The rolling stock is period

All of the rolling stock used today is period.

In May 1996 two new carriages were added to Le Train de La Rhune. Well, not really new when you consider when they were built: in 1924, by the Soulé company in Bagnères de Bigorre. Like all of the ones in the fleet, these wooden carriages have been completely restored to their original state. Two local companies, Barland and Telletchea, took on the task. The engineering firm Barland in Bayonne is the only one that still possesses the original plans for the carriages. It was responsible for restoring the carriage's running gear and chassis, which involved over 1,000 hours of labour by specialist craftsmen.

The joinery company Telletchea in Ascain rebuilt the carriages' entire superstructure. It does not do things by halves, using the same kinds of timber as were used in 1924:

The roof is made of Pyrenean fir,
The floor is made of pine from Les Landes,
The panelling is made of chestnut from the Ariège,
The platform is made of iroko, an exotic rot-proof wood from Africa.

All in all this also involved 1,000 hours of skilled labour. After delivery the carriages were tested for several weeks and then they underwent stringent brake tests before they could be declared railworthy.

As far as routine maintenance is concerned, every year following the tourist season the Petit Train is taken to its winter home (from November to the end of February) in the Barland factory where it is stripped down, checked and inspected and the motors are rewound, etc. Everything is examined in detail. The running gear and safety equipment are checked using ultrasound and magnetic particle inspection, in line with strict maintenance and inspection standards, by the inspection agency APAVE under the Bureau Interdépartementale des Remontées Mécaniques, which is the only body authorised to give us permission to operate the train.

All of these precautions are essential in view of the fact that Le Petit Train de La Rhune now transports more than 350,000 visitors a year.

After this extremely thorough overhaul, it returns to its depot at the Col de Saint Ignace where it is cleaned for the new season. And here too every inch is included: the seats, the platforms and the interior panelling and exterior cladding are all varnished, the curtains are washed, the brass handles are polished, etc. At last it is ready for Saint Joseph's Day on 19 March, the date that the new season begins.

The little typically Basque station at the Col de Saint Ignace is also repainted every year so that it presents a smart appearance for our customers.