shorthistory2

The network of about 12,000 km of secondary railway lines which existed in 1939 was of great value and the little steam trains operated for the five years of occupation to the end of the war, providing much needed transport through the countryside of France in the absence of petrol.

But by 1945, the network was in serious disrepair and although the Monnet Plan of 1947 provided for reconstruction of nearly two thirds of the remaining lines, this was never done and by 1955 only 3,500 km remained open.

With some exceptions, the remaining lines were used only for the sugar beet harvest, once a year. Evocative black and white photos from this period show ancient and battered steam locomotives built in the early 1900's hauling long trains of even older wagons across bleak plains and along tracks of uncertain gauge.

But this heroic era ended and the beet was transferred to road transport..

Some of the secondary lines had been taken over by SNCF, notably an extensive narrow gauge network in Britanny. SNCF closed this network in 1968 and transferred the passenger services to the road.

One of the most successful types of locomotive in France has been the 140 C.class built in Glasgow in 1916. Here we see No 140-C-231, a 2-8-0 with a typical British appearance, which was operated by SNCF until 1972, and survived into preservation. It is seen at Longueville shed in September 1990..

Three or four other class 140 C locomotives have been preserved in working order.

At this stage in the story of the Little Trains of France, we find that an association of railway enthusiasts was formed in 1957; the Federation des Amis des Chemins de fer Secondaires ( FACS ). It was nearly too late.

The association concerned itself with urgent actions to preserve the remaining secondary railway network, being all the railway lines operated outside the main SNCF rail network.

Ultimately, members of FACS were able to save the important lines of the Baie de Somme in 1972, those at Pithiviers in 1964, part of the Vivarais network in 1968, the Abreschviller line in 1968, all of which now operate successfully as heritage lines.

The Chemin de fer de Provence ( Nice - Digne) has survived, with continual difficulties, to the present day.

The railways on Corsica have survived and are being modernized.

The metre gauge Blanc-Argent line in Sologne is operated by SNCF and has just received, in 2002, five new autorails, financed by the Centre region.

The Petit Train Jaune of Cerdagne in the Pyrenees, which climbs to La Tour de Carol, has survived.

Altogether, more than fifty significant heritage lines are operated in France at the present time, which is more than could reasonably be expected, considering the small number of genuine railway enthusiasts in France.

For this reason, the heritage lines are marketed to tourists and passing visitors, and are often passed off as a "train touristique".

One of the purposes of this site is to visit and record the present state of some of these heritage lines, thus encouraging interest and support for them from visitors to this site.

Thus, sections of many former secondary lines built a hundred years ago have been reinstated, in part, as heritage lines.

These schemes are now recognized as being beneficial to the nation and to the SNCF. Thus, a National Charter for the development of "tourist" and historical railways was signed on February 15th 2001 by:-

the Minister of Transport,

the Minister of Culture and Communication,

the Secretary of State for Tourisme,

the Secretary of State for the Patrimoine,

the President of SNCF,

the President of RFF ( the French railway infrastructure owner),

the President of FACS

The purpose of the Charter was to confirm a joint approach of all the parties to the task of developing the heritage lines for the mutual benefit of all. In particular, SNCF agreed to co-operate with the "tourist" lines, recognising the historical value of the preservation movement. SNCF agreed to propose a reference document covering the security aspects of running trains on these private lines. It was agreed that unused parts of the national network could be made available for tourist trains when appropriate schemes were presented.

2004. Sadly, despite the grand words, several years on, there is little sign on the ground of any marked improvement in assistance from SNCF/RFF towards those enthusiasts seeking to operate heritage lines or to preserve retired railway locomotives, carriages, autorails, objects, stations, or to operate special trains along the national network.

RFF charges prohibitive tolls on special trains which has virtually killed that market in France. The current policy of SNCF is to project a "modern" image; anything old is banished from public view as far as possible. Hence, at the most recent "open days" at depots on the network no visits from steam locomotives were allowed, a feature which used to be standard not so long ago.