This
narrow gauge line parted from the FS station of Pracchia (pictured on left),
on the highest point of the Pistoia-Bologna
line at about 600 m a.s.l. ), and was built in the thirties was closed
in the late sixties.
It had 950 mm gauge, was electrified at 1500 V DC.
The line was build to connect the FS line to the
mountain resorts of Maresca and Gavinana on the valley of river Maresca,
an affluent of the Reno, and S. Marcello and Mammiano on the Lima valley,
as well its only freight service at Campotizzoro where a metallurgic industry
had a factory.
It
had its station in front of the one of FS in an area that was reclaimed
to the river at the time of costruction of the Porrettana
(or Transappennina as was called at the times) line, The line ran
along the electric substation of Fs then remained for a few hundreds meters
on right side of the river. There had its deposit (The main one was at
Mammiano, at the other end of the line).
In the picture on side we can see the site where is the building that hosted some railcars, it still retain the name of the former railway in large charachters.
As it is common whith most of abandoned railways
in Italy some building are in perfect state, since are inhabitathed or
used as a bus station, other are not maintainde, as does this one.
After about
1300 m from the terminal of Pracchia the line crossed the river on this
bridge and began running a long the road, on which remain some basement
of the catenary poles, the last surviving ones cut in early 80's, that
follows until Pontepetri, except for a very short section (about 150 m)
to avoid a too narrow curve entering the inhabithed part of Pontepetri.
Along the road one could see this enlargement whith a small building in the same style of the others of the "railway": in this place once there was a small siding
The
"station" at Pontepetri is the tiniest of the line, just a room
where wait the train.
Nest "Station" was Campotizzoro. This one was a real one, it had also a stub track where a train could wait a meet.
This track was where now (picture at right) the
bar have its tables. This flat platform allowed to stand without use of
brackes, that would be occurred if the track had been a regular siding
parallel to the steeply rising main. A short section of track, of about
15m remained there at least until 1989.
After
the factory of LME there is a road on the right, along the factory. This
road is the old ROW of that railway, that abandone the statal road to follow
on its own way. The road is unpaved but can be easily be dome by bicycle,
as I did in may 1998 (My suggestion is going To Pracchia by train then
follow this line until Mammiano, from there go to Lucca along the SS12
and there get again the train. A better option, althought with some grade
up (my proposal il almost entirely down) is from Mammiano going to Popiglio
and then back to Pistoia.).
We then arrive at Maresca, the first of the places that the railway crossed, and in the case of this small town the line cross exactly the town. Unfortunately the station is what you see in the pictures below.
From
Maresca I wished to go ahead on the railbed, but my wife pretended to stay
on paved road, so i were forced to stay on the road, looking at the railbed
from distance.
We now are at the highest point of the line about 800 m near Passo dell'Oppio,
(where formally we crossed the Appennini). After this view we went to Gavinana
hwere the railway no longer arrive but have fine bus stops ....
For the stations of S. Marcello and Mammiano will be next time. Seeking desperately people wishing to do some trip together, without fear for rugged routes ....
P.S. My wife does not know to use computer,
so i can write anything in these pages ... don't tell her what i said about
her, howewer, if you want I continue to publish these pages !
While
going to Pracchia (We went by train until Molino del Pallone, next station,
to lenghten our bicycle trip, i strongly suggest, possibly until Porretta,
to look at the Reno gorges, either going by train, and coming back bi bicycle)
I saw a small plate, saying "Ecomuseo della Montagna"
I soon stopped. And we entered. It was an old blacksmith shop, active from XVI century until 1958 kept as was in their last year of activity.
For rail enthusiasts the most interesting thing is this .
Watch carefully:
Look at the picture again ... what do you see ?
Ok
...here is the solution: It is a bull-head rail, that was in use in the
first half of XIX century.
It was used here to form a part of the border of blacksmith's furnace.
This kind of rail, differently from Vignole type, used later, could not be nailed to ties, but required a C shaped support (chair) to keep them upright (incidentally the rail in the picture is reversed).
This had however the advantage to be very easily changed: the rail was fixed by some wooden wedge, 4 per tie, and was easily dismountable by yust hitting the wedge. Such rail in some case could even reversed to use the other end (you see the cross section ?)
Of
course this is not the most important exibith of the museum...
The museum has many other exibhits, mostly are old hand made blacksmith's instruments, it have an old 1880 drill, water actioned, some hand devices of first half of century.
The most important one is the water actioned hammer of XVI century, the wheel is still the original one, althought it has much deteriorated since the shop was closed in the fifties: Until it had the water running beside it remained in gopod shape, as soon it dried it began to feel the sign of age and this is the actual conditions.
Another
exhibit is the guide of the museum: Be careful, he ask 2000 L. per person
!
BTW he is also the guide of the museum of religious art of Popiglio,
thatwe wisited in the afternoon.
If you will come here I will be happy to arrange a trip together
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