Les Chemins de Fer du Sud de la France, Ligne de Central Var History of the Line to 1925 The Treaty of Turin was signed on 24 th March 1860. In it Nice was ceded by the King of Sardinia to Napoleon III. This needed to be ratified by the local population and a vote on 15 th and 16 th April produced an overwhelming majority in favour of the change. Consequently the department of Les Alpes Maritimes was created by decree on 24 th October 1860. To accelerate the acceptance of the new department, and secure improvements to the local economy, significant grants were made by the French government to the department. Nice was made the capital of the department much to the chagrin of Grasses. Grasses was part of the old France and assumed a priority over Nice. When it lost out to Nice as the capital of the new department it made strenuous efforts to develop local infrastructure improving local roads and seeking a place on the line of the new railway running East along the coast to Nice. That battle was lost and when the Emperor visited Nice on August 18, 1860, Grasse demanded and obtained a branch line from the main coastal line, insisting that Grasse must inaugurate its railway on the same day that Nice inaugurate its railway. However that branch-line and the costal railway took thirty years to complete! Map of the railroads of Provence in 1924 The focus of the main coastal railway on standard gauge left the towns and villages of Central Var needing to promote their own line or lines. The fall of the Second Empire delayed the work. It was tone some time before proposals could be resurrected. Eventually, Le Chemins de Fer du Sud was promoted as two separate lines during a period when France became particularly concerned about its more remote regions. Two lines were of approximately 350 kilometres in total length Digne to Nice and Nice (Colomars) to Meyrargues. A metre gauge line powered by steam, sometimes called Le Train des Pignes. It was given this name because, it is said, travellers had time together off the train and pick up pine cones by the track when the train encountered a significant gradient. A metre-gauge was adopted which was
complementary to many other lines being built throughout France and which provided for cheaper construction, steeper grades and tighter curves that the standard gauge much more suited to the terrain through which it would travel. The project cost was, as a result, half that if standard gauge had been used. Construction proceeded quickly. The 211 kilometre network was divided into sections entrusted to different contractors. The sections were of around 10 kilometres in length. Land was purchased by 1890 and work commenced immediately on all sections of the line. The line was completed in 1892. These large sites made good use of local workforce. By 1925, Le Chemins de Fer du Sud had been formed bringing the two lines together in one Company. The Route 1. La Manda to Saint-Jeannet Station The Ligne de Central Var left the Nice to Digne line at La Manda close to Colomars on the River Var. The station building at LA Manda remains as evidence of the line. The line beached off the current Digne line just to the south of La Manda. The station construction is typical of many of the stations still evident on the route of the line. A few historic postcards are reproduced here to give an idea of the station in the early years of the 20 th century.
The last of these postcard views has been adapted by Jean Giletta the photographer to include a hand drawn train. While it is a pity that the photographer did not wait for a train to cross the bridge, the picture illustrates the nature of the river crossing. The railway line crossed the river on the top of the truss girders with provision between the trusses for road traffic! Two images of the bridge will suffice. Once the line had crossed the river it was carried on embankment across the wider flood plain as can easily be seen in the last of the post cards of the station at La Manda. The railway line is long gone but
the bridge remains in use as a major road crossing of the Var. The original truss girders have been replaced and it appears that the bridge has been widened. Although this commentary starts from the Eastern end of the line. It seems strange writing about the line and starting in the East as when we travelled along the route in November 2017 we started from the West. Most of our photographs of the route were taken from the Westerly direction looking East towards Nice. Once firmer ground had been reached to the West of the river, the line bore off to the Southwest around the South side of Gattieres toward Saint-Jeannette. The picture below looks back towards the bridge across the Var along Boulevard de la Colle Belle at Carros. The bridge is hidden behind the vegetation on the modern roundabout. The next picture looks back along the line of the old railway again a little further to the Southwest on Rue des Grillons in Carros. This picture and some of the others that follow are courtesy of Google Street view.
Leaving Carros, the line immediately headed out onto the Viaduct of the Enghièri (130 metres long, made up of 6 arches, 5 of which span 16 metres (43 46 00 N, 7 11 22 E). It is a traditionally built arch viaduct with a first wider span for the road below. The first picture is from Google Street view. The second is taken from a car window. Much of the Ligne Central Var is still in use for transportation, often the old track formation has been used at its original width, in some places significant widening has taken place. Where original structures were damaged in the conflicts of the 20 th Century, these have not been replaced and the
ability to follow the line in a vehicle is interrupted. There are areas usually in the forested areas along the route where pedestrian access is possible, or the route can be traversed by a 4x4 vehicle. The Viaduct of the Enghièri has been preserved as a highway as the Google Street view picture shows. The route has been given the name, Chemin de Provence.
The plan view is also taken from Google Streetview. The red line is the plotted route of the railway which can be viewed with this link: http://ollivier.haemmerle.free.fr/lignecolomarsmeyrargues.kmz. Google Earth will be needed to open it. The plotting of the route was undertaken by Claudio Capaccio. From the Viaduct of the Enghièri the route of the line follows what is now the Chemin de Provence in south-south-westerly direction crossing a small bridge at 43 45 32 N, 7 11 00 before turning to a more westerly trajectory on the North side of the Vallon des Trigands and South of Saint- Jeannet. A couple of pictures along the way: A Crossing Attendants House (43 44 55 N, 7 10 12 E) Further along the line.
The next substantial structure on the route is shown as a blue dotted line on the map of Saint-Jeannet above The Tunnel of Saint- Jeannet. Just before reaching the tunnel the line turns in a north westerly direction. The route cannot be followed by car as it continues beyond the concrete blocks in the picture here. It is however possible to get along the line to the tunnel mouth. The tunnel is 860 metres long running in a predominantly westerly direction (from 43 44 22 N, 7 09 21 E to 43 44 31 N, 7 08 32 E) and the line appears again South of the D2210 road, southwest of Saint-Jeannet close to Le Peyron. From the tunnel mouth at the West end of the tunnel (visible below right) there is a short section of the route accessible with care and known as the Chemin de la Champignonniere. A high retaining wall (below left) carries the old line above the Ancienne Route de Vence which falls away to the West and meets the line at grade just behind the camera and then climbing away above the old line on its way towards Saint-Jeannet. A quick nip up the Ancienne Route de Vence above the old line allows a glimpse of the old Saint- Jeannet station off to the right of the road. This warrants further investigation as it accurately places the station on the map. On the next page there is a postcard of the station in the early 20 th Century.
After the station, the line travelled a short distance (along what is now the Chemin de La Champignonniere) before reaching another tunnel entrance. This tunnel's official designation is Tunnel de Cagne, however it is apparently known locally as the Tunnel de Champignonniere. The tunnel is used to farm mushrooms.