Driver’s Eye View (Fr) - Le Train Rouge - Rivesaltes to Axat - Pt 3 - Lapradelle to Saint-Martin-Lys 

This was a railway I knew very little about, it is one of France's best kept secrets. It is more than just a tourist line, it is used for wine tours, castle tours and rail bicycles. For people taking a holiday to the area it is a useful way to enjoy the countryside. I'd love to return one day to see some of the things I missed. I'm glad you enjoyed the ride and if you do return, I'm sure you''ll enjoy the train ride.

Grazie, mi fa piacere che questo video ti sia piaciuto 🙂.

Thank you, I'm pleased you enjoyed to ride.

Cheers Pete, I really enjoyed this rail based holiday to see some of the more unusual railways of the Pyrenees. Take care. Tim.

Hello Hans, I don't think most of the towns and villages have changed much in the last 50 years. A steam locomotive would have completed the picture.

@@Timsvideochannel1 That's the true, Tim. 🍻

Merci, je suis content que vous l’ayez apprécié

Bonjour, j'espère que certains membres verront votre commentaire, ils font un travail formidable à la fois en préservant le chemin de fer et en promouvant le tourisme dans la région.

It has to be one of the most underrated heritage train rides in France. I really enjoyed the ride, a traditional DMU where you can sit with the driver, beautiful scenery and an informative commentary, as the young would say "what's not to like"? I'd love to go back and do the rail bikes, they looked like fun. The bit beyond Axat in well worth doing, I wish it was still open over its full length.

Hallo, die Fahrt war überraschend landschaftlich reizvoll und das Zugpersonal war sehr freundlich. Ich habe diese Reise wirklich genossen. Tim aus England.

Cheers Neil, I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Thank you, I'm pleased you enjoyed it.

Hello Keith, I really enjoyed the last part of this trip, the quality of the workmanship that went into this railway indicated that the original promoters had a far grander vision for this line than just a pretty country byway. I looked through the disused tunnel at the end of the route and wondered what it must have been like to travel the complete railway in the days of steam. This railway left me curious to know more. God created the canvas, man added the details, I think both party's can rightly be proud of their achievements.

Hi, I'm glad you enjoyed the series. I remember when my local heritage railway looked more like a scrap yard than a place you'd take your children, now it looks great, although it took many years to mature into the railway it is today. This French railway has only been in the hands of enthusiasts for a relatively short time, I'd like to think that it will mature into a well looked after tribute to our ancestors as have most British heritage railways today.

Cieszę się, że ci się podobało 🙂.

Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed the ride, the railway beyond Axat to Saint-Martin-Lys is my favourite part of the line, I wish it was still possible to travel by train beyond Saint-Martin-Lys, that section of the route must have been really dramatic.

Hello, the town of Axat is almost surrounded by the railway starting just outside the tunnel at 17:49 and finishing around the 29:55 mark where the train is approaching the avalanche shelter also visible from the other side of the valley at 19:00 where the avalanche shelter can be seen as a straight line with 4 small arches underneath it. The viaduct at 24:54 is the point at which the line crosses the valley and begins to run back along the other side of the valley towards Axat station. I'm glad you enjoyed the countryside and I imagine that river has caused it's fair share of problems over the years.

Salut, le chemin de fer traverse de beaux paysages. Je suis désolé que le commentaire ne soit pas aussi bon qu'il aurait pu l'être, ce serait bien que le commentateur ajoute un commentaire à la vidéo, car il était très bon et la région regorge d'histoire fascinante.

@Neil Forbes i would defuse (refuse) to make a comment on that one liner..........................did i say one liner ?.............................DOH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 😄

@@top40researcher31 G-R-O-A-N!

@@neilforbes416 but onerously great countryside

Oh, you are awful Neil 😉.

@@Timsvideochannel1 thats his profession 😆

A linha férrea está fechada além desta estação ☹.

Thank you, I'm pleased you enjoyed the ride.

It didn't look like it was being used as a restaurant, maybe it is used by the Rail-bike tours as a refreshment stop.

@@Timsvideochannel1 You could be correct. There seems to be more rolling stock & locos than on my second visit in 2018. Some of it appears to be in better condition than it was.

@@davecooper3238I was fascinated by the machine tools loaded on some of the waggons, I've used similar machines, they'd be very useful to the railway, but they need to be stored inside, rather than in the open. I imagine Covid hit them in the same way as it hit tourist railways in the UK. I'd like to see this railway feature more in UK holiday brochures, especially the rail-bikes, along with the wine and castle tours, if it hadn't been for Rail Discoveries, I wouldn't have know this railway existed.

@@Timsvideochannel1 The machine tools reminded me of the long gone BTH Rugby in the early 1960s. I agree they could do with being under cover. I did wonder about what looked like speeders at Axat. Our trips on the Red, Yellow & Blue trains have been as part of coach tours to Spanish Catalonia. I did see a castle on the ridge off to the right on the way out to Axat. I managed to source a leaflet that said it was open to the public. Unfortunately that leaflet has found its way into the black hole.

​@@davecooper3238Out of interest I looked up BTH to see what happened to the company - www.ourwarwickshire.org.uk/content/article/british-thomson-houston-works-rugby Mergers and acquisitions have left most British companies in the hands of multinationals or just a footnote in British history. I remember the big milling machines and the vertical borer from the company I served my apprenticeship with, I'm still an engineer today although things have changed a bit since then, I design on CAD and machine with CNC machines, although I still get to use a manual lathe and a cylindrical grinder occasionally. I enjoyed my visit to Catalonia and it is likely I'll return before my travelling days are up.

Thank you, I'm pleased you enjoyed it.

Bonjour, je suis ravie que la vidéo vous ait plu. A cette occasion j'ai fait le parcours dans un seul sens. Je devrais peut-être contacter le chemin de fer et demander si je peux le filmer à nouveau. Je ne savais pas à quoi m'attendre, maintenant je sais que c'est un chemin de fer fascinant avec une histoire intéressante. J'adorerais faire du vélo-rail, voir les châteaux et participer à une visite des vignobles.

@@Timsvideochannel1 c'est une très belle région avec ces châteaux cathares qui démarque l ancienne frontière du royaume de France sinon à proximité se trouve la grotte du caougnot de larago où des restes humains de plus de 500000 ont été trouvés ! Le chantier se visite !

@@jeannoelrenaudin2 Tu m'as donné plein de raisons d'y retourner un jour, c'est une belle région avec une histoire riche.

@@Timsvideochannel1 à proximité ce trouve la ligne du petit train jaune qui part de Vilranche de Conflant jusqu'à la Tour de Carol qui à la particularité d avoir 3 écartement de voies 1 métrique 1 voie 1443 écartement européen et 1 voie 1668 millimètres écartement Espagnol ! et au nord de Axat ce trouve la cité de Carcassonne ! Pour la grotte du caougnot de laurago elle se trouve sur la commune de Tautavel

@@jeannoelrenaudin2 Bonjour, je monte une vidéo prise à Villefranche-de-Conflent montrant le train jaune et la jolie ville. Au fur et à mesure que je monte chaque vidéo, j'en apprends plus sur la région et l'époque où le chemin de fer reliait encore Axat à Carcassonne. J'aimerais pouvoir remonter le temps pour prendre un train de Rivesaltes à Carcassonne, cela a dû être un défi à l'époque où les locomotives à vapeur transportaient la plupart des trains.

😊👍.

Oh dear, I've slipped up there, I do hope the Welsh will forgive me.

Это хорошее место, еда и вино тоже хорошие.