Establishment of the workshop 1873 (≈ 1873)
Opening for the Nizan-Saint-Symphorien line.
1886
Purchase by Société Générale
Purchase by Société Générale 1886 (≈ 1886)
Integration into the girondin network.
1891
Become a main workshop
Become a main workshop 1891 (≈ 1891)
One of the network's three workshops.
1895
Expansion of the deposit
Expansion of the deposit 1895 (≈ 1895)
Connection of tracks in 1896.
1940
New enlargement
New enlargement 1940 (≈ 1940)
Increase in capacity.
1978
Final closure
Final closure 1978 (≈ 1978)
End of forest activity.
22 novembre 1989
Historical monument classification
Historical monument classification 22 novembre 1989 (≈ 1989)
Workshop protection and tools.
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui Aujourd'hui (≈ 2025)
Position de référence.
Heritage classified
Atelier des Chemins de Fer Economiques de la Gironde (old) with its equipment building by destination, the tower plate, the water castle, the manger and the remaining railway tracks (see AE 55): inscription by decree of 22 November 1989
Key figures
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Origin and history
The workshop of the Gironde Economic Railways, located in Saint-Symphorien, was created in 1873 to support the local railway line dedicated to logging. Originally linked to the Nizan Railway Company in Saint-Symphorien, it was bought in 1886 by the Société générale des chemins de fer économiques, becoming in 1891 one of the three major workshops of the girondin network, along with those of Lacanau and Blaye. Expansions took place in 1895 (road connections) and 1940 to increase its capacity, before its final closure in 1978, which was the victim of the decline in regional forest activity.
The building, which has been listed as historical monuments since 1989, is the only one of the three original workshops still standing. Its architecture combines brick walls reinforced with wood, wooden frame, and a paved pine floor for safety reasons. The interior layout, preserved, includes a railway track with pit for car maintenance, as well as complete equipment of machine tools (turns, hydraulic presses, synchronized cylinders). These tools, still in place, illustrate the railway repair techniques of the time, such as the still visible belt transmission.
The workshop attests to a time when the Gironde Economic Railways network extended over 327 km, with a maximum fleet of 621 cars in 1925 and a marked technological evolution (steam locomotives replaced by railcars in 1931, then diesel-electrics in 1946). Its closure in 1978 coincided with that of a local softwood distillation plant, symbolizing the end of an industrial forest era in Gironde and the Landes.
Today, the site belongs to the department and retains its "building by destination", including a hub, a water castle, a hangar, and residual railway tracks. These elements, protected by the decree of 22 November 1989, offer a unique overview of the railway and artisanal heritage of New Aquitaine, while stressing the social role of the workshop, which employed the inhabitants of Saint-Symphorien for almost a century.
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