Focalplane
Western Thunderer
In 1992 I did six weeks of fieldwork in Tunisia, mostly in the Sahel region, but later nearer to the Sahara desert. In the Sahel there is one single track secondary line which runs from Tunis to Le Kef. It is meter gauge. My old maps showed the route somewhat differently from what is there now. I finally worked out that a lot of straightening had been done. The passenger train (I think there was only one a day each way) crossed the road near Pont du Fahs. This time I do know the make of the locomotive, a Hungarian Ganz:
Further south there is a second narrow gauge line to Tozeur, near a large salt flat bordered by many date palms. Just before Tozeur the railway passes by Metlaoui which is well known for several reasons:
The Metlaoui Gorge. The following photos show the train on the far side of the gorge from where I took this photo, the tunnel is to the right:
The tunnel portal is just visible on the right:
The carriages were once owned by the Bey of Tunis as his royal train.
While in Tunisia I did take a local commuter train from Tunis to Sidi Bou Said but no more photos.
Further south there is a second narrow gauge line to Tozeur, near a large salt flat bordered by many date palms. Just before Tozeur the railway passes by Metlaoui which is well known for several reasons:
- The Metlaoui Gorge is a scenic attraction
- A tourist train, the Lezard Rouge (Red Lizard)
- The site for several scenes from the movie "English Patient".
The Metlaoui Gorge. The following photos show the train on the far side of the gorge from where I took this photo, the tunnel is to the right:
The tunnel portal is just visible on the right:
The carriages were once owned by the Bey of Tunis as his royal train.
While in Tunisia I did take a local commuter train from Tunis to Sidi Bou Said but no more photos.