SUM BAY RAILWAY
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Railway of the Bay of the Somme, offering a ride on authentic cars pulled by steam locomotives.
At the beginning of the 20th century, a tortillard took tourists to the beaches of the Picardy coast. Wishing to save the Cayeux-Saint-Valery-Le Crotoy line, a few enthusiasts got together in 1969 and proposed to the local authorities the project of a tourist operation of the line. The project was accepted. The Chemins de Fer de la Baie de Somme association was created. For fifty years now, it has been operating the Bains de Mer network. Authentic carriages from the Belle Époque, pulled by the ever-powerful steam locomotives, transport tourists around the Baie de Somme. Over the thirty kilometres or so covered, the passengers discover the bay from another angle, crossing mussel beds, marshes and fields of crops, following streams lined with willows in a unique atmosphere giving the sensation of having taken a leap into the past. On certain occasions - during the "dinner on board" events - you can even taste the typical food of the region. All you have to do is go to the stations of Le Crotoy, Noyelles-sur-Mer, Saint-Valery or Cayeux-sur-Mer and buy your ticket either at the station or from the train conductor at the times mentioned on the website or by telephone. There are also souvenir shops in the stations you pass through. To find out more about this epic adventure, visit the company's website. A trip back in time and an absolute must-see on any trip to the region!
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Members' reviews on SUM BAY RAILWAY
Comfort in our coach third class and basic. Sitting on a wooden bench without stuffing, we do not have to leave yet the station of departure that I have the buttocks as those of a fakir who has just set his foot for two hours on a board with nails.
The first part of the trip between Le Crotoy and Noyelles's Sea and rather disappointing. Our remarkably restored machine through some greasy grass grazing lands, irrigated by some canals. The show is quite for drivers and passengers, stuck in their cockpit on the way at level, which make us large signs behind their windscreen. The train fascinated once during the industrial revolution and continues to appeal to today small and large while it is now more common to travel by plane.
Arrived in Noyelles's Sea we stop during what seems an eternity. Time necessary so that some passengers take their correspondence. It is also time that you need for major objectives. The engine that tractor drew us hitherto takes down moreover train passes in front of us in the opposite direction on the other rails and comes to be hung up again in the back to finally leaving, after more than half an hour of waiting, in another management.
End of the course that connects Noyelles's Sea to St-Valery and much more attractive in my eyes. We cross finally this why I am mounted on board, the salt meadow sheep which gives the protected designation of origin to the sheep that ruminate peacefully in these places, which gives the meat of the sheep naturally sweet taste. These wetlands consisting of marshy pasture attracts large many wading birds and gives a unique character of this kind of landscape. Unfortunately the second phase is short and it is only too quickly that we go down to St-Valery.
Once again, the engine stands moreover train, advance to a platform swivel 180 degrees so that the latter can be reorientated in the other direction, everything under the crackling of the flashes amoureux train.