French steam

Just back from a superb day in the Auvergne, with a steam hauled train (tailed by a BB diesel) from Clermont Ferrand up the sadly truncated Mont Dore branch as far as Bourboule. There was a break of over three hours here while the train shuttled back and forth between here and the preceding station (Lacqueille) for locals whilst we (la famille plus grand-père) had a fine lunch, visited a model railway show and had a ride in a 1920 Citroen charabanc.

A full day for just €40 per person, travelling in 1930s carriages including a well stocked bar car and generous opening windows. Lovely stuff, just tinged with sadness at the SNCF’s attitude to minor lines; if it’s not a TGV, it’s not worth investing in. Mont Dore lost its passenger service as recently as 2015.

The itineraries of the Train à Vapeur d’Auvergne are well worth exploring; you can get a Ryanair flight to Clermont Ferrand from Stansted for as little as £20. I did! The Gorges d’Allier trip I can particularly recommend.

see https://www.trainvapeur-auvergne.com/programme-annuel/