Du Jura à l’Alsace : les trains qui défient les montagnes – Sur les rails de France – MG

Des montagnes du Jura aux plaines d’Alsace, un voyage ferroviaire spectaculaire.
Pour découvrir les merveilles des plus belles régions de France, c’est ici – Abonnez-vous 👉 http://bit.ly/3zjR2Vj
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À bord du train des Hirondelles, la ligne semble flotter entre ciel et terre, portée par viaducs, tunnels et panoramas vertigineux.
Puis cap sur le train des Horlogers, à travers les forêts profondes et la République autoproclamée de Saugeais, avant de rejoindre l’Alsace pour un dernier détour à bord du train touristique du Rhin.
Un voyage où se croisent paysages puissants, patrimoine ferroviaire, savoir-faire horloger et rencontres passionnées, du massif jurassien jusqu’aux ballons d’Alsace.

Réalisé par Jean-Luc Lénée
© MORGANE PRODUCTION / FRANCE TÉLÉVISIONS

#Jura #Alsace #SurLesRailsDeFrance #TrainDesHirondelles #TrainDesHorlogers #PatrimoineFerroviaire #DocumentaireFrance #VoyageEnTrain #Alsace #MassifDuJura #France5

Today, travelling
by train is a formality. THANKS. But far from speed records,
there is another way to escape on the rails of France. On board venerable steam engines
steeped in history or more contemporary regional trains,
let’s explore these exceptional lines that have written the legend
of the railway in our regions. Immerse yourself in the heart of the landscapes of the Jura
and Alsace, in a comfortable train
or at the more jerky rhythm of locomotives from another era. It’s like a human being, it lives, it
has its noises, it has its characteristics. We embark on an
original discovery of these beautiful regions of Eastern France. So, you have to imagine
the Jura as a staircase. The whole problem with the railway
is just getting to the top of the steps. This ride,
along these spectacular or unusual lines, will be an opportunity
for unforgettable encounters. Panoramix’s recipe. And splendid stops in
remarkable settings or sites. The enemy was always afraid to attack them,
to lose something in the process, so they went around them , but they never attacked. All aboard, for a new journey on board an exceptional train. It is one of the
most amazing railway lines in France, between 250
and 950 meters above sea level. A mountainside route
that seems to fly between sky and earth, like the swallows
that gave it its name. 123 kilometers of sumptuous
Jura panorama between the towns of Dôle and Saint-Claude. A constant source of wonder
for regulars and tourists alike. It’s one of the most
beautiful lines in France. Yes, yes, yes.
It’s magnificent. It’s very, very pretty.
It was delicious. THANKS. Don’t hesitate to come and change
direction, since, as we’ve seen, they are both magnificent. It’s magnificent. Listen, have a good end to your trip.
And then, see you soon. We have some very
beautiful panoramic views here. So, I know that sometimes it’s
on the left, sometimes it’s on the right. So, I strongly encourage them to watch
in order to get the best possible views. Around this unusual regional train, there is
an unobstructed view of steep-sided valleys covered with
impenetrable forests, characteristic of the Jura region. A setting that Laurent, a
connoisseur of the history and culture of Franche-Comté, knows well. He’s the one we’re
going to make this trip with. We are currently crossing the
Chaud Forest, which is one of the largest in France, one of the
largest deciduous forests. It covers 22,000 hectares. In the 18th and 19th centuries,
it was a resource for the inhabitants and for industry,
since there were blast furnaces and foundries on Daule,
forges that produced metal, and therefore needed wood for heating. But until the 19th century,
these forests covering the rugged terrain of the Jura constituted
a difficult obstacle to overcome. The construction of this line to finally
open up this mid-mountain range therefore appears as a blessing. The line is built to serve
two important industrial centers, Moret and Saint-Claude. At that time, Moret was the
largest industrial town in the Jura. We import all the raw materials we
work with and we export all the products that are made. For the region’s industrialists,
the construction of the Swallows’ Train is therefore vital. The railway offers them
unexpected opportunities that will soon make some of them rich. The history of the Jobets dynasty is
emblematic of this period of exceptional growth for the Jura. The valley is widening
and we are approaching Siam. Siam, which is a fairly important metallurgical site
in which there was a small sawmill that manufactured scythes. This cutlery workshop
is the building that can still be seen from the train. In 1813, the Jobé family transformed it
into an ultra-modern factory. But the most astonishing trace
of this dynasty’s formidable success is found right next door. And it is to discover it that a
first stop at Siam station is necessary. This magnificent residence, inspired
by the Italian Renaissance, is the work of Jean-Emmanuel Jobet,
one of the prominent members of this illustrious family of metalworkers. Stunned by
Andrea Paladio’s Venetian Villa Rotonda, he decided to have
a replica built right here in the heart of the Jura valley. Built in the 19th century,
the Villa des Jobet is in an exceptional state of preservation. Claude, the current owner, who has just lived in this house, loves nothing more than to personally welcome
visitors to bring these places steeped in history back to life. This house is a
testament to the life of a rich and refined man from the early 19th century. It is a testament because here,
for two centuries, nothing has changed. The structure of the house is completely
identical to what it was originally. The furniture you are about to see is
the Jobet furniture, which has always been there and in the same
place for two centuries. A lover of symbolism, Jean-Emmanuel Jobet has
made the number 8 his lucky emblem, recognizable all
over the property. The villa, for example,
is a square with sides of 24 meters, with 8 rooms per floor,
like the eight columns of the rotunda. The park itself forms a gigantic figure
eight, evoking infinity. And the precise orientation of the villa was not
chosen at random either. June 21st, at teatime,
a ray of sunshine arrives here and illuminates
the large North lounge. There is sunshine in the North once a
year in Siam, ladies and gentlemen. 14 minutes. This ray of light passing through is
a typical Freemason symbol: the architect’s signature. It testifies to the desire of the owner
to make this house a temple of the knowledge of his time. This house is of a manageable size. When you visit Chambord,
you don’t get the feeling that you could live there, Chambord. Whereas when you visit
the Palatine Villa in Siam, people even want
to sit in the armchairs. Sometimes
I let them sit down for a bit so they can soak it all in a little, so they feel like they’re at home
. The Paladian Villa of Siam is
characteristic of the tremendous industrial boom that the Jura experienced thanks
to the construction of the Hirondelles train line in the 19th century. And yet, this formidable Paris
railway was not a foregone conclusion. Because the Swallows train is not a
railway line like any other. Conquering this rugged terrain
required colossal financial resources to imagine and then build all
the necessary engineering works. You have to imagine the Jura as a staircase
with the plain, then two steps. We go up onto the first plateau,
the second plateau. The whole problem with the railway
is getting to the top of its steps, that is, getting to
the second plateau and then being able to serve Moret and Saint-Claude despite
the particularly rugged terrain there. Proof of all the difficulties that had to be
overcome, this 123-kilometer line, begun
in 1856, would not be completed until 1912. 56 years of uninterrupted labor
to erect 18 viaducts and 36 tunnels without which it would have been impossible
to hope to tame the tormented terrain of the Haut Jura. But before discovering the most
impressive part of the route, the train stops in Morbié, which
cheese lovers know well. These verdant, enclosed meadows,
typical of the Jura region, are Fabien’s domain. That
‘s pretty. It makes a beautiful valley floor. And his cows. We have everything we need right here. We have the typical character of the Jura with its valleys,
to the sound of the bells, it’s magnificent. We like to hear that. In the past, the family farm
only produced Comté cheese, the other local star of cheeses. But as a great lover of
Jura traditions, Fabien decided to revive a small production
of old-fashioned Morbier cheese. Reworking these ancestral methods a little bit
is, I would say, simply returning to the essentials. Working in a
copper cauldron, it’s true that it’s a little bit reminiscent of
working with hydrides. Panoramix’s recipe. Working at the pace of the ancients,
with the same utensils, is, according to Fabien, the best way
to perpetuate the tradition. We have time to admire
the product a little bit. We have time to see
the cheese being made a little bit. So these are canvases, linen canvas. We draw it out the old-fashioned way, with our mouths. What I really like
is the technique of going to get a little bit of
the curd from the bottom of the oven. When you take the cheese out,
it’s really something special. We have sensations,
we have our hands in the vat, we have the Everything is heating up, we get a rush of heat. That’s really where the bulk of the work is
happening, in fact, right now. Making cheese isn’t complicated,
it’s making it successfully that’s complicated. And that’s really a skill. In the past, it took two milkings
to make a wheel of Morbier cheese. Between the two, the fresh dough was protected
from insects with a thin layer of vegetable charcoal. Although a single harvest is now sufficient
to make a wheel of cheese, the tradition of charcoal, a true
signature of the cheese, has remained. And here, we’re going to cut it
in half, quite simply. So. Tac. And here, in fact, we’re dealing with
vegetable charcoal. We’re actually talking about cheese. And that’s what makes Morbier cheese. Then,
working in addition to this method, there, in wooden molds,
the old-fashioned way, it’s even bigger. The most important step remains,
as with any cheese: aging in a cellar. While Fabien’s Morbier cheeses rest peacefully, our Swallows train continues its
progress towards the last part of the line, undoubtedly the most amazing. Because the section located between Morbiers
and Morais is a concentration and creation of
engineering works unique in France. To get from Morbiers to Morais, you
have to overcome a difference in elevation of 125 meters. With the gradients acceptable at the time
for steam engines, it takes about 5 kilometers. So, we have 5 km of
railway line in Cazet, but where? The problem is that the two villages
are only a little over a kilometer apart. It’s far too short to descend
a 125-meter drop without risking derailing the train. Bypassing rock bridges, an
abnormally long curve, an S-shaped viaduct,
while the route has already cost record sums, the engineers must
therefore artificially lengthen this section so that the percentage
of the slope remains acceptable. An incredible feat of work, which becomes
fully apparent once you arrive at Moret station. To accommodate these 5 km of track which make up for
this 125-meter elevation gain, the Vallon des Values ​​is not sufficient. We even had to dig
a tunnel at the bottom of this valley, which is unique in France. It’s a horseshoe-shaped tunnel. In this case, we enter at that level. The tunnel is on a slope,
it makes its horseshoe shape and emerges here, 26 meters lower. Despite all these efforts, there will still be a
40-meter drop in elevation needed to bring
the train to the city center. This is why the
Moret train station is still located above the town today. And it is for this reason
that the chief architect of the line had to build the longest viaduct on the route,
just after the station, in order to allow the train to continue
its journey towards Saint-Claude. This viaduct was made by Paul Céjournet
and he conceived, in order that it would not give too much wind resistance and would not be
too heavy, of hollowing it out through the holes that can be seen above each pillar. And the swallows pass through these holes,
pass over the line below, and go close to the train, hence the
name of the swallow line. This is where the
train’s nickname takes on its full meaning. Especially since travelers really feel like they are
flying over the villages and gliding from one mountainside
to the other like swallows. It’s very pretty, very pretty. The views are magnificent. On the tunnel exits, you’re
in the void and all of that, it’s magnificent. It’s really worth it and we brought our
grandchildren, but I don’t think they’re disappointed either.
They appreciate it. What a view, you can see the
whole Jura region, it’s great. I like it. The atmosphere is quite unique because
people are quite happy to be travelling. They make
the trip specifically to see the view. It’s not a constraint, it’s
much more about the pleasure of traveling. It is a little further on,
after crossing the wild valley of the Bienne, that the first part of this
rail journey ends at Saint-Claude station. About a hundred kilometers further north,
another legendary line of the most beautiful railways in Eastern France
awaits us at Besançon station. But before embarking, let’s take
a small step to visit the Ocel cave,
located about twenty kilometers from the capital of Franche-Comté. Ocel is known for being one of the
world’s first regularly visited caves. This underground world is
Brigitte’s lair. The cave was
discovered in the 13th century. It has been open to visitors since 1504. In fact, it was the first cave
to be visited in the world, along with Antiparros in Greece. At the time, they thought it was
an ancient gold mine dug by the Romans,
and that nature, which was very good, had made columns grow
to support the mountain so that it would not collapse. Over the centuries, the cave has been
developed over a length of more than 1,300 meters. A haven of peace that some species
had spotted and settled in long before the arrival of man, as
these remains, discovered in 1826, prove. The first bear skeleton was
discovered and donated by Mr. Buckland, who was then curator
of the British Museum in London. It was the first complete skeleton to be
reconstructed and displayed in a museum. These bears lived
approximately 45,000 to 50,000 years ago. They measured at 2.50 meters, 3 meters,
and therefore weighed between 700 and 800 kilos. They were really very large
bears compared to today’s bears. Bones were discovered
along the entire length of the cave. The estimated number of
skeletons is between 2,000 and 3,000. Although the Ocelle cave remained a
much-loved refuge for bears for thousands of years, its
recent past was considerably more eventful. In the 18th century, it was not uncommon to
encounter strange ghosts in satin dresses and brocade jackets
dancing to the frenetic rhythms of chamber music. So this is the ballroom, this is
where our nobles of the time used to dance. In this part of the cave,
many banquets were held. The notables came here to sing,
to dance, to eat, especially in the time of Voltaire,
who came very often. A few years later,
during the Revolution, the Ocel cave also served as a
providential hiding place for priests persecuted by the Directory, as evidenced by
these few names left on the walls. Like the Occelle cave,
places steeped in history are legion in this region. About twenty kilometers away,
our wanderings take us to Besançon, dominated by the famous Vauban citadel, a
UNESCO World Heritage Site. Founded in Gallo-Roman times,
the capital of Franche-Comté is the starting point of another
railway line which will allow us to complete our crossing of the
Jura massif, passing through the high plateaus of the Doubs. A 74 kilometer journey to
Morto, which we will undertake aboard what all Franche-Comté residents,
like Roland, call the Watchmakers’ train. The Watchmakers’ line,
quite simply because it was the link between three
watchmaking capitals: Besançon. It was the
Besançon Observatory that set the time for all of France. And besides, Morto is
also a watchmaking town. And those who go to Switzerland as well. It was just after the revolution
that watchmaking developed in Franche-Comté. Many farmers find in this
a supplementary source of income each winter, when their farms are operating at a reduced capacity. Later, in 1884,
the inauguration of this line allowed the know-how of Franche-Comté to shine
far beyond the Jura massif. Precision mechanics is
not the only sector to benefit from this. This opening up of the region by rail also benefits local agriculture and industry. This line was built with the aim
of developing the economy in the region, of being able to distribute the products
that came from the Haut-Doubs, livestock products,
cheese products and then watchmaking, because watchmaking developed
in the Jura and especially in the highlands, where it was a second
job for farmers. Very quickly, the development
of watchmaking in Franche-Comté became inextricably linked to that of the railway. We have forgotten it today,
but it was the expansion of the train in the 19th century that set all
European clocks to the same time. Firstly, because each locomotive is
equipped with a clock to encourage railway workers to respect the timetables. Secondly, because to avoid missing
their train, all the villagers synchronize themselves with the clocks
in the stations. To ensure that station clocks were
always on time, there was a profession
in the railways. Well, it was… He was called Father Time,
because he was in charge of setting the station clocks to the correct time. And these people were trained in Besançon,
at the watchmaking school. Starting from Besançon at an altitude of 235 meters
, the Watchmakers’ train gradually climbs to the Col des Agés, the
highest point of the line, at 920 meters high. A winding route that crosses the splendid
Saône marsh, before plunging into magnificent fir forests. Here, before the region was opened up,
food preservation was one of the main
concerns of the population. This is why
Franche-Comté has long developed a salting
and smoking activity embodied by the famous Morton Sausage. To learn more about the preparation
of this Franche-Comté specialty, once you get off at Morto station,
our terminus, you have to go all the way to the village of Gillet, about ten
kilometers further east. This is where a small,
little-known autonomous republic is located. Do you have your papers, please? But clearly very well guarded. You let them through, you don’t have them? Without passing through, it is
impossible to walk around in this self-proclaimed micro-nation in 1947,
which includes about ten municipalities like Gillet. This is what you need. Behind the humor and folk music of its
customs officers, there is a very concrete ambition:
to defend and promote one of the most famous sausages in France. However, Gillet houses an
exceptional treasure in this curious building called a tuyé. For lovers of Morteau sausage,
it’s a bit like paradise. And Pascal,
the person in charge of the place, certainly wouldn’t disagree . Let’s see if our Morteau sausages
are smoked. These ones , at first glance, don’t look
too bad. The recipe for Morteau smoked sausage
dates back more than five centuries. A mixture of Doubs pork
raised on whey, to which salt,
pepper and expertly measured spices are added. I can kill you, it’s kind of where
all our products that we manufacture are, it’s the place for smoking and drying
all our cured meats. Traditional.
Traditional, exactly. Including the Morteau sausage. It is a raw product intended
for cooking, so there is no drying involved. So, it’s only here for smoking. The tuyé is therefore to the Saucisse de Mortot
what a ripening cellar is to a characterful cheese like Morbier or Comté. What is called a tuyé
is a large chimney topped by that tall pyramid that you see there. So, this one is 18 meters high. It is one of the largest in the region. Built in 1974, this smokehouse smokes
45 tonnes of Morteau sausage per year. Thousands of delicious cured meats
slowly become fragrant, caressed by the smoke escaping
from the immense 100-square-meter chimney. The types of wood that are burned here
are of course carefully selected to guarantee maximum
aroma to the product. So here we have a bit of sawdust, enough to
smoke all night with this. It’s fir and spruce sawdust. We will cover the flames with this
sawdust so that we only seek smoke and not heat. It’s good, it’s smoking. Here we go. This is where our journey on the
Jura railways comes to an end. But two hours further north,
another jewel of our railway heritage awaits us at the foot
of the Vosges, this range of medium mountains which borders the plains of Alsace. The turdolère is a small narrow-gauge railway
that connects Cernet-Saint-André to Saint-Time, 13 kilometers away. A tiny section of lines
miraculously saved almost half a century ago by the association
that Romain now heads. This line was created during the time
of the Eastern Railway Company in 1869, and then operated by the SNCF
from 1938, when the SNCF was created. And it was decommissioned in 1973. And then, a group of enthusiasts,
at the time, in the early 70s, decided to create this tourist train
by preserving the section of line between Cernet-Saint-André and Saint-Time,
which we are traveling through right now. Like Romain, Alexis and Victorien,
the two railway workers who drive this venerable Iron Lady from 1914, devote
all their free time to pampering her. For as long as they can remember,
the turdolère has always been a part of their lives. I live right there, a
few meters from the railway line. So, ever since I was very little,
I used to see the steam train passing in front of my house. I took my bike and followed
the train on the cycle path. And the passion, it came just like that, from
seeing him pass by my house so often. Victorian and a mechanic, it is his responsibility to tame the 350 horsepower
of the steam locomotive. Alongside him, the driver Alexis has to
supply him with coal during the journey. There, I grew up surrounded by coal,
and more specifically by my wife’s locomotives. And then, over time,
it became a passion. It is also the pleasure of reviving
heritage, preserving equipment,
restoring it and bringing it back to life. The machines are over
100 years old, we are restoring them. It’s more than a museum,
because in the end, it’s alive, it’s dynamic. It’s a living museum, that’s it. Seeing the plume of white smoke escaping
from the chimney, hearing the characteristic whistle
of this old-fashioned machinery, or breathing in the persistent smells of
hot oil and coal that perfume all the wagons,
participating in the Tour de l’Aire adventure is a childhood dream that continues
to seduce young people like Thomas even today. Ladies and gentlemen, good morning. Label check, please. In fact, we offer our visitors the chance
to relive the journey of that era. For the older people,
it brings back a lot of memories. For younger generations,
it allows them to discover what their grandparents experienced. The goal is to take
a trip into the past. However, this trip was
not a sure thing. When the association decided to save
this section of the line in the early 1970s, there was nothing left, or almost nothing. This vintage train will be
recreated from scratch by volunteers who will travel all over France
in search of a locomotive and wagons to restore. Some of these splendid cars,
for example, are listed as historical monuments. They were bought back in the south
of the country, where they had already accumulated more than a century of good and loyal service. And they
arrived in Alsace by truck. These cars date from 1892. They came from the railway. Montpellier, not the cow of the waves. And there you have it, we can enjoy
the scenery, we can enjoy the smells. We’re driving at 25 km/h. We’re in no hurry
to get to the terminus. And there you have it, we take the time to live, I want to say, in our The maintenance of this line has also made it possible to save
from abandonment this amazing model of military bridge, barely wide enough
to allow the convoy to pass at a slow pace. This bridge, which was supposed to be more
or less temporary, remained. And today,
it’s a real feature of our line, since it’s a unique bridge. It is the only one
of its kind still in service. A little further on, the train resumes its cruising speed to pass alongside
the famous balloons of Alsace. Over there in the distance,
you can see the Grand Ballon. This is the highest ball. It is the highest point in
the Vosges, at 1424 meters. These are very,
very old mountains that date back to the first ice age. These are balloon-shaped mountains,
and they are mountains that are, as they say, very worn down by erosion and time. These balloons are closely linked
to the history of this line, since the railway was
used in the 80s to transport the materials needed
for the construction of the Michelmarc dam, at the foot of the Vosges. This impressive reservoir
of more than seven million cubic meters of water supplies the entire
Mulhouse metropolitan area. Since its creation,
the site has become one of the most important
nesting sites in Alsace. An important stopover for
migratory birds and the promise of a magnificent walk for passing visitors
or passionate ornithologists like Florentin. Currently, you have birds
that are part of the Lymicoll family, the Curlews,
the Snipe, the Sandpipers, etc. Who will stop on these
rented riverbanks, who will stay one day, two days or three days,
three days and who will leave again. And you continually have a passage
of birds that stop, then leave again with other arrivals, other departures. When that happens, Lake Parage is
a really important stop. Grey Heron, Osprey
or Great Egret The site. Proof that the birds have
definitively adopted the site. Today, more than
180 different species have been recorded there. Duck. Luc Canard. Ornithologists like Florentin
never come without their spotting scope or binoculars. Much to the delight
of the other walkers. There are at least six snipe. Three on the left, three on the right. Aim for the small bright spot in the center and
you have a bird with a very long beak. Do you see?
So this is a common snipe. It’s a limcol. It has a very,
very long beak for probing in the mud. Yes, she is currently sounding out the situation. For them, it’s perfect. And there, the Crees, that’s the ashy fingers. Do you see?
With the orange beak. They are to be lived. While the birds rest
peacefully on the waters of the dam, our little train continues to wind its way
a little further down, in the valleys of the Thur and the Dolère. These two rivers
gave it its name. The train regularly has to slow down
to cross the 18 level crossings on the line. There, we arrive at Aspac station,
where the barrier will be closed to allow us to cross the road that connects the two
Aspacs, lower Aspac and upper Aspac. Three of these level crossings are
still entirely manual and require
the train to stop completely. It’s not automatic and that’s
also what makes our line authentic, everything has remained original
and the barriers are still barriers controlled remotely with cables
by a barrier guard. Well-versed in the procedure,
the train conductor and his colleagues get out to secure
the level crossing. In his locomotive, Victorien
also follows the maneuver very attentively. We cross, we stop,
we pick up the team and we go. We transport the public. There is a whole organization in place to
comply with safety rules, etc. And at this point, we’re no longer playing with trains. We really do transport passengers,
but while having fun and preserving our heritage. These slowdowns or stops along
the line explain why the train takes almost an hour and a half
to reach its terminus, same time, only 13 km from the departure point. Here, we arrive at the end of the line. This station was
originally built on the line by the Eastern Railway Company in 1869. And it has the advantage of having remained
completely original, both inside and out. The quayside bell, for example,
was already there in the 1930s. It’s a bell to announce
the arrival of deserts. But here, it’s the
main building that’s worth the detour. Unlike most stations
in the region, Saint-Time station was miraculously
spared from shells during the First World War. Here we have the ticket office which has remained
in its original setting with the ticket validator and our ticket seller. Like the ticket office,
the building has retained all the characteristics of old-fashioned train stations. This is the stationmaster’s office where you can
find the typewriter, the table, the chair, the clock
which is part of the furniture. A magnificent antique clock
that originally came from the station. And this clock had the particularity
of also sending the movement outwards to display
the time on the platform. On the platform,
the volunteers are bustling about. Because before heading back to Cernet,
the machine needs to be refueled. Despite her age, the old
iron lady is still just as greedy. Each trip
uses between 200 and 300 kilos of coal, which corresponds
to a distance of 24 kilometers. So, a round trip on the line. If you enjoy riding the locomotive to fear,
you also have to enjoy getting dirty. So, coal, coal dust, as well as
oil and grease. It’s part of the passion. Once the locomotive is full,
it must then be turned around for the return journey,
because the old lady has her moods and does not like to lag
behind the wagons. A steam locomotive
is like a human being. It’s alive, it has its own noises, its
own characteristics, its own way of being heated, its own way of being driven. No two machines are alike
in terms of heating technology, for example, or in terms of
operating technology. You can have two of them, as they say,
they are locomotives that are totally identical except for one serial number. The two will react
completely differently. While our little train heads back
towards Cernet, its starting point, we travel not
far from there, to the heart of the Thur valley,
to discover another jewel of Alsatian heritage. Nestled in the heart of the Rangaine vineyard,
the small town of Tanne is an unmissable place for a stroll for those who,
like Isabelle, appreciate Alsatian history and architecture. The town of Tanne was created around the 12th
century and this town, therefore, was really built around
the chapel of Saint-Yébo, which developed with the collegiate church
all around, the old towers of the ramparts which
constituted the historical center of the town. The path leading to the
Saint-Yébo collegiate church, the highlight of this visit, allows you to admire many
half-timbered houses that are several centuries old. The quintessential postcard image
of the Alsace region. Here we are on the bridge that crosses
the Thur, the river that runs through the entire town of Tanne. Here we have the typical image of Alsace
with half-timbered houses and geraniums. In the distance you can see the famous
Tanne vineyard, the Rangen vineyard, classified as grand cru in its entirety,
with the chapel, the Saint-Urbain chapel,
the patron saint of winemakers. In the center of the city,
the imposing Saint-Yébo collegiate church and its sumptuous 18-meter-high portal,
rich with 500 sculpted figures in a remarkable state of preservation. In the Middle Ages, these sculptures made it possible
to tell the main scenes of the Bible to a population that was
still largely illiterate. So here is a very beautiful example of the interpretation
of religion with all these scenes, with, as we can see, the two small tympana,
the crucifixion and the birth of Jesus. Above the gate,
you see four coats of arms, the first of which, on the far left,
is the coat of arms of the town of Tanne, with the fir tree which is called Tannenbaum in German
, and which would therefore have given its name to the town of Tanne. With its nave and its imposing 22-
meter-long heart, this splendid collegiate church is considered a
masterpiece of Gothic art. Here, we have early Gothic architecture
for this side aisle. Here, on the south side aisle, you can see
the vaults, they are quite sparsely decorated. Next, we have here the radiant Gothic style. As you can see,
the vaults are much more elaborate, especially at the level of the keystones. And we finally have the end of Gothic,
right here, Flamboyant Gothic, where there, you see the vaults
that form like stars. The exterior of the collegiate church
is equally exceptional. Firstly, for the glazed flat tiles
of its roofs, of course, but above all for its magnificent
sculpted spire, which rises to over 78 meters high. It’s a true stone lacework. The spire was built over 10 years
from 1506 to 1516 by Rémy Fêche, one of the architects of the collegiate church. There is a proverb here that says
that the bell tower of Strasbourg is the tallest, that of Fribourg the biggest,
and that of Tanne the most beautiful. Located at the foot of the Ballons des Vosges,
the small town of Tanne is also a gateway to the Alsace plain. It is in this same plain,
70 kilometers further north, very close to Colmar,
that our last gem of this escapade on the rails
of Eastern France awaits us. Like its cousin the turdolère,
the Rid Express, or little tourist train of the Rhine, is also a superb
little train which continues to polish about fifteen kilometers of rails
between Wolgensheim and Balzenheim. Before embarking,
fans of old machines with the smells of oil and coal will certainly want
to visit the association’s warehouse. Here rest four
century-old steam locomotives, as well as about ten diesel locomotives,
including this strange Saviem shunting locomotive. These gleaming machines are
Ludovic’s babies, whom we find at the bedside of a splendor
that is about to awaken. This is a machine that was
particularly used for shunting,
but it was also used on secondary lines to run
small passenger trains. Its original speed was
40 km/h at the time. Then, in 1900, it was the Rolls Royce, you know. It would be hard to believe
today, but these 28 gleaming metal locomotives,
ready to devour kilometers of rails, were nothing more than a vulgar,
abandoned pile of rust when the volunteers of the association took on
the challenge of resurrecting them. I’m currently greasing the machine. Oil should be applied
to all joints. These are mechanisms that must
always be monitored. At the time of greasing,
that’s really when we go around the machine, we see it up
close, we touch it. Restoring steam locomotives
is a school of patience. Starting up this beautiful sleeping beauty
of iron and steel requires four hours of intensive care while the
boiler slowly heats up. While waiting for departure,
a short visit outside the depot is in order. Just a few hundred meters from the station,
the magnificent citadel of Neubrisack, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. To discover it, here is Martin,
a rather unusual guide. I represent the city’s first governor
, Irieux of Ubani, because I am the soldier who
stayed here the longest. I command four barracks,
two cavalry regiments, two infantry regiments,
a total of 2,400 soldiers. A former soldier, Martin likes to dress up
to immerse visitors in the atmosphere of the 17th century,
when Louis XIV entrusted his faithful Vauban with the fortification of this
strategic border town. This fortress is
Vauban’s last work, the culmination of a lifetime of combat experience. The fortress of Neubrisack was built
directly opposite a German town located on the other side of the Rhine, which France
had lost a year earlier in 1697. To avoid another setback,
Louis XIV demanded the very best in fortification of the time. A star-shaped plan with four gates
protected by eight fortified towers. This is the Belfort gate. This is the only door that is original,
that has never been destroyed. Next, we have the Courtine. La Courtine, therefore, refers to the
city walls, also known as the outer enclosure. The height is 9 meters. In total, we have
17 kilometers of walls. The whole thing was built in three years. Neubrisack is Vauban’s masterpiece. A particularly
dissuasive achievement that the Prussians would never dare to confront. The enemy was always afraid to attack them,
to lose some feathers in the process, so they went around them, but they
never attacked, quite simply. Not far from Neubrisack,
we find our locomotive of the little Rhine tourist train. The boiler is now ready to deliver the
full power of its pressurized steam. A special moment for Ludovic
and his friend Manu, the driver. She begins to sing, “Manu?” When she starts to sing, that’s when
you start to hear the water boiling. That’s when she starts to come to life. It’s really alive. It’s really alive. And she’s in that mood. There are days when things will go well, and there
are days when things will go less well. It’s not like a diesel engine, you just
press the button and it starts. That’s different. You can feel everything, you can feel the smoke,
you can feel the heat, you can smell the oil. That’s a real pleasure. A pleasure that culminates when
releasing the brakes and pulling the regulator to unleash the locomotive’s 400 horsepower
and leave the depot. It is only at this moment
that the steel monster stirs and surges forward, vibrating with all its metal plates. When I drive the machine, I
really feel like it’s an extension of my body. I listen to the crackling of the chimney
to adjust my speed. In fact, we are always
listening to the machine. She is the one who tells us how to
control it, in a way. We really have all the sensations at our
fingertips. A sure hand that guides this venerable
locomotive at the considerable speed of 25 km/h, to the small station
of Wolgelscheim, built by the Austrians in 1880. The building served as a set during
the filming of Jean Renoir’s grand illusion. A time that Marcel,
one of the association’s volunteers, remembers with emotion. It was a different story back then. The steam engine
was a living monster. When I climbed into the machine, I felt like I was climbing into the belly of a dragon,
because it made noise, it spit out smoke, it spit out steam. After several kilometers,
we were still a bit black. So automatically,
upon arrival at the destination, the first thing was the shower. So. Well, that’s why we sometimes put in
all those hours of work and make those sacrifices, it’s because there are
people like that who come. People are happy. Well, if we can make them happy
like that, then we’re happy too. The
human beast is ready to set off again to skirt the
German border by following the Rhine. These floodplain forest landscapes
bordering the Rhine River form what is known as the Rhine,
which gave its name to the train. A journey punctuated by the sound of sleepers
and whistles, which Ludovic loves. A little push because I had good
visibility, but since there was a turn, it was
simply to move forward. After that, I wouldn’t have gone to a level where we
know there are people, I would be much more insistent
and some, even, where I would put the bell in addition to the whistle. Everyone has their own little personal whistle. It depends on my mood. That makes us happy. Afterwards, it’s for safety,
but it’s true that every time the whistle blows , it
always causes a little stinging. Steam is pure bliss. The slow speed of the train is part
of the charm of this journey back to the early hours of the railway area. An opportunity to lean out of the windows
without taking any risks other than getting a few
cinders in your hair. Especially when Manu, the driver,
chooses to flirt with the 40 km/h mark. Okay, that’s good for getting some water. It’ll clean things up a bit there. It needs a bit of a cleaning. I’ve got a bit too much coal
in the fireplace right now. And besides, the old lady wants
to stretch her legs a bit. We were going a little too slowly there. We’re going about 25 km/h here. Are these my cannons? There, she is happy, there.
Now she lives there. Like most of the association’s 60 volunteers
, Manu has a passion for old trains in his blood. And although there is no longer any
official training to learn how to drive an old steam locomotive,
he was fortunately able to rely on the knowledge passed down by the older members of the association. It’s a childhood dream. I am very young,
so as I was saying, I did the first train with
the association when I was seven years old. I started warming it up, as
Ludo said, we start with the warm-up to properly understand how
a machine works, in my opinion. And afterwards, I also took on
the role of driver. And one thing led to another, and it
allowed me to do another job. Today, I am a
train driver on the same line. During the week, I drive
freight trains. So, I combine passion and work. And there you have it, it’s sensational. It is here, on the banks of the Rhine,
that our journey on the rails of Eastern France comes to an end. Rides Express, Turdolaire, the Swallows’ Train or the Watchmakers’ Train. Each of these lines has kept its promise
by offering us another way to discover the sumptuous
landscapes of the Jura and Alsace. Boarding these exceptional trains
guarantees wonderful encounters and leaves you wanting
to discover other amazing railway lines.