Visit to Chemin de Fer touristique de la vallée de l'Aa

Yesterday I visited the Chemin de fer touristique de la vallée de l'Aa. This is a preservation operation about 50km South-East of Calais.

http://www.cftva62.com/

They run for 15km along an SNCF freight line from Arques to Lumbres. On the first weekend of each month from May to October & a few other dates, ex-Polish Ty2 Kriegslok 2-10-0 6690 works one round trip. There are also 2 return trips with a DMU on Saturdays and Sundays in June/July/August and Sundays in May and September. They don't operate over the last few KMs to the junction with the main line near Saint-Omer.

Since this weekend is the first of the month, the Ty2 was out. Diesel BB 63852 was also in the formation but only worked to bring the stock into the platform at Arques. Otherwise the train was 4 coaches, 2 from the 60s/70s and two pre-war. With the diesel dead in the formation, you could actually hear the 2-10-0 working at times.

It was a pleasant little run with stops at a few rural spots as well as next to a WW2 museum. The way out was spoilt by torrential rain but the sun came out by the time we arrived at Lumbres and the return was much better. Arques station is a bit run-down (not helped by the weather) but Lumbres was quite nice and looked clean and cared for (French wikipedia says it hosts the town's tourist office).

The facilities are basic by UK standards (or indeed by Belgian standards). Some food was being made to order in one of the offices at Arques before we left. On the train there was a bar with cans, bottles and a few snacks. The 2-10-0 is kept in the old goods shed at Arques but everything else is kept out in the open there. This is the first French preservation operation I've been to so I can't say how it compares with others.

The train was well supported with a British group (part of a tour operated by Inside Tracks), a French group (who arrived on a DMU from the Chemin de Fer Touristique du Sud des Ardennes) and a reasonable turn out of locals as far as I could tell from the number of cars parked in the yard. I was part of the French group to do the connection between Saint-Omer and Arques.

I would certainly recommend a visit to anyone driving via the Channel Tunnel on one of the days when they're operating if the weather isn't too bad. Apparently its also reachable from Saint-Omer station by bus on a Saturday.

 

Thanks for the report but it's a long way to go from the UK for just one round trip.

 

Google thinks it's 40 minutes by car from the Eurotunnel terminal in Calais. That isn't that far as one piece of a longer weekend, e.g. combining it with Chemin de Fer de la Baie de Somme. Anyone taking their car on the Channel Tunnel could also stop over.

 

Agreed but even as part of a weekend, it's still a fair bit of effort for just one return trip. Just goes to show how lucky we are in the UK with numerous heritage lines running many more days and services.

 

Yes. A lot of German preservation operations have very limited operating days and seasons. In Belgium and Netherlands, it's quite common to operate on 2-3 days/week in July and August and otherwise Sundays & public holidays only from Easter to September / October. Even when they do operate 2-3 days a week, one of the days might be 2 round trips with a DMU and only Sunday with steam. Much less than the UK.

 

Absolutely. To coin a phrase, "you have no idea...."

(When clearly you do)

 

Tried planning a holiday in the mid 90s based on German preserved railways. We would have seen very little working steam had we gone ahead with the idea. Stuck to the old East German narrow gauge instead. Steam every day.

 

I do wonder about the economics of such lines that run so infrequently and now they cover the costs of overhauling their locos

 

I wonder that too, the same railway just wouldn't survive if it was in Britain, heritage or commercial, the owning structures of mainland Europe small railways always seem rather complicated to me, they always seem to keep going though. Even the smallest of places in Germany etc seem to get a fairly robust tourist trade.

 

Whether it's a long way to go depends on how far you live from Eurotunnel. For anyone living in Kent, it's not far at all!

However, I went there some years ago when on the way back from a trip to Germany. I spent a few days in Northern France / Southern Belgium before crossing the Channel and visited several other tourist sites in the area at the same time. So I'd recommend a visit if you've got time to add a few days to a continental motoring holiday - unless, of course, you already live in eastern Kent and can go anytime!

 

The larger Saxony railways know their market and seem to get it right. Just back from a long weekend staying in Abertemy in the Ore Mountains just over the Czech Border from the Fitchburg railway ( operated on commercial footing) and the Enthusiast one at Jonstadt.
The Fitchburg got it spot on for us , enough custom for two train sets, immaculate carriages even at end of season, clean steam engine, well stocked ticket office with tempting toys and stock for sal. Being German, plenty of Beer on offer in one carriage on each set on the Fitchburg. Signs of modernization such as converting bearings to low maintenance roller type.
Next day we went to Jonstadt, only one train set, nobody at the wooden shack that is the station building, no food on train or at station let alone a shop. A shame we waited till the train came with superb Mallet but the wife had made her mind up not to travel by then. Noted the railway staff had access to the original station and indeed a toilet was open in these buildings so could not understand why a rather tatty forelorn locked up shack now operated as the station. Indeed the track buffers stood wistfully looking at the original building across a carpark by no means fully utilized all it would take would be 100 metres of track and the original station could serve as welcoming office shop buffet etc. Plenty of walkers and cyclists setting off into the woods from the carpark during our wait. What a wasted commercial opportunity.

Brian