Chemin de Fer de la Mure.

[Pacific231G]

 

I'd not seen the pictures from Le Dauphin before. I'm no civil engineer so I could be wrong but you'd surely be looking at very many millions of Euros to stabilise that rock face and rebuild the viaduct. From the wider picture it looks as though the tunnel has also been undercut. I suspect it depends rather on how important it's considered to stabilise the rock face for other reasons or whether, railway apart, it could simply be fenced off and left to its own devices; that obviously depends on what if any other damage further falls would do.

 

Realistically I think we've probably seen the end of the full La Mure and can only hope for an operation above the fall. Are there are other rockfaces that the line passes that would be equally vulnerable?

[tetsudofan]

Glad I managed to visit the line when I did.

 

Fantastic trip, only downside was that the train was scheduled to return to the base station just as the SNCF train to Grenobles was leaving. The connection could have been made as the train stopped outside the station for a few minutes during which time the SNCF train arrived and departed......

 

If I remember correctly I think a part of Connex was involved in operating La Mure at the time.

 

Also purchased a rather thick (and expensive) hardcover book on the history of the line from the railway bookshop at the top of the line.

 

Keith

[Baldwin30762]

Baldwin

I am not entirely sure what you mean in your question. Could you be a little more precise?

Hi Guys sorry  I meant was one part of the line running from st georges-de-commiers to Le Mure d'Lsere and the other part running from Le Mure Ville as a short demo style operation?

 

regards

 

Colin

Edited October 11, 2014 by Baldwin30762

[Andy Hayter]

Sadly I think we have answered the question - no operations at all.

 

Pacific 231G - the cliff section is around 8-900m and limited to just this one section. no mention has been made of the tunnel being undercut, but the avalanche shelter (from rocks not snow) has been damaged - no surprise.

 

Tetsudofan - I too parted with just short of 100€ for the Daniel Wormser book - but it as something for everyone - railfan, historian, modeller (lots of scale drawings). I had to inwardly smile when the shop assistant insisted, "mais monsieur c'est tout en francais". (but it's all in French sir).

 

There is a superb picture which shows the cliff section (which for copyright reasons I cannot post here) from before the installation of the hydro-dam shown in my picture. This shows the real exposure of this section. I suspect that in the event of a further rock fall the only collateral damage would be the "tidal wave" created in the water above the dam.

[Andy Hayter]

The best I can come up with to demonstrate the exposure at this point is from Wiki

St Georges La Mure Grnad Balcon.docx

[rue_d_etropal]

It would be a tradgegy if this line does not re-open. Makes good sence to tun the upper section, and given the recent rockfall on Cf de Provence I can see why there would be worries .

As most 'preserved' metre gauge in France is steam loco and diesel railcar, preserving an electrified line is even more important as it demonstrated they were using 'modern' technology.

I am currently also researching the electrified CF de Camargue line which closed in the 50s. Interestingly some of its salt carrying wagons ended up on the CF de La Mure. I have been sent copies of drawings of these wagons from a new book on that line. I don't think the wagons were that useful, especially as the salt had not done much good, but am wondering if any have survived.

Edited January 1, 2015 by rue_d_etropal

[Fat Controller]

It would be a tradgegy if this line does not re-open. Makes good sence to tun the upper section, and given the recent rockfall on Cf de Provence I can see why there would be worries .

As most 'preserved' metre gauge in France is steam loco and diesel railcar, preserving an electrified line is even more important as it demonstrated they were using 'modern' technology.

I am currently also researching the electrified CF de Camargue line which closed in the 50s. Interestingly some of its salt carrying wagons ended up on the CF de La Mure. I have been sent copies of drawings of these wagons from a new book on that line. I don't think the wagons were that useful, especially as the salt had not done much good, but am wondering if any have survived.

I saw some photos of the salt wagons, in a contractor's yard, on a now-defunct site dedicated to French wagons. IIRC, the depot was somewhere in the Lyon- Chambery area.

[rue_d_etropal]

the salt wagons ere relatively new, being built during the 1940s, so I would have expected to have found another use, but most of the stock was older. At least one old  wagon ended up on the Vivarais. There was probably a surplus of coaches on metre gauge lines so they were probably scrapped, but as they were standard designs could easy get lost on other lines. The 1950s built Decauville coaches ould have been very useful but seem to just disappear. As similar coaches were built for railways in Africa it is very likely they ended up in a French Dependance/Colony. There are no drawings for these, but I do have dimensions and design was pretty simple.

I had hoped that maybe other items ould have ended up on the CF de la Mure, as it was also electric, but the locos were older, probably worn out, and designed for a flatter line so probably would have not found the CF de la Mure line suitable.

On the future the big bonus the CF de La Mure has is its scenery, which is often a bigger selling scheme than travelling behind vintage locos and stock in France. Would have hoped the French authorities would also see it as an important historical line , simply because it is an electrified metre gauge line, using original locos, in an area historically connected to hydro electric power generation.

[Andy Hayter]

The problem is that the most scenic part is the part that is now under the rock fall.

 

Incidentally the locos in use are/were not the original ones.  These had dual overhead feed - one at +1200V DC and the other at -1200V DC - and the pantograph arrangement looked a little like the Italian 3 phase locos. 

http://www.railfaneurope.net/lamure/english/matmot.html#thury

 

There is a drawing and pictures of the Arbel hopper wagons ex CFC in "Le Chemin de Fer de La Mure" By Patrice Boullin and Daniel Wurmser.  Available (still I think) from Voies Ferrées for a small mortgage (ca 100€ with postage)

[rue_d_etropal]

I have the wagon drawings now. Just wondering where the authors of the book got them, or are they based on photos?

The locos might not be the original, but are still important historically.

Scenic areas are often areas with rock falls. Where my French house is , the department spends a lot of money on the main road up into the mountains, with various ways to stop rock falling on the road. Spending a similar sum on protecting one small railway line may not be justified politically, where roads hold more power than railways.

I thought the line above the rock fall was very scenic as well, trouble being that the operating departments are based on the other side of the rock fall.

Edited January 4, 2015 by rue_d_etropal

[Andy Hayter]

The book does not give any clues that I can find about the sources of the drawings, although there is an extensive bibliography.  I does seem clear that the authors have also consulted a number of archives including those of the colliery complexes.  They do all appear to be drawn in one style and this suggests that they have been (re)drawn to scale by one person.

 

I agree that it would be a great shame if the line remains closed forever, but I see little prospect to be honest.

[rue_d_etropal]

just got hold of a copy of the book. Must be a 2nd(or more) print rerun, as I had not seen it on sale for a whlst(apart from over inflated priced second hand copies).

Very impressive book. Plenty of new models to design.

Had not realised the ex Camargue wagons were around for so long as I thought they were not as good as hoped due to earlier damage/corrosion caused by salt transporting.

[Delfin]

I was in La Mure in June 2019 and took the opportunity to visit the station.  Extensive work seemed to be underway to refurbish the track and the OLE with a promised completion date of summer 2020.  A banner was being displayed on the station building showing the new route to a belvedere and panoramic restaurant.  When I left in the direction of Grenoble I could see work being carried out on parts of the line.  I presume that Covid19 has put an end to progress.

 

Delfin

[Pacific231G]

According to a press release by the Département d'Isere, the plan to reopen part of the line in July was disrupted by the Covid19 crisis which delayed the work. They now expect the line to reopen in spring 2021- the start of its normal season.

https://lepetittraindelamure.com/rendez-vous-au-printemps-2021/

The line will run for over 15km (half its original length) from La Mure to Les Grands Balcons where a new restaurant has been built and a footpath will then run (presumably on the former trackbed) for a further 400 m along les Grands Balcons to Bélvèdere, where I think the train used to make a stop for passengers to admire the view. There is no mention of the line below the landslip but I can't see it ever being reopened. For most visitors I suspect that the upper section will be enough. It does rather look as if new stations have been built at both ends so how much of the line's original character will survive remains to be seen.  The Département is looking for 100 000 visitors a year. 

They're also claiiming it as  Le Première ligne ferroviaire électrique au monde  which, since the first electrified section opened in 1903 and the whole line was electrified in 1912 , is patently absurd. The Volks railway was running from 1883, the City and South London 1890, the Liverpool Overhead (with the world's first EMUs) in 1893  and in 1902 Italian Railways electrified the 106 km Valtellina main line using  three-phase AC at 3 kV 15 Hz.

La Mure is electrified with 2.4 kV DC  so it can't even claim to be the first railway to use such a high voltage though it might have been the first to use such a high voltage with DC (orginally +1200V and -1200V from a two wire system)

Edited October 27, 2020 by Pacific231G

[hayfield]

Usually I have no interest in Continental trains other than travelling in them, but the French and Swiss narrow gauge systems do have a charm about them which the mainline railways lost many years ago