Metre-Gauge Railways in Provence - Le Macaron

[rogerfarnworth]

Alongside the work I am doing on the Central Var Line l have been pulling together a series of posts about Le Macaron. The metre-gauge line along the coast between Toulon and Saint-Raphael. This is the first of these posts:

https://rogerfarnworth.wordpress.com/20 ... rovence-36" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[rogerfarnworth]

The second post in the series about the coastal line out of Toulon shows the competition it faced from other forms of transport and then focusses on the two main railway stations in Toulon ... first the PLM Station (SNCF now) and then the terminus of Le Chemin de Fer du Sud, the line that we will concentrate on in this series of posts.

https://rogerfarnworth.wordpress.com/20 ... rovence-37" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[rogerfarnworth]

The third post looks at one of the competitors to Le Macaron. The tramways of Toulon. The network reached as far as the town centre of Hyeres.

https://rogerfarnworth.wordpress.com/20 ... rovence-38" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[rogerfarnworth]

This is the next post in a series about the Chemins de Fer du Sud de la France's Coastal line between Toulon and Saint-Raphael. This post focusses on the PLM line which both competed for passenger traffic with Le Macaron between Toulon and Hyeres but also provided an essential link into the national network through the exchange sidings at Hyeres.

https://rogerfarnworth.wordpress.com/20 ... rovence-39" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[rogerfarnworth]

This post relates to the length of Le Macaron between the terminus in Toulon and the town of Hyeres.

https://rogerfarnworth.wordpress.com/20 ... rovence-39" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[rogerfarnworth]

The second length of Le Macaron - between Hyeres and Bormes-les-Mimosas.

https://rogerfarnworth.wordpress.com/20 ... rovence-41" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[rogerfarnworth]

This next post takes us back to La Londes and allows us to discover the various branch-lines which left the main line here. These branch-_lines served mining interests and a torpedo factory and provided significant amounts of good traffic for the line.

https://rogerfarnworth.wordpress.com/20 ... rovence-42" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[rogerfarnworth]

We continue our journey along Le Macaron, the Coastal Line of Les Chemins de Fer du Sud de la France. This length runs from Bormes to Cavalaire:

https://rogerfarnworth.wordpress.com/20 ... rovence-41" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[rogerfarnworth]

Leaving the main-line at La Foux was a short branch-line to Cogolin a little further inland.

https://rogerfarnworth.wordpress.com/20 ... rovence-46" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This next post covers the other brach-line which left the main Line at La Foux. The line to Saint-Tropez.

https://rogerfarnworth.wordpress.com/20 ... rovence-45" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[rogerfarnworth]

The main-line journey continues along the line from La Foux towards the terminus at Saint-Raphael. This stretch of the line passes the modern canal village of Port Grimaud and ends in the small town of Sainte-Maxime.

https://rogerfarnworth.wordpress.com/20 ... rovence-47" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[rogerfarnworth]

And now the last length of Le Macaron. The distance from Sainte-Maxime to Saint-Raphael.

https://rogerfarnworth.wordpress.com...de-provence-48" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

There will be one further post in this particular series which will cover the locomotives and rolling stock on the line.

[rogerfarnworth]

This final post on the Toulon to Saint-Raphael metre-gauge railway covers the locomotives and rolling stock on the line ......

https://rogerfarnworth.wordpress.com/20 ... rovence-49" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[rogerfarnworth]

In November 2018 my wife and I stayed in St. Raphael for 10 days. On a couple of those days, Jo and I were able to visit the old Chemin de Fer du Sud de La France station site alongside the old PLM station. The modern SNCF station seems to me to be just as ugly as I thought it would be. The site of the old metre-gauge station is now covered by the Gare Routiere. The structures which supported the old line alongside the main PLM line remain and are now in use by small retail outlets.

As far as we could tell the details given in the original version of the post below are all correct.

I have just added a postcript and some photos.

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2018/01/15/li ... rovence-48" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[rogerfarnworth]

On Sunday 18th November, Jo and I travelled from St. Raphael via the Sunday Market in Le Muy to Hyeres. We enjoyed an hour or so on the spit of land extending out from Hyeres towards Iles d'Hyeres and we had lunch next to La Tour Fondue. We spent the rest of the day following Le Macaron from Hyeres to Sainte-Maxime. Nothing I saw on the journey caused me concern about the text of the series of blog posts I have written about the route and that I have already provided links to on this thread. I was able to take a few pictures while on the journey, although there was little time to stop if the full journey was to be completed in daylight! I will post a link to the photographs in due course. On the journey we were also able to make two detours. The first, to Les Bormettes and the site of the old torpedo factory at what is now known as Miramar. The second to St. Tropez.

The relevant links to my blog are:

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2017/12/30/li ... rovence-41" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2017/12/29/li ... rovence-42" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2018/01/08/li ... rovence-41" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2018/01/08/li ... rovence-44" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2018/01/08/li ... rovence-45" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2018/01/08/li ... rovence-46" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2018/01/08/li ... rovence-47" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[rogerfarnworth]

This link contains, among other things, pictures taken on 18th November 2018 on and around the line of Le Macaron:

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2018/11/18/li ... rovence-81" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It was a bright but blowy day on the Mediterranean Coast!