By the Silent Line – Abandoned Parisian Railway Photographed by Pierre Folk

Have you ever been on a train before? Like, a real train… not the subway you take to work each morning. If not, believe me when I say that a train ride through the Swiss Alps is something you really need to experience before you die. I’ve never seen such a beautiful landscape.

So while trains may not be quite as useful as they were during the Industrial Revolution, but they’re still a wonderful way to get around. Unfortunately, train routes the world over are being abandoned. This 32 km long railway route in Paris called Le Chemin de fer de Petite Ceinture (The Little Belt Railway) and has been mostly unused for the past 80 years. Even more remarkable is that it was built over 160 years ago!

By The Silent Line

French photographer Pierre Folk has been photographing this rail line since 2011 in an effort to preserve it through film. You see, housing developments are encroaching and pretty soon there will be nothing left of this historic line.

The photos are beautiful, but they’re also kind of sad. I both appreciate and embrace forward progress, but I can’t help but feel a certain melancholy for this little rail line. It’s kind of silly given that I’ve never even been to Paris, much less traveled on this line during its operation. This line was built long before I was even a twinkle in my father’s eye.

In any case, there you have it. I hope you enjoyed the photographs as much as I have, and if you’re interested in seeing more of Pierre Folk’s work, then you can do so by visiting his website. He’s even included a map of where the original rail line ran around Paris, which I found pretty interesting.