Sud de France 2007-Present Day - Photos

[Focalplane]

TGVs west of Avignon

 

Traveling from Lyon south, TGVs either turn west to Nimes and Montpellier or south to Marseilles.  There is a third link for trains from Marseilles to Nimes but this is not used very much at the moment.  So the Avignon Triple Junction, as I call it, is a good place to watch TGVs go by and often they are slowing down to fit in with the signalling north to Lyon, so photography is a little easier than elsewhere on the "Lignes Grande Vitesse".  I spent several hours looking for and finding a good spot, driving my Peugeot 207 along gravel tracks which are potentially used to evacuate trains in an emergency.

 

This location is on the Nimes end of the junction.  The landscape here is barren and rugged with limestone ridges.  An engineering feat because the southern extension also has to cross the Rhone by a large concrete viaduct.  The gradients here are at the maximum for TGV design, approximately 3%.  But with a telephoto lens they begin to look like a roller coaster, a sensation which can be felt while traveling through them.

 

The view toward Nimes with a double Duplex trainset approaching:

 

 

A Duplex traveling toward Nimes.  The outside tracks go to Marseilles:

 

 

The roller coaster!  There is a Duplex out there:

 

 

A Hybrid Duplex heading for Montpellier.  One of these trainsets figured in a recent post.  The locomotive is a standard "reseau" coupled to a Duplex trainset.  They seem to run mostly on the Paris-Montpellier section.

 

 

Lastly, a Duplex TGV heads west with the backdrop of the Rhone and Avignon in the distance.

 

[Focalplane]

Poppy Day at Nissan

 

It seems appropriate to recognize the Great War in some way and my next four photos do have one thing in common with remembrance - trackside poppies at my favorite location just west of Nissan, where a vigneron track runs so close to the main line that there is no room for the gantry posts.

 

The first is an eastbound Languedoc-Roussillon Bombardier TER.  I like the local livery - very hot!

 

 

Next a westbound Grandes Lignes express headed by a "nez cassé"  BB22xxx (22329)

 

 

Another westbound Grandes Lignes express, this time the single voltage loco BB7xxx (7205) is in the "en voyage" livery:

 

 

And finally, an interesting combination - express freight loco (26221) dragging a switcher with an eastbound covered wagon freight:

 

 

[Focalplane]

Let's stray away from the main line through Le Midi and visit a wonderful frontier station, Latour de Carol, situated on the french side of the Pyrenees on the line from Toulouse to Barcelona.

 

Latour de Carol has one unique claim to fame in Europe.  The station itself (this is important) caters to three gauges.  I know of two other European towns that can claim three gauges, but they are not all served by one station.

 

The French main line from Toulouse is standard gauge.  Passengers must change trains and platforms to continue on to Barcelona on the slightly broader Spanish gauge.  And alongside the two is the the narrow gauge line from Villefranche which is better known as Le Train Jaune (the Yellow Train).

 

The station building itself far exceeds its actual needs to the local community.  This is a frontier station and like others on each side of the Pyrenees it announces the country rather than the town.

 

The first photo is a view toward Toulouse.  The line passes under those mountains which are, I suppose, mere foothills!

 

 

A close up shows a Renfe EMU waiting to depart for Barcelona.  On the left is a Bombardier TER from Toulouse. On the right is the night service to Paris which starts from Latour de Carol as a three car local, then speeds up after Toulouse.  With the new TGV through service from Paris to Barcelona this service may be short lived.  The Yellow Train platform is beyond the SNCF sleeper.

 

 

Next, the line has a dedicated snow plough and it is often to be found at Latour, though I have seen photos of it in Toulouse.  Of course, it only works on the French snowdrifts!

 

 

Finally, a photo of the Yellow Train, taken not far from Latour.  I plan to do a separate posting on this wonderful SNCF anachronism sometime soon.

 

[Focalplane]

An interesting BB72XX!

 

A freight train emerges from the Malpas Tunnel near Nissan.  Double headed!

 

 

No, the second locomotive (7288) has its pantographs down and looks in immaculate condition:

 

 

I have to wonder where it was being taken.  To a museum, perhaps?

[Fat Controller]

An interesting BB72XX!

 

A freight train emerges from the Malpas Tunnel near Nissan.  Double headed!

 

DSC_9816.jpg

 

No, the second locomotive (7288) has its pantographs down and looks in immaculate condition:

 

DSC_9819.jpg

 

I have to wonder where it was being taken.  To a museum, perhaps?

Probably just being hauled 'dead-in-train', a common SNCF practice. Which way was the train travelling? East-west or west- east? If the former, then it had probably been outshopped at Oullins (Lyon) and was being taken to Toulouse, or even Bordeaux. SNCF are quite keen to haul locos d-i-t, rather than light engines (HLP), especially now they have to negotiate paths with RFF. Sometimes, of course, they have trains composed entirely of locomotives, as this link (hopefully) shows:-

http://lapassiondutrain.blogspot.com.au/search/label/Trains%20de%20machines

[Focalplane]

Probably just being hauled 'dead-in-train', a common SNCF practice. Which way was the train travelling? East-west or west- east? If the former, then it had probably been outshopped at Oullins (Lyon) and was being taken to Toulouse, or even Bordeaux. SNCF are quite keen to haul locos d-i-t, rather than light engines (HLP), especially now they have to negotiate paths with RFF. Sometimes, of course, they have trains composed entirely of locomotives, as this link (hopefully) shows:-

http://lapassiondutrain.blogspot.com.au/search/label/Trains%20de%20machines

The train was traveling east-west.  This is certainly not the only d-i-t I have seen, though the towed locos were generally old and not outshopped like this one.

 

The link is fascinating, reminds me of photos of USTC S-160s being towed from south Wales toward the end of WWII.  A train of trains, indeed!

[Focalplane]

An interesting bridge in Béziers

 

Across the Canal du Midi from Béziers' freight yards is a large factory, currently operated by Cameron, the oilfield supply company based in Houston, Texas.  The bridge is permanently positioned as seen, though there are signs that suggest the mechanism is to be restored.  I doubt if Cameron actually use the bridge and the sidings across the canal any more.

 

 

[LooseHead]

Looking forward to your special on le Train Jaune - I've yet to do the section from Font-Romeu-Odeillo-Via to la Tour Carol (ran out of time before, because the lure of lunch at Villefranche had been too strong) so will be interested to see what I've missed.

[Focalplane]

Cerbère, gateway to Catalonia

 

Cerbère is the French border town on the eastern end of the Pyrenees. Like all border town stations it looks impressive, though these days it is definitely run down, possibly due to the now extant TGV direct connection through the Perthus Tunnel. Most SNCF services stop in Cerbère but some continue through the tunnel to Portbou. The now (I think) redundant Talgos also went through to Spain.

 

A general view of Portbou:

 

 

A close up of the station, both these shots were taken from the border with Spain:

 

 

The tunnels to Spain contain tracks of both standard gauge (on the left) and Spanish gauge (on the right). The standard gauge is/was used by Talgos and SNCF. EDIT from left to right, in the large tunnel, standard, Spanish gauge ide by side; the right hand tunnel is a headshunt.

 

 

This almost as far as SNCF locos can go:

 

 

Down at platform level, a TER waits to leave for Montpellier:

 

 

More later on the Spanish side (even if this is the French Board!)

Edited October 9, 2014 by Focalplane

[Fat Controller]

Nice to see those shots of Cerbère- the one taken from on top of the hill gives some impression of how cramped the site is. To the left of your shot is the gauge-changing shed, these days used mainly for freight stock. I think the Talgo still runs, but only in the sleeper version to Gare d'Austerlitz in Paris.

I visited both Cerbère and Port Bou once; the tracks between the two stations are laid out and operated in a somewhat curious manner. The track on the coast side (left) is standard gauge, that in the middle, Iberian gauge, and the one in the tunnel to the right is 'blind', and serves as a headshunt. SNCF local trains shuttle to and fro on the standard gauge, loaded southbound and empty on the return, whilst RENFE local services do the converse in the other tunnel.. We were amused to see a local, carrying heavy shopping bags, stroll over the tracks shown in your shot to the footpath zig-zagging up the slope to the right, meanwhile totally ignoring the various functionaries (some armed).

[Focalplane]

When I was a member of trainorders.com I posted a similar suite of photos and got a reply with a link to the track plans. I can no longer access the pages but I feel sure the inboard tunnel does go through. Anyway, I will find some photos of Port Bou, including the gauge changing shed.

 

The Montpellier to Spain Talgos no longer show up on the SNCF app. I must admit to being too busy decorating to go down to the station at 9 am to see the southbound.

 

The freight wheel changing shed is still operating and will do so for some time to come. I don't see the coast route closing down as it probably would if in the UK.

 

That circular object in Cerbère is not a turntable but an air shaft to a grandfathered road under the station. I know, I have driven down it!

Edited September 2, 2014 by Focalplane

[Focalplane]

Le Boulou, south of Perpignan

 

There is an interesting "green project" here.  Le Boulou is strategically located at the northern end of the A9 autoroute crossing into Spain.  Container trains run from the main line up a branch (junction at Elne) which used to serve Ceret.  The only trains that now run as far as Le Boulou are pulled by double headed electric locomotives such as these:

 

 

The containers are offloaded and continue over the Perthus Pass by road.  The alternative still exists on the coast routew but also requires wheel gauge changing at Cerbere.

 

The snow covered mountain in the background is Le Canigou, the sacred Catalan shrine

[Fat Controller]

This link to Google Maps should give an idea of the scale of things at Le Boulou:-

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Le+Boulou,+France/@42.5243376,2.8159193,1377m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x12b075854526e775:0x81ded89e1a02436c?hl=en

Not only are there several road/rail exchange sites, but also lots of warehousing for sorting and packing fruit and vegetables produced in the immediate vicinity; the area around Perpignan is one of the key production areas for 'primeurs', early-season produce. Boulou is served by a couple of 'rolling motorway' services from Bettembourg every day (the siding in the right-foreground with trailers at 45 degrees to the track are for this traffic), along with container services to and from Rungis/Valenton/ Dourges and elsewhere. There is also considerable fruit and vegetable traffic imported from North Africa at Port-Vendres, some of which is probably forwarded via Le Boulou.

There is another, similar, exchange point, just west of Perpignan station, near the point where the TGV line splits from the branch towards Villefranche-Vernet les Bains. https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Perpignan,+France/@42.6804104,2.8340436,1374m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x12b06e4e80fd88fd:0x1c83306520f2dd4f?hl=en 

This deals more with locally produced produce, and must have been around for 25 or so years. From the photo, it seems to have quietened down considerably.

I wonder if/when we'll see imported produce brought in to the UK from one or other of these sites? From first-hand experience, I can say that there are a lot of lorries make the journey from Spain every day.

Edited September 29, 2014 by Fat Controller

[Focalplane]

I recently had a chat with a wine merchant in Nuit St Georges, a long way from Le Boulou. We were talking about produce from the Perpignan area and he was most emphatic - do not buy produce from Spain, it has no taste! I could not agree more. While the Roussillon growers never mention "organic", that is because they really don't have to. Spanish produce, in the other hand, is often tasteless.

 

I despair at the UK supermarkets. The concept of supporting local growers seems to miss them completely. This spring, at the height of the Evesham asparagus season the local supermarkets were importing asparagus from Peru and Mexico. I am happy to say that the French still believe in the seasonal concept of fruits and vegetables. When the cherry season starts (in Ceret, near Le Boulou) the first picking is sent to Paris and the President. When it is over, it's over. Vive la France!

 

Unfortunately I think most produce now travels by road. The large entrepots at Perpignan are more for cross border freight transfer.

[Focalplane]

Link to track diagram of Cerbère and Port Bou:

 

http://www.bueker.net/trainspotting/stations_cerbere.php

 

Lots of good stuff on this site. However the link contains some information which is now out of date. The western tunnel is indeed two headshunts.

[Fat Controller]

Link to track diagram of Cerbère and Port Bou:

 

http://www.bueker.net/trainspotting/stations_cerbere.php

 

Lots of good stuff on this site. However the link contains some information which is now out of date. The western tunnel is indeed two headshunts.

Thanks for posting that link, Paul. I've got a copy of the mag somewhere, but it's handy to have something on the computer as well.

Hope you're not getting too many problems with the weather; I've seen lots of reports of problems around Herault.

[Focalplane]

I am in England, but monitoring the situation. My insurance company has been sending me reminders to "get my claim in" as soon as possible, but the agent is in Bėziers, where I used to live, and so far the storms have not affected southern Aude and PO. Herault does seem to get hit by some massive deluges from time to time. It is always interesting to see the annual clearing of drainage ditches and then think of what happened in the Somerset Levels the last two years.

 

I must dig out some more recent photos for this thread.

[Focalplane]

The Talgo Shed, Port Bou

 

This is where the Talgo trains (used to) change gauge going to and from Spain.  This series was shot of an afternoon northbound Talgo heading for Montpellier.

 

The first photo, taken from the France/Spain border crossing (no longer functioning thanks to Shengen), shows the Talgo entering Port Bou station:

 

 

The locomotive is detached and a shunter pushes the Talgo coaches toward the gauge changing shed.  The track remains Spanish gauge up to the shed but is standard gauge to the north, where a BB7200 waits:

 

 

The coaches enter the shed and the SNCF loco takes over:

 

 

The Spanish shunter backs away and the SNCF loco pulls the carriages through the shed.  The track the coaches are on crosses a standard gauge track leading to the SNCF platforms at Port Bou station.  So this is a multi-gauge diamond:

 

 

The process takes about 15 minutes but we did not stay until the end.  Dinner in Collioure beckoned!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Focalplane]

Variety at Leucate La Franqui

 

This gare serves the community of Leucate which has a population of around 4,000 in the winter and ten times or more in July and August.  Sadly most residents and visitors now use road transport though some commuters use the TERs to get to Narbonne or Perpignan.  The main line sees a variety of trains, both passenger and freight and now also carries RENFE high speed trainsets as well as the SNCF TGVs.  Sadly the Talgos appear to have had their day.  One day (not soon) the line will be doubled with the LGV from Perpignan to Nimes but there will be plenty of traffic remaining.

 

The first is a rather dramatic shot of a Duplex from Paris passing in front of Le Canigou, the prominent peak above Perpignan which is sacred to all Catalonians:

 

 

Next we have a freight train passing through Leucate

 

 

And finally, a relatively rare previous generation EMU still used in Languedoc despite all the Bombardier sets that now predominate:

 

Edited October 9, 2014 by Focalplane

[Fat Controller]

The first few wagons, at least, on the freight train are the current day equivalent of the Interfrigo or STEF wagons of times gone by. They're basically container flats with a modified road 'fridge' body semi-permanently fixed to the decks; I believe they work as an ME120, or possibly ME140, with fresh produce to Rungis.

[Focalplane]

Back to Le Train Jaune (by request!)

 

The narrow gauge third rail electric railway (powered by its own hydro-electric system) runs from Villefranche de Conflet up to La Tour de Carol, joining two standard gauge lines.  It is possible to use the line for a circular tour including Perpignan, Toulouse and Narbonne but I am not sure if this can be done in one day.  The line itself offers some spectacular scenery and two impressive bridges along the way.  These are the feature of this entry.

 

The stone viaduct is probably the most photographed as it straddles the highway and there is plenty of space to pull off the busy road.  The viaduct has a name "Pont séjourné" and is a classic stone structure that copies building styles going back to Roman times (i.e. Pont du Gard).  The time we visited the fence and gate barring entry to the bridge was open, so this allowed for some close up photography on the lower level of the bridge.  Surprisingly, you really do not get the same feeling of grandeur when crossing by train, even if sitting in an open truck.  Being at one with the structure makes it seem much more imposing.

 

The first photo is from the roadside beneath the viaduct, taken in evening sunlight:

 

 

Approaching the lower deck from the "open access":

 

 

The lower deck has portals to allow inspection of the structure:

 

 

Which we did:

 

 

The view over the side:

 

 

For completeness here is a view from an open truck:

 

 

Further up the valley the line crosses the river valley again, but this time by a very different bridge.  In French it is called "un pont suspension" but it is more of a cable stayed bridge in English engineering terminology.  Whatever, it is not that easy to see from the road, even in winter with a dusting of snow:

 

 

When riding the train the view is mainly of the cables:

 

[Focalplane]

Riding the Yellow Train (le Train Jaune)

 

Here is a typical older style trainset used during the summer months, at Font Romeu.  Open wagons are the better option during the summer, however, do take a hat and do take drinks with you:

 

 

And on the descent from Font Romeu.  This area is alpine with a broad flat plain bordered by mountains:

 

 

Down the line the train enters a deep valley (where the two bridges are located, see the previous post):

 

 

There are passing places, this one being on a steep section:

 

 

The passing places have "sprung" switches so there is no need for a lever frame.  The sign demands the driver to obtain permission by phone before proceeding.  There is no token system.

 

The next post will include a tour around the interchange station (standard to narrow gauge) at Villefranche le Conflet.

 

 

[Focalplane]

Le Train Jaune - Villefranche le Conflet

 

Villefranche marks the lower limit of the Yellow Train with direct connection to the standard gauge branch line that runs down to Perpignan.  The station is shared by both gauges and trains are timed to provide a reasonable connection.  Villefranche is essentially the beginning of a steep climb up the valley of the Tet river to the alpine meadows around Font Romeu and eventually Latour de Carol, where the line meets another standard gauge SNCF line which runs north to Toulouse (and south to Barcelona).  The station is hemmed into a gorge with just enough space for the station and the workshops of the Yellow Train:

 

 

 

At the upstream end of the station it is possible to see the contrast in gauges, the photo below shows the standard gauge headshunt to the right and the narrow gauge third rail line to Latour de Carol on the left:

 

 

Some details of the Yellow Train trainsets, including the coupling system and the third rail pickup:

 

 

 

 

A couple of snow plough wagons; SNCF strive to keep the line open year round but the timetable does indicate that there will be days (perhaps longer) when the service may be suspended.

 

 

And a trainset departing from Villefranche:

 

[Focalplane]

As promised, Musée de Chemin de Fer, Nimes

 

The museum is a shortish walk east from Nimes station and on the Sunday I visited it was empty, no staff, no other visitors.  Nimes was a major railway center for many years - the PLM passed through Nimes on its way to Sete (the ongoing main line west was not built by PLM).  Today it is an important station for passengers as well as providing useful relief sidings for the many freight trains that use the main line.  As is typical SNCF practice these days the freight yards are empty and track is slowly being lifted.  The branch to Ales runs to the north while a branch to the south terminates at Le Grau de Roi.  The Ales branch now has a new flyover just east of the station. When the proposed LGV from east of Nimes to Perpignan is built Nimes will still be an important railway center for traditional passenger trains and all freight will continue to pass through.

 

Back to the museum.  There used to be two roundhouses and the one that houses the museum still has its roof.  The other, to the north no longer has a roof over the entire shed and is used as a staging post for locomotives and single railcars.  Here is a general view of the locomotive servicing yard:

 

 

The two blue diesels (67215 and 67217) are almost always in the same place and are believed to be there for emergencies as well as night time maintenance on the LGV when the overhead power is cut, though there are plenty of Infra switchers also available for that.

 

The museum has a certain "je ne sais quoi" atmosphere:

 

 

 

Now for the locomotives:

 

 

 

 

 

 

The turntable:

 

 

 

Space around the locomotives is very limited and high level service staging precludes good photographic angles.  I included the two shots of the turntable for any continental modelers out there.

[Focalplane]

A miscellany to round things off in 2014.

 

First, a Carmillion liveried Reseau TGV winds along the lagoons near Port la Nouvelle (between Perpignan and Narbonne); this is probably bound for Bruxelles:

 

 

Next, the facade of Narbonne station.  The café to the right of the entrance is to be recommended.

 

 

A Bombardier TER trainset approaches Narbonne from the west/south:

 

 

A Paris bound Duplex TGV arrives at Narbonne:

 

 

Narbonne is an excellent place to watch trains.  Lots of freights, some loco hauled passenger expresses, TGVs and TERs.  Probably ten trains an hour pass through Narbonne.  These days the Talgos are gone but RENFE high speed trainsets have replaced them.  Regional trains include Languedoc-Roussillon, Midi-Pyrenees and Provence.  Even the occasional expatriate Class 66 "shed".