Chemin de fer de La Mure

The Chemin de Fer de La Mure (La Mure railway) is a former coal-carrying electrified railway in (and owned by) the Department of Isère near the city of Grenoble, France, which lost its regular public passenger service from 2 February 1950 (although miners' trains continued until autumn 1962). It lost most of its freight traffic – apart from anthracite coal – in 1952, and even the anthracite ceased from 18 October 1988. However, the local tourist office had been chartering seasonal tourist passenger trains from 8 September 1968 and these developed steadily over the years, the line becoming one of the finest tourist railways in Europe with views over dams and lakes, and mountain scenery. Since 1 February 1998 the concession to operate the line and its tourist trains has been held by CFTA, now Veolia. The line can be reached easily by road from Grenoble, or by trains on the SNCF line towards Gap.

Chemin de Fer de La Mure
A train on the upper viaduct at Loulla (Isère)
Overview
Termini
  • St.-Georges-de-Commiers
  • La Mure (Isère)
History
Opened1888
Closed2010 (see text)
Technical
Line length30 km (19 mi)
Track gauge1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) metre gauge
Electrification2400 V DC Overhead line
Highest elevation925 m (3,035 ft)
Route map
km
Lyon–Grenoble–Marseille railway line
towards Grenoble
0,8
Tunnel de Ravinson
(383 m)
0,0
 St-Georges-de-Commiers
(316 m)
Lyon–Grenoble–Marseille railway line
towards Marseille
(Saint-Pierre-de-Commiers)
Ruisseau des Commiers
4,8
Tunnel de Molard
(89 m)
Boucle de Pré-Baron
5,5
Tunnel de Pré-Baron
(235 m)
6,5
Tunnel de Commiers
(129 m)
7,047
 Notre-Dame-de-Commiers
(478 m)
7,2
Tunnel du Bessat ou des Amoureux
(89 m)
9,3
Tunnel de Pierre-Avillaire
(88 m)
9,8
Tunnel des Ripeaux
(438 m)
11,3
Viaduc du Pivou
11,7
First tunnel des Chalanches
(153 m)
12,0
Second tunnel des Chalanches
(299 m)
13,1
Tunnel de Serguignou
(309 m)
13,5
Tunnel de Brondes
(401 m)
Point de vue du Grand balcon
14,3
Viaduc de la Rivoire
14,4
Tunnel de la Rivoire
(50 m)
14,7
Tunnel de Gervaison
(85 m)
16,013
 La Motte-les-Bains
(705 m)
15,6
Tunnel des Baux
(30 m)
17,0
Viaduc de Vaulx
(170 m)
19,0
Tunnel de la Tuilerie
(135 m)
18,1
/19,6Viaducs de Loulla
(85 m / 110 m)
19,7
Tunnel de Loulla
(39 m)
 Notre-Dame de Vaulx (Mine)
Ruisseau de Vaulx
22,0
Tunnel de Comberolle
(214 m)
22,649
 La Motte-d'Aveillans
(867 m)
23,9
Tunnel de la Festinière (1071 m)
26,5
 Peychagnard-Le Crey
(916 m)
 Le Villaret
(889 m)
30,096
 La Mure
(881 m)
 La Mure - Hôtel-de-Ville
 Le Breuil
 La Faurie
Ruisseau de la Nantette
 Roizon
Viaduc de la Roizonne
 Siévoz
Viaduc de la Bonne
 Pont-du-Prêtre
 Valbonnais
 Malbuisson
 Saint-Laurent-en-Beaumont
 St-Pierre-de-Méaroz – Les Égats
 Les Souchons
 La Salle-en-Beaumont
 Les Marcoux
 Quet-en-Beaumont
 Sainte-Luce
 Le Cardaire
Pont et boucle de la Sézie
 Corps

On 26 October 2010, shortly before the end of the season, a landslide destroyed the Viaduc de la Clapisse and parts of a tunnel entrance.[1] In June 2017, the General Council of the Department of Isère announced that the company Edeis had been chosen to repair the railway and take over its operation, with the aim of having it operational again for the 2020 season.[2] Half the line eventually reopened in July 2021, from the top at La Mure as far as the viewpoint at Le Grand Balcon.

History
Saint-Georges de Commiers station
Damage caused by the landslide (2011)

The line was built between 1882 and 1886, to link Saint-Georges-de-Commiers and La Mure through a mountainous region of the department of Isère.

The 30-kilometre (19 mi) long, metre gauge line runs from La Motte-d'Aveillans and La Mure to a connection with the main line of the PLM railway at Saint-Georges-de-Commiers. The line was almost closed in the mid-1970s and if the country hadn't been suffering an oil crisis the line would have met its end. Its life was extended by fifteen years, which proved to be its saviour. Unlike many other lines this became a tourist attraction which combines an area of industrial heritage with some of the finest scenery on any similar line on the continent.

The railway was electrified in 1903, using a symmetrical current power supply with two overhead lines at plus and minus 1200 volts direct current respectively. In 1950, this non-standard system was replaced with a conventional power supply with a single overhead line at 2400 volts direct current. The branch line between La Mure and Corps was opened in 1932 and closed for passenger traffic in 1952.

Coal traffic ceased in 1988, and most of the coal installations were demolished, the coal being transported by road. The Matheysine coalmines were finally closed on 28 March 1997. The SGLM found a new vocation in providing a tourist attraction and as a result, there remain all of the line's historical installations, the workshops, forge, joinery shop, etc. The network's departure and arrival stations were dependent on connections with the PLM railway's Grenoble–Veynes line. The necessary facilities together with the transhipment platform for the automatic transfer of the coal from the SGLM coal cars to the trains operated by PLM (which became SNCF in 1938) were built adjacent to the PLM station, today the station for the Chemin de fer de La Mure.

When they last operated, the trains of the railway ran at the leisurely pace of up to 30 km/h.

Rolling stock

Electric and Electro-Diesel Locomotives
No. Name Wheels Arr. Builders Details Date Built Notes.
E1La DracBo-BoCGC/Thury1903E-loc withdrawn 1933, dismantled between 1940 and 1942
E2L'IsereBo-BoCGC/Thury1906-09E-loc withdrawn 1933, dismantled between 1940 and 1942
E3TailleferBo-BoCGC/Thury1906-09E-loc withdrawn 1933, dismantled between 1940 and 1942
E4ObiouBo-BoCGC/Thury1906-09E-loc withdrawn 1933, dismantled between 1940 and 1942
E5Bo-BoCGC/Thury1906-09E-loc withdrawn 1933, dismantled between 1940 and 1942
E6Bo-BoCGC/Thury1903Withdrawn 1933, since scrapped
T6Bo-BoANF/SAAS1932E-loc
T7Bo-BoANF/SAAS1932E-loc
T8Bo-BoANF/SAAS1932E-loc
T9Bo-BoANF/SAAS1932E-loc
T10Bo-BoANF/SAAS1932E-loc
T2Bo-BoB+L/Ren.DE-loc, ex-VFD, Note 1
T4Bo-BoB+L/Ren.DE-loc, ex-VFD, In working order but not in use, Note 1
BDecauvilleDraisine, P.W.Dept., acquired in 1966, in regular use
SuisseLocotractor

Note 1 : Part of a class of 10 electro-diesel locomotives, 2 are in service at the Chemins de fer du Jura (CJ), 1 at the Chemins de Fer de Provence (CP).

Locomotive T7 in La Mure
Locomotive T2 in La Mure

Electric railcars
No. Name Wheels Arr. Builders Details Date Built Notes.
A1CB/T-H1927Electric railcar, preserved, out of order
A2CB/T-H1913Electric railcar, scrapped
A3CB/T-HElectric railcar, preserved, out of order
A4CB/T-HElectric railcar, scrapped
A5CB/T-HElectric railcar, preserved, out of order
A6CB/T-HElectric railcar, scrapped
A7CB/T-HElectric railcar, scrapped
A8CB/T-HElectric railcar, scrapped
1ABDe4/4SWS/BBC1916Electric railcar, 400 hp, ex-NStCM, acquired in 1986–1992, In service
5ABDe4/4SWS/BBC1916Electric railcar, 400 hp, ex-NStCM, acquired in 1986–1992, Out of Service
10ABDe4/4SWS/BBC1918Electric railcar, 400 hp, ex-NStCM, acquired in 1986–1992, Out of Service
11ABDe4/4SWS/BBC1918Electric railcar, 400 hp, ex-NStCM, acquired in 1986–1992, In service
Passenger cars

Passenger trailers
No. Name Wheel
Arrangement		 Builder Details Year Built Notes
B27,B302'2'1930ex-SGLM
B32'2'ANF1907ex-Chemin de Fer Nyon–St-Cergue–Morez (NStCM), acquired in 1992
B52'2'ANF1907ex-Nyon–St-Cergue–Morez (NStCM), acquired in 1992
B23-242'2'SIG1915ex-Nyon–St-Cergue–Morez (NStCM), acquired in 1985
BC522'2'SWS1918ex-Nyon–St-Cergue–Morez (NStCM), acquired in 1985
B61-622'2'D+B1922ex-Nyon–St-Cergue–Morez (NStCM), acquired in 1985
B49,AB982'2'1943-46ex-Chemin de fer Montreux Oberland-Bernois (MOB), acquired in 1998
B32-33,35ex-Chemin de fer Aigle-Sepey-Diablerets (ASD), acquired in 1988
B2422'2'with balcony, ex-Rhätische Bahn (RhB), acquired in 1993
B243-2452'2'with balcony, 74 seats, ex-Rhätische Bahn (RhB), acquired in 1997
A former coal wagon in the station at La Motte d'Aveillans

Freight cars
No. Name Wheelsets Builders Details Date Built Notes.
3FL1888-190610 Ton Coal-wagons, gondolas and side-door vans
3CB1908-1913100x 15Ton Coal-wagons and side-door vans
3CFMCF193210 Ton Coal-wagons and side-door vans. In total there were 373 10 ton cars delivered in 1888-1906 and 1932.
N10xxHBD2Richard196123 m3, 21,4 ton, 72x coal-wagons and side-door vans, 20 wagons were sold to Madagascar and 5 to the Brig-Visp-Zermatt (BVZ).

Abbreviations - railroad companies

Abbreviations - manufacturers

References
  1. "Le train de La Mure ne circule plus". Le Dauphiné Libéré. 2010-10-28. Retrieved 2011-01-08.
  2. "Le Petit train de La Mure sur les rails en 2020". Le Dauphiné Libéré. 2017-06-29. Retrieved 2017-09-22.
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