The Chemin de Fer Touristique du Tarn (CFTT) is located at St. Lieux-lès-Lavaur, not far from Toulouse, in the department of Tarn. This railway line has recovered almost four kilometres from an old steam tramway line that ran through the county. In fact, in order to link the most important villages of the Tarn and at the same time to reach the main railway lines in the area, the Tramways à Vapeur du Tarn (TVT) company was launched in 1895 and the lines Graulhet to Laboutarié, Graulhet to Lavaur and La Ramière to Saint-Sulpice were opened in 1895, 1903 and 1925 respectively. TVT used the 60 centimetre gauge made popular by Decauville.
Every day, three regular trains ran on each line. There were also frequent “market†trains and also a noticeable amount goods traffic. Trains were pulled by three 0-6-2T engines and one 2-6-0T manufactured by Decauville and three other locomotives from Weidknecht. In 1925 the Company bought a petrol powered railcar built by Berliet. Carriages and wagons were built by Decauville as well.
From 1928 onwards the decline both of tonnage and of profitability (even with all the subsidies received) was irreversible. Although TVT tried to improve the service, most passengers trains were replaced by buses in 1931. The loss of goods traffic followed the same pattern. World-wide recession could not be entirely blamed but the impossibility for the tramway to cope with fast bus services or lorries flexibility led the company to close the system on 11th May 1937. map of the TVT lines
The section now owned by CFTT was part of the La Ramière to Saint-Sulpice line. It had been opened on 11th April 1925 but it closed prematurely on 20th June 1931.
After the railway closure, locomotives and rolling stock were sold or scrapped, track was taken up and even some sections of the track bed were sold to farmers or absorbed by engineering improvements.
Text quoted from The Chemin de Fer Touristique du Tarn website.
Image copyright The Chemin de Fer Touristique du Tarn
