Travelling on old rail: From Pistoia to Porretta
The
line from Pistoia and Porretta, to Bologna was completed around 1864 It
has a long history, well explained in a wide Bibliograpy
. This line had in its origins either technical (Was a mountain line) either
political ( At the time of the project the Emilia was in the domains of
the church, that did not view with enthusiam new way of communication.
The line From Pracchia to Ponte della Venturina (Where enter for the last
time in the region Emilia) crosses 5 times the border in a few kilometers,
staying once on a side, once on another of the
river Reno.
The most intersting part of the line is of course
the section from Pistoia to Porretta, that is the one with the higher gradients
( up to 28‰ ) and the tunnels. The section from Porretta to Casalecchio-Bologna
is reasonably plain, without special notes.
On the line, from the station of Pracchia
once departed the narrow gauge
railway to S. Marcello, closed in the sixties, and from Casalecchio,
a suburb of Bologna the Casalecchio-Vignola railway,
standard gauge, electrified, since 1972 used only for freight service,
now under rehabilitation for metropolitan service. At Casalecchio, in the
depot of FCV there are also some historical locomotives of the Transport
Museum of the province of Bologna. (this museum is currently closed
to public)
(the picture on right is taken from the train while leaving Pistoia)
Particular
interest of this line is for the operating procedures in the heyday of
railroad, when it was the only one that crossed the appennines from Bologna
to Firenze ( the direttissima was opened in
1934 and the new line is now under construction).
It was one of the first ones to have hydrodynamic
switch remote control and was electrified on 3 phase in 1927. In 1934 the
electrification was changed to DC as the new line.
After war damage, expecially on Pistoia-Pracchia section
hydrodynamic controls was disposed and replaced by electic ones only in
late seventies. To save money the line had only two conversion substation,
120 km far, so in the worst case the line Voltage dropped to 2000V. The
line have been requalified in the eighties, but the traffic is still a
fraction of the former one.
It is said (since no one has found the contemporary
official reports, this info cannot be either confirmed neither voided)
that in 1916 they was able to route up to 90 trains a day (remember it
is was a single track steam operated railway with 28‰ gradients)
In this article i will not write all history, but
I would instead put a "virtual travel on that line".
To those wishing to make the real trip i suggest, if they leave from Pistoia,
to stay on left side, but remembering that most interesting artifacts (the
doposit of Pistoia, The safe viaduct at Valdibrana, the Piteccio viaduct,
corbezzi's tunnel, are on right, as is most of views after Porretta.
The
line begin at Pistoia, keeping on right the locomotive deposit, that since
1997 have been closed and now hosts only a few old-timer waiting for restoration
The part you see on the picture on left is the part of deposit that since
1927 was used for electric locomotives
The Steam ones after that date, used on the line to Lucca until 1960, were
thaen stored in a smaller one nearer to the station.
When I was there last time in 17 may 1998 were
there a 940 apparently in good shape, a 626 requiring major works and another
steamer, that in distance looked as a 740. At the same time the turnatable
had been removed and put aside to allow a major maintenance work (It is
expected anyway to put it again in service).
The two images below show the smaller deposit with
two of these old locomotives, and the platform in its cuirrent state.
After
the locomotive deposit the line turn right, leaving on left the line to
Lucca, gaining soon height, soon passing at Valdibrana where one can see
on the right of the train this viaduct that seem going nowhere.
In fact this viaduct does not go anywhere. It simply
was built here to be a safety device for a run down train, so its counter
gradient would help to stop the train. The picture on left show the viaduct
seen from below, while the one on right show it from above, the tracks
have been removed since a long time.
The station of Vaioni (The old name of Valdibrana)
in fact was not built at the same time the line was opened, but in the
'80 of XIX century, when traffic increased and the long graded sections
from Pistoia to Piteccio and Porretta to Pracchia , could not handle the
traffic, so where built the new stations of Valdibrana, Corbezzi and Molino
del Pallone.
These
stations were build along the line, in the most suitable places, without
regards to positions about towns. This led to the abandon of some of these
stations, such Valdibrana that remains only as a point to meet the trains,
since in in a remote area of Pistoia, better served by city bus, and Piteccio
since the village is about 50 m below the station.
Beside this not always in a line in costant ascent
was possible to find a sufficently long place to bild a station, so the
track arrangement in two of these stations is not so straight as usual.
About Corbezzi we will write later, while Valdibrana station beside the
safety track on a viaduct, had a storage track for ascending Trains that
went separate and went "down" in effect passing at a certain
time unter main line that was climbing the mountain. You see on the picture
on left, with catenary maintenance cars stored. (note: this track is flat,
the main line is on right, the catenary is 5.50 m high ... figure the grade)
The
next station on the line is Piteccio. I should have shown in these pages
the two viaduct above the small village, but unless you travel in winter
you cannot see from the train if not throught the trees, so on its behalf
I put a not-so-good picture of the octagonal water reservoir that was used
in origin to supply the locomotives after the first 20km of grade.
If you are careful looking between chestnut leaves
(or travel in winter) after the station, staring down on right you c could
see the Piteccio Viaduct, in origin on three order arches, rebuilt in 1948
as a single order reinforced contrete.
After a few km you arrive in the station of Corbezzi
(the first one after Pistoia where all trains stop with regular services).
One of the (railway operationg speaking) pearls of this line.
The
interest of the station of Corbezzi lie in its track arrangements 
This station was built only in 1880, when traffic
arose, You can see in the figure at left, that could seem standard (to
be clearer tracks in green was not present at the time the picture had
been made). In effect it peculiarity lay in the fact that the station is
only about 250 meter long (from point to point), so in its tracks cannot
stay "normal"trains.
Today when the passenger trains on that line are only
two car long, and freight run there only for very special services (the
most usual of them is to move rolling stock or exceptional loads that have
speed restriction, and cannot find a time window long enought on the fast
line). Hence the 6 tunnel at the extremities. Every tunnel held one track.
And every track had its name.
The names (and length and abbreviation on the drawing)
of the tunnels are:
North-end, from west to east:
Fermata (m 153,80 RN), Corbezzi (m 403,50), Ricovero (m 158,75 RS).
South-end, from west to east:
Lancio (m 145,76 LA), Casciano (m 200,15), Sicurezza (m 141,64 SA).
The
operations had this sequence: The Northbound (Up Hill) train will arrive
on track 1, then it will move to track RN (Ricovero Ascendente) to manouver
to get back on LA (Lancio) so the locomotive will stay in front of the
station. If a second train would arrive in the meantime it could go into
RN track (The tunnel is open ended). The main switch on north side was
switched to go on track 2 and the switch d to send the train to track SA
(Salvamento) . This latter track was in pendence againt the flow, and had
sand on the track, so a train that would not stop due brake failure would
stop someway (Steam had neither dynamic or regenerative braking, once in
1916 a train hopped the end of track and the locomotive felt down, injuring
the fireman).
Once the train had stopped it went back on RS track so another train could
again use the safety track. So this small station could hold up to 4 trains.
Even in other stion such Valdibrana (former Vaioni) and Piteccio you can
see some departing tracks but only in Corbezzi the six ones are complete
and all in a tunnel.
Moritz Gretzsche has
prepared a page on this station that contains other pictures and more (althought
in german) detailed operative informations.
(on left you can see the entrance of Fermata tunnel, that does not eppear
in any of the pictures taken from the train)
After Corbezzi, the only "real" station
(That is either with regular passenger service AND at least one siding)
between Pistoia and Pracchia there are two other stotion, or better stops,
since today there are no sidings. The first one is Castagno
.
This
was considered the smallest station in Italy and this is its picture, beside
its name it is really in a chestnut wood ! The small building is the waiting
room, and there are two smaller pink buinding in the wood, one for toilets
(pictured on left) , the other for tool repository
Next one is San Mommé, nothing to say about
it except that now is one the point of departure for treks throught the
Appennines.
You then enter the tunnel that cross the appennines,
At first times the tunnels was complete, eventually they opened two windows
to improve the ventilation, in 1874 was installed a ventilator, housed
in the brick building near the northern entrance, in the station of Pracchia,
pictured on right, so that windows was closed again, to be reopened when
line was electrified.
The
tunnel has also 3 wells that were uised during the costruction to remove
material, there is also a trail that is along those wells.
After the Appennino tunnel you enter soon in the
station of Pracchia, the higher on the line at 600 m asl, and also on the
Reno valley.
In front of the FS station there is the station
of the narrow gauge line Ferrovia Alto Pistoiese,
now closed since about 30 years, to which a specific
page is present.
In Pracchia, about 400 m north of the station there
is also the Ecomuseo della Montagna where
I found an interesting rail Artifact.
The line now stay on the valley of the river, since
was found that the position was the safest against the unstable sides of
the valley, until we arrive at the tiny station
of Biagioni. Then begin a section where the railway cross the river 4 times
again to arrive at Ponte della Venturina, and leaving Toscana.
A final note on Pistoia: At Pistoia there are the
Officine Breda that build Bus and Trains.
This is one of their products, pictured in Pistoia on july 17, 1997 as
most of other images. (The Valdibrana and Pracchia pictures have been taken
in May 1998)
If you will come here I will be happy to arrange
a trip together
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