Meyrargues – Nice railway line

Meyrargues – Nice
The Gorges de Loup viaduct northeast of Grasse, destroyed in August 1944
CFSF route network, 1929
Route length:	210 km
Gauge :	1000 mm ( meter gauge )
Legend Lyon – Marseille railway line 210.2 Meyrargues 205 m RN 96 206.2 Peyrolles-en-Provence 206 m 201.7 Jouques 263 m RN 561 Bouches-du-Rhône / Var 196.2 Port-Sec-des-Roques 307 m 191.1 Rians 354 m RN 561 RN 561 187.0 Artigues 363 m 183.5 Esparron 393 m 180.3 Saint Martin 375 m RN 561 173.9 Varages 306 m L'Eau Salée (3 ×) St. Pothin 167.8 Barjols 304 m RN 560 La Fauvery 165.8 Pontevès 330 m RN 560 162.6 Camparoux (bauxite) 158.3 Rognette 404 m RN 560 (2 ×) 155.4 Mine de St. Barnabé (bauxite) 151.1 Aups - Sillans 363 m La Bresque RN 560 GC 131 143.2 Salernes - Villecroze 241 m RN 560 135.5 Entrecasteaux 245 m 132.7 Sainte Foy 253 m 128.7 Lorgues 238 m Florieye 123.6 Sauve-Clare 201 m Les Faïsses tunnel (3 ×) (80 + 120 + 70 m) 119.8 Flayosc 234 m RN 562 RN 557 Nartuby RN 557 112.7 Draguignan 180 m RN 555 RN 562 101.7 Figanières 97.2 Callas 93.7 Bargemon 90.6 Pianos 398 m 85.8 Les Méaulx 82.6 Rayol (120 m) 79.5 Seillans 74.5 Faience RN 563 70.3 Callian 67.4 Montauroux 198 m RN 562 Var / Alpes-Maritimes 62.3 Saint-Cassien- Tanneron 60.9 Siagne ( Siagneviadukt ) (destroyed since August 1944) (230 m) 59.2 Tunnel de Planasteaux (535 m) RN 562 55.2 Peymeinade Cabris-Sainte-Cézaire Saint-Jacques formerly RN 562 formerly RN 567 Grasse (PLM) Tramways des Alpes-Maritimes to Cagnes-sur-Mer 48.8 Grasse 267 m 48.5 Font-Laugière (Pont Eiffel) 45.8 Riou-de Magagnosc (Pont Félix Martin) 44.6 Tunnel de Saint-Laurent (125 m) 44.4 Magagnosc-Châteauneuf 41.5 Tunnel de Pré-du-Lac (515 m) 41.7 Tunnel du Riou-le-Bar (104 m) 41.5 Riou-du-Bar 41.0 Le Bar-sur-Loup 300 m 40.2 Ribas ou de la Fanerie RD 2210 (formerly RN 210 ) 38.0 Loup 38.9 Riou-de-Gourdon 37.7 Loup (destroyed since August 1944) (319 m) 37.6 Tunnel du Loup (60 m) RD 2210 (formerly RN 210) 34.6 Vallettes 33.8 Clare 32.7 Saint Antoine RD 2210 (formerly N. 210) 31.0 Tourrettes-sur-Loup 30.5 Pasceressa (destroyed since August 1944) 30.2 Cassan 29.1 Téolière 27.2 Malvan (190 m) RD 2210 (formerly RN 210) 26.0 Vence 325 m 24.7 Lubiane (90 m) RD 2210 (formerly RN 210) 23.5 Fonts tunnel (53 m) 22.3 Canal tunnel (30 m) 22.0 Cagne 21.7 Tunnel de la Cagne (224 m) 21.2 Saint-Jeannet-La Gaude 20.2 Tunnel de Saint-Jeannet (860 m) RN 209 15.8 Gattières 14.4 Enghiéri (RN 210) 13.6 Pont de la Manda Var Nice – Digne-les-Bains railway line after Digne Nice – Digne-les-Bains railway line after Digne 12.8 Colomars (1892-1968) 62 m Nice – Digne-les-Bains railway line after Digne 10.5 Bellet – Tennis des Combes (1893–) 50 m 9.2 Saint-Sauveur (since 1949) 42 m 7.8 Lingostière 36 m 6.5 Saint-Isidore 57 m 5.6 Crémat – PAL (since 1987) 4.2 Bellet tunnel (950 m) 4.1 Magnan 77 m 3.3 La Madeleine 3.0 Saint-Pierre 60 m 2.7 Pont de Verani (26 m) 2.1 Tunnel de Saint-Pierre (633 m) 2.0 Saint-Philippe (since 1981) 1.6 Tunnel de Saint-Philippe (255 m) 60 m 1.2 Parc Impérial (since 1986) 0.8 Tunnel de la Mantéga et du Piol (350 m) 0.6 Gambetta 25 m 0.4 Junction to Nice-Ville train station 0.2 Nice-CP (since 1991) 22 m 0.0 Nice-Sud (until 1991)

The Meyrargues – Nice railway line , popularly known as Train des Pignes (German: Pinienzapfenbahn ) in French , was a single-track meter- gauge railway in the Bouches-du-Rhône , Var and Alpes-Maritimes departments , which opened between 1889 and 1892 and ran until August 1944 was completely driven on. At the two ends of the line, Meyrargues and Nice , there was a connection to standard-gauge lines of the Compagnie Paris-Lyon-Méditerranée (PLM) . Serious damage to three important viaducts caused by the German Army during its withdrawal prevented operations from being fully resumed after the Second World War. In January 1950, traffic on the last section was also stopped. Some special features have made the route unique.

history

After the Peace of Zurich , the county of Nice , which had belonged to the House of Savoy since 1380 , i.e. last to Italy, fell to France in 1860. From a military point of view, a railway connection as a strategic railway was therefore essential. Since the decision to build the Marseille – Ventimiglia railway line in 1852, which ran along the Mediterranean coast, there was already military supply capacities in this region from 1864, but the generals wanted another route. With the law called Freycinet Plan , which was passed on May 18, 1878 and expanded 14 months later, the construction of a total of 8,850 kilometers on 181 railway lines could be financed. This route, which was always understood as a unit and also operated continuously, consisted of two parts according to the Freycinet plan:

• Route number 139: Draguignan - Grasse - Vence - Cagnes-sur-Mer
• Route number 140: Draguignan– Barjols - Mirabeau (later changed to nearby Meyrargues )

The construction of this railway with many engineering structures was very complex, the route was difficult and required many tight curve radii. A meter gauge was seen as the only economical one, which was the first time that a state-built railway deviated from the standard gauge. The license to operate was granted on August 17, 1885 for 99 years to the Chemins de fer du Sud de la France , which had been founded especially for this purpose.

Draguignan central train station 1914

The construction work for the line, which had already been declared public in the summer of 1885, began in 1886 from the central town of Draguignan in both directions. As early as March 22, 1889, the western section to Meyrargues could be opened, which connected there to the Lyon – Marseille railway line and which managed with only a few artificial structures. Sections had already been opened beforehand: on April 23, 1888 to Salernes and on August 27 to Barjols. The section east of Draguignan was declared public in the summer of 1889. Work began the following year. The section to Grasse was opened on November 8, 1890. This made the line the first narrow-gauge railway line in France with a length of more than 100 km. The railway line did not satisfy the neighboring communities, because on the winding route with many stops only very slow progress was possible. The average speed was less than 20 km / h; In 1912 the journey took eleven hours on the entire route.

There was another special feature of the construction: For strategic reasons, the state insisted on being able to get from Nice to Draguignan with standard-gauge trains because there was a large military installation there. The military strategists feared an enemy attack from the sea against the coastal railway line near the Baie des Anges . Thus, on the Draguignan – Nice line, initially four-rail and later three-rail tracks were laid so that trains in standard and meter gauge could run on the same route.

The cumbersome steam locomotives were replaced by diesel railcars in 1935. The average number of passengers rose from 8.8 to 17.9 passengers per train.

Viaduct over the Loup

The line came to an abrupt end on the morning of August 24, 1944. A German army command, retreating from the Allies of Operation Dragoon , detonated explosive charges on three important bridges, which were so badly destroyed that it was no longer worth rebuilding this little-frequented stretch. Four arches were destroyed on the Loup Viaduct, two each on the Pascaressa Viaduct and the Siagne Metal Bridge. The Manda Bridge over the Var was also blown up. This bridge was later made functional again. The line was provisionally reopened on the remaining sections on September 5, 1944, but after the war soaring prices and the increasing competition from the road made the inefficiency more than obvious. On December 14, 1949, the line was closed for January 2, 1950. The deed took place on November 1st, from the summer of 1951 the tracks were dismantled and the railway facilities were handed over to the communities.

The historic steam trains on the Nice – Digne-les-Bains railway line are now also known as Train des Pignes , whose company emblem is now adorned with a central pine cone. This name was originally reserved for trains on the Meyrargues – Nice route .

literature

• José Banaudo: Le siècle du Train des Pignes . Les Editions du Cabri, Breil-sur-Roya 1991, ISBN 978-2903310905
• Paul Cèze: Légendaire train des Pignes . Editions Cheminements 2000, ISBN 9782844780454

media

• La comédie du train des Pignes in the Internet Movie Database . Film by Philippe Léotard , directed by François de Chavannes (* 1940), France 1976

Web links

Commons : Meyrargues – Nice railway line  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Loi qui classe 181 lignes de chemins de fer dans le réseau des chmins de fer d'intérêt general les lignes dont la désignation. Collection complète des lois, décrets, ordonnances, réglements, et avis du Conseil d'Etat. Jean-Baptiste Duvergier, 17th-18th centuries Jul 1879, page 274
2. ↑ Original timetable extract , June 1912
3. ↑ Le Train des Pignes: La création , Informations historiques (French)
4. ↑ Le Train des Pignes: La Ligne Central Var , Informations historiques (French)