France's Toy-Like Train Blanc
 

France has three narrow-gauge rail lines run by the SNCF. Two are fairly well known, the Chamonix line between St Gervais-la-Fayette-les-Bains and Chamonix and the Swiss border, and the Petit Train Jaune, Tiny Yellow Train in the Pyrenees between Villefranche/Vernet-les-Bains and La Tour de Carole, but the third is rarely publicized but is in its own way just as quaint. Running from Salbris, on the Paris-Vierzon mainline to the sleepy burg of Lucy-le-Malle, this line presents rail fans a delightful day trip from Paris or Loire base. Frome Salbris the train rattles (yes rattles)through the legendary Sologne, an area of bogs, forests and scrubland romanticized in France as a 'sauvage' (wild) area especially known for its unique brick houses. It's best to transfer to the Vierzon-Tours mainline at Gievres, then mainline it back to Paris via Vierzon, or backtrack to Salbris. the line actually goes on to Valencay, of chateau fame, to its terminus at Lucy-en-Malle but service is so spotty on this section that you can't day trip - schedules basically there are for school kids. Train Blanc? Names so because it's a fragment of the former Le Blanc-Argent narrow-gauge line, so is named after le Blanc and has nothing to do with white. Railpasses valid.

Actually Romarantin is the place to get off, before Gievres and then backtrack to Salbris/Paris. Remorantin is a busy regional town that is totally untouristed, for good reason because there is little here. Rail fans will love ogling the rail yards of the narrow-gauge line, with old equipment rusting away. A broad-gauge line comes in here as well, a spur of the Vierzon-St-Pierre-des-Corps line that is only used for freight.

Salbris is just over an hour south of Paris via train. It's an hour to Romarantin, so this is an easy day trip and most unusual one - just to rattle through the famous Salogne countryside on this toy train is a treat.

Sologne, not Salogne.

The line's highlight is Valencay, a sleepy town with a great chateau - schedules are such though that you can take the Train Blanc there but not back the same day i believe as this section, Gievres-Lucy-en-malle is served by trains basically running for school kids at school times.