Les Trains du Col de Tende

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Part 1

The railway from Nice PLM Station to Tende and Cuneo was completed in 1928. It was long in the gestation and in construction. The story stretches back more than a century and a half. ‘Le Chemin de fer du Col de Tende’ is historically a significant local and international line. Its inverted Y-shaped layout and its crossing of international borders means that it is known by a number of different names:

- in Nice it is known as the Nice – Coni Line;

- generally in Italy it is officially Ferrovia Cuneo Ventimiglia

- in the Piedmont city of Cuneo’s economic/political circles, sitting at the top of the inverted ‘Y’, it is often referred to as the Cuneo – Nizza line in recognition of good relations with the community of Nice.

The Railway between Nice, Tende and Cuneo – Part 1

The featured image above shows the inaugural train arriving at Breil-sur-Roya in March 1928, © Public Domain, shared by Jean-Paul Bascoul in the Comte de Nice et son Histoire Facebook Group on 25th…

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Its story is a saga of significant technical achievement: gaining 1000 metres in height ; having a dozen tunnels longer than 1 kilometre (including those of the Col de Tende (8098 m), the Col de Braus (5939 m) and the Mont Grazian tunnel (3882 m), which are among the longest structures on the French and Italian networks); having four complete helical loops, several S-shaped loops and a multitude of bridges and viaducts (some of which, such as those of Scarassouï or Bévéra, are architecturally significant railway structures. Of a total route of 143.5 km, 6.5 km are on bridges or viaducts and over 60 km are in tunnels. This means that close to 42% of the journey along the line(s) is on or within structures.

 

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An aside from Les Trains du Col de Tende

Scotte Steam-powered Road Trains

I first came across the Scotte Steam-powered vehicles while following the story of Les Trains du Col de Tende...

Société des Chaudières et Voitures à Vapeur système Scotte was a French manufacturer of steam-powered trucks, tractors, and omnibuses in Paris from 1893 to circa. 1914. The company also built the Train Scotte, an early road train for passenger or freight transport.

I first encountered the Train Scotte when reading about the Cuneo-Ventimiglia-Nice international railway line in a book by Jose Banaudo, Michel Braun and Gerard de Santos; Les Trains du Col de Tende Volume 1: 1858-1928. [2] The partial opening of the that railway from Cuneo to Vievola in October 1900 left travellers heading for the Mediterranean in the middle of nowhere!

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2025/07/2...ered-road-vehicles-scotte-steam-road-vehicles

An experimental steam road train was trialled on the roads from Vievola to Ventimiglia. It was supplied by Société des Chaudières et Voitures à Vapeur système Scotte.

 

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Part 2

In the first article about the line from Cuneo to the sea we covered the length from Cuneo to Vernante. This article covers the next length of the line from Vernante to Limone.

The Line South from Vernante to Limone

A schematic drawing showing the main locations on the line from Vernante to Limone.

Banaudo et al write that “It was only in 1886, after the creation of the Rete Mediterranea, that the work on the fourth tranche from Vernante to Limone was awarded. It was 8,831 m long and had a gradient of 203 m, which was to be compensated for by a continuous ramp of up to 26 mm/m. This value would not be exceeded at any other point on the line. On this section, the rail remained constantly on a ledge on the steep slope on the right bank of the Vermenagna, where it was anchored by eleven bridges and viaducts totaling sixty-three masonry arches, as well as nine tunnels with a combined length of 4,416 m, or just over half the route:”

We start this next length of the journey at Vernante Railway Station and head Southeast.

The Railway between Nice, Tende and Cuneo – Part 2 – Vernante to Vievola

The featured image above is a 0-6-0 RM Locomotive No. 3375 ‘Pracchia’, with three driven axles and a tender, built in 1883 by Vulcan of Stettin. In 1905, it joined the FS fleet as Class…

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Part 3 - Vievola to St. Dalmas de Tende

The Railway between Nice, Tende and Cuneo – Part 3 – Vievola to St. Dalmas de Tende

The first decade of the 20th century saw the existing roster of locomotives on the line South of Cuneo supplemented by two additional series : 130s (UK, 2-6-0) tender locos of the FS 630 series; an…

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Our journey South down the line continues from Vievola. …

 

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A Tramway in the Valley of the River Roya? (Early 20th Century)

While finding out about the line between Cuneo and the Mediterranean coast, I found a few paragraphs in the French language book about the railway which crossed the Col de Tende by Jose Banaudo et al. Those paragraphs were about a proposed tramway that in the end did not get built. … The featured image in the linked article is a map showing the full length of the proposed line.

Late in the 19th century before a rail link from Vievola to the Mediterranean was really on the agenda. Alongside the experimental ‘Train Scotte’, (see https://rogerfarnworth.com/2025/07/...ered-road-vehicles-scotte-steam-road-vehicles) a “local engineer, M. Chatelanat, proposed building a tramway line between Vievola station … and Ventimiglia. He knew the region well, having just overseen the construction of the rack railway from Monte Carlo to La Turbie. (see https://rogerfarnworth.com/2017/11/23/monaco-to-la-turbie-rack-railway-chemins-de-fer-de-provence-15)

He presented an application filed on 7th February 1899.” …....

The submission made by M. Chatelanat began, “The electric tramway for which we are requesting a concession is intended to facilitate the movement of passengers and goods in the Roya Valley through a rapid, convenient, and economical means of communication. Currently, to reach Nice and the other communes of the department, the population of the French part of this valley must either travel more than 60 kilometres along the old Nice-Cuneo road, crossing the foothills of Brouis and Braus, in unsafe conditions due to the steep slopes, the height of the passes, and, in winter, the seasonal inclement weather. Or, since the opening of the national road from Breil to Ventimiglia, travel approximately 30 kilometres and cross two customs lines to join the coastal railway line in Ventimiglia. … Between the coast and Upper Piedmont, especially the province of Cuneo, there is a very intense movement of population every year, but if you want to go by train, you have to make a long detour via Savona, which is long and expensive. The province of Cuneo sends to Nice and the coast some of its products that our region cannot obtain elsewhere. On the other hand, our particular products from the South are in demand and consumed in the upper Po Valley. Facilitating the movement of travelers and this exchange of products between Piedmont and the coast will at the same time allow the French populations of the Roya Valley to come easily and quickly to Nice to stock up and connect with the entire French coast without having to cross the Braus and Brouis passes, such is the goal we are pursuing.”

There were a number of projects of this nature being explored at the time. The tramway between Menton and Sospel is an excellent example (see http://rogerfarnworth.com/2018/02/2...amway-revisited-chemins-de-fer-de-provence-51 and http://rogerfarnworth.com/2018/06/0...revisited-again-chemins-de-fer-de-provence-61). Others in the valley of the River Var and in the valley of the River Paillon were also built.

This is what we know about the proposed tramway: ...

A Tramway in the Valley of the River Roya? (Early 20th Century)

A proposed tramway that did not get built. … The featured image is a map showing the full length of the proposed line which followed National Route No. 204 in France. Late in the 19th c…

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