Viaduct of Doulovy

3 points of interest

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  History

  Disused railway

  The train used to call at the former mining site of Gagnières to transport coal and metal products. It connected to the Alès-Bessèges line at Robiac, linking the Gard and Ardèche departments, and, particularly, Alès and Paris, via Le Teil for passengers. The tracks have since been dismantled and the route has become a shaded walk.

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  History

  The viaduct of Doulovy

  This viaduct is both monumental and decisive. The Alès-Bessèges railway was built using private finance and inaugurated in 1857. The viaduct of Doulovy stands at the confluence of the river of that name with the Merle, and bears witness to the pressing need to connect the mining area by rail, even if it meant moving or straddling mountains. To avoid an excessive gradient, this giant bridge – one of the three largest viaducts in the Cévennes – needed a long list of superlatives: 235 m long, 2.35 m wide and 24 arches, of which the highest measures 35 m. Crossing this viaduct, now pedestrianised, is a true voyage.
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  History

  Les Hauts-Fourneaux district

  Les Hauts-Fourneaux (the Blast Furnaces), previously called Iraille Woods, owes its name to the presence of an iron-smelting site. The blast furnace has the shape of two tree trunks joined at their base. The upper opening is for the top charging system, the lower cavity is called the ‘casthouse’. The furnace, built out of firebricks, was first loaded with coal. Once the fire was lit, it was accelerated by a machine blowing air into the furnace. Iron ore, flux (which facilitates fusion) and coal were introduced through the top of the furnace in turn. The pig iron (iron and carbon) thus obtained accumulated in the casthouse. Once that was full, you removed the clay plug that closed the opening in the lower part, and the liquid iron flowed out onto sand channels where it cooled down to form blocks called pig moulds.