Abreschviller Forest Railway

Region

Thema

pictures

description

brief description: 

the Abreschviller Forest Railway is a scenic narrow gauge railway line which passes through the Donon Massif in the Vosges Mountains. Small museum trains (historic steam and diesel locomotives) operate on a 6,1 km long stretch of railway tracks which meander through the Valley of the Red Saar. The trains depart from the former sawmill of the ironworks which used to belong to the French National Forests Office (O.N.F.). The Abreschviller Forest Railway Association rented the majority of the old buildings (such as, e.g., the locomotive depot, the maintenance shop, and various sheds) which are communal property. The departure area has been remodelled, shunting tracks were laid, a ticket booth was built, and restrooms were installed in a wing of the former maintenance shop. A journey with the museum train takes 1 hour ½ : 30 minutes from Abreschviller to Grand-Soldat, 30 minutes in Grand-Soldat to visit a hydraulic sawmill and watch a short film about the history of the Forest Railway, and 30 minutes back again to Abreschviller. (www.train-abreschviller.fr).

relevant filming facts

opening times: 
April - October: Wednesdays, (Saturdays), Sundays and Holidays
usage: 
tourism & leisure
condition: 
good overall condition
possible disturbing factors: 
discrepancy between the historic locomotives and the contemporary architecture of some of the villages through which the museum train passes
comment: 
towards the end of the period during which the rail network was used for the purposes of wood transport, the forest administration had already made the tracks available to tourist groups for some years. Today, only the 6,1 km long train line between Abreschviller and Grand-Soldat remains.

accessibility

train: 
the Sarrebourg train station can be reached in 25 minutes

supply

sanitary facilities: 
available
parking lot: 
50 spaces
electricity supply: 
three-phase and single-phase electric power at the departure station and the hydraulic sawmill in Grand-Soldat

contact

Marie-Alix Fourquenay