The Vivarais (Le Mastou)

Does anybody have up to date info on when this is to be reopened and if any of the steam engines will be ready in time? As usual trying to get any info on French lines is very difficult. We will be in the area mid July so will investigate but meantime it would be nice to have any info available.

Don

 

There is a promise of reopening in the caption to this photograph:
Fichier:Réouverture en 2013 du Trains du Vivarais dit le Mastrou ( Enfin une bonne nouvelle).jpg - Wikipédia
Also see the other thread on this site that comes up if you search under "Vivarais".

 

This is the other Vivarais thread:
http://railways.national-preservati...m-mastrou-we-work-hard-ready-june-2013-a.html

Richard

 

Hi!
Follow this link for (almost daily) news on the re-opening (in TWO DAYS' time !!) of this fantastic line.

May well see you there!

Salud!

http://www.lamastre.net/2013/02/01/lettres-du-mastrou/

 

Does anyone have some local information about bus services in the area, please?

Specifically as to whether there are any between Lamastre and St Agreve or anywhere on the Velay Rail operation. A friend and I hope to travel one way on the new Vivarais and then head north in order to get as much old Vivarais track as possible. It would almost certainly be on a Tuesday late in August.

John

 

HELLO,

Very happy to announce steam Mastrou has restart yesterday :

After 5 years stopped and several months of work:

http://www.lamastre.net/2013/02/01/lettres-du-mastrou/

You're welcome this summer !

Joel

 

Congratulations on the reopening. Le Mastrou is a marvellous line, and well worth a visit if you're in France. (In the Rhone valley, not far from Valence.)

 

Great news, will be visiting in August.

 

It looks exceedingly well done.

Incidentally how accomplished they are in France at having a good time. No accident that the word fete is a French one!

PH

 

Fantastic news!

Out of interest has the dual-gauge section closed (to the narrow gauge) for good or will it be back at some point?

 

The line 5 bus links Lamastre with Saint-Agrève and also Le Chambon sur Lignon (also on the VFV). You can download the timetable from this link:
http://www.lesept.fr/horaires-ligne-5,aller,le-chambon-sur-lignon-st-agreve-lamastre-tournon.html

Presumably you are aware that it is not possible to travel on both lines on the same day and that you will not have steam on either mid week. You can travel from Tournon to Lamastre on Tuesdays in August by railcar and the VFV will be running to and from Saint-Agrève on Wednesdays and Thursdays (diesel and railcar). If you wait until Sept 2 you can travel to Lamastre by steam (Tuesdays only) but by then the VFV will have stopped running in the week.

http://www.asso-vfv.net/horair_tarf.htm
http://www.trainardeche.fr/trajets.html

The timetables on both lines are rather strange. The new Vivarais (le train de l’Ardèche) has one daily steam service in the afternoon in July and August but only on the most scenic section through the gorge to Colombier le Vieux - Saint Barthélémy le Plain. I travelled on this yesterday and it is definitely worth doing, the new open (baladeuse) coaches give a fantastic view. It is however not quite the same as the whole trip as it used to be done from Tournon. In September and October as I mentioned you can travel all the way to Lamastre in historic coaches but on Tuesdays only. The VFV runs steam on Sundays only in July and August from Tence to Montfaucon and then on Wednesdays and Thursdays runs in the complete opposite direction to Saint-Agrève (without steam). The remaining part of the system between Montfaucon and Dunières is only operated in the low season (June and September)! Yesterday they had their ex P.O. Corrèze mallet operating. I arrived in Tence at lunchtime and in true french fashion there was no one around, all having gone off for their lunch but the locomotive was simmering gently on the main line attached to its train. I was tempted to jump in and drive off!

In answer to another question in this thread, I am afraid that the 3 rail section on the Vivarais through Tournon is dead forever now (although it had not yet been lifted when I last looked a few weeks ago).

I may post some photos later if I get a chance.
Rob Palmer

 

Many thanks, Rob. Not an easy one to crack!

John

 

You may be best seeing if there is an organised holiday, which often involve chartered specials, which would enable you to do both with steam. I know that there is one leaving at the end of the month which has a steam charter planned on the VFV but didn't include the new Vivarais in the advertised itinerary. I am sure Glyn wouldn't appreciate free advertising, so if you want details of who this is with, PM me and I will give you the number to ring and ask if the Vivarais is to be included in the final itinerary. There may well be similar holidays from other tour operators.

Steven

 

Some photos as promised. First the new Vivarais:

403 moving to join the train at the new Tournon-Saint Jean station:


Coming out of the gorge near the end of the journey:


Turning at Colombier le Vieux:


Ready to leave:


Medieval bridge near Tournon Saint-Jean from the train:


Back at Tournon:


Rob.

 

Some photos of the mallet N0. 101 on the VFV at Tence:







Rob.

 

Thanks for the update Rob. The reason I asked that is that at one time it was reported that the dual-gauge section had been given a temporary reprieve by SNCF. When I visited the Vivarais in the late 90s I walked from Tain L'Hermitage, I presume that is not feasible to the new station on the edge of Tournon, without using the bus. At that time Tournon was the main steam depot & workshop and there was a lot of stock there, has this all been dispersed up the line or is some of it still there?

Is 403 the only working steam loco at present? (As it seemed to be when I visited! But at least one of the other Mallets was under overhaul at the time - did it ever get finished or did it get caught up in the whole collapse?)

 

Some years ago when SNCF were going to replace the bridge over the river just before the 3 rail section ends (Lamastre direction) there was a lot of discussion about whether they would refuse to relay the extra narrow guage rail and end the agreement. Eventually however the agreement was renewed and the 3 rail was replaced over the new bridge. Then the Vivarais went bankrupt and that was the end of it. SNCF were reported as refusing to ever again consider joint usage of the trackage. The new company anyway have a completely different business model. They have constructed a huge new station complex in the former camping ground now known as Tournon Saint-Jean with a very large parking area (there was previously limited parking next to the old Tournon station). As well as the large station building there is also a large museum building (not open yet) a two road locomotive shed, brand new turntable and water tower all constructed to look remarkably like the old CFD buildings. Even the turntable looks to be constructed of rivetted steel to look exactly the same as the old ones.
As you indicate this new station is some way from Tournon (5 miles?) and difficult to access without transport.

They have also build a vast workshop building in Lamastre (designed to look like the old pre-preservation workshop buildings in Le Cheylard ) and this is now the main workshop. Most equipment has been moved from the old Tournon shed area but they are still currently using the latter for carpentry, rebuilding some of the old carriages (not sure if this will continue).
At present 403 is the only operating steam loco and they only finished that just before the opening. It is rumored that they want to eventually have 3 steam locos available and the next one for rebuilding is the 414 for which they already have a new boiler. It is reported that this work has now started although I have not yet seen any photos. The 401 which was a rusty boilerless hulk at the back of Tournon yard for many years is to be cosmetically restored using the old boiler from 403 and will go into the new museum at Tournon Saint Jean.

The new company just has the ex Vivarais locomotives. There were previously two others at Tournon which are now with the old supporting society SGVA in their sidings at Boucieu-le-Roi, with no covered accomodation. These are the Pinguely bicabine and the P.O. Corrèze mallet 104 (sister to the one on the VFV photographed above). The latter was purchased from the receiver of the old Vivarais operation although the new company wanted it (I think that the SGVA argued that they already owned it). The SGVA and the new company seem to have completely fallen out, a new supporting society has been set up and the company rather spitefully removed the points giving access to the SGVA's sidings. I remember photographing the 104 hauling trains some years ago, I doubt it will do that again.
Rob.

 

Thanks again Rob. Nice to know something is being done with the remains of 401, it appeared to be little more than a collection of rusty parts when I saw it. I do remember both 104 and the bicabine loco looking fairly smart back in the late 90s, it wasn't clear to me if they were operable or not though. Always a shame when groups with supposedly common interests fall out over these things... well, we can only hope that will change at some point.

As for the dual gauge section, I think it's a big loss personally although I can see why they would not want to be constrained by it.

Is there any scope for ever extending beyond Lamastre in the other direction? (Not sure what the point would be, just wondering!)

 

Useable mixed gauge track survives in France, on the Baie de Somme system, although the standard gauge is not in regular use. One of the several "if only" aspects of this matter is "if only" the former Vivarais operator had managed to develop the same seemingly good relations the Somme network has with the SNCF. However the system in Picardie does not get in the way of main line operations as the old Vivarais did.

PH

 

Perhaps I have missed something but the previously used traditional French bogie coaches do not appear in photos seen so far. Instead the new operation seems to be using newly constructed ones?
What happened to the old ones?