tramway and also provided road access across the Vesubie River. All the images are old postcards. The bridge is not easy to photograph in the 21st Century because of the growth of vegetation in the river valley.

North of the Viaduct the Vesubie Valley opens out further. The tramway took the east side of the valley heading for the old village of Roquebilliere. The next station was provided for the village of La Bollene Vesubie, although it was in the valley 5 kilometres from the village which couldm only be accessed via a mountain road. The station location can eb seen below on a Google Streetview image and then below that in a picture and map from http://www.inventaires-ferroviaires.fr. [2]North of the Viaduct the Vesubie Valley opens out further. The tramway took the east side of the valley heading for the old village of Roquebilliere. On the approach to what is now the old village there was a very significant landslide in 1926 which took away a significant number of houses.

There are pictures and a video below (after the pictures of the village as it was before 1926) which show the extent of the damage caused. 19 people were lost in the rubble of the landslide and attempts to rescue them or recover their bodies seemed likely to result in further movement of the hillside. Collapse of the village of Belvedere above the slip remained a very real possibility.

The original slip occurred on 24th November, continuing rains meant that one 30th November the hillside started to move again. Movement  over two days amounted to about 10 metres over a width of between 60 and 200 metres. The buildings in its path could not resist this and by 1st December 1926, a further 10 buildings had collapsed. Fortunately, by the end of December, with frost, the earth was harder, and stabilized. [22]The 7 images immediately above show the tramway in the village of Roquebilliere in advance of the tragedy which struck the village in 1926. The old village was of quite a significant size and much of it disappeared in the landslide of that year. Three images in old postcards are shown below.The village has suffered landslides and floods six times since the 6^th  century. It was rebuilt each time in the same place, except for this last time, after the landslide of the 24th November 1926.  Most of the inhabitants left the severe tall houses of their old village to go to a new location on the West bank where there was already a church dating from the 15th Century. The old village remains inhabited but much smaller than before the 1926 disaster. 

The two videos below show, respectively,  the village immediately after the landslip, [18] and the village in the 21st Century. [19]

A late 20th Century shot of the old village taken from the road to Belvédère, high on the hill where the landslip occurred in 1926. [17] The red ring circles a WW2 gun emplacement.Another shot of the road bridge, this time from the new village. [20]The route of the tramway in 2017, taken from Google Streetview.Belvédère, high above Vieux Roquebilliere on the East side of the Vesubie Valley. [21]

After Roquebilliere, the tramway followed the East bank of the Vesubie until immediately below the village of St. Martin Vesubie. On the approach to the village it crossed a substantial viaduct. The first image below is an old postcard view looking back across the viaduct from St. Martin.The tramway can be seen crossing the bridge in both of the old postcard images above. The location of the bridge is shown circled in red on the plan above. [2]The viaduct in the 21st Century is shown (above) on an image from Google Streetview.

The trams climbed into the village along Route de la Vesubie and then, as shown on the adjacent plan, turned left onto Place de la Gare as the main road swung round to the right in a hairpin bend. [2]The station building is shown above as it appears in the early 21st Century! [2]We finish this journey with a series of postcard views of the station at St. Martin Vesubie. The one immediately above was taken while steam power was still active on the line, probably in 1910. The images below show a busy station area in the early years before the first world war.And finally a plan of the Station at Saint-Martin-Vesubie and a video made by Pathe News in 1912 ….A plan of the station track layout – the route to Plan du Var heads off on the left of the plan. [2]

The Pathe New Video. [23]

References

1. http://marc-andre-dubout.org/cf/baguenaude/vesubie/vesubie.htm, accessed on 16th December 2013.
2. http://www.inventaires-ferroviaires.fr/hd06/06075.a.pdf, accessed on 8th July 2018.
3. https://remonterletemps.ign.fr/comparer/basic?x=7.204426&y=43.858319&z=15&layer1=GEOGRAPHICALGRIDSYSTEMS.MAPS.SCAN50.1950&layer2=GEOGRAPHICALGRIDSYSTEMS.MAPS.SCAN-EXPRESS.STANDARD&mode=doubleMap, accessed on 8th July 2018.
4. http://www.en-noir-et-blanc.com/levens-p1-838.html, accessed on 8th July 2018.
5. https://collection-jfm.fr/p/cpa-france-06-plan-du-var-le-pont-sur-la-vesubie-88555, and https://collection-jfm.fr/p/cpsm-france-06-plan-du-var-le-pont-sur-la-vesubie-33701, both offered for sale, accessed on 9th July 2018.
6. As noted in other posts the TAM was a subsidiary of the Chemin de fer du Sud de la France (SF) then the Chemin de fer de Provence (CP) continues to provided a service between Nice and Digne.
7. http://amontcev.free.fr/tramways.htm, accessed on 9th July 2018.
8. https://www.geneanet.org/cartes-postales/view/6221073#0, accessed on 9th July 2018.
9. http://www.nicematin.com/vie-locale/les-gorges-de-la-vesubie-fermees-jusqua-mercredi-apres-un-eboulement-115405, accessed on 9th July 2018.
10. http://anjouetailleurs.eklablog.com/la-cote-d-azur-c23345521/3?noajax&mobile=1, accessed on 9th July 2018.
11. http://www.tunnels-ferroviaires.org/inventaire.htm, accessed on 9th July 2018.
12. https://structurae.info/ouvrages/pont-de-saint-jean-la-riviere, accessed on 9th July 2018.
13. https://www.delcampe.net/fr/collections/cartes-postales/france/lantosque/06-lantosque-ligne-du-tram-tunnel-ste-clairetbe-300006705.html, accessed on 9th July 2018.
14. https://www.delcampe.net/fr/collections/cartes-postales/france/lantosque/lantosque-06-vue-prise-du-riou-la-gare-tram-de-la-vallee-de-la-vesubie-593785660.htm, accessed on 9th July 2018.
15. https://www.delcampe.net/fr/collections/cartes-postales/france/lantosque/06-lantosque-fl-89-tram-la-gare-beau-plan-superbe-300551522.html, accessed on 9th July 2018.
16. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belv%C3%A9d%C3%A8re, accessed on 9th July 2018.
17. http://club.quomodo.com/fortif06/fortifications/ouvrages_maginot/secteur_vesubie/casemate_de_roquebilliere, accessed on 7th July 2018.
18. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kySBA8b_io, accessed on 9th July 2018.
19. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jF90I0kZuFo, accessed on 9th July 2018.
20. http://www.dronestagr.am/snow-roquebilliere, accessed on 9th July 2018.
21. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belv%C3%A9d%C3%A8re_(Alpes-Maritimes), accessed on 8th July 2018.
22. https://www.departement06.fr/documents/Import/decouvrir-les-am/rr135-roquebiliere.pdf, accessed on 10th July 2018.
23. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q39tIIVlCh8, accessed on 11th July 2021

As I have mentioned in the last month or two, I have been very fortunate indeed. … For my birthday this year, my wife has bought me two books about the tramways of Nice. Both of these books are written in French by Jose Banaudo and published by Les Editions du Cabri. [1]

I am enjoying reading the first of the two volumes at the moment which covers the history of the tramways in Nice. I have had some conversations of a number of forums about the TNL which ran the tramways along the coast and in the city of Nice as well as a number of lines which travelled up into the hilly countryside behind the coast.

Sadly the full story of the TNL network is currently only available in Jose Banaudo’s books which are written in French.

I have used Google Translate to translate some of the pages of Jose Banaudo’s book. These notes are based on that translation. This post focusses on the years immediately before the First World War. It was at this time that the network reached its fullest extent and it was the time when it was both in its best condition and carrying the greatest number of passengers. After the First World War things began to change and competition from other forms of transport increased.

The pictures included below are not those included in Jose Banaudo’s book. He entitles this section of his book, The TNL Network at its Height (Jose Banaudo Volume 1 : p62-68)

Like many French rail transport networks on the eve of the first world war, the TNL experienced, significant growth in all areas: mileage exploited, number of passengers and tonnage of goods, staff numbers, etc. There were a number of improvement and development projects underway, both for urban and interurban traffic, but the economic and human upheavals brought by the war were soon to bring a halt to the overall prosperity of the tramways of Nice.

The Completion of the Departmental Network

On the eve of the war, one line of the departmental network in the hinterland behind Nice remained to be built and an extension to another had just been agreed.

The 1904 convention provided for the extension of the La Grave-de Peille line along Les Gorges de Paillon to reach the village of L’Escarène. L’Escarène was the capital of the canton and had a commercial importance but also a military significance, because from L’Escarène one could extend the tramway towards Lucéram and Peïra-Cava, at the edge of the highly strategic Authion massif. However, the new PLM international route Nice-Breil-Cuneo had just been confirmed across the same route. This resulted in a rapid diminution of interest in the establishment of a tramway in what were very sparcely populated gorges

As a result, the general council decided to replace the planned line with a totally different route: La Pointe-de-Contes – L’Escarène. The proposed line was just over 7.5 km in length.

In addition, since the location of the terminus of the Nice-Levens line required tram passengers to walk nearly a kilometre to reach the village, an extension to Levens village was promulgated in October 1908. It was just over one kilometre long and included a tunnel. Work has just begun when war commenced and no further progress was made.

The Completion of the Urban Network

The network in the city of Nice had last seen alterations not long after the turn of the 20th Century. They were supplemented by a new line when on 8th February 1908, the city of Nice granted the TNL a line connecting Magnan bridge to the suburb of La Madeleine.The line was give the route number 12 and began operations on 27th April 1908. A single track followed the shoulder of the road up the valley for a distance of over 2.2km. It facilitated the rapid urbanization of this popular district where small factories, laundries, restaurants and cafes opened up. La Madeleine became a popular Sunday walk destination.

Closer to the centre of Nice, three lines had been granted in the period from 1902 onwards and should have entered the area bounded by the Boulevard Gambetta, the Rue de France, the Avenue de la Gare and the Avenue Thiers, which is nowadays called “Quartier des Musicians” because most of the streets are named after famous composers of the 19th century.Place Gambetta However, as a result of opposition from residents in the Musicians Quarter the company and the municipality decided not to construct the lines in the Quarter.

Another line close to the Old Town was proposed. .. The route which was initially planned to follow Rue de St. François-de-Paule and Cours Saleya sparked protests from the market traders. The image below indicates the extent of the market and highlights the likely disruption that would have been caused by the tram route.Another route through the historic heart of the city, via Rues du Palais et de la Terrasse, Les Quais du Midi and Des Ponchettes (today, Etats-Unis and Rauba-Capèu), the Quai Lunel and La Place Cassini (today, Ile-de-Beauté), was also defeated by opposition.In the first half of the 1910s, the completion of the urban network was the subject of arduous negotiations between the municipality and the TNL. On 5th and 6th February 1912, two amendments and a new convention were signed to alter the lines to be built. The four routes not yet realized were abandoned in favor of extensions and new links towards the suburbs of the city. Banaudo cites these as:

• an extension of line 4 Port-Lazaret, via the Boulevard Empress-de-Russie;

• line 6 (Massena) Boulevard Joseph Garnier-St. Sylvestre via Avenues St. Barthelemy (today, Auguste Ravnaud), Cyrille-Besset and Boulevard de Cessole;

• line 7 Place Saluzzo-Rue de Lépante;

• line 7 bis (Masséna) Carras-Caucade;

• Line 11 (Masséna) Place de Tende-Eglise St. Roch;

• an extension of line 12 to Le Madeleine-Supérieure;

• line 13 (Masséna) Place Saluzzo-Col de Villefranche on the flank of Mont Boron.

Political issues intervened and planned routes were again altered. Banaudo says that after interminable discussions only lines 6, 7a and 11, on different routes  to those previously proposed were approved.

Banaudo reports that “in the spring of 1914, the TNL operated a network of 166.5 km, including 33.6 km of urban lines, 2 km of routes within the port area and 130.9 km of coastal and departmental lines. If common lines are deducted the total reduces by about 5km. The rolling stock fleet consisted of 174 powered units (including 9 in Monaco) and 90 passenger trailers, as well as 13 tractors and 140 freight cars. The staff consisted of a thousand employees, ensuring an annual traffic of nearly 25 million passengers and more than 200,000 tons of goods. For 1913, the last year before the war, with 4,564,544 francs of receipts and 3,227,730 francs of expenses, the financial balance sheet of the company was largely profitable and the coefficient of exploitation remained at a rate of 0.71 to the envy of many other networks.”

References

1. Nice au fil du Tram Volume 1 and 2, Jose Banaudo; Les Editions du Cabri.
2. Nice au fil du Tram Volume 1; p62-67.

I was very fortunate indeed. … For my birthday in 2018, my wife bought me two books about the tramways of Nice. Both of these books are written in French by Jose Banuado and published by Les Editions du Cabri. [1]

I am enjoying reading the first of the two volumes at the moment which covers the history of the tramways in Nice. I have had some conversations of a number of forums about the TNL which ran the tramways along the coast and in the city of Nice as well as a number of lines which travelled up into the hilly countryside behind the coast.

One particular area of discussion has been a practice which seems unique to Nice among other major cities in France and possibly much wider afield. The TNL ran not only passenger services but good services as well.

Sadly the story of these activities is apparently currently only available in Jose Banuado’s books which are written in French.

I have used Google Translate to translate the pages of Jose Banuado’s book which relate to the goods traffic on the TNL network. [2]

By 1903, the TNL was at responsible for a 94.3 kilometre network of over 90 kilometres, of which 29km were the urban lines in Nice. The network was operated with 106 powered trams, 32 trailers, 3 tractors (shunting locos) and 22 wagons for the transport of goods.

The increase in traffic required improvements to the rolling stock. “On the urban lines, the original powered vehicles saw extended platforms, and trailers were added on the most loaded services. … New powered vehicles were ordered for the coastal lines: forty vehicles which were more powerful and comfortable were delivered in two batches between 1904 and 1909. They were equipped with air-brakes and coupled permanently into pairs.“

Banuado continues: “The transport of goods took off remarkably. This distinguishes the TNL network from its counterparts in most other major French cities. In addition to postal and retail freight traffic on the coast, the Contes cement plant provided substantial tonnages with coal deliveries for its kilns and lime shipments and cement in sacks. But to ensure the best trade, it was necessary to link trams to the other major transport infrastructure of the city of Nice: the commercial port, the PLM station and the Chemin de Fer du Sud.”

As the PLM had done nothing to connect to the Port, Nice made use of trams to make the connection between the PLM station and the Chemins de Fer du Sud station and the port. An agreement was signed on 7^th February 1905,  which provided for some minor alterations to the tram network, “the construction of an exchange platform in the sidings of the Chemin de Fer du Sud Station and the electrification of the tracks. This meant that the TNL locomotives could access these sidings. At the other end of the city, the Chamber of Commerce, … took charge of laying tracks on the docks.”

The TNL assigned shunters/power cars and a hundred wagons to the traffic, while the Chemin de Fer du Sud de la France ordered two hundred wagons able to run on the tracks of the trams to the port of Nice and the operation commenced in 1907 after all legal issues had been discussed and agreed.

Banaudo says: “The connection to the port of Nice enabled the transport of large volumes of goods, the majority of which concerned the industries alongside the line to Contes (the Contes cement factory, L’Ariane flour mill and the Nice-Riquier gasworks), as well as exchanges with the Chemin de Fer du Sud de la France Station.” The latter provided a route to the PLM. Although the PLM had always refused a direct connection with the trams, it was connected with the Chemin de Fer du Sud Station from 1899 onwards via a short branch-line which linked the two stations, set into the road pavement of the Rue de Falicon (today, the Rue des Combattants en Afrique du Nord). So, ultimately, it became possible to transship goods from a wagon of standard-gauge to a vehicle of the TNL and vice versa.

References

1. Nice au fil du Tram Volume 1 and 2, Jose Banuado; Les Editions du Cabri.
2. Nice au fil du Tram Volume 1; p50-52.

As an aside to the regular blog posts, I am wondering about collating my posts into a series of eBooks. I have developed the first few chapters of the first book, which will be about the Central Var Line in Provence. I would appreciate comments about the draft.

http://anyflip.com/zydj/rtke/#.WtjoPZ4iRBs.wordpress

Trains left la Gare du Sud in a Westerly direction before turning first North-West and then round to the south towards St. Philippe. The video below shows the first part of the route from Nice to Colomars (La Manda).[7]

On the map below the site of the original Gare due Sud appears as a void in the right middle of the image with the present station to its West.

The two station sites are covered in the previous post in this series:

https://rogerfarnworth.wordpress.com/2018/04/06/nice-to-digne-les-bains-part-1-nice-chemins-de-fer-de-provence-57

Before we finally leave the site of the two stations, modern and old, here are a few more images of the two stations and rolling stock at the site.  The first image is the only one I have found which shows a steam locomotive leaving the old Gare du Sud.More photographs can be found by following the links in the reference section at the bottom of this post. [1]Les tirages sont datés de Juillet 1983. Le jour exact n’a pas été retrouvé (c) Claude Villetaneuse. [14]1984 Autorail Billard en gare de Nice Chemins de fer de Provence.

Some amazing photos can be found on various french forums. The next four are from Les Trains de l’Histoire [2] and a thread which focusses on diesel motive power on the Nice-Digne Line.

Taken in 1971/72 (c) Locky on Forum: Les Trains de l’Histoire. [15]

Taken in 1971/72 (c) Locky on Forum: Les Trains de l’Histoire. [15]

Renault autorail at La Gare du Sud (c) Gerard, Forum: Les Trains de l’Histoire [5]

Renault autorails in La Gare du Sud (c) Michel/57 Forum: Les Trains de l’Histoire. [7]

After leaving the old station, trains remained within the station site for some distance. Rue Alfred Binet did not cross the old station site in those days. Trains then had at grade crossings at Rue Dabray, Rue Gutenburg and the junction of Boulevard Joseph Garnier and Boulevard Gambetta. The first small stop on the line was immediately after the road junction.Looking back towards the station from Rue Dabray.Looking ahead from Rue Dabray across Rue Gutenburg. [4]Looking forward from Rue Gutenberg towards the Arrest Gambetta beyond the next road junction.Looking forward to the road Junction at Gambetta [4]The road junction, Google Streetview.

In gentler times – with the red flag to alert traffic! [6]The Arret at Gambetta.Looking forward from the Arret Gambetta.[4]

Just beyond the small Station called Gambetta the line curved round under Boulevard Mantega Righi and then entered the tunnel at La Mantega – the tunnel Piol Mantéga.The tunnel was 350 metres long. The current Piol Mantéga Tunnel is the result of the joining of two older tunnels by a modern one of 174 metres in length. The two older tunnels were La Mantega Tunnel (88 metres long) closest to La Gare du Sud, and Piol Tunnel (78 metres long).
In addition, the entrance to the Piol tunnel was extended by a dozen meters towards Saint-Philippe in concrete. [8]The images below are two views of the cutting between La Mantéga and Piol tunnels close to Saint Paul’s Church. The North portal of Piol Tunnel is visible as well as an aqueduct which carries a small stream over the tunnel. A picture of St. Paul’s Church follows the views of the works. The picture of the church is taken from over the old tunnel portal in the images immediately below.
The tunnel runs below the trees to the left of the church.In the photograph above the railway runs to the right of the road (Avenue Paul Arene) towards the next Station, another small halt called Nice-Parc Imperial which can be seen marked Arret on the right side of the map below.The line is shown below in the satellite image from Google Earth

The portal of the next tunnel, that of Saint-Philippe, is just visible in the bottom left of the satellite image. Details of this tunnel can be found on the Inventaire des Tunnels Ferroviaires de France website. [9]Saint-Philippe Tunnel is 255 metres long, in it the line curves round from a south-westerly direction to a north-westerly direction. Leaving the tunnel the line immediately crosses Avenue d’Estienne d’Orves and enters another small halt.The halt of Nice-Saint-Philippe consists of no more than a small concrete platform and immediately precedes the entrance to the next tunnel, that of Saint Pierre.[10] The tunnel was 633 metres long and as the black and white image below shows, trains immediately crossed two bridges after leaving the tunnel. The tunnel portal is marked with a yellow arrow. [10]These last three pictures show the bridges along the hillside and are taken from across the valley. The pictures that follow show the approach to and the location of the next halt – La Madeleine.Chemin du Vallon Sabatier Passes under the railway to the immediate north-west of the station.As does Chemin de la Costière.The line continues North-west from La Madeleine Halt before swinging round to the West and crossing Boulevard de la Madeleine on an elegant viaduct.It then enters another tunnel – le Tunnel de Bellet (also known as  le Tunnel de Saint Antoine). The tunnel is 950 metres long and straight enough to be able to see the far end from outside the near portal. The far portal, furthest from La Madeleine is interesting. Because of its proximity to the Italian border, the entrance to the tunnel was been equipped at its construction in 1892 with a fortified defence system. Six years later, in 1898, defences were reinforced by the introduction of a pit 4.2 metres long in front of the portal which in normal times was filled with sand. In times of war, it could either be emptied, or receive explosives to destroy the tunnel entrance if required.

The tunnel portal now sits just under the A8 and can be seen to the right of the satellite image below. The railway continues around the edge of the industrial complex at Cremat and a halt is provided to serve the area – Nice-Cremat-PAL.This was at one time the stop of Zygofolis details of which can be found in the last post in this series. [11] Slip-roads from the A8 now travel under the line using purpose built bridges.

In the picture above, Nice-St. Isidore station building can just be glimpsed to the left of the image. The approach along the line is shown below. The station building can just be glimpsed from the Chemin de Crémat.From St. Isidore, the line continues and turns to a more northerly direction and then switches back towards the North-West and crosses Chemin des Serres and Chemin de la Glacière before entering the complex at Lingostiere.

The first image of the depot at Lingostiere has been rotated to show the underpass flood channel at Chemin de la Glacière in the bottom left of the picture. Just to the North-West of this bridge the tracks fan out to serve the depot.The depot at Lingostiere was the main depot on the Nice to Digne Line. The workshops were created in 1975 before that the workshops were in Draguignan despite the closure of the Central Var line in 1949.

A variety of rolling stock and traction could be observed alongside the line out of Nice towards La Manda. Another photograph from Les Trains de l’Histoire, Sur les Chemins de Fer de Provence (Nice-Digne) shows the depot in 1979. [2]T62 at Lingostière on 14th February 2007. [12]

The following images are from Alain Mionnet. [13]

The line leaves Lingostiere and passes under the M6202 dual carriageway before settling in alongside that road. The M6202 and the Chemin de Fer de Provence follow each other for some distance alongside the River Var.

The picture below shows the two running in parallel. The halt visible in the distance is Saint-Sauveur.

The next halt is Bellet.And the next is Colomars/La Manda. The satellite image below is of great interst to those who are following the original line of the railway. The modern line follows the River side and the M6202, the original line deviated to the East. The wide sweep of the line which branched off the Nice to Digne line can be seen curving round to the La Manda bridge. Even though the railway disappeared in the 1950s, its route is still visible in the layout of the roads at La Manda.A little less obvious because of the trees is the old alignment north of La Manda heading towards Digne-les-Bains. It can still be picked out on the next satellite image below and returns towards the river bank in the top right of the image. If your eyesight is really good you might just be able to make out the name of the road which follows the old line – Avenue du Train des Pignes.

We finish this second part of the journey along the Nice to Digne line by focussing on the station at La Manda which was usually referred to as Colomars in the early life of the line.

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 real 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!

References

1. Ravnsbak.dk, Narrow gauge railway Nice Digne; http://www.ravnsbak.dk/Railways/France/Railcars/Narrow%20gauge%20railway%20Nice%20Digne/index.html#, accessed on 10th April 2018
2. Les Trains de l’Histoire, Sur les Chemins de Fer de Provence (Nice-Digne); https://www.tdh-forum.fr/viewtopic.php?t=71551, accessed on 10th April 2018. Copy right for these images rest with the photographers …. the relevant names on that site are: chavance, michel/57, Gérard and there are some great photographs to enjoy there.
3. Wikipedia, Chemins de Fer de Provence; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemins_de_Fer_de_Provence, accessed on 10th April 2018; Flickr, Nice JHM-1980-0268 – France, Chemins de fer de la Provence, Nice; https://www.flickr.com/photos/jhm0284/14640888993, accessed on 10th April 2018; Flickr Hive Mind – The World’s Best Photos of x304; https://hiveminer.com/Tags/x304, accessed on 10th April 2018; Ruhn Feldt, Nice – Annot – Digne-Les-Bains; http://provence.jvgspv.se, accessed on 10th April 2018. The last link provides photographs along the full length of the Nice to Digne Line.
4. http://www.rd-rail.fr, Railways of Provence: from Nice to Digne (June 15, 2016); http://www.rd-rail.fr/1-PHOTOS/PH43/index-ph43.html, accessed on 10th April 2018.
5. Picture (c) Gerard on Forum: Les Trains de l’Histoire, accessed on 10th April 2018.
6. Picssr, JHM0284’s Most Interesting Flickr Photos; http://picssr.com/photos/jhm0284/interesting/page9?nsid=15205793@N06, accessed on 11th April 2018.
7. Picture (c) Michel/57 on Forum: Les Trains de l’Histoire, accessed on 10th April 2018.
8. Inventaire des tunnels de ferroviaires de France, Tunnel du Piol Mantéga; http://www.tunnels-ferroviaires.org/tu06/06088.11.pdf, accessed on 11th April 2018.
9. Inventaire des tunnels de ferroviaires de France, Tunnel du Piol Mantéga; http://www.tunnels-ferroviaires.org/tu06/06088.10.pdf, accessed on 12th April 2018.
10. Inventaire des tunnels de ferroviaires de France, Tunnel du Piol Mantéga; http://www.tunnels-ferroviaires.org/tu06/06088.9.pdf, accessed on 12th April 2018.
11. https://rogerfarnworth.wordpress.com/2018/04/06/nice-to-digne-les-bains-part-1-nice-chemins-de-fer-de-provence-57, there are also some excellent photographs of the trains and buses that served the theme park taken by Jean-Henri Manara; https://www.flickr.com/photos/jhm0284/albums/72157665103843167 accessed on 24th April 2018.
12. Simplon Postcards, Chemins de Fer de Provence – CP, Page 1B: Rolling Stock – Diesel Locos & Trailers; http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/CPb.html, accessed on 12th April 2018.
13. Alain Mionnet, Le Chemin de Fer de Provence; http://alain.mionnet.pagesperso-orange.fr/cfp.htm, accessed on 12th April 2018.
14. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Autorail_Billard_212_des_CP_-_Juillet_1983-8.jpg, accessed on 12th April 2018.
15. Taken in 1971/72 (c) Locky on Forum: Les Trains de l’Histoire, accessed on 10th April 2018.
16. Inventaire des tunnels de ferroviaires de France, Tunnel du Piol Mantéga; http://www.tunnels-ferroviaires.org/tu06/06088.8.pdf, accessed on 12th April 2018

The Chemin de Fer due Sud de la France station, commissioned in 1892, benefited as early as 1899 from a 960 m connection to the PLM network.[1] The route of the connection is shown on the 1958 map of Nice below. La Gare due Sud is the more northerly of the two stations shown on the map.

Somewhere along Rue des Combattants en Afrique du Nord or Rue Alfred Binet, Nice – 1963 – © JH Manara.[1]The same locomotive operating on street between the two railway stations in Nice – © JH Manara.[2]The same locomotive again, operating between wagons on the link between the two stations.[3]

The connection between the CP and SNCF networks was established as  dual-gauge  line so that normal track wagons could be towed by metre-gauge shunters. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the passage of freight trains in the middle of the street began to pose a problem with regard to traffic. I have only been able to find a few images of the line in use, taken, I think in 1963 by the same photographer, although available on the internet from different web sites.

The locomotive in the images above was also recorded on site at la Gare du Sud. 1974. [4]

CP51 appears to be an 0-8-0 diesel shunter and seems to have had a long life on the Chemin de Fer de Provence. It was converted from a steam locomotive in 1948 and given the loco number 51. The work was done by the CFD workshop in Montmirail. In these CFD conversions, power was transferred from the diesel engine via a mechanical gearbox that drove one axle. The remaining axles are connected to the drive axle via the coupling rods. The loco was mainly used for traffic between la Gare du Sud and the SNCF station, for the transfer of freight wagons. From 1970, the vehicle was moved to Digne and shunted wagons at the station there. From 1978, the locomotive was used for construction trains and was eventually set aside at Lingostière after an engine failure in 1987. In 2010 it was still in the sidings at Lingostière.[5]

1980. [6]

1981.[7]

CP51 sits in a decrepit state in the sidings at the depot at Lingostière. [8]

STOP PRESS …… CP51 has been found! It is hiding at Saint-André-les-Alpes! It has been photographed on 25th April 2018 in a siding awaiting restoration! [9]

There is a 3D printed body shell for this locomotive, produced by Shapeways[10] …

References

1. Transport Rail Blog, Les Chemins de Fer de la Provence; http://transportrail.canalblog.com/pages/les-chemins-de-fer-de-la-provence/33191846.html#, accessed on 11th April 2018.
2. JHM-1963-0019 – Nice, Chemin de Fer de Provence, de la gare CP à la gare SNCF
   © All Rights Reserved, http://www.flickriver.com/photos/jhm0284/5344188762, accessed on 23rd April 2018.
3. http://www.passion-metrique.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=7790&hilit=locotracteur+cfd&start=240, accessed on 23rd April 2018.
4. Tyrphon, Jean-Pierre Dumont; http://www.passion-metrique.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=7790&hilit=locotracteur+cfd&start=240, accessed on 23rd April 2018.
5. File:CP-51-débris Lingostière 04-2014.jpg; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CP-51-d%C3%A9bris_Lingosti%C3%A8re_04-2014.jpg, accessed on 23rd April 2018 and translated from the German text of the website.
6. http://www.le-rail.ch/bild/Bilder/CP/CP-51-1980.jpg, accessed on 23rd April 2018.
7. http://www.le-rail.ch/bild/Bilder/CP/CP-51-1981.jpg, accessed on 23rd April 2018.
8. http://www.le-rail.ch/text/aktuell27.htm, accessed on 23rd April 2018.
9. Photograph taken by ‘La bête de Calvi’ on the Passions Metrique et Etroite Forum; http://www.passion-metrique.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4143&sid=71f9e15a23794923765a790b153b2cc8&p=416169#p416169, accessed on 25th April 2018.
10. https://www.shapeways.com/marketplace/miniatures/trains?downloadable=0&sort=newest&facet%5BmaterialGroupId%5D=3&s=13520#more-products.