Saint Valery-sur-Somme by steam train

[kerouac2]

I made a report about Saint Valery ten years ago and showed almost nothing of what can be seen in this report.  At that time I came by car from the opposite direction.  This time I wanted to come by old fashioned stream train.  To do that, I still had a car, but I drove to Le Crotoy which I mentioned in a somewhat more recent report.  It is one of the starting points of the train trip.

Since I was quite early, I also drove to the coast to get a tiny glimpse of the ocean, well sort of.

There was a suggested car park about 200 metres from the train station.  It was rather basic.

But other cars were beginning to arrive, all from the Paris metropolitan area according to their licence plates.  These were all hikers.

I walked to the train station.

It was quite modest.

[kerouac2]

The steam engine had just come out of its little house.







I wandered a bit to see who else would show up. It turned out that I would not be the only passenger.



All aboard!



A panel showed the route.



This car was from an old Swiss ski train from 1950, but all of the cars were not the same.



Right on time, we left the station.

[kerouac2]

Lots of nature to see along the way.







a house every now and then, often the former residence of the barrier guard







We had to change direction at the intermediate station.

[kerouac2]

Some old rail vehicles have come here to die.



Nature is always ready to take over.



We are the spectacle.



Our engine goes around to take us in a different direction.



This station (Noyelles) also has "real" local trains.



And we're off on a new set of rails.

[kerouac2]

Now nature is getting a bit wilder.



Salt marsh sheep are not exactly wild but are left alone most of the time.













We cross the canal de la Somme.

[mickthecactus]

Any report with a steam engine in it is for me.

[htmb]

I once caught a train at Noyelles. It felt like being in the absolute middle of nowhere. I remember having to jump onto whatever car arrived at the platform, then having to walk through several old, dingy cars to get to my assigned seat.

[kerouac2]

May 20, 2024 8:05:49 GMT mickthecactus said:

Any report with a steam engine in it is for me.

There should be a little video when I get home.

[kerouac2]

There was another little station where we did not stop, where they store cars for future use.





almost in town now



Our station would be Saint Valery-Port.







We are along the canal.





The "port" is just for pleasure craft of course.



And we had arrived.

[bixaorellana]

This is absolutely delightful! Since both the country of my birth and the country in which I live -- which, ironically, I saw for the first time via train -- have tragically reduced their passenger rail services, train travel is a thrill for me every single time. I'm pretty sure I've traveled on steam trains in Alaska and in Spain, but that was when I was a child, so unaware I was on something that was passing into history.

Your pictures really convey the feeling of taking a nice train trip. Obviously your train is a tourist draw, but it seems to serve the purpose of getting from one point to another, as well. Is that true?

Those great big blue irises in the last photo -- wow!

[kerouac2]

It really is just a tourist train albeit reasonably priced. A lot of people bring their bikes to continue (or maybe to go back). There was also a huge number of dogs. Dog lovers get really frustrated at all of the things they can't do with their dog(s), so something like this is a huge treat.

There is a turntable to put the locomotive back in the return direction since this is the end of the line.





The return trip would leave at 14h30, so people had plenty of time to eat and/or explore.







The train station here looked like it belonged at Disneyland.





Irises of all sorts were the number one flower in the town, in every variety.





The other side of the canal was very bucolic.





Time for me to go exploring.





perfect place for cycle picnics

[kerouac2]

I started to notice something that I will go into a bit later.









There were a number of groups doing things, but they seemed to be self-organised and not being led around.







What were people eating?



I walked back through the only central street, because the other side was pretty much against a cliff.



That's when the resemblance with Luang Prabang, Laos, hit me. Built at the same time by the French around 1930.



the same little alley slots going down to the water





You could see the canal through the back side of some of the businesses.



For such a small town, it was very lively and it wasn't geared just to tourists.

[bjd]

You were lucky with the weather too.

How is the steam for the train engine generated? I don't see any coal smoke belching out.

And in the very first picture of the sign for Le Crotoy, what language is the second name? Ch'ti?

[lugg]

Oh yes - I am loving this - is there anything better than travelling through wonderful countryside , with the added bonus of being close to the sea. i did also wonder about the power ? I actually love the smell of steam trains ( all the ones i have been on are powered by coal and water) - how it sticks to your clothes and hair - so nostalgic

[kerouac2]

May 20, 2024 18:09:47 GMT bjd said:

the sign for Le Crotoy, what language is the second name? Ch'ti?

I imagine that it would officially be Picard.

[kerouac2]

May 20, 2024 18:09:47 GMT bjd said:

I don't see any coal smoke belching out.

May 20, 2024 19:36:26 GMT lugg said:

I actually love the smell of steam trains

There was plenty of smoke and also ashes on the way back. But everybody kept the windows open anyway.

[kerouac2]

[kerouac2]

I like the modest houses, but the real estate prices are not modest in this town.





The town has one of the greenest municipal car parks that I have ever seen.



This is the original train station before they extended the line a few hundred metres to the port.





There used to be twice as many rail lines in use in France as there are now.





It is such an excellent walking and biking town.











time to get back on the train



This was a different car. If I had known that some of the cars had padding on the seats!

[whatagain]

Looks the perfect trip.
Fun, adventurous, out of the ordinary, nature, walks, a nice town

Did you have the moules frites with a beer to make it absolutely perfect ?

[htmb]

Wonderful photos! This looks like an interesting exploration.

[kerouac2]

Obviously, I sat on the other side of the train for the return trip.





It is not the most scenic trip in the world, but it is really nice, so who cares?



We passed the holding tank of some of the other rail cars. They also do gourmet meal trips, so they need some variety.







We were back in nature quite quickly.















I was glad to have come a bit before tourist season. This train often sells out then.

[kerouac2]

As we returned to Le Crotoy, we passed the last grade crossing involving a real road.



So all that is left is my little very ordinary video to give you an idea of the experience. Nothing exciting but quite pleasant in my opinion.

[htmb]

Looks like a fun trip and a nice way to spend a few hours.

[fumobici]

The little town looks pretty postcard-perfect, is it swamped in the high season? The steam train is fantastic, that's a handsome locomotive. Nice video too!