Ferrocarriles de Vía Estrecha, Spain

Our holiday this year was a trip to northern Spain. We travelled around using public transport, including the fantastic FEVE network of metre (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) gauge lines.

It is an extensive network of 1,250 km (777 miles) of track travelling through towns, villages and some very spectacular countryside. It’s used by commuters, teenagers and families, but (when we were there) very few tourists. Trains are reasonable frequent, and make steady progress over what is mostly single line working with passing places in the stations. Prices are very reasonable. Our first journey lasted 2 hour 25 minutes (Santander to Llanes) and cost 7.80 Euro. Yes, that’s over two hours riding on a narrow gauge line for £ 6.70. Get in!

Here are some snaps to give you a flavour of the FEVE. Click on a image for a larger version.

I love old advertisements and at Oviedo station they had retained a large number of adverts made from ceramic tiles. Fascinating and super craftsmanship. Click for a larger version.

Here’s a selection of tickets. FEVE has been absorbed into the national Renfe network.

The FEVE is an extensive and complex network. It would be fascinating to explore it in more depth. If you get the chance it’s well worth a visit.

.

Map of FEVE system by Enekorga used under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license

6 comments

  1. Steve, thank you for the post. I am modelling 1980s FEVE in HOm. May I use your photos of the adverts, scaled down, on my moel as decals or signs? Thanks, Ian

    Like

    • Hi Ian
      The FEVE in HOm sounds really interesting! Yes, please use my photos on your layout. I hope they help you.
      All the best
      Steve

      Like

  2. Enjoyable article, thank you.

    It wasn’t busy in June 2023 either. Went from Oviedo to Bilbao via overnight stop in Ribadesella (lovely place on the coast). Highlight of the trip was the senorita who boarded with her surfboard, high up in the mountains and got off at a coastal town – you don’t see that on the DLR!

    Jeffrey

    Like

Leave a reply to Ian MacFarlaine Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.