The Tram Line

The Tramway was a local-interest railway line which linked Bellegarde-sur-Valserine to Chézery-Forens via Lacrans, Confort, Montanges and Champfromier: a 20 km journey lasting 1H40. The works started in 1907 and included the construction of 6 stations, 3 bridges (one of which was the Moulin des Pierres bridge), 1 tunnel, 2 customs houses and 1 power plant (Sous Roche in Champfromier) to power the train. Opened in 1912, the tramline slowly accumulated financial losses due to the rise of motor vehicles and stopped running in 1937 despite the inhabitants’ opinion.

The Mulaz train station was one of six stations on the Bellegarde-Chézery line and served the hamlets of la Mulaz and la Serpentouze. The Tram Line linked the villages in the Valserine valley with Bellegarde and provided opportunities to both inhabitants and companies. The line’s three engines also pulled freight wagons and opened-up the sawmills of Chézery and Champfromier, the plaster factory in Pré-Basson and the asphalt mines in Forens.

In 1927, an abandoned hydroelectric power plant project led to the excavation of a gallery in the gorges of the Valserine. As early as 1969, 17 species of bats, including 7 endangered species were listed as living in these galleries. For their protection, these galleries are now closed to the public. The natural reserve that was created as a result also protects the cliffs and other natural surface habitats recognised as remarkable areas by Europe.

The landscape surrounding you is the result of 200 million years of erosion, shaped by the ice age, runoff waters, changes in temperature, wind, etc. The Pont des Pierres offers a viewpoint from which you can see the different ways in which the gorges have been eroded: glacial and fluvial deposits, fracture of the cliffside, glacial polish, tufa, etc. 

Construction of the Moulin des Pierres bridge started in 1908. Huge wooden scaffolding was put up to build the 80-metre cut-stone archway, and over 100 workers were employed. Opened in 1909, at the time it was one of the biggest bridges in Europe. Large numbers of goods and people crossed the bridge every day. The duty-free zone that once followed the line of the Valserine river meant that a customs building needed to be built to monitor passage over the bridge up until 1923 when the borders were pushed back to the Jura ridges. During the Second World War, the bridge was blown up by the secret army who used dynamite to stop the Germany army from retreating. It was later rebuilt identically using concrete in 1954.