In April 1920, a couple of paragraphs in The Railway Magazine focussed on a new experimental Railmotor constructed by New South Wales Railways. [1]
Railmotor No. 1
In April 1920, The Railway Magazine reported that New South Wales’ Railway Commissioners introduced a railmotor service on the Lismore line, an isolated section on the North Coast. The railmotor car was provided by converting and lengthening to 8 ft. 6 in. the chassis of a five-ton Moreland motor lorry. The front pair of wheels were also replaced by a four-wheeled bogie. The railmotor provided seating accommodation for 33 passengers, and was designed and constructed at the carriage and wagon shops of the system at Eveleigh, Sydney. [1]
Before being placed in service, a severe trial run was made, and proved in every way to be most successful; a I in 40 grade being taken at a speed of 18 m.p.h. The time-table was arranged for speeds up to 25 mph. The Railway Magazine noted that if found satisfactory in continued service similar rail-motor services would be introduced on other branch lines. [1]
NSW Railmotor No. 1 was powered by a 42 hp 4-cylinder American Waukesha petrol engine. This engine was later replaced by a 40 hp British Thornycroft 4-cylinder petrol engine. This vehicle proved a success on the line between Lismore and Grafton. [3]
“The wooden body … was finished in narrow tongue and groove boards. It was divided into three separate sections, accommodating 33 passengers and 2 crew. The first section was the cab, which accommodated the train crew (the driver and the guard). The second section (the forward compartment) accommodated 23 passengers and the third section (the rear compartment) was a smoking area and accommodated 10 passengers. The two passenger compartments were fitted with transverse seats and drop type windows, and each compartment had two doors, which opened outwards. There was no interconnection between the three compartments. Steps were fitted under each of the doors to allow passengers to alight from the vehicle to ground level.” [3]
“The Railmotor was designed to run in one direction only and draw-gear was fitted to the trailing end so that a trailer could be attached for hauling light goods and parcels. A collapsible tricycle (trike) was also carried for the train crew’s use in case of an emergency or breakdown in the section. This was carried on the back of the Railmotor.” [3]
“In November 1925, after six years of reliable service, [this vehicle] was withdrawn from passenger traffic and it took on a new role as the Signal Engineer’s inspection car. It subsequently lost its title of Railmotor No.1 as this was re-allocated to one the newly designed 42-foot Railmotors in November 1926.” [3]
“No. 1 was finally withdrawn from railway service in 1930. The body was sold and it began a new life as a house in the Coffs Harbour region, while the chassis was scrapped.” [3]
As we have already noted, one drawback with Railmotor No.1 was that it was only single ended and needed to be turned at the terminus for the return journey. Therefore double-ended operation was to be provided in the next prototype vehicle, Railmotor No.2, built in 1921. [3] Both trial vehicles were sufficiently successful to mean that the railway company went on to use a number of Railmotors.
Railmotor No. 2
Railmotor No. 2 (Kathleen)! “An end-platform suburban type carriage, FA 1864, was chosen for this experimental vehicle. Eveleigh Carriage Works converted this carriage to a Railmotor while its mechanical parts and the petrol engine were designed and built in Eveleigh Locomotive Works.” [3]
Configured as a railmotor, Kathleen (never its official name) “was divided into 4 sections, accommodating 53 passengers and 2 crew. [A] driving [cab was] positioned at each end. The First Class section accommodated 16 passengers, while the Second Class section accommodated 37 passengers. … Driving cabs were mounted in the centre of the end platforms at each end of the vehicle. Entry to the cab was gained through a back door that opened into the passenger compartment. The driving controls were arranged to allow the vehicle to be driven from either end and this meant the vehicle did not have to be turned for the return journey.” [3]
The first class section of the Railmotor “occupied one third of the vehicle’s length and the second class area occupied the remaining two thirds. Access to either area was gained through a door contained in a wall separating the two compartments. The engine protruded through the floor of the second class area and was covered by a padded fixture providing seating for an additional 5 passengers. This fixture measured 10′ 6″ x 3′ 6″. Battery boxes were also located in this central area and these to were covered with padded seats providing seating for 12 passengers.” [3]
“Railmotor No. 2 was powered by a 6-cylinder 100 hp (@1,000 rpm) petrol engine manufactured in the Eveleigh Railway Workshops. This engine was regarded as a fine piece of engineering, as it was reversible. That is, it could be turned in either direction and it contained features such as coil ignition, seven bearing crankshaft, together with overhead valves and camshaft. To make the engine turn in the opposite direction a camshaft containing two sets of cams was slid into position by means of compressed air. This engine weighed 22 cwt. A three-speed gearbox was coupled by cardan-shaft to both axles on one bogie. The vehicle was geared to give a road speed of 40 mph (@1,425 rpm) in top gear. Total weight of the vehicle of 26 tons 7 cwt 2 qtr.” [4]
“As the Railmotor could run in either direction, buffers, cowcatchers and standard screw drawgear were mounted on headstocks at either end and electric headlights were mounted above each of the driver’s windscreens. Electric lighting was used for the cab and compartment areas.” [4]
“Railmotor No.2 ran trials between Tamworth and Barraba on the 29th April, 1921. On the 15th October, 1922, the public timetable officially showed the railmotor, which provided a faster daily service (except Sundays) in place of the three times weekly mixed train service.” [4]
“No.2 failed to complete about two thirds of its allotted mileage during the first twelve months of operation and this poor performance was put down to undulating grades on the Barraba branch. The unit was eventually withdrawn from this working in November 1924. The unit proved a little more successful when it was trialled on the easier graded Burren Junction to Pokataroo branch during 1925.” [4]
It was withdrawn from service “in November 1925 and reverted to its original role as a suburban carriage number FA 1864. The engine that powered No.2 found a new life driving a water pump at Armidale and later at Valley Heights. … A proposal to construct another five cars similar to Kathleen but with an increased seating capacity lapsed. New designs proceeded and the standard 42-foot railmotor emerged.” [4]
References
Petrol Railmotor Car: New South Wales Government Railways; in The Railway Magazine, April 1920, p230.
Both the Rimutaka Incline and the Raurimu Sprial were highlighted by Will Lawson in an article in The Railway Magazine in 1909. [1]
The Rimutaka Incline
Will Lawson wrote about the mountain railways of New Zealand in the August 1909 issue of The Railway Magazine. [1] The two principal lines on the South Island were under construction at the time of his article. Those on the North Island were already in use.We look first at the Rimutaka Incline. …
“It is raining at Cross Creek, that lonely railway outpost at the foot of the Rimutaka Incline. Heavy vapours cling to the mountain, and out across the valley only a cloak of mist is to be seen. In the winter twilight, the mail train from Napier arrives. The engine which has hauled it over the plains is uncoupled. With her big driving – wheels, she could hardly propel herself up the 1 in 15 grade which now confronts her, and she gives way to two black, squat-funnelled Fell engines, which already are moving out from the running-shed to be attached to the train. They are followed by No. 66, a huge freight engine, which rolls along with an air of supreme disgust, as though this business of climbing mountains was beneath her contempt. These grimy black monsters, with never a gleam of brass about them, take the mail to the summit-No. 66 in the lead, and the two Fell engines at convenient distances, sandwiched among the carriages, while three brake-vans bring up the rear. These have powerful brakes, which operate on a centre rail laid between the usual rails carrying the wheels. On this rail the Fell engines also grip with their bevel grip-wheels. The carriage lamps are lighted, and the Cyclopean eye of each steel Goliath gleams through the rain. It is 21 miles to the summit, on a greasy rail, up the side of a black, wet mountain. Yet a glance at the hissing, steaming engines now attached to the train gives reassurance. They have an air of irresistibility that is most convincing, and they apparently scorn the grade which rises abruptly outside the level station yard. The leading engine blows her whistle; the sound is echoed by the other two; white steam shoots skyward; and the train glides away from the lonely settlement.
Standing on the level, the water-gauges appear to be empty, but as the engine meets the hill and her bevel-wheels slide on to the centre rail to be firmly clutched thereon by a powerful lever, the water, owing to the tilt of the engine, rises in the glass to a normal level. One reason for not filling the boiler up when on the level is that if there is too much water in the boiler, the heavy blast of the exhaust steam causes ‘priming’. This, of course, is fatal to effective driving.
The bevel wheels on the Fell are driven by an engine distinct from that which drives the ordinary driving-wheels, and as both sets of wheels slip occasionally, the exhaust from the Fell engines occurs with some irregularity. The effect is peculiar, suggestive of an asthmatic Samson climbing a greasy pole. In contrast, the steady thrash! thrash! of No. 66 has dignity. The pace is the merest crawl, scarcely exceeding a walking pace, and the din from the three engines is deafening. This is due to the extremely high pressure at which the boilers are worked. The exhaust steam, mingled with smoke, shoots up for a distance of some 30 ft., and there swirls and hangs in a heavy cloud, which, dimly seen in the coming darkness, marks the progress of the train along the mountain side. The glare from the open fire-doors transforms the cloud of steam into a mass of wicked red vapours, which, with the black, foggy mountains and yawning ravines, makes the scene almost Mephistophelean in its luridness. The train of carriages appears as a procession of glow-worms crawling through a night of foggy density.
On the Incline the shovel is never idle, and in the half-hour occupied in making the ascent the fireman exerts enough energy to run her 20 miles or so on the level. Even on the ends of the hair of his head drops of perspiration cling. In the cab there is only that shielded lamp, so designed that it throws its light on the water-gauge and steam-gauge. The driver’s eyes are shielded from it, as they also are from the furnace glare. Drivers and firemen may elect to work on this section of line or not, as they choose. Extra pay is given them, and in the busy season a great deal of overtime is to be earned. There is one driver who has continued on this run for 20 years, and there are others who are content to stay, despite the, to the lay mind, severity of the ordeal to be gone through in each up-run, especially on thick, wet nights. On such occasions the engine eats coal – one may almost hear her chewing it, and the resulting smoke is suffocating in the tunnels of which there are three – two short ones on the way up and a long curving one at the summit. Best Coalbrookdale is burned – the hottest, cleanest coal obtainable.
Now, some distance up the track looms the first tunnel, piercing an outstanding spur. The engine whistles, there is a sound of slamming windows, with which the engines are fitted, and then such a pandemonium of sound as cannot be imagined. It is an inferno. The 30-foot column of expanding steam and smoke is confined by the tunnel’s arch about 2 ft. above the funnel, and there follows a terrific compression which forces the hot vapours into the engine-cab in spite of windows. Each thrash of the spouting funnel stuns like a blow, the sulphur suffocates, the heat scorches. And on top of all these the fireman opens the fire-door and tosses coal in. Then it seems that there is no air to breathe at all. The wet rail is making the pace slower than usual, though the leading engine, having a dry rail in the tunnel, is exerting herself to get out as quickly. as possible. Still the stuttering, thrashing exhaust thuds on the tunnel’s arch: the tiny lamp in the cab gleams faintly through the smoke; the wicked red shafts from the air-holes in the fire-door radiate their redness in the suffocating atmosphere. Then the clamour of the funnel quietens; the windows are shot open; driver and fireman lean out to breathe God’s air once more. The men in the second and third engines have a worse time than those in the leader, as the tunnel becomes hotter and more foul with the passage of each engine. Onward, upward, she goes – slipping and racing – sanding and swearing. When the wheels slip, sand is thrown upon the rail, but before this is done, steam is shut off. If the sand were thrown under the spinning wheels while steam is on, possibly every rod and crank would be broken owing to the sudden check to the revolving wheel jarring these parts and throwing undue strain upon them.
Another tunnel is passed through, after which the pace quickens. The ‘long straight’ is reached. Here the grade is easier, and the line is straight. So the engines quicken their stroke, and when the last tunnel appears, they are making better time. Into this horseshoe shaped hole in the mountain crest the one-eyed, black giant of steel thunders. She crashes and rumbles along, her crew coughing in the smoky atmosphere. Then clang-clang! clang-clang! A bell, swung at the side of the tunnel and rung by the wheels of each passing vehicle, cries weirdly, telling that the uphill fight is over, the level road is here at last. The engine’s beat becomes more rapid as each carriage tops the grade to the ringing of the bell. As the other engines reach level ground the pace becomes the normal pace of a train running into a station. Ding-dong! ding-dong! A deep-toned bell moans its message through the vaulted place. The grade is a down one now, into the Summit station. The centre grip-rail ends abruptly, and the train rolls into the Summit yard, where an engine of the usual tank type takes it over from the monsters of the mountains, and away down the 1 in 35 grades which lead to Wellington.” [1: p123-126]
The Rimutaka Incline was built in the early 1870s and, as of 1909, was the steepest commercial railway in the world (the only railway on a grade of 1 in 15 on which ordinary rolling stock was used). “It [crossed] a spur of the Tararua Range at an elevation of 1,114 ft. above sea-level, and about a dozen trains [passed] over it in each direction daily.” [1: p121] It avoided what would have been a 25 mile (or more) deviation. Until the middle of the first decade of the 20th century, the line was worked by Fell locomotives alone, by 1909 a Mallet type of locomotive (designed and built in New Zealand specifically for work on the incline) was included in the roster.
Fell locomotives operate conventionally on regular gradients but are equipped with an extra four laterally-set wheels, which grip an additional centre-rail laid between the usual rails. The “lateral wheels are driven by a separate set of engines located under the smoke-box, and they are pressed to the rail by a lever which the fireman moves when the engine reaches the place where the centre-rail begins. Until that place is reached, progress is made by the usual driving wheels. The pressure exerted by the four grip wheels amounts to 70 tons, and, in addition, the engine has two powerful brakes, having jaws which grip the centre- rail in case of a stoppage and when descending the incline.” [1: p122]
In 1909 the relatively new Mallet-type loco, No.66, was proving to be highly effective. It was “65 tons in weight, carried on 12 driving-wheels and two leading wheels, an articulated tank engine working at a pressure of 200 lbs. to the square inch. The driving-wheels [were] in two [six-coupled sets], each set being driven by compound engines, the exhaust from the rear cylinders occurring through a pipe on the top of the engine cab. On the incline this engine [could] pull a train weighing 110 tons, and to accomplish this she [burned] half a ton of coal. Usually, however, she [took] the train up the hill in conjunction with the Fell engines.” [1: p122]
The incline was on the line from Wellington to Napier with the steep upward grade being on the Napier to Wellington service.
Wikipedia tells us that the “Rimutaka Incline was a 3-mile-long (4.8 km), 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge railway line on an average grade of 1-in-15 using the Fell system between Summit and Cross Creek stations on the Wairarapa side of the original Wairarapa Line in the Wairarapa district of New Zealand. … The incline formation is now part of the Remutaka Rail Trail.” [2]
These notes come from the Wikipedia entry about the incline. …
The construction of a railway from Wellington to Masterton was authorised in the Railways Act passed on 13th September 1871. Julius Vogel, Colonial Treasurer, travelled to England to raise finance for a major public works programme for railway construction. Vogel returned via the United States, where he studied rail systems.
After the Act was passed, a survey party investigated four different routes. A commonality between all the proposals was the section from Upper Hutt to Kaitoki (later Kaitoke). Between Kaitoke and the Wairarapa, the four proposals were the Tauwharenikau Route, Mr Sinclair’s Route, a coastal route and the Pakuratahi Route.
While the government was conducting its surveys, Wellington Province Superintendent William Fitzherbert instructed his Provincial Engineer, Charles O’Neill, to investigate the possibility of a railway through the Rimutaka Valley (the route of the road between Featherston and Upper Hutt), with a tunnel through the dividing range. The survey was carried out between May andJuly 1871, and O’Neill reported that a tunnel 130 chains (2.6 km) long would be required, with the line rising at 1 in 60 from the Pakuratahi to the tunnel then descending at 1 in 40 to Featherston. This survey was forwarded to the Minister for Public Works.
In mid-1873 the route to Featherston was chosen after a final survey for the route from Upper Hutt to Summit.
For the line between Summit and the Wairarapa, several proposals were considered. The first, with gradients up to 1 in 30, was dismissed. It was found that to keep the gradient to no steeper than 1 in 40, curves of three chains (60 m) radius would be required. This would have required special rolling stock and heavy earthworks and was thus abandoned.
Another proposal was known as the Birch Spur Incline. This would have involved the line continuing from Summit to Birch Spur from where a rope-worked incline would convey traffic to the valley floor where the railway would continue through a narrow valley to the Wairarapa plains. The Public Works Department engineers investigating this proposal were unable to locate a suitable incline, so this proposal was also abandoned.
The last option was a three-mile (4.8 km) incline with gradients averaging 1 in 15 “to be worked by locomotives of an unusual nature”. This line was the most favourable from an engineer’s point of view, and required not unreasonable earthworks. The final decision was made by the head of the Public Works Department, John Carruthers. He determined that an incline worked by the Fell system would be suitable, and cited the Mont Cenis Pass Railway as an example. Though special locomotives would be required, factors in its favour were that ordinary rolling stock could be used and it was a proven system. It was to be the third and last Fell system employing the centre rail for both tractive power and braking, and the longest surviving. Though it was considered to be a “temporary” measure, it outlasted the second such system in Brazil by 72 years. [2]
Construction
Construction of the Rimutaka Incline was included in two contracts that were let for the building of the original Wairarapa Line. These contracts were known as the Summit contract and the Incline contract. [2]
The Summit Contract included the excavation of Summit station yard and related drainage, Summit tunnel, and formation work to a point 26 chains (523 m) beyond the tunnel. It was the shortest contract of those let for the line, it was finished by the original contractor, and it had the fewest alterations. Work was to start on 12th July 1874 and to be completed by 22nd July 1876, at which time the Pakuratahi contract was due to be completed. [2]
Summit yard was a large cut into the hillside, 120 feet (37 m) wide and 500 yards (460 m) long initially. Excavations removed material to a depth of 15–20 feet, with this fill being dumped on the opposite side of the yard to form level ground. On the hillside above the yard, further ground was levelled and houses erected thereon. [2]
After the yard had taken shape, work commenced on the tunnel. The approach to the tunnel was about 6 chains long and up to 60 feet (18 m) deep. The line entered the tunnel on a downward grade of 1 in 1,000, steepening to a grade of 1 in 15 at the eastern portal. At that end a small drainage tunnel had to be built to divert a stream that had flowed down a steep gully where the tunnel mouth was to be. The maximum height of the tunnel was 15 feet (4.6 m) above the floor: once rails were laid the maximum clearance was 13 feet 9 inches (4.19 m) The width of the tunnel varied from 10 feet 6 inches (3.20 m) at the floor to 12 feet (3.7 m) at 7 feet 6 inches (2.29 m) above the floor. Despite castigation from various parties, it was not until March 1877 that work on both ends of the tunnel met at the middle, having taken three and a half years to complete. [2]
The Public Works Department lined the tunnel after the rails had reached the site, enabling them to use work trains to bring materials and other supplies in. It was during this phase that the only fatality on this contract occurred: on 3rd May 1878, a sizeable portion of the lining collapsed on two men. One was killed outright, the other lost his eyesight due to severe head injuries. [2]
The Summit contract was completed on 10th December 1877, 17 months behind schedule. [2]
The Incline Contract was let on 5th October 1875 to Charles McKirdy for the sum of £49,029. The contract covered the formation only, with the Public Works Department responsible for track laying. [2]
Work on the contract began on 22nd October 1875. None of the major earthworks seem to have presented any great difficulties, save the lower tunnel, which was plagued by accidents and materials failures largely because of the unstable nature of the rock through which it passed. The tunnel was named Price’s after the manager McKirdy employed for this contract. On 2nd March 1876, two men died due to a cave-in of the tunnel roof. [2]
Between October 1877 and March 1878, platelaying was completed up to Summit. This enabled the use of work trains to haul up materials that were used to line Summit Tunnel. Track laying on the incline commenced in April 1878 and reached Cross Creek the following month. During this work, locomotive H199 was stabled at Summit and used to haul work and ballast trains to the railhead. [2]
Initially, only simple arrangements were made for the station yard at Cross’s Creek, as it had yet to be decided the nature of operations on the Incline. It consisted of the main line, an engine siding of 10 chains, and the runaway siding. [2]
After formation work continued beyond Cross Creek, McKirdy ran out of time and money, with the remainder of his contract being picked up by his guarantors, T. W. Young and Robert Greenfield. They finished the formation to Featherston on 17th August 1878, with track laying finishing the following month. The contract was completed 13 months late. [2]
Operation – Initially, trains on the incline were limited to the weight that could be managed by a single locomotive. After complaints from management of the expense of running too many trains, two locomotives seem to have been used, both at the head of the train. From 1887 trains were worked with multiple locomotives, each at the head of its rated load. As the maximum weight of a train during this period was 150 tons, no more than three locomotives were used per train. Train operations continued to be modified until by 1908 the maximum load allowed per train had increased to 250 tons descending and 260 tons ascending. [2]
When the line opened, there were two Fell brake vans in service, each 12 ft 6 in (3.81 m) long and 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) from floor to ceiling, with open platforms at either end. The wear on the brake blocks fitted to these vans was so severe that a set of blocks seldom lasted more than one trip down the incline. Like the positioning and loading of the locomotives, the arrangements for positioning of the Fell vans varied until they were largely standardised by 1897. For ascending trains, Fell vans were placed at the rear of the train. For descending trains, a Fell van was placed between the locomotives and the leading vehicle. If the gross weight of the train exceeded 120 tons or included more than 15 vehicles (excluding the locomotives in both cases) a second Fell van was attached to the rear of the train. These rules applied before the introduction of the Westinghouse continuous air brake. The Fell locomotives were never turned, running cab first on descending trains. [2]
As descending trains departed Summit the “through” guard applied the brakes on the leading vehicle, then moved through the train applying the brakes on the other vehicles until he reached the train van, which also had brakes that had to be applied. Each Fell van had its own guard to operate the two sets of brakes. [2]
After the introduction of the continuous brake system in 1903 it became possible to operate trains with five locomotives, and on descending passenger trains up to five Fell brake vans could be used – two next to the locomotives, one in the middle, and two at the rear. As each brake van had its own guard and the train had a train guard and locomotive crews, a train with five brake vans and four locomotives had a crew of 14, which added to the expense of the operation. Moreover, to reduce the strain on couplings, when several locomotives were used they would be distributed through the train, as can be seen from photos. This necessitated significant re-marshalling of the train at either end of the incline. [2]
Instructions issued in 1885 regarding the use of the safety siding required that the points for the incline be set to the safety siding. As descending trains approached the Cross Creek yard, the driver of the leading locomotive sounded a long whistle, which signalled that all was well. On hearing this signal the signalman would set the points for the arrival road. As far as is known no real emergency occurred. Cross Creek had an unusual six-lever partially-interlocked signalling installation and had no “distant” signals so had points indicators which applied to the “main” line (see Heine for station layout), while Summit had a fully interlocked 27-lever frame. [2][3]
Unusual traffic included four royal trains: for the Prince of Wales in 1921; the Duke (later King George VI) and Duchess of York in 1927; the Duke of Gloucester in 1935; and Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh in 1954. Trains were diverted from the Manawatu line due to slips, floods or other mishaps. [2]
The original yards at Cross Creek and Summit were sufficient for the traffic levels of the time, but increasing traffic brought about incremental additions. The full extent of the Summit yard was reached in 1903, which coincided with the introduction of full signalling and interlocking, not introduced to Cross Creek until 1915. [2]
The Fell locomotives (H class) were not to be operated on any part of the railway other than the Incline, with the sole exception of conveying them to the Petone (and later Hutt) Workshops for maintenance. In the latter case, bunkers, water tanks and boilers were to be empty and the locomotives were to be towed at a speed not exceeding 10 miles per hour (16 km/h). These rules were relaxed to allow the locomotives to travel light engine to Petone and back under their own steam, subject to the same speed restrictions. In 1887 they were permitted to be operated between Cross Creek and Pigeon Bush, later extended to Featherston to enable them to be used for banking purposes. Running rights between Cross Creek and Featherston were revoked about 1943. [2]
Speed limits for trains on the Incline were changed several times. From 1884 to 1888 the limit was 6 mph (9.7 km/h) ascending and descending, except light passenger trains for which the limit was 8 mph (13 km/h). In 1888 these limits changed to 5 mph (8.0 km/h) up, 9 mph (14 km/h) down. The limits were finally 6 mph (9.7 km/h) up, 10 mph (16 km/h) down. [2]
Various classes of locomotives were deployed to supplement the H class when one or more was away for maintenance or repairs, including
W192 and 238 2-6-2T locomotives, built in 1889 and 1891 respectively, which spent most of their time on the Wellington to Summit section until their transfer in 1909;
54-ton We 4-6-4T locomotives rebuilt from 4-8-0 B Class locomotives, rated to haul passenger trains up to 55 tons and goods trains up to 60 tons, until 1906, after which they were used mainly on the Upper Hutt to Summit section and rated to haul passenger trains up to 130 tons, mixed trains 150 tons and goods trains 155 tons, and were then later sent to work on the Rewanui Incline on the South Island;
65-ton E 66, rated to haul 80 tons up the Incline, and nicknamed Pearson’s Dream. In 1910 it was transferred to banking duties on the Wellington to Johnsonville section, but it was never popular with crew. (This is interesting, given Lawson’s very positive description of the loco in use on the Incline);
Wg 480 4-6-4T locomotive, during the first World War.
After the Great War traffic was well within the capabilities of the six H class Fell locomotives. [2]
The mileages run by the H class locomotives show notable increases that correspond to economic and other major events, such as the opening of the Wairarapa Line as far as Masterton, completion of the line to Woodville, and the nationalisation of the Wellington and Manawatu Railway. With the opening of the railway to Masterton the annual mileage of the H class rose from less than 7,000 to more than 8,000, in 1883–1897 to 34,000, and to 42,000 when the line was opened to Woodville and began carrying traffic from the Hawke’s Bay. Mileage peaked at 64,123 in 1906–07, about 10,687 miles per locomotive or 1,780 return Incline trips. [2]
Wairarapa railcars
In 1936 seven lightweight Wairarapa railcars, RM 4–10, were introduced between Palmerston North, Masterton and Wellington. They were specifically designed for the Incline, and were built at the Hutt Workshops. They were named after historic Maori canoes: Maahunui, Mahuhu, Mamari, Matahourua, Mataatua, Arai-te-Uru and Arawa. Initially powered by 130 horsepower (97 kW) Leyland petrol engines, they were upgraded after several years to 120 horsepower (89 kW) diesel engines. They had a single rear driving axle with 38½” (978 mm) diameter wheels, necessitated by the need for the axle and final drive unit to have sufficient clearance above the Incline’s centre rail. Because of the large rear wheels the floor of the passenger compartment was 52½” (1334 mm) above rail level, more than 12 inches (300 mm) higher than normal. They were rated for a maximum speed of 60 mph (97 km/h) and expected to climb the Incline at 15-17 mph, but actually managed only 10–12 mph. Nevertheless, they greatly speeded up passenger trains on the route and immediately proved popular. They were withdrawn in 1955 when the Incline closed. [2]
Several options for an alternative to the Incline were considered in the 20th century, but it was not until after WWII that a route through a tunnel between Maymorn and Lucena’s Creek was selected. Construction was started in 1948 by the Public Works Department and completed by a private contractor in 1955. The tunnel and deviation opened on 3rd November 1955, five days after this the Incline closed. [2][6]
Demolition was swift, with the removal of track between Cross Creek and Pigeon Bush largely completed by March 1956. H 199 was used to haul the work trains that removed the track between Cross Creek and Summit. The buildings were sold at auction, on site. Some of the rails were sent to the Rewanui Incline, as were a couple of the Fell brake vans. Five of the six H class locomotives were towed to the Hutt Workshops, later to Silverstream, to be scrapped. [2]
Today
A resurgence of public interest in the incline followed the publication of a book in 1976 and the opening of the Fell Engine Museum in the early 1980s, prompting the New Zealand Forest Service to re-establish access to Cross Creek in 1984. [5: p40] Interest increased following the publishing of an article in the NZ Runner magazine “Try this Run” in the November-December 1984 issue, which promoted this incline as a backcountry running opportunity [Issue No 35]. The official opening of a rail trail using the formation of the original railway line from Cross Creek to Kaitoke followed in 1987. [5: p41] It is today one of the more popular recreational facilities in the region and forms part of the Remutaka Forest Park. [5: p41]
The Raurimu Spiral
“The Raurimu Spiral is a single-track railway spiral, starting with a horseshoe curve, overcoming a 139-metre (456 ft) height difference, in the central North Island of New Zealand, on the North Island Main Trunk railway (NIMT) between Wellington and Auckland. It is a notable feat of civil engineering, having been called an ‘engineering masterpiece’. [8] The Institute of Professional Engineers of New Zealand has designated the spiral as a significant engineering heritage site.” [7][9]
A bird’s eye view of the Raurimu Spiral, seen from the West and taken in November 2007, (c) Duane Wilkins and licenced for reuse under a Creatiev Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 2.0). [10]
“During the construction of the central section of the NIMT, a major obstacle arose: how to cross the steep slopes between the North Island Volcanic Plateau to the east and the valleys and gorges of the Whanganui River to the west? … South of Taumarunui, the terrain is steep but not unmanageable, with the exception of the stretch between Raurimu and National Park, where the land rises too steeply for a direct rail route. A direct line between these two points would rise 200 metres (660 ft) in a distance of some 5 kilometres (3.1 mi), a gradient of 1 in 24. The area was thoroughly surveyed during the 1880s in an attempt to find a route with a lesser grade, but the only viable possibility seemed to require a 20-kilometre (12 mi) detour and nine massive viaducts. Even then, the gradient would have been steeper than 1 in 50.” [9]
“The problem was solved in 1898 by a surveyor in the employ of Robert Holmes, Public Works Department engineer. He proposed a line that looped back upon itself and then spiralled around with the aid of tunnels and bridges, rising at a gradient of 1 in 52. Though costly and labour-intensive, the scheme was still cheaper than the previous plan by Browne and Turner which required 9 viaducts down the Piopiotea River.” [9]
Wikipedia tells us that the railway “forms an ascending spiral southwards, with two relatively short tunnels, a circle and three hairpin bends. From the north, trains pass Raurimu before going round a 200° bend to the left in a horseshoe curve, climbing above the track on which they have just travelled. Two sharp bends to the right follow, after which the line passes through two short tunnels, the Lower Spiral Tunnel (384 m) and the Upper Spiral Tunnel (96 m). Trains then complete a full circle, crossing over the Lower Spiral Tunnel through which they have just passed which is 23-metre (75 ft) below, before continuing towards Wellington. Two kilometres (1.2 mi) further on the line has two more sharp bends, to the right and then to the left. … After the second of these bends a train has risen 132 metres (433 ft) and travelled 6.8 kilometres (4.2 mi) from Raurimu– the straight-line distance is 2 kilometres (1.2 mi). Some of the sharp curves are only 7½ chains (150 m) radius. … A masterly feature of Holmes’ layout is the way in which it uses natural land contours so that no viaducts are needed, and only two short tunnels.” [9]
The line to Auckland was only completed in November 1908. The work on construction of the line across the feet of substantial mountains such as Mt. Ruapehu, Mt. Tongariro and Mt. Ngaruhoe (still an active volcano) proved arduous and held back the opening of the route. Overall, the “line rises to 3,000 ft. above sea-level. The maximum grade in the 90-mile mountain section is 1 in 50, and the sharpest curve has a radius of 7. 5 chains.” [1: p126]
At Raurimu, the railway rises 700 ft. in 7 miles, of which 4 miles constitutes the spiral. For the main lengths of the trunk route New Zealand Railways designed 72-ton four cylinder balanced compound Class ‘A’ locomotives. For the 90-mile mountain section a bigger beast of an engine was required! The Class ‘X’ “mountain engine [was] a monster weighing 92 tons. … The ‘A’ was probably the first narrow gauge locomotive, (3ft 6in gauge) in the world to be fitted with inside as well as outside cylinders, and the ‘X’ [was] similarly equipped. She [was] a four-cylinder engine, with eight-coupled 3ft. 9in. driving-wheels, which, carrying about 50 tons of her weight, [gave] her immense grip of the rail, her tractive force being 30,000 lbs. The ‘A’ (six- coupled 4ft. 6in. wheels) [had] a force of 17,000 lbs. So the ‘X’ [pulled] nearly double the load an ‘A’ [could] haul. A four-wheeled leading bogie and a two-wheel trailing truck [completed] her wheel arrangement. New Zealand, in the design and construction of this engine, [had] taken a stride which [brought] her narrow gauge on almost level terms with the standard one. The only fault which [could] possibly be found in the ‘X’ [was] in the width of the locomotive in the region of her fire-box. Her furnace and tubes [had] a heating surface of 2,000 square ft., and she [worked] at a pressure of 250 lbs. of steam to the square inch. Consequently, she [had] an enormous fire-box, which [overhung] at the sides. But, having length as well, she [had] symmetry and stability. At a high speed she [would have been] inclined to roll. Her speed, however, rarely [exceeded] 30 miles an hour, her business being to pull a heavy train up the hills at a fair pace.” [1: p126-127]
On the mountain section, the rails are 70 lbs., flat-footed (Vignoles) ones, spiked to sleepers and heavily ballasted. “The line [crossed] viaducts of great height, two of them curved ones, and it [pierced] many tunnels, one of which [had] an S-curve in its length. Altogether, the engineering conditions [were] severe, making the maintenance of a service of fast travel over this section a strenuous task.” [1: p127]
Train ascending the Raurimu Spiral in the early 1900s, (c) Frederick George Radcliffe/Auckland Libraries and authorised for reuse without restriction (Public Domain). [12]
Lawson goes on to describe a journey South over the spiral:
“There is bustle and babel on the railway platform at Taumarunui when the south-bound overland train is due. Her strident whistle sounds through the wintry morning air. A porter hurries along, his lantern gleaming in the dark, bidding all stand back, and he has hardly walked the length of the station when the express engine rushes past, bringing as her train six passenger cars, and the mail and baggage cars, three in number. She has come headlong from Te Kuiti, 50 miles away, through the long Poro-o-tarao tunnel and along the banks of the beautiful Ongaruhe River. But her ‘beat’ ends here. To fill her place comes a broad-backed monster whose bulging flanks overshadow her narrow wheel base. This is the ‘X’ engine, the monster of the mountains which will carry the mail, careering, where all Nature is, like herself, colossal. Her footplate is wide and her cab roomy and comfortable, after the American pattern. When her fire-door is opened it discloses an enormous cavern whence a stinging glare strikes out to the eyes. Beneath her tremendous energy one can almost feel the giant quiver. A shrill whistle is blown, and the fireman, watching for the guard’s starting signal, says, ‘Right away!’ There is a deep hoot from her whistle, and her throttle is opened slowly. So gently does she apply her strength, that the first sign of her moving is a gentle puff from her funnel 20 ft. away. Gathering way, she blows out a steady succession of muffled puffs, for there is nothing noisy about this locomotive until occasion in the shape of hard work demands it. Soon she is warming up and getting into her stride along the gently-rising track which leads to Piriaka. Originally it was intended that no grade on this line was to exceed 1 in 70, which, if not an easy one, is not unusual when cost of construction has to be studied, but the trend of the land towards the mountains compelled a maximum of 1 in 50, as already stated. Except on the Spiral, the maximum is 1 in 55. The big engine is making light work of her train of 9 heavy cars. Her fireman finds time to lean out and watch the carriage lights twinkling away in perspective. Past Kakahi and Owongo to Oio (surely the shortest railway name in the world!) and then the grades begin. Her furnace yawns for coal, her funnel’s roar rises in tone and intensity, her fireman mops his brow. Presently her hoarse, booming whistle hoots at the lights of Raurimu, the station at the foot of the Spiral. She steams into the station and makes her first stop after a 30-mile run. The engine is uncoupled, and runs along to a tank to water. This done, she returns to the train, and again her whistle blows for a starting signal. ‘X’, now thoroughly warmed to her work, makes haste to gather speed on the level stretch below the Spiral. It is a brave effort, and when she meets the rise she has attained some pace. Looking back, one may see where the grade begins. Some of the cars are still on the level. One by one they lift their noses to the grade until the whole train is hanging heavily on the engine’s draw-bar. Round to the left we sweep, and faintly can be heard the flange of a carriage wheel crying on the curve. Round and upwards for a mile.
Then nearly 100 ft. below, pale in the coming dawn, gleam the lights of Raurimu. One mile to gain a hundred ft. – that is, approximately, the achievement of Raurimu Spiral. Up we go: the engine blowing stentoriously, the fireman firing furiously, the carriages following unwillingly, and the speed a good 20 miles an hour. There is never a slip from the 8 driving-wheels, though there is a slight frost on the mountain side. The driver is watchful, and sands the line judiciously. A hoot from her whistle, and we are in the long 35-chain tunnel, and we feel it to be a relief when we are out in the pure mountain air once more.
Round and upwards, the big ‘X’ roars, steaming well. At last, the spiral motion ceases, and we rush out on to a length of straight line, which carries us over the long tunnel just passed through, which is 85 ft. beneath us. The mail rushes southward to the muffled measure of deep sound which her wheels toss out. Suddenly the thunder of our speed changes to an echoing, hollow-crashing sound. The earth which choked and deadened the uproar has dropped away, and a deep gorge, crossed by a towering entanglement of steel, echoes and re-echoes the sound. At either side of the engine, white handrails gleam. We are on Makatote Viaduct, the tallest in New Zealand, standing 260 ft. above the river-bed. Soon after, two curved viaducts are crossed: Toanui and Hapuawhenua. Then the train runs into Ohakune, which is half-way between Auckland and Wellington. After a short pause, we speed on across the Karioi Plains, and climb up to Waiouru, which is 2,659 ft. above the sea, and is the highest railway point in New Zealand. Snow-clad Ruapehu, the nearest and highest of the trio of mountains, shows bravely in the morning sunlight, and the wind that blows from the mountain is bitterly cold. So far, there has not been need for a snow-plough here, yet the possibility of one being required is always to be reckoned with. Last winter (1908), on the Central Otago Line, in the South Island, a snowstorm swept the high lands traversed by the railway, effectually blocking the line. One train was cut off from civilisation, and the engine belonging to it was set to the task of clearing the line. A snow-plough was devised by fastening a stout beam from the point of the cowcatcher to the top of the funnel, resting also against the smoke-box. Then all around were arranged timbers bound with iron. The engine, one of the “B” type of the New Zealand railways – 4-8-0, with 3ft. 6.25in. driving-wheels, weight 65 tons – patrolled the line, and finally succeeded in clearing the road again. Her enginemen had a cold time, working in a blizzard at 2,000 ft, above the sea. At one time it was freezing so hard, that icicles were formed on the engine. Whether such conditions will be met with on the North Island Trunk Line remains to be seen. Even the ‘X’ engines will find it hard work to climb the Raurimu Spiral if there are ‘ice-whiskers’ on the rails.” [1: p127-129]
A Wf class tank engine climbing the Raurimu spiral in 1909 Original photographic prints and postcards from file print collection, Box 5. Ref: PAColl-5800-54. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. (c) A. Williams/Alexander Turnbull Library and made available without restriction provided reproduced as taken with no alteration. [13]
References
Will Lawson; New Zealand’s Mountain Railways; in The Railway Magazine, August 1909, p121-129.
Richard Leitch, David; Scott, Brian (1995). Exploring New Zealand’s Ghost Railways (1998 ed.). Wellington: Grantham House.W. Heine; Semaphore to CTC: Signalling and train working in New Zealand, 1863-1993; New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society, Wellington, 2000.
In July 1923, The Railway Magazine carried an article about the Callander & Oban Railway (C&O) written by G.F. Gairns. [1]
Gairns commented that the C&O constituted the third of the three great mountain lines: the Perth-Inverness line of the Highland Railway; the West Highland Line of the North British Railway; and the Callander & Oban Railway (including the Ballachulish Extension).
The Callander & Oban Railway. [1: p11]
A short series of four articles about the Ballachulish line can be found here, [2] here, [3] here, [4] and here. [5]
The C&O had previously been written about in the Railway Magazine, specifically in the issues of September 1903, August 1904, and August and September 1912. Gairns leaves the detailed history to those previous articles, apart from a brief introduction, and focusses in 1923 on a journey along the line from Stirling to Oban and to Ballachulish.
An excellent presentation of the various scenes which preceded the Callander & Oban Railway can be found in the early pages of John Thomas’, ‘The Callander & Oban Railway‘. [62: p1-26]
Ultimately, an agreement was signed between the Scottish Central Railway (SCR) and the Callander & Oban (C&O) was signed on 17th December 1864 which affirmed that the SCR would subscribe £200,000 to the scheme. “The C&O was to have nine directors, five appointed by the Scottish Central and four by the promoters. The line was to be ‘made, constructed and completed in a good, substantial sufficient and workmanlike manner, and without the adoption of timber bridges and culverts’. … The rails were to weigh 75 lb per yard and were to be laid in 24 ft lengths on larch sleepers placed at an average distance of 3 ft.” [62: p26-27]
As part of the agreement, once at least 20 miles of line directly connected to the Dunblane, Doune & Callander Railway had been constructed and passed by the Board of Trade, the Scottish Central Railway undertook work it in perpetuity, on the basis that it would receive half of the gross revenue.
The Callander & Oban Railway bill was drawn up and presented in Parliament in January 1865. … The bill sought:
“First, a Railway commencing about Five Furlongs South-westwards from the Schoolhouse in the Town of Oban called the Oban Industrial School, and terminating by a Junction with the Dunblane, Doune and Callander Railway, about One and a Half Furlongs Eastward from the Booking Office of the Callander Station of the Railway.
Secondly, a Tramway commencing by a Junction with the Railway above described about One Furlong South-westwards from the said Schoolhouse, and terminating on the Pier on the East Side of the Harbour of Oban about Two Chains Eastward from the South-western end of the said Pier.” [62: p27]
148 railway bills were passed in a two-day session of Parliament on January 1865. These included the C&O and the Dingwall & Skye Railway. Both these schemes had a similar primary purpose – to reach ports on the West Coast of Scotland to give the fishing trade access to markets in the rest of Scotland and further South.
Thomas comments: “The Callander & Oban Railway Act was passed on 8th July 1865. The first sod was not cut for over fourteen months. Five years were to pass before a revenue-earning wheel was to turn on the line (and on only 17½ miles at that), and it would be fifteen years before a train entered Oban. … But even before the Act was passed sweeping changes had transformed the railway political scene. Ten days earlier, on 29th June, the Scottish Central had won permission to take over the Dunblane, Doune & Callander as from 31st July 1865; and the Central had enjoyed its new-found gains for one day. On 1st August 1865 the Central itself had been absorbed by the Caledonian, which acquired all its assets and liabilities including the obligation to finance and operate the Callander & Oban. At the outset the C & O directors found themselves with formidable new masters.” [62: p28]
As much as the Callander & Oban had looked attractive to the Scottish Central. “It was not at all attractive to the Caledonian, whose shareholders, had no stomach for squandering cash among the Perthshire hills. … The 1861 census had shown that Oban and Callander between them possessed fewer than 3,000 inhabitants, and the scattered hamlets between the two could produce barely a thousand more. The certain dividends lying in the coal and iron traffic of the Clyde Valley were infinitely preferable to the nebulous rewards from the fish and sheep of the West Highlands.” [62: p29]
From the beginning there was a faction on that Caledonian board which wished to drop expansion towards Oban at the earliest opportunity, “but the terms of the SCR-Caledonian amalgamation agreement forbade such a course. And there was another reason, if a negative one, why the Caledonian should use caution. The amalgamations of 1865 had given the Edinburgh & Glasgow to the North British, which as the result had now penetrated deep into traditional Caledonian territory – Glasgow and the Clyde coast; and the North British already possessed and exercised running powers into Callander. If the Caledonian abandoned its awkward foster-child on the Callander doorstep, it was reasonable to suppose that the North British would attempt to pick it up.” [62: p29]
The Callander & Oban directors had undertaken to find £400,000 along the route of the railway. This proved to be a monumental task. Their first attempts brought in 201 individual shareholders who subscribed for a total of £56,360 worth of shares! The C&O may well have been stillborn had it not been for the appointment of John Anderson as the Secretary to the C&O.
Given palpable hostility between the directors, Anderson “was left to conduct the line’s affairs single-handed.” [62: p32] Thomas goes on to describe in some detail the different methods he used to achieve progress. The machinations involved need not, however, detain us here
Gairns writes:
“The Callander and Oban Railway Company was constituted in 1865. The Dunblane, Doune and Callander Railway was already in existence, having been opened in 1858. The Callander and Oban line was opened: Callander to Killin Junction, 1870; Killin Junction to Tyndrum, August, 1873; thence to Dalmally, May, 1877; and to Oban, July, 1880. At Balquhidder, at first known as Lochearnhead, the line from Crieff makes connection. This route, with connecting lines, was opened, Perth to Methven, 1838; Methven Junction to Crieff, 1866; Gleneagles (previously Crieff Junction, 1856; Crieff to Comrie, 1893; Comrie to St. Fillans, 1901; St. Fillans to Balquhidder (Lochearnhead), 1905. The Callander and Oban line has always been worked by the Caledonian Company, and is now [1923] included in the London Midland and Scottish Railway.
Dunblane is the ordinary junction for theCallander and Oban line, but trains which are not through to or from Glasgow use Stirling as their southern terminus. In some instances, ordinary Caledonian main line engines work the trains to and from Callander, the special C. and O, engines being attached or detached there, though this is mainly a traffic arrangement, convenient in the case of certain trains. At Dunblane there is an island platform on the down side, thus enabling branch trains to wait on the outer side to make connections. To Doune is double track, and the country mainly pastoral. Thence to Callander is single line, controlled by electric train tablet, as is the whole of the Callander and Oban line. The scenery continues to be of lowland character, though picturesque, but signs of the mountain country beyond show themselves. Between Doune and Callander is an intermediate crossing place – Drumvaich Crossing – to break up the long section of nearly 7 miles between stations. The original line diverged into what is now the goods station at Callander, the present station having been built when the Oban line was made. Callander station is distinctly picturesque, an ornamental clock tower surmounting the footbridge, and the station buildings being neat and attractive, while the platforms are decorated florally. It also has refreshment rooms on the platforms. On the up and down sides there are short bay lines from which locals can start as required. For down trains there is also a ticket platform, half a mile or so short of the station, but this is now used only by a few trains.” [1: p10]
Wikipedia tells us that “closure [for Callander Station] came on 1st November 1965, when the service between Callander and Dunblane ended as part of the Beeching Axe. The section between Callander and Crianlarich (lower) was closed on 27th September that year following a landslide at Glen Ogle.” [8]
This is an embedded link to a Flickr image of Callander Railway Station (seen from the road bridge at the East end of the Station) in 1973, (c) David Christie. [10]A very similar view in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, October 2016]The road bridge at the East end of Callander Raiway Station in 1967 (Ancaster Road Bridge). (c) J.R. Hume, Public Domain [11]Callander Railway Station forecourt in the 1940s, seen from the East. This image was shared on the Callander Heritage Society Facebook Page on 18th December 2023, (c) Public Domain. [12]A similar view in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, October 2016]Lookin West from Callendar Railway Station after the lifting of the rails. The tall signal box allowed for visibility beyond Leny Road Bridge which is just off the scene to the left. This image was shared on the Callendar Heritage Facebook Page on 27th September 2023. [14]
The old railway passed under Leny Road, Callander at the western end of the station site. The first image below shows the alignment of the railway looking Northeast from Leny Road. The pelican crossing marks the location of the old bridge. The second image shows the public footpath which follows the old railway to the South side of Leny Road.
The location of Leny Road Bridge, Google Streetview, July 2023]The location of Leny Road Bridge, Google Streetview, July 2023]
The first length of the railway to the West of Callander is shown on the RailMapOnline.com image below.
The route of the Callander & Oban Railway to the West of Callander as shown on the satellite imagery provided by RailMapOnline.com. Loch Lubnaig is at the top-left of this image. [15]
This embedded image from the Canmore National Record of the Historic Environment looks Northeast along the Callander & Oban railway towards Callander Railway station. The Bowstring Girder Bridge in the foreground is mentioned by Gairns below. The stone-arch bridge in the distance is the bridge that carried Leny Road over the old railway, (c) J.R. Hume. [16]
Gairns mentions the Pass of Leny and the Falls of Leny, below. The falls are shown on the map extract immediately below. The Falls can be seen in the right half of the extract.
The Falls of Leny and the Callander & Oban Railway. Note that the river – Garbh Uisge – is crossed twice by the railway. These bridges were bowstring Girder bridges like that seen above. [17]
This image is embedded from Flickr and shows one of the two girder bridges shown on the map extract above. The photograph was taken shortly before the closure of the line. (c) locoman1966. [18]
Gairns continues:
“Crossing the River Leny [Garbh Uisge] by a bowstring girder bridge, mountain country is entered in the Pass of Leny, and Ben Ledi and Ben Vane on the one side (the former skirted by the line), Ben Each, and, in the distance, Ben Vorlich, on the other, give evidence of the nature of the country traversed. The Falls of Leny can be seen on the right providing the intervening foliage is not too full. St. Bride’s Crossing, at the head of the Pass of Leny, is now only used as a crossing place at periods of special pressure. For nearly two miles the line then proceeds along the western shore, and almost at the water’s edge of Loch Lubnaig ‘the crooked lake’. A short distance beyond St. Bride’s Crossing is Craignacailleach Platform, used by children of railway servants going to school in Callander the 5.40 a.m. from Oban and the 6.45 pm from Callander, daily except Saturdays. At the picturesque little station of Strathyre, both platforms are adorned by ornamental shrubs, and on the up side there is a fountain, rockeries, rustic gate ways, etc.. lending further interest to this pretty station among its beautiful natural surroundings.
Before reaching Strathyre station the River Balvag is crossed. It keeps close company with the railway until near Kingshouse Platform, where a glimpse is had of the hills encircling Loch Val. Kingshouse Platform is used as a halt, trains calling as required, for the convenience of visitors to the Braes o’ Balquhidder.” [1: p10-11]
The adjacent RailMapOnline.com satellite image shows the railway running up the West side of Loch Lubnaig. Strathyre, mentioned by Gairns above, can be seen to the North of the Loch.
This portion of the old railway has been metalled to support its use as National Cycleway No. 7. South of the Loch, there is now a car park close to the upstream of the two bridges noted above.
The old railway formation is now the National Cycle Route No. 7. The blue line marks the route of the railway. The River Garbh Uisge is to the right of this North facing photograph. [Google Streetview, March 2009]Another North facing view, this time alongside Loch Lubnaig. The tarmacked cycle route follows the line of the old railway. [Google Streetview, May 2022]
North of Loch Lubnaig, the old railway ran North through Strathyre, first crossing the river to the East bank and few hundred metres short of the Railway Station.
This extract from the 6″ Ordnance Survey of 1898, published in 1901 [19] shows the small village of Strathyre, its railway station and the bridge over the River Leny [Garbh Uisge].
Looking South from the main platform at Strathyre Railway Station towards Callander in September 1956, (c) T. Morgan and made available for use here under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 2.0). [20]Looking back through the station site from a minor road just to the North. [Google Streetview, July 2023]Looking North along the old railway from the same minor. [Google Streetview, July 2023]
North of Strathyre the line continued North-northeast towards Balquhidder.
RailMapOnline.com again – the satelitel image shows the route of the line North from Strathyre through Balquidder. [15]
King’s House Inn on the modern A84 had its own Halt – Kingshouse Platform. This was a request halt serving both King’s House Inn (just to the east of the line) and the road to Balquhidder Glen (to the west). The halt was built at the expense of the King’s House Inn. It was a single platform, on the east side of the line, with a waiting shelter. Both platform and building were built in timber. Traffic handled included passengers, children using the school train and milk churns. As can be seen below, the halt was located south of the road to the glen.
Kingshouse Platform (Halt) as shown on the 6″ Ordnance Survey of 1898, published in 1901. [21]Looking back along the line towards Strathyre from the road up the Glen. [Google Streetview, July 2023]Looking Northeast along the line towards Lochearnhead Railway Station from the road up the Glen. [Google Streetview, July 2023]
A short distance Northeast of Kingshouse Platform was Lochearnhead Railway Station sited some distance South of the community of the same name.
Lochearnhead Railway Station. [22]Lochearnhead Railway Station as it appears on the 25″ Ordnance Survey of 1898, published 1901. [23]The same location in the 21st century, as it appears on the ESRI satellite imagery provided by the NLS. The old railway ran from bottom-left to top-middle of this extract. [24]
The station was renamed Balquhidder Station on 1st July 1904, when the line to Crieff, Gleneagles and Perth was completed. The station then became the junction station. The branch came in from the North, paralleled by the Oban line for some distance, from the head of Loch Earn. Balquhidder station had an island platform on the up side to provide for connecting trains. A new station was built on the branch to serve Lochearnhead village. [25]
Balquhidder Railway Station looking Southwest towards Callander on 27th September 1961. The branch line was off to the left of this image, (c) Ben Brooksbank and authorised for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 2.0). [26]
Gairns continues:
“Leaving Balquhidder the Oban line climbs steeply along the hillside as it finds its way up Glen Ogle, overlooking, in the ascent, the Crieff line as it follows the shores of Loch Earn eastward, and giving views over the waters of the Loch, amidst their mountain setting, which are said to be the finest in the British Isles. … Nearly 8 miles separate Balquhidder and Killin Junction stations, though there is an intermediate crossing – Glenoglehead. This was the site of the original Killin station, before the opening of the Killin Branch Railway. The whole length of ‘gloomy’ Glen Ogle – a wild rocky valley, four miles in length, described as the Khyber Pass of Scotland – is traversed, with its rocky boulder-strewn slopes, the railway being carried in places on brick or masonry viaducts around the face of the rock where the cutting of a ledge was well-nigh impossible. For most of the ascent the view from the train is down almost precipitous slopes, continued upwards on the other side.” [1: p11]
The Oban line runs South to North on this extract from the RailMapOnline.com satellite imagery. The branch turns away to run East along the North side of Loch Earn which just peeps into this satellite image at the bottom-right. [15]Four pictures of Glen Ogle Viaduct. The first was taken from the opposite side of the valley, (c) Euan Reid, Octobr 2024. [Google Maps, November 2024]Summer (c) Craig McArdle. (2023)Autumn (c) Sky T. (2021)Winter (c) Ken Schwart (2022)This next extract from RailMapOnline.com’s satellite imagery shows that to the North of Glen Ogle the old railway turned to the West. The line entering the extract from the top and meeting with the Callander & Oban Railway is the Killin Branch. [15]
Gairns continues:
“At the northern end of the Pass the line curves westward, overlooking the Loch Tay branch which runs from Killin Junction to the little town of Killin, with an extension of about a mile to a pier on Loch Tay to connect with the railway steamers which serve the whole length of the Loch, glimpses of which are had from the Oban train. The branch is on a lower level and its track can be seen for a long distance from the main line. The branch railway is one of very heavy gradients. At Killin Junction it makes connection with the main line which has descended from Glenoglehead to meet it. The station here has the usual island platform on the up side, to accommodate the branch trains clear of the main line.” [1: p11-12]
Looking South towards Lochearnhead, the A85 and the route of the old railway run immediately adjacent to each other alongside Locham Lairig Cheile which is just off the right side of this photograph. [Google Streetview, May 2022]Looking North towards Glenoglehead Crossing at the smae location as the image above. Lochan Lairig Cheile ican be picked out on the left of the image. [Google Streetview, May 2022]
Glenoglehead Crossing permitted two trains on the line to pass each other.
A Google Maps satellite image extract showing the location of Glenoglehead Crossing in the 21st century. It was once known as Killian Railway Station (even though over 3 miles from Killin) and was at that time the northern terminus of the Callander & Oban Railway. [Google Maps, November 2024]
From Glenoglehead the line dropped down to Killin Junction. The two map extracts above come from the same 6″ Ordnance Survey sheet surveyed in 1899 and printed in 1901. [27]
The location of Glenoglehead Railway Station with the original station building in private hands. [Google Streetview, May 2022]The route of the old railway descending from Glenoglehead. [Google Streetview, May 2022]The line ran West on the Southern slopes of Glen Dochart. {Google Streetview, May 2022]An enlarged extract from the 6″ Ordnance Survey of 1899 showing the location of Killin Junction. [27]A similar length of the line on the RailMapOnline.com satellite imagery. [15]Killin Junction Railway Station and Signal Box. This view looks Southwest through the station towards the Signal Box. This image is one of a number which scroll across the screen on [28]Killin Junction Railway Station. This view looks Northeast. The image is one of a number which scroll across the screen on https://railwaycottagekillin.co.uk/history [28]
Just to the Southwest of Killin Junction the line was carried over the Ardchyle Burn on a stone viaduct – Glendhu Viaduct.
Glendu Viaduct carried the old railway over the Ardchyle Burn, (c) Richard Webb and made available for resue under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 2.0), [29]
A short distance to the West of the viaduct, a farm acess track was carried over the railway on a stone arched bridge.
Farm access bridge over the old railway. This image was shared on the Re-Appreciate the Callander & Oban Line Facebook Group by John Gray on 6th October 2018. [32]
Along the length of the old railway between Killin Junction and Luib Railway Sation two more structures are worthy of note. First, Ledcharrie Viaduct at around the half-way point between Killin Junction and Luib spans the Ledcharrie Burn. [33] The second is Edravinoch Bridge which was a girder bridge which once spanned the Luib Burn. The aboutments remain but the girders were removed for scrap on closure of the line. [34] Bothe the pictures below were taken by John Gray and shared by him on the Re-Appreciate the Callander & Oban Line Facebook Group on 4th October 2018. John Gray’s photographs are reproduced here with his kind permission.
Ledcharrie Viaduct. [33]Edravinoch Bridge. [34]
The next station on the old railway was Luib Railway Station in Glen Dochart.
River, road and railway in close proximity at Luib Railway Station. The 6″ Ordnance Survey of 1898, published in 1901. [30]The site of Luib Railway station is, in the 21st century, Glen Dochart Holiday Park. [15]
This view looking West from Luib Railway Station is embedded from Ernie’s Railway Archive on Flickr, (c) J.M. Boyce. Note the signal box and the stone water tower base. [31]The old road alignment and under bridge to the West of the Luib Railway Station site. [35]Just to the West of Luib Railway Station the line crossed what became the A85. There is no clear indication on the groud of the location of the bridge as road improvements have swept away the vestiges of the old railway in the immediate vicinity. [Google Maps, November 2024]
Gairns continues:
“Westward past Luib to Crianlarich, Glen Dochart is traversed, with the River Dochart, until it merges into Loch Iubhair, succeeded in turn by Loch Dochart, and the public road, for company close alongside. Here splendid views are hard on both sides, bare mountain slopes being relieved by wooded areas, while rushing burns and streamlets add further interest. On both sides are peaks of considerable height, notably Ben Dheiceach (3,074 ft.) to the North, Ben More (3,843 ft.) immediately ahead, and Stobinian (3,821 ft.) to the South, with many others in the distance.
Crianlarich is important as it provides for interchange traffic with the West Highland line to Fort William and Mallaig, which here crosses. The stations are within a short distance, and there is siding connection for interchange goods traffic. The Callander and Oban station is a neatdouble-platformed station with rather attractive buildings on the down side, Just beyond the station the North British Railway crosses by an overbridge, and Crianlarich Junction is then reached, this controlling the connection with the West Highland line.” [1: p12-13]
Two different railways crossed at Crianlarich. The Callander & Oban Railway ran East-West. The West Highland Line ran North-South. The East-West line and station were opened on 1st August 1873 by the Callander and Oban Railway. This was the first railway station in Crianlarich. The station was originally laid out with two platforms, one on either side of a crossing loop. There were sidings on the south side of the station. After the West Highland Railway opened in 1894, Crianlarich could boast two railway stations. The West Highland Railway crossed over the Callander and Oban Railway by means of a viaduct located a short distance west of the Lower station. The West Highland Railway’s Crianlarich station was (and still is) located a short distance south of this viaduct. [36]The two lines plotted on the modern satellite imagery provided by RailMapOnline.com. The blue line being the Callander and Oban Railway, the red line being the West Highland Line. The link line between the two stations/railways was put in by the West Highland Line and is shown in red. [15]
Crianlarich Junction was situated half a mile west of Crianlarich Lower station. Opened on 20th December 1897, the junction was located at one end of a short link line that ran to Crianlarich station on the West Highland Railway. There were two signal boxes: “Crianlarich Junction East” (32 levers) and “Crianlarich Junction West” (18 levers). Following closure of the line east from Crianlarich Lower, the line between there and Crianlarich Junction was retained as a siding, with the link line becoming the main line for trains to and from Oban. [37]
Crianlarich Lower Railway Station on the Callander and Oban Railway. The picture appears to have been taken in circa. the 1920s. Note that by this time the second platform and the loop had been removed. It is also [possible to see the high level viaduct which carried the West Highland line over the road (A85), the Callander and Oben Railway and the River Fillan. This image was shared by Brian Previtt on the Disused Stations Facebook Group on 25th October 2024, (c) photographer not known, Public Domain. [38]
The line to the West of Crianlarich Junction remains in use in the 21st century.
Gairns continues his description of the line:
“Onwards through Strath Fillan magnificent views are had, and for some miles the West Highland line runs parallel, but on the opposite side of the valley, climbing up the hillside, after crossing the viaduct over the River Fillan until both lines are almost on the same level, with the valley between. Both lines have stations at Tyndrum (a favourite mountain resort), though these are some half-a-mile apart. The Callander and Oban station is a neat tree-shaded [location], with the goods yard at a lower level.” [1: p13]
The Callander & Oban Railway’s Tyndrum Railway Station sat to the South of the Hotel which the West Highland Line’s station to the North. [39]
Wikipedia tells us that Tyndrum Lower Station “opened on 1st August 1873 as a terminal station. This was the first railway station in the village of Tyndrum. Until 1877, it was the western extremity of the Callander and Oban Railway. In 1877, the Callander and Oban Railway was extended from Tyndrum to Dalmally. Concurrently, the station was relocated 301 yards (275 m) west, onto the new through alignment. The new station was on a higher level, as the line had to climb steeply to reach the summit about 0.6 miles (1 km) to the west. The old terminus then became the goods yard. The through station was originally laid out with two platforms, one on each side of a passing loop.” [40]
Tyndrum Lower and Upper Tyndrum Railway Stations can be seen on this extract from RailMapOnline.com’s satellite imagery. The image shows the route(also in blue) of a tramroad which served Tyndrum Lead Mines and Glengarry Lead Smelter (a little to the East of Tyndrum). After the closure of the smelter transfer to wagons of the Callander & Oban Railway took place at Tyndrum Lower Railway Station. [15]Tyndrum Lower Railway Station in 2015 – a single platform Halt. The platform is on the North side of the line. This view looks East toward Crianlarich, (c) Alex17595 and made available under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 4.0). [41]Looking West along the line from the access road/carpark at Tyndrum Lower Railway Station. [Google Streetview, April 2011]
Gairns’ description of the line continues:
“Passing Tyndrum station a final view is had of the West Highland line [before] it turns its course northwards, while the Callander and Oban line makes a long sweep southwesterly through Glen Lochy, wild and bare. An intermediate crossing, Glenlochy breaks the 12-mile run from Tyndrum to Dalmally. Approaching the rather pretty station at the latter place, Glen Orchy is joined, fine views being had along it. Dalmally, at the foot of Glen Orchy, has been described as ‘the loveliest spot in all that lovely glen’. A short run of less than 3 miles crossing the Orchy and rounding a bay on Loch Awe, and incidentally giving beautiful views up the Loch, and Loch Awe station is reached, right on the water side, and with a pier alongside for the steamers which ply along the Loch. For four miles or so the line runs high on the base at Ben Cruachan and follows the shores of the Loch through the gloomy Pass of Brander in which the waters of the loch merge into the brawling River Awe most turbulent of Highland salmon streams, Three miles beyond Loch Awe station the Falls of Cruachan Platform is a convenience for visitors to the celebrated Falls, a glimpse of which is had from the train in passing. The crossing place is, however, Awe Crossing, a mile or so beyond. A further run of 41 miles and Taynuilt is reached, beyond which the shores of Loch Etive are followed to Connel Ferry, a run of 64 miles, with one intermediate station – Ach-na-Cloich – and providing lovely views over the loch and the hills and mountains. beyond.” [1: p13]
Glenlochy Crossing, which Gairns describes as “An intermediate crossing, Glenlochy breaks the 12-mile run from Tyndrum to Dalmally.” This image shows what is recorded on the 6″ Ordnance Survey of 1898, published in 1900. [41]The same location as it appears in the 21st century on the ESRI satellite imagery provided by the NLS. The site of Glenlochy Crossing is in the trees close to the centre of this image. which runs diagonally down the centre portion of the imageof this image. The A85 runs to the West of the old railway’s route which runs diagonally down the centre portion of the image. The River Lochy passes immediately to the West of Glenlochy Crossing (left of centre). [41]
Glenlochy Crossing was a passing loop opened in 1882 to increase the capacity of the line. It broke the singl-track section between Tyndrum Lower and Dalmally. The building shown just to the East of the line was similar to that found at other crossings (such as Drumvaich Crossing and Awe Crossing0. It combined a railway cottage with a signal cabin. When first built the loop had two trailing sidings one at each end of the loop. We know that the loop was lifted in 1966 when the building was also demolished. There is still a footbridge across the River Lochy which gave access to the Crossing but that is now locked against public access. [42]
The Callander & Oban Railway closely followed the South bank Of the River Lochy, only turning away to the South to cross Eas a Ghaill (a tributary which approached the River Lochy from the South) by means of Succoth Viaduct.
Succoth Viaduct. This is an embedded link to an image on the GetLostMountaineering.co.uk webpage. The viaduct carries what was the Callander & Oban Railway over Eas a Ghaill. [43]
The line runs almost due West from Succoth Viaduct at a distance from the River Lochy until it reaches Dalmally Railway Station.
Dalmally Railway Station as it appears on the 6″ Ordnance Survey of 1897, published in 1900. [44]Dalmally Railway Station as it appears on the satellite imagery provided by RailMapOnline.com. [15]Looking West through Dalmally Railway Station, this mage was shared by Donald Taggart on Google Maps, (c) Donald Taggart (March 2020)A similar view of the station buildings at Dalmally from Platform No. 2, (c) Anna-Mária Palinčárová. (June 2017), shared by her on Google Maps.
This photograph was taken from the Road overbridge at the West end of Dalmally Railway Station site, (c) inett (November 2017) and shared on Google Maps.
the road overbridge at the West end of Dalmally Station site seen from the ned of Platform No. 1, (c) Marian Kalina (November 2017) and shared on Google Maps.
The Station approach, seen from the West, Dalmally. [Google Streetview, November 2021]The road over the bridge at the West end of Dalmally Railway Station site. [Google Streetview, May 2022]
West of Dalmally the line ran on towards a viaduct which crossed the River Lochy at Drishaig. However, we need to note that the road layout in this immediate area is considerably different to what was present at the turn of the 20th century.
The Southeast approach to the viaduct over the River Orchy as it appears on the 1897 Ordnance Survey, published in 1900. [46]The smae area as it appears on the 21st century RailMapOnline.om satellite imagery with two roads appearing where non were evident at the turn of the 20th century. [15]The view East from the bridge carrying the A819 over the railway. [Google Streetview, November 2021]The view West from the bridge carrying the A819 over the railway. [Google Streetview, November 2021]
Just a short distance to the West, the line crossed the River Orchy at the East end of Loch Awe.
Further West of Dalmally, the line bridged the River Orchy at Drishaig. The mineral Railway which branched off the Callander & Oban Railway at Drishaig served the Ben Chruachan Quarry which was high on the East flank of Ben Chruachan. [45]The same location as it appears in satellite imagery in the 21st century. [15]An aerial image of Lochawe Railway Bridge with the A85 bridge behind. This aerial image was shared on Google Maps in September 2022, (c) Kevin Newton. [Google Maps, November 2024]Lochawe Railway Bridge seen from ground level. This image was shared on Google Mpas in April 2021, (c) Wojciech Suszko. [Google Maps, November 2024]
The Ben Cruachan Quarry Branch was standard-gauge and ran North from Drishaig. It is shown here as it appears on the 6″ Ordnance Survey of 1897, published in 1900. The line North from Drishaig appears on the map extract on the left. [47]
Ben Cruachan Quarry itself, shown on the next 6″ OS Map Sheet. The quarry was on the eastern slopes of Ben Cruachan. The full extent of the quarry’s internal railways is not shown. [48].
Ben Cruachan Quarry was multi-levelled and was accessed by the railway which zig-zagged to gain height. The RailScot website rells us that”The ground frame for this short Ben Cruachan Quarries Branch (Callander and Oban Railway) was released by a tablet from Loch Awe station for the section to Dalmally. The quarry had its own pair of 0-4-0ST locomotives.” [49]
Just a short distance Southwest of Drishaig was the Lochawe Hotel which had its own railway station alongside the Loch.
Lochawe Railway Station and Hotel in 1897 as shown on the 6″ Ordnance Survey sheet of that year. [50]The same location as shown on the satellite imagery of RailMapOnline.com. [15]A postcard view of Lochawe Railway Station and Hotel, (c) Public Do9main. [52]Lochawe Railway Station in 2015. The removed second platform can be seen easily, (c) Tom Parnell and licenced for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 2.0). [51]
The line ran across the North shore of Loch Awe to a Halt named for the Falls of Cruachan – Falls of Churachan Platform.
The Falls of Cruachan Platform as shown on the 6″ Ordnance Survey of 1897. [50]The same location in the 21st century. There is a significant hydro electric scheme at this location which has a visitor centre and its own Railway Station – Falls of Cruachan Railway Station. [15]A train approaching Falls of Cruachan Railway Station from the West in 2024, (c) Alex Morgan. (July 2024)The Falls of Cruachan Railway Station sat immediately above and t the North of the A85, (c) Alex Morgan. (July 2024)
The line continues West/Northwest along the Northside of the River Awe. It crosses the river just North of The Bridge of Awe. Just prior to reaching the Viaduct the line bridged the minor road which served properties on the North side of the River Awe.
The bridge over the minor road mentioned above – seen from the Southwest. [Google Streetview, May 2022]The bridge over the minor road mentioned above – seen from the Northeast. [Google Streetview, May 2022]
A matter of not much more than a couple of hundred metres to the West of the minor road, the line bridges the River Awe.
The Bridge of Awe with the Railway Viaduct just to the North, as they appear on the 6″ Ordnance Survey of 1897, published in 1900. [53]
The same location on RailMapOnline.com’s satellite imagery. [15]An aerial image of the railway viaduct. [54]
The railway viaduct over the River Awe. Network Rail Undertook a £3.5m project to refurbish Awe viaduct in 2024/25. The viaduct is a three-span wrought iron viaduct, completed in 1879. During the 7-month project, engineers replaced the timber deck (which supports the track). They removed the old paint, carry out repairs to the metallic parts of the structure and repainted those parts of the structure to protect against rusting. [54]
Over the river, the line heads for Taynuilt.
The A85 runs directly alongside the line on the approach to Taynuilt. This photograph looks Northwest along the road/railway. [Google Streetview, May 2022]Taynuilt village and Railway Station as they appear on the 6″ Ordnance Survey of 1897. [53]The same length of the line as it is shown on the RailMapOnline.com satellite imagery. [15]
On the way into Taynuilt the line crosses a minor road which serves the East end of the village. That road can be seen at the righthand side of the satellite image and the map extract above.
The minor road bridge seen from the Northwest. [Google Streetview, Novermber 2021]The minor road bridge seen from the Southeast. [Google Streetview, May 2022]
The next bridge spans the railway adjacent to Taynuilt Railway Station it carries the B845.
The view East along the line from the B845 overbridge. [Google Streetview, May 2022]The view West from the B845 into Taynuilt Railway Station. [Google Streetview, May 2022]The view East from Taynuilt Railway Station to the bridge carrying the B845 over the line, (c) Robert Hamilton (October 2017). [Google maps, November 2024]Taynuilt Railwaty Station forecourt. [Google Streetview, November 2021]The view East from the A85 towards Taynuilt Railway Station. [Google Streetview, May 2022]The view West from the A85. [Google Streetview, May 2022]
A little further to the West the railway passes under the A85 again.
The bridge over the railway in 1897. [53]The bridge over the railway in 2024. [53]Looking West along the A85 showing the parapets of the bridge over the Callander & Oban Railway. {Google Streetview, November 2021]
The line now drops down to the shores of Loch Etive and in due course arrives at Auch-na-Cloich.
In 1897, the station at Auch-na-Cloich bore the name ‘Ach-na-Cloich, as the 6″ OS map extract shows. It bore that name right through to closure on 1st November 1965. [55][56]The remaining buildings at Ach-na-Cloich, seen from the public road adjacent to Loch Etive. [Google Streetview, April 2011]
The line continues to hug the shore of Loch Etive passing over the A85 a couple of local roads on its way to Connel Ferry Railway Station.
The next bridge over the A85,seen from the Northwest. [Google Streetview, November 2021]
The next image comes form Gairns’ article in The Railway Magazine and shows a train approaching Connel Ferry from the East.
In its heyday when it served a branch to Ballachulish, Connel Ferry Railway Station had three platforms, a goods yard and a turntable. Later this was reduced to just the single platform, after the branch closed in 1966, [64] as it remains today. [63][65]
As we have already noted, the journey along the branch can be followed by reading articles elsewhere on this blog. We will continue our journey with Gairns along the main line to Oban. ….
Gairns continues
“At Connel Ferry, junction for the Ballachulish line, there is a wide island platform serving the up and down main lines, and a single platform on the up side designed for branch trains, though generally these use the main platform to facilitate passenger and luggage transfer. The station has sidings and [a] goods yard. Its height above the village entails high viaducts both on the Oban line and on the approach to the famous Connel Ferry bridge, crossed by Ballachulish trains. Fine views are had of the bridge from the Oban line as it pursues its course high up on the hillside until it cuts inland to attain the summit of Glencruitten. This is at the top of the 3-mile incline at 1 in 50 by which the line zig-zags down to reach the shore at Oban, giving views now over Oban and the landward hills above it, and then, with final sweep round, over the Kerrera Sound and Kerrera Island, to the mountains of Mull and the Firth of Lorne.
Before reaching the terminus a stop is usually made at Oban ticket platform, adjacent to the goods yard and engine shed. Oban station has picturesque build ings surmounted by a clock tower, and the circulating area is adorned with hanging flower baskets. Refreshment and dining rooms are provided. The three main platforms are partly covered by a glazed all-over roof, though their outer curved portions are open. Alongside are two open arrival platforms permitting cabs, &c., to come directly alongside the trains, The station is immediately alongside the steamer pier and harbour premises, the location being peculiarly convenient to the principal hotels, the sea front, and the Corran Esplanade.
Oban – ‘a little bay’ – so widely favoured as a holiday resort, as a boating and yachting centre, and as headquarters for touring the Highlands and the Hebrides in all directions, has been described as the ‘Charing Cross of the Highlands’. Whether readers will agree with this as a happy choice or not, it certainly justifies it as a great steamer traffic and touring centre. Messrs. David MacBrayne, Ltd., operate steamers between Oban, the Sound of Mull and Tobermory to Castlebay and Lochboisdale (‘Inner Island Service’), Ardrishaig via the Crinan Canal, to Staffa and Iona, to Ballachulish, Kentallen and Fort William, and thence via the Caledonian Canal to Inverness, besides many local trips and excursions.” [1: p13-15]
Connel Ferry is the last station before Oban. The railway line runs behind (South of) Connel and then turns away from the coast and the A85.
The line Southwest of Connel Ferry Railway Station, as shown on railmaponline.com’s satellite imagery. [15]This extract from the 6″ Ordnance Survey of 1897, published in 1900 shows the next bridge on the line where a local road passes under the railway. [66]A similar area in the 21st century. [Google Maps, December 2024]The bridge shown on the Ordnance Survey extract and on the modern satellite image from Googlee Maps. This view looks Northwest along the lane under the bridge from the Southeast. [Google Streetview, November 2021]Looking Southeast along the lane this time. Google Streetview, November 2021]The next length of the line as shown on the 6″ Ordnance Survey of 1897, published in 1900. [66]
Trains encounter a number of accommodation bridges/underpasses which allow field access under the line of the railway. The one shown below, at the highest magnification possible from the public highway, is typical of one type of culvert.
A narrow lane approaches the railway from the Northand an underpass sits to the East of the road where there is a slight gaps in the trees. [Google Maps, December 2024]A typical farm/field access under the railway. [Google Streetview, November 2021]
Just a short distance Southwest is another underpass, this time of stone arch construction.
A further underbridge constructed as a stone arch. [Google Streetview, June 2011]The narrow highway is in the top-left of this staellite image – the stone-arch bridge is just to the right of centre. [Google Maps, December 2024]The next length of the line as shown on railmaponline.com’s satellite imagery. [15]
Another few hundred metres to the Southwest a further underpass is a girder bridge.
The highway and the railway are in close proximity at this location. [Google Maps, December 2024]Looking Southeast under the railway, rather than being a stone arch this underpass is a girder bridge. [Google Streetview, June 2011]
The next underpass is a stone arched structure.
The next underpass is only just visible from the road. [Google Streetview, June 2011]It is located bottom-right of this image. [Google Maps, December 2024]
These two locations appear on the 6″ Ordnance Survey of 1897. …
The next length of the railway as shown on the 6″ Ordnance Survey of 1897, published 1900. [67]These two extracts (this and the one above) from the 6″ Ordnance Survey take us as far along the railway as the last railmaponline.com satellite image above. [68]The railway cottages in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, November 2021]The railway cottages in the 21st century. [Google Maps, December 2024]The next loength of the line as it appears on railmaponline.com’s satellite imagery. The outskirts of Oban can be seem on the left of the image. [15]Two extracts from the 6″ Ordnance Survey take us almost as far at the length of line on the railmaponline.com satellite imagery above. [68]This third extract from the 6″ Ordnance Survey completes the length covered by the railmaponline.com satellite image above and covers the length on the right on the satellite image below. [69]The final length of the line into Oban as shown by railmaponline.com. [15]This extract from the 6″ Ordnance Survey of 1898 covers the length of the line on the bottom half of the satellite image above. [69]Looking South out of Oban along the A816, Soroba Road, The railway crosses the road on a simply supported girder bridge. [Google Streetview, May 2022]This extract from the 6″ Ordnance Survey of 1898 shows the final length of the line and the two stations (passenger and goods) which existed at the turn of the 20th century. [69]The same area as it appears on Google Maps in the 21st century. Glenshellach Terrace marks the north side of what was the Goods Station. [Google Maps, December 2024]
Running into Oban the line is crossed by three road bridges:
For the sake of completeness, we note that Gairns’ narrative returns to Connel Ferry for commentary on the Ballachulish Branch.
“Commencing at Connel Ferry station, the branch train reaches the famous bridge by a viaduct approach over the village of Connel Ferry. The Connel Ferry bridge, claimed to be the Forth Bridge’s ‘biggest British rival’, was opened for traffic on 21st August 1903. The bridge, which is of cantilever type (hence the analogy suggested with the Forth Bridge), has a length of 524 ft. between the two piers, the clear span being 500 ft., and the headway above high-water level, 50 ft. Extreme height from high water to the topmost point of the bridge is 125 ft., while the middle span, carried by the two cantilever spans, has a length of 232 ft. This bridge not only enabled a district hitherto most inconveniently situated in regard to rail traffic to be placed in communication with the Callander and Oban Railway at Connel Ferry, but provided a means of crossing Loch Etive, where previously a very lengthy detour had to be made to get from one side to the other, the only alternative being a very uncertain ferryservice,
The difficulty having been solved from the railway point of view, there still remained the problem of providing for the transit of motor-cars and other road vehicles across the Loch, and for several years after the opening of the bridge the Caledonian Railway Company conveyed private motor-cars across the bridge by placing them on flat trucks and hauling them, passengers included, by road motor vehicles adapted to run on rails across the bridge.
This … was continued for a considerable time, but, several years ago, the Caledonian Railway Company adopted the alternative method of adapting the bridge also for the passage of motor vehicles, cycles, etc., under their own power. There is not, however, sufficient room for a roadway clear of the railway track, so that it is necessary to restrict the passage of road vehicles to periods when no train is signalled. At eachend of the bridge, therefore gates under the control of the bridge keeper, are provided to close the bridge to road traffic when a train is due, and the tablet instruments are controlled by electric circuits in connection with the road gates, to ensure that unless the gates are properly closed, a tablet cannot be used. The roadway over the bridge comes close up to the rails, there being just sufficient room for a vehicle to pass between the rails and the side of bridge, and the bridgekeeper has to see that vehicles from both directions are not allowed on the bridge at the same time. These facilities apply only to private motor-cars and horse-drawn vehicles, and not trade vehicles, of either class. Cyclists and pedestrians also use the bridge. In each case the crossing of the bridge is subject to toll, the men in charge at the Connel Ferry and Benderloch ends acting as toll-keepers. … In August [1922], the bridge was used by 6,009 foot passengers, by 852 motor-cars, and by 290 cycles. [1: p15-16]
Gairns continues:
“Passing North Connel halt, at the North end of the bridge, the line follows the shore to Benderloch station. At Barcaldine Crossing a platform is provided, where trains call as required. So far, the country traversed has been ‘comparatively’ flat and uninteresting, but as it crosses a peninsula to reach the shores of Loch Creran, mountain vistas again open up. Short of Creagan station the line crosses the Narrows to the Loch by a two-span girder bridge with approach viaducts, fine views being had on both sides.
Again crossing a peninsula. Appin is reached, and for the remainder of the journey the line follows closely the shores of Loch Linnhe. As it curves round after leaving Appin station, a good view is had of the ruins of Castle Stalker. Alongside the Loch splendid views are had, and Duror and Kentallen stations are sufficiently picturesque to harmonise with the general character of the scenery. At Ballachulish Ferry station tickets are collected, and the line then curves round to follow the shores of Loch Leven to the terminus at Ballachulish. This is a neat two-platformed station, with dining and refreshment rooms, and the district is impressively mountainous. A short distance from the station is a small harbour, whence a David MacBrayne steamerused to ply three times daily to and from the Kinlochleven wharf of the British Aluminium Company, for goods, passenger and mail traffic. This steamer service has now been withdrawn, a road having been built by German prisoners during the [First World War] and opened for traffic at the end of [1922].” [1: p16]
As noted close to the start of this article, the Ballachulish Branch has been covered extensively in an earlier series of articles which can be found here, [2] here, [3] here, [4] and here. [5]
Gairns goes on to reflect on the use of the Callander and Oban line. He says that its use is “complicated by the fact that its gradients are systematically so severe.” [1: p16] Indeed 1 in 50 gradients occurred:
“several times for considerable distances, curves are numerous, and in several places reduced speed is necessary owing to the danger of tumbling rocks, notably alongside Loch Lubnaig in Glen Ogle and the Pass of Brander, and automatic alarm wires are erected on some stretches, a fall of rock encountering them causing warnings to be given in adjacent signal cabins and watchmen’s huts, and putting the special signals to danger. On the steep grades both goods and passenger trains are operated under special restrictions, stops being made at the summits and brakes tested, or, on goods trains, a proportion pinned down before descending. Mountain mists and fogs, occasional torrential rainstorms or cloudbursts and other ‘episodes’ peculiar to mountain lines, also complicate the working at times. But even in winter there is a steady traffic in meeting the transport needs of the wide areas rendered accessible by this line, of the various townships and villages (many are centres for other places within a considerable radius), country houses, castles and large estates, and in carrying mails, supplying coal and, in due season, conveying cattle and other live stock.
The winter train services are, naturally, much reduced as compared with those of the summer, but even the winter service provides four through trains each way daily, a local each way between Oban and Dalmally, and several additional trains between Callander and Glasgow. Sleeping cars and through carriages are provided between Euston and Oban in winter on Fridays only from London, returning on Mondays. The down vehicles are conveyed on the 8.25 a.m. from Stirling, due in Oban at 12.15 p.m. It is also possible to reach Oban at 4.45 p.m. from London by the 11 p.m. from Euston the night before, and by the 5 a.m. from Eustonat 9.50 p.m., the same night, though not, of course, with through carriages.” [1: p16-17]
Gairns goes on to cover train movements on the line in some detail. While the copious detail he provided need not detain us here, it is worth noting the care with which connections to the various railway branches, steamer and motor-coach services associated with the main line were arranged. There were also a significant number of excursions and tours to suit passenger’s differing budgets.
Gairns’ final paragraph concentrated on the motive power in use on the line in the early 1920s and is worth recording here:
“The locomotives generally employed are the well-known ‘Oban’ 4-6-0s, with 5-ft. coupled wheels, together with Mr. Pickersgill’s new ‘Oban’ class recently introduced, though odd trips are taken by 0-6-0 goods engines, which also render assistance on the steep grades. On the Killin branch and the Ballachulish extension 0-4-4 tank engines of the 4 ft. 6 in. class are used. Between Dunblane and Callander main line 4-4-0 locomotives from Glasgow or Stirling and 0-6-0 goods engines are used, as well as the Oban 4-6-0s on the through trains, a change being sometimes made at Callander. The Callander and Oban line and the Ballachulish extension are controlled by electric train tablet apparatus. Ordinary train staff is used on the Killin branch.” [1: p18]
References
G.F. Gairns; The Callandar and Oban Railway; in The Railway Magazine, London, July 1923, p10-17
John Thomas; The Callander &Oban Railway: The History of the Railways of the Scottish Highlands – Vol. 4; David St. John Thomas Publisher, Nairn, Scotland, 1966, 1990 and 1991.
The first three articles in this series covered the network as it was established by the beginning of the First World War. These articles can be found here, [1] here [2] and here. [3]
The fourth article looked at the period between WW1 and WW2. It can be found here. [4] This fifth article covers the period after WW2 to the eventual closure of the network.
The Network during World War 2
During the war period, new work was suspended and maintenance was reduced to a minimum; tunnels were used as air raid shelters, and the service schedules were redistributed to avoid the tunnels. Suburban lines acquired considerable importance for the transport of evacuees, especially in the morning and evening. The transport of goods also became important and some older trams were adapted to accommodate the service. Fruit and vegetables were transported to the central market and to the local markets. Building materials for urgent works were carried, as we’re a variety of other goods. Examples of these adapted vehicles can be found close to the end of this article. [36]
After WW2 and the Decline of the Network
The modernization of the tram network, covered in the fourth article in this series, was abruptly interrupted by the Second World War which saw significant damage to the network and rolling stock. After the War the Littorio depot-workshop was renamed for ‘Romeo Guglielmetti’, a tram driver and martyr of the partisan resistance. [19][20: p238-239] .
The poor condition of much of the network resulted in trams being restricted to main arteries and the introduction of trolleybuses on the rest of the network. Trolleybuses were trailed in 1938 but it was 1949 before planned introduction occurred. obsolescence and degradation of large parts of the network were the reasons that led to the choice of maintaining the tram only on the ‘main lines’, introducing tolleybuses as replacements for the tram on the secondary lines. In reality the project had already begun before the conflict (the first trolleybuses had been activated in 1938), [20: p227] but only in 1949 was the decision planned in detail. [21: p88]
Trams were removed from the central area of the city where trolleybuses were perceived, not being tied to tracks, to be more flexible and better able to negotiate heavy traffic. The lines in the hills were also converted to a trolleybus service (the rubber-wheeled vehicles, having greater grip, guaranteed quicker restarts and with less energy expenditure. [19][20: p255-256]
The result of these changes was effectively to create two different networks (East and West), linked only by a line along the coast as shown on the map below which shows the tram network as it existed in 1956. [19][21: p93]
By 1956 trams served the following routes: [21: p126]
1 Banco San Giorgio – Voltri 2 Banco San Giorgio – Pegli 3 Banco San Giorgio – Sestri 4 Banco San Giorgio – Pra’ Palmaro 5 Banco San Giorgio – Sampierdarena – Rivarolo 6 Banco San Giorgio – Sampierdarena – Bolzaneto 7 Banco San Giorgio – Sampierdarena – Pontedecimo 9 Banco San Giorgio – Galleria Certosa – Rivarolo 10 Banco San Giorgio – Galleria Certosa – Bolzaneto 11 Banco San Giorgio – Galleria Certosa – Pontedecimo 12 Banco San Giorgio – Prato 13 Banco San Giorgio – Giro del Fullo 14 Banco San Giorgio – Staglieno 15 De Ferrari – Galleria Mameli – Nervi 17 De Ferrari – Prato 18 De Ferrari – Staglieno 19 De Ferrari – Borgoratti 20 Bolzaneto – Pegli 21 De Ferrari – San Fruttuoso 22 Bolzaneto – Pra’ Palmaro 23 De Ferrari – Quezzi 24 San Fruttuoso – Sestri 26 Quezzi – Rivarolo 42 De Ferrari – Galleria Mameli – Sturla 43 De Ferrari – via Giordano Bruno 44 Banco San Giorgio – Borgoratti 45 De Ferrari – San Martino – Sturla 50 San Martino – Sampierdarena 51 De Ferrari – San Francesco d’Albaro – Nervi 52 Brignole – San Francesco d’Albaro – Nervi 53 Brignole – San Francesco d’Albaro – Priaruggia
The tram terminus on Via Gordiano Bruno. This line does not appear on the map above but is included in the list of services above as Line No. 43. The road in the foreground is Corse Italia, (c) Public Domain. [5]
In the period after WW2, there was a dramatic increase in private car ownership and as a result increased congestion in the city centre and on main arterial routes. Conflicts between trams and private vehicles became regular occurrences and there was increasing wear of the rails.
Despite efforts to adapt the network to the needs of car traffic, the 1949 plan was soon overtaken by events: the economic ‘boom’ then underway was leading to an enormous increase in private motorisation, which had not originally been envisaged on such a scale.
After a few years, even the so-called ‘power lines’, which had been planned to be maintained, revealed all their inefficiency: almost the entire network ran in a mixed manner with road traffic, leading not only to continuous conflicts between trams and private vehicles, but also to an ever-increasing wear on the rails. [20: p265]
Thus in 1956 the decision was taken, despite significant opposition, to manage the decline of the network and to introduce a replacement bus network. Buses had become preferable to both trams and trolleybuses because of their unconstrained movement, not hampered by rails or overhead lines. [19][20: p265]
Bolzaneto in the 1950s: in this postcard view, UITE No. 954 travels along via Pastorino, the main street of Bolzaneto, in service on Line No. 10 to Piazza Banco San Giorgio. Note the traffic policeman in the middle of the roadway. [7]
The removal of the tram lines began in 1964 with the closure of the Ponente and Val Polcevera lines. [21: p105] This also led to the closure of the Galleria Certosa. After a long period of disuse, Galleria Certosa was reopened in the 1990s and used by the Metro. [19]
“In 1965, the city acquired the remaining holding and the UITE’s activities were transferred to the Azienda Municipalizzata Trasporti (AMT).” [16][17]
However, “the municipalisation of the Company, … did not bring the expected results. The last UITE balance sheets showed a substantial positive balance, the subsequent AMT financial statements showed increasingly significant deficits. This was not, however, unique to Genoa, it was a phenomenon common to many public transport companies which, subordinated to the electoral needs of the parties in government in a local area, saw fare policies being dictated by political imperatives, often only partially covering operational expenses. Additionally: the speed of the general traffic, through which trams had to travel, decreased due to congestion; inflation became a significant factor; lines were established serving new residential areas; personnel costs increased significantly; and AMT were expected to acquire and run services beyond the immediate Genoa conurbation.” [17]
On 18th July 1965, lines along the coast road, which included the terminus in Piazza Caricamento, were closed and, on 10th November 1965, the last line on the East side of the city centre was closed. [21: p106]
Only two lines in the Bisagno valley remained in operation – Line 12 (Via Brigata Bisagno – Prato) and Line 13 (Via Brigata Bisagno – Giro del Fullo) which were left until last because they served as a connection to the Guglielmetti workshop, where the trams were progressively concentrated and decommissioned. Both Line 12 and Line 13 ran along the right bank of the River Bisagno. [19][21: p106]
One of the last trams in service on the Genovese tram network is at the Giro del Fullo tram terminus in December 1966. This image faces North and was shared by Renato Michelina Dore on the Foto Genova Antica Facebook Group on 9th July 2022. [6]The same location in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, August 2024]A tram heading for the Prato terminus of Line No. 12. This image was shared in monochrome on the Foto Genova Antica Facebook Group by Domenico Fornara on 24th March 2021, (c) Unknown. [9]A similar view looking Northwest on Via Struppa in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, July 2023]The tram depot at Prato – truly the end of the line in the Bisagno valley, (c) Public Domain. [8]The site of the depot is now the rear area behind Palazzetto Dello Sport Lino Maragliano This view looks East from Via Prato Verde. The terracotta building on the right is that sports centre. the building in the centre is the tram shed and the tall building beyond remains intact in the 21st century as well. [Google Streetview, April 2019]
Tram services in Genoa ceased definitively on the night between 26th and 27th December 1966, with the last runs of Line 12. [19][21: p110]
Genoa’s tram network was in operation from 1878 to 1966, during this time it was the main public transport service in the Ligurian capital.
Rolling Stock
AMT claims to record details of all the trams used on the network throughout its history. [20: p653-660] This list, however, does not appear to be exhaustive as photographs exist of trams with numbers not included in this list! These are noted below. ……
Trams No. 1-45 (AEG/SATO) were two-axle cars built by Grondona, Comi & Co. in 1899/1900. They were later rebuilt by the UITE between 1922 and 1927. [19]
Tram No. 7 after its rebuild by UITE, (c) Public Domain. [33]
Trams No. 46-55 (AEG/SATO) were two-axle cars built by Miani, Silvestri & Co. in 1900. These were rebuilt by Piaggio in 1926. [19]
Trams No. 56-75 (AEG/SATO) were two-axle cars built by Officine Meccaniche in 1901. These were rebuilt by Piaggio in 1926. [19]
Trams No. 76-100 (AEG/SATO) were two-axle cars built by Reggiane Boker in 1907.
Trams No. 79 was built by Reggiane Boker in 1907. [31]
Trams No. 100-110 (SFEF) were two-axle bidirectional cars built by Miani, Silvestri & Co. in 1895. The image immediately below shows one of these trams bearing the number 111. This suggests that the range of numbers taken by these trams was wider. [19]
Trams No. 101-110 were replacement two-axle bidirectional cars built by Bagnara in 1925. [19]
Two trams passing on Corso Torino – trams No. 25 and 197. According to AMT (as reported by Wikipedia.it), tram No. 25 was built by Grondona, Cornish & Co. in 1899 (see above) and tram No. 197 was built in 1897 (see below). [24]
Trams No. 171-200 were two-axle bidirectional cars built by Grondona, Comi & Co. in 1897. [19] Might this class be more numerous? Perhaps 111-200? Given the numbering of these trams, in the year of build quoted a little too early? [19]
Trams No. 363, 364 (SFEF) were two-axle bidirectional cars built by Savigliano in 1893. These vehicles were converted into trailer-cars in 1900. [19]
Trams No. 387 and 388 were prototypes received in 1929/1930 along with Trailer No. 389. ………
UITE 400 Series Trailers
I have not been able to find information about this series of trailer cars.
UITE 600 Series Trams and Trailers
I have not been able to find information about tram cars in this series. However, numbers 621-650 were trailers which were used with the 700 series trams below.
UITE 700 Series Trams
Given the success of the prototypes No. 387 and No. 388 and the trailer No. 389 of 1929 and 1930, UITE purchased 50 bogie-trams, 25 constructed by Ansaldo (Nos. 751-775) and 25 constructed by Piaggio (Nos. 776-800) and 30 trailers supplied by Carminati & Toselli (Nos. 621-650). [36]
Trams No. 751-800 were bidirectional bogie-cars built in 1931. These were known as ‘long Casteggini’ type trams. [19]
Trams No. 801-820 (UITE) were bidirectional bogie-cars built by Piaggio in 1932. These were known as ‘short Casteggini’ type trams. [19]
Trams No. 821-850 (UITE) were unidirectional bogie-cars built by Piaggio in 1934. These were known as ‘long Casteggini’ type trams (originally built as trailer-cars). [19]
Tram No. 821 at the tram terminus at Bratte in Bolzaneto. This image was shared on the Foto Genova Antica Facebook Group by Enrico Pinna on 14th October 2023. [22]
UITE 900 Series Trams
The 900 series electric tramcars were designed by the Unione Italiana Tramways Elettrici (UITE) and built by the UITE and other companies, also known as ‘Littorine’ or ‘Genova’ type, were a series of bidirectional, metre-gauge tramcars in service on the Genoa tram network .
The vehicles were designed in 1939 and 94 vehicles entered service on the Genovese network in 1939 and 1940. They were in service until 1966. Six (or possibly seven) other vehicles were built to the same specification and sold to Breda and used elsewhere. Five (or perhaps six) were put to use in Belgrade and one in Innsbruck.
Builders were: UITE, Piaggio, Bagnara, Ansaldo, Breda; bogies were from TIBB and CGE workshops. These vehicles were 13.56 metres long, 2.15 metres wide and 3.12 metres high. They had 25 seats and could accommodate a further 85 people standing. They weighed 18.6 tonnes empty. They had 4 No. 45hp Ansaldo LC 229 electric motors.
In exchange for the units sold to Breda in 1940, UITE received four two-bodied articulated units which went on to form the 1100 series. They were the first articulated trams used in Genova. [15]
UITE 1100 Series Trams
There were four of these articulated units (1101-1104) which were supplied to the UITE by Breda in 1942. These units operated in Genova until 1965/1966 when they were sold to Neuchâtel and continued in service there until 1988. Built by Breda with electrical parts supplied by TIBB, the units were 20.65 metres long and accommodated 33 people seated and up to 142 standing. They weighed 27 tonnes empty. [14]
These were numbered 1221-1250. They were reconstructions by UITE in 1948-1949 (in an unidirectional, articulated form) of the 221 to 250 series. They were known as ‘Lambrette’ trams. [19]
UITE 1600 Series Trams
These were numbered 1601-1678. They were reconstructions by UITE in 1949-1950 (in an unidirectional, articulated form) of 600 and 400 series cars. The old two-axle cars of the 600 series were joined to trailers of the two-axle 400 series. The transformations were decided in order to have large-capacity vehicles with significant management savings compared to a complex consisting of a tractor and trailer, which required the presence of two ticket collectors. [13][19]
These units were 16.80 metres long with a capacity of 24 seated and 104 standing passengers. They weighed 18.2 tonnes unladen and were powered by 2 No. 70hp motors. They served on routes in Ponente and the Bisagno and Polcevera valleys. They received several improvements to electrical equipment, resulting in enhanced power and speed, in 1958 and 1960. [13]
UITE 1700 Series Trams
These were numbered 1700-1715 They were reconstructions of pairs of two-axle cars in 1954 and 1955 They were bidirectional units. [19]
These units were obtained by joining two old two-axle carriages with a small suspended central body in between. The resulting configuration, quite common for the time, was nicknamed ‘two rooms and kitchen’ (‘due camere e cucina:) and allowed for large-capacity cars to be had at little expense. The transformation, designed by the engineer Remigio Casteggini of UITE, was carried out on some cars by the UITE workshops, on others by Piaggio of Sestri Ponente. The first six entered service in 1954 , followed by another nine the following year. [12]
Tram No. 1703 was one of 15 in the 1700 series. This image was shared by Giovanni Valente on the Foto Genova Antica Facebook Group on 6th April 2022, (c) Unknown. [34]
These units were 20.88 metres long and had capacity for 26 seated passengers and 127 standing. They were 26.5 tonnes unladen and were powered by 4 No. 45hp motors. [12]
The 1700 series units were employed primarily on Line No. 1 (Piazza Banco di San Georgio to Voltri. [12]
The first three articles in this series covered the network as it was established by the beginning of the First World War. These articles can be found here, [1] here [2] and here. [3]
We have already noted that there were changes to the network above which occurred before WW1, particularly the second line to Piazza Sturla in the East, the additional line to Sampierdarena in the West and the Municipal line to Quezzi in the Northeast.
In this article we look at the network from World War 1 to the beginning of World War 2.
After WW1 and into early WW2
In 1923, driving on the right was imposed on roads throughout the country (until then, individual cities had discretion over the matter). Genoa complied on 31st August 1924. The change did not cause major upheavals in the tram service as it had always been undertaken by bidirectional carriages with doors on both sides. [19][21: p56]
In the mid 20s the autonomous municipalities between Nervi and Voltri along the coast, up to Pontedecimo in Val Polcevera and up to Prato in Val Bisagno, were annexed to the capital and a ‘Greater Genoa’ was formed. The entire tram network fell within the new municipal area. [19]
During this time UITE remained as a private company but the City acquired a majority of shares. [19][20: p223] and began to direct the development of the company and the network. [19][21: p62]
In 1934, major reform of the network took place. Trams ceased to use Via Roma, Via XX Settembre, and Piazza de Ferrari. The piazza saw major change – the lifting of the ‘tramway ring’ allowed, first, the planting of a large flower bed, and later (in 1936) the construction of a large fountain designed by Giuseppe Crosa di Vergagni. The trams were diverted through Piazza Dante and Galleria Colombo which was newly opened. [20: p224] At the same time new lines crossing the city were activated, with the aim of better distributing passengers in the central areas. [19][21: p62] The following year the trams also abandoned Corso Italia, in favour of a new route further inland which also included the new Galleria Mameli. [19][21: p125]
The modernization of the network included renewal of the fleet of trams. That renewal commenced in 1927 with the introduction of ‘Casteggini’ (trolley/bogie trams – named after the UITE engineer who designed them). These were followed in 1939 by modern ‘Genoa type’ trams, [20: p657] built first as single units and then, from 1942, in an articulated version. [19][20: p660]
In 1935, the large Littorio depot near Ponte Carrega (Val Bisagno) came into operation. In 1940, workshop facilities were opened at the depot. [20: p237-238]
Italian Wikipedia tells us that after the changes made in 1934, the following list covers the tram routes on the network: [19][21: p125]
1 Banco San Giorgio – Voltri 2 Banco San Giorgio – Pegli 3 Banco San Giorgio – Sestri 4 Banco San Giorgio – Sampierdarena 5 Banco San Giorgio – Sampierdarena – Rivarolo 6 Banco San Giorgio – Sampierdarena – Bolzaneto 7 Banco San Giorgio – Sampierdarena – Pontedecimo 8 Banco San Giorgio – Sampierdarena – Campasso 9 Banco San Giorgio – Galleria Certosa – Rivarolo 10 Banco San Giorgio – Galleria Certosa – Bolzaneto 11 Banco San Giorgio – Galleria Certosa – Pontedecimo 12 Banco San Giorgio – Galleria Certosa – Certosa – Sampierdarena – Banco San Giorgio 13 The reverse of Line 12 14 Banco San Giorgio – Cornigliano 15 Banco San Giorgio – Pra 16 Brignole – Corvetto – Pegli 18 Marassi – Bolzaneto 21 Dinegro – Manin – Staglieno 22 Manin – Corvetto – Piazza Santa Sabina 23 De Ferrari – Marassi – Quezzi 24 Corso Dogali – Manin – Corvetto – Principe – Corso Dogali (circulating clockwise through the hills) 25 The reverse of Line 24 (circulating anti-clockwise through the hills) 26 Dinegro – Principe – via Napoli 27 Corso Dogali – Manin – Corvetto – Tommaseo 28 Principe – Corvetto – Via Atto Vannucci – Banco San Giorgio 30 De Ferrari – Foce 31 Banco San Giorgio – Staglieno – Prato 32 Banco San Giorgio – Molassana – Giro del Fullo
33 De Ferrari – Piazza Verdi – Staglieno 34 Piazza della Vittoria – Staglieno – San Gottardo – Doria 35 Piazza della Vittoria – Staglieno 36 Piazza della Vittoria – Ponte Carrega 37 De Ferrari – Piazza Verdi – San Fruttuoso 38 De Ferrari – Via Barabino – Boccadasse 39 De Ferrari – Sturla – Nervi 40 Banco San Giorgio – De Ferrari – Albaro – Quinto 41 Piazza Cavour – Via Barabino – Corso Italia – Priaruggia 42 De Ferrari – San Francesco d’Albaro – Sturla 43 De Ferrari – San Francesco d’Albaro – Lido 44 Banco San Giorgio – De Ferrari – Borgoratti 45 De Ferrari – San Martino – Sturla 46 De Ferrari – Tommaseo – San Martino 47 De Ferrari – San Francesco d’Albaro – Villa Raggio 48 Piazza Cavour – Piazza della Vittoria – San Fruttuoso 49 De Ferrari – Tommaseo – ‘Ospedale San Martino 50 San Martino – Brignole – Corvetto – Sampierdarena – Campasso 51 Quezzi – Brignole – Principe – Galleria Certosa – Rivarolo 52 San Giuliano – Brignole – Principe – Dinegro 53 Tommaseo – Brignole – Principe – Sampierdarena – Campasso 54 Sturla – Albaro – De Ferrari – Banco San Giorgio – Dinegro 55 Foce – Brignole – Principe – Dinegro 56 Marassi – Brignole – Principe – Dinegro
The lines marked with a red ‘X’ are those which closed in the city centre with the reorganisation of 1934, (c) Paolo Gassani. [8]
After 1934, Piazza Banco di San Georgio became the centre of the altered network (it was referred to originally as Piazza Caricamento). This was facilitated by earlier alterations to the network which included:
Piazza Railbetta, Piazza di San Georgio, Via San Lorenzo and Piazza Umberto 1
These earlier alterations included a very short line, shown on the Baedecker 1916 map of Genova, connecting Piazza Banco di San Georgio and Piazza Raibetta. In addition, a line along Via San Lorenzo and Piazza Umberto 1 made a connection from that short line to Piazza Raffaele de Ferrari which at the time was at the heart of Genova’s tram network. This three-way length of connecting tramways opened up the possibility of the significant revisions to the network which occurred in 1934. The 1916 Baedeker map is the first I have found which shows these links, early Baedeker maps available online do not show these lines. There is photographic evidence of these lines being in use by 1906.
An additional short line was provided from Piazza Galeazzo Alessi at the top of Via Corsica along Mura Sant Chiara, Mura del Prato, Viale Milazzzo and Via Alessandra Volta, as shown below.
Corso Italia was built between 1909 and 1915 [6] and the tram line to Foce was extended along Corso Italia sometime in the early 1920s. The tram line can be seen (dotted) on the map extract below.
Other links were added such as a line between Piazza Brignole and Piazza Giuseppi Verdi (outside Brignole Station). With the culverting of the Bisagno River in 1930/31, a link along Via Tolemaide from Piazza Verdi to meet the existing tramway which ran Northeast/Southwest on Via Montevideo and continued East towards San Martino, became possible.
Piazza Raffeale de Ferrari, Piazza Dante and routes East
We have already noted that Piazza Raffaele de Ferrari ceased to be the main focus of the network in 1934 and that trams were removed from Via XX Settembre and Via Roma at the time. What remained in the vicinity of Piazza de Ferrari was a single loop line were 11 lines from the East and Valbisagno terminated. The terminus was on Via Petrarca with a return loop through Via Porta Soprana and Via Antonio Meucci to Piazza Dante and then on to their destinations. The first image below shows the revised arrangements on the South corner of Piazza Raffaele de Ferrari.
Trams which originally entered Piazza Raffaele de Ferrari from the north along Via Roma were diverted from Piazza Corvetto along Via Serra toward Piazza Brignole. More about this further down this article.
A 600 series tram in Via Meucci on the return loop. The tram is approaching Via Dante where it will turn right to head East out of the centre of Genova, (c) Public Domain. [13]
Trams travelled up and down Via Dante and through Galleria Cristoforo Colombo to serve the East of the city and the coast.
When trams were diverted away from Piazza De Ferrari, those which used to travel down Via Roma were diverted along Via Serra and Piazza Brignole. A new length of tramway was built along Via Edmondo de Amicis to link Piazza Brignole with Piazza Verdi and Brignole Railway Station.
The station forecourt of Brignole Railway Station and the North side of Piazza Giuseppe Verdi became a significant hub within the new network inaugurated in 1934.
Looking East across the face of Brignole Railway Station in the 1960s with the tram station in the centre of the view. This image was shared by Gianfranco Curatolo on the C’era Una Volta Genova Facebook group on 20th August 2016. [29]Piazza Giuseppe Verdi and Brignole Railway Station in the 21st century. [Google Maps, December 2024]
East from Piazza Verdi (Via Tolemaide)
Major work was undertaken in the 1930s along the length of the River Bisagno from the railway to the sea shore. That full length of the river was converted and a broad boulevard was created.
Piazza Verdi (Brignole Railway Station), Viale Brigata Partigiane/Viale Brigata Bisagno, Via Barabino, Galleria Mameli, Via Carlo e Nello Rosselli and further East
The construction of Galleria Principe di Piemonte (later Galleria Mameli) allowed a further route East from the city centre to be exploited.
A summary of what was covered in the first two articles
In the previous articles in this short series we looked at the history of trams in Genoa (Genova) – both horse trams and electric trams. In the first article, we covered the story as far as the beginning of the First World War. That article can be found here. [1]
In that article we looked at the tunnels which the city created in order to facilitate access to different parts of the tram network.
That article also covered the Western Network (which is marked in green on the map below).
In the second article we looked at a large part of the Eastern Tram Network. That article can be found here. [2]
We still have to look at the remainder of the network and the history of the network through to its final closure in the mid-1960s.
In this article we look at the services provided on the route from Piazza Corvetto to Prato (via Piazza Manin and Staglieno) which appears in red on the map above and the blue lines which ran out of Piazza Raffeale di Ferrari along Via XX Settembre to Staglieno, Foce, Thommaseo and Nervi. Firstly, looking as those provided before the First World War.
The Years Before World War One – The Eastern Network
Before the start of World War 1, the Eastern network provided these services: [19]
I. Eastern Network:
21 De Ferrari – Manin – Staglieno 22 De Ferrari – Manin 23 De Ferrari – Manin – Castelletto 24 De Ferrari – Manin – Castelletto – San Nicholo 25 Circuit in the hilly suburbs 26 Piazza Principe – Corso Ugo Bassi 27 De Ferrari – Zecca – Principe 28 Caricamento – De Ferrari – Galliera ‘Ospital 29 De Ferrari – Carignano 30 Circular Raibetta – Brignole – Corvetto – Raibetta 31 De Ferrari – Staglieno – Molassana – Prato 32 De Ferrari – Staglieno – Molassana 33 De Ferrari – Pila – Staglieno 34 Staglieno – Iassa 35 Pila – Staglieno 36 Pila – Staglieno – Molassana 37 De Ferrari – San Fruttuoso 38 De Ferrari – Foce 39 De Ferrari – San Francesco – Sturla – Priaruggia – Quinto – Nervi 40 De Ferrari – San Francesco – Sturla – Priaruggia – Quinto 41 De Ferrari – San Francesco – Sturla – Priaruggia 42 De Ferrari – San Francesco – Sturla 43 De Ferrari – Villa Raggio – Lido 44 De Ferrari – Tommaseo – San Martino – Borgoratti 45 De Ferrari – Tommaseo – San Martino – Sturla 46 De Ferrari – Tommaseo – San Martino 47 De Ferrari – Tommaseo 48 Raibetta – Pila
II. Municipal line: De Ferrari – Quezzi
The Eastern network focussed on Piazza Raffeale de Ferrari. We looked at images from that piazza in the first article [1] about the trams of Genoa (Genova). At one time, Piazza de Ferrari was full of ‘circular tramlines’ and it was congested through much of the day.
Tram lines left Piazza Raffeale de Ferrari along Via Roma, to the Northeast and along Via XX Settembre. We covered most of those which radiated from the Northeast end of Via Roma (Piazza Corvetto) in the second article. [2]
This Article: The Rest of the Eastern Network
The line running from Piazza Corvetto to Prato will be covered in this article, along with those which ran out of Piazza Raffeale de Ferrari along Via XX Settembre.
As we have already noted in the second article in this short series, at Piazza Corvetto lines diverged to Piazza Carignano, Brignole, Manin and Acquaverde and Principe. The line to Prato ran Northeast from Piazza Corvetto through Piazza Manin.
Trams ran between Piazza Corvetto and Piazza Manin along Via Assarotti. [Google Maps, December 2024]Looking Northeast along Via Asserotti in the 1940s. Traffic is now driving on the right. Genova had vehicles driving on the left until 1923 when the national government imposed a common practice across the country, (c) Public Domain. [5]Later roadworks at the mouth of Via Asserotti on Piazza Corvetto. Behind the tram is Via Asserotti and to the right, Via S.S Giacomo e Filippo, (c) Public Domain. [3]A postcard view from the 1970s along Via Asserotti from Piazza Corvetto. This is an extract from an image shared on the C’era una volta Genova Facebook Group by Paolo Nuzzo on 12th July 2019. [4]Looking Southwest along Via Asserotti towards Piazza Corvetto, (c) Public Domain. [6]A similar view Southwest along Via Asserotti in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, August 2024]Piazza Manin, looking East towards the city walls. Via Asserotti is behind the camera to the right, (c) J. Neer, Public Domain. [8]A similar view in the 2st century. [Google Streetview, August 2024]Trams ran through the city walls under Ponte di Via alla Stazione per Casella. [Google Streetview, August 2024]Looking West toward Piazza Manin from outside the city walls. (c) Public Domain. [10]An earlier view looking West with a tram heading towards the camera, (c) Public Domain. [11]
Just East of Piazza Manin, trams passed through the old city walls & turned North following the contours of the side of the Bisagno Valley. This extract from the Baedeker 1906 map of Genova shows the route of the tramway as it heads North. The openstreetmap.org extract shows that the route is along Via Leonardo Montaldo. [13][14]
Trams ran North along Via Leonardo Montaldo. The road was built, initially through undeveloped land, to accommodate the tram service.
Trams from the centre of Genoa arrived at the junction shown above, both along Via Bobbio and Via Montaldo and then continued North and East up the valley of the Bisagno River, passing the Cemetery on the way.
The line which served the Gavette works ran up the East side of the River Bisagno, crossing the river on its approach to the works. It was primarily used for bringing coal to the works in the days when it produced town gas. The article about that railway can be found here. [44]
The terminus of the tramway is a little further East from the hospital/health buildings. These next few images take us to the end of the line in Prato.
Having arrived in Prato we have now covered all the ‘green lines’ and the ‘red lines’ on the network plan provided close to the start of this article. We still have to look at most of the ‘blue lines’. …..
Trams following the route North alongside the River Bisagno started and ended their journeys at Piazza Raffeale de Ferrari and travelled along Via XX Settembre and Via Luigi Cadorna to the location of Ponte Pila. What was once a bridge over the Bisagno River is now part of the culverted length of the river.
In the 21st century, the road North from this location is Viale Emanuele Filiberto Duca d’ Aosta (SS1). Facing North from Ponte Pila the large Piazza Giuseppe Verdi was to the left of the road. This remains as a large garden area. Further ahead on the left is Brignole Railway Station.
The next two images are difficult to location on the modern landscape as so much has change in the are around the River Bisagno. Most probably the building shown are on the line of the dual carriageway which sits over the culverted river.
The junction shown in the image above appears left as a satellite image [Google Maps, December 2024] and below as a Streetview image [Google Streetview, April 2023]
The satellite image shows the remaining length of the route (in blue) as far as Staglieno where it joins the route from Via Lombardo Montaldo (in red). Two views typical of this length in the 21st century are shown below.
Ponte Castelfidardo to Piazza Terralba
We saw a picture of a tram on Ponte Castelfidardo above, on a section of tramway not recorded on the map of pre-1902 tramways of Genova, but Line No. 37 is recorded as running to the area of San Fruttuosa which is the area to the East of the River Bisagno through which this tram ran so was inaugurated between the turn of the century and the start of WW1. We will also see further below that a municipally owned line crossed the bridge and ran out to Quezzi. This line was also put in service before WW1.
To the East of Ponte Castelfidardo trams entered Piazza Manzoni.. Piazza Manzoni led East into Piazza Giusti. The industrial railway from Terralba to Gavette crossed Piazza Giusti. Information about that line can be found here. [64] The photograph below shows a train of covered wagons, probably from the fruit and vegetable market on Corso Sardegna, heading into the goods yard at Terralba. In the picture is the tramway crossing the line of the railway.
A train of covered wagons, probably from the fruit and vegetable market on Corso Sardegna, heads into the goods yard at Terralba. In the picture is a tramway crossing the line of the railway. By the time of this photo, the tramway appears disused as cars are parked across it. [65]
After 1901 and before WW1 a significant extension was made to the route to Foce which took trams South of Piazza del Popolo to the coast and along Corso Italia. That line is illustrated (dotted) on the map extract from the Markilnfan.com Forum below.
This map extract comes form a slightly larger one on the Marklin.com Forum. That new line connected in the East with a later line which ran along Via Barabino and through Galleria Marneli. Phots of the construction work on Corso Italia show it being built immediately after WW1, so it is not strictly relevant to the period we are looking at. [111]
Piazza Thommaseo to Nervi
There were two possible routes to Nervi. That shown blue on the image below was one of these.
A second route can be seen on the map of tramlines in 1956 below. It is not clear when the alternative route began offering a service. We will look at this route later when we have followed the more northerly route as far as Piazza Sturla.
Before heading on towards Nervi along Via dei Mille we need to look back at the alternative route to Piazza Sturla. Trams using this route left Piazza Thommaseo. It is not entirely clear when trams began serving this route. An early, probably pre-WW1 image, shows a tram on Via Albaro near the church of San Francesco.
This satellite image shows Piazza Thommaseo on the left. The blue line shows the tram route as far as the Church of San Francesco. The image below shows a tram using the route between Genova (Genoa) and Nervi. [Google Maps, December 2024]A tram heading for Nervi is travelling along Via Albaro close to the church of San Francesco, (c) Public Domain. [85]The same location in the 21st century, also looking East. [Google Streetview, August 2024]Trams continued Southeast along Via Frederico Ricci and Via Paolo Boselli. [Google Maps, December 2024]Continuing, East-southeast trams ran along Via Pisa and Via Caprera to Piazza Sturla. [Google Maps, December 2024]Before the first world war, a tram heads for the city centre along Via Caprera over the old viaduct, (c) Public Domain. [84]The same view towards the city centre in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
Two different routes to the West of Piazza Sturla have been covered. We now go on from Piazza Sturla to Nervi, setting off along Via dei Mille.
The tram terminus in Nervi was in Piazza Antonio Pittaluga (once Piazza Vittorio Emanuele) Early in the life of the network the terminus was in the piazza, later it was in Viale Goffredo Franchini on the North side of the piazza.
Piazza Vittorio Emanuele (later Piazza Antonio Pitta luga), Nervi, (c) Public Domain. [104]The tram terminus in what is now Piazza Antonio Pittaluga, Nervi, (c) Public Domain. [106]Piazza Antonio Pittaluga, Nervi, The terminus has, by the time of this photograph, been moved into Viale Goffredo Franchini on the North side of the piazza. (c) Public Domain. [88]Piazza Antonio Pittaluga, Nerve. Although busses have replaced trams by the time of this 1960s photograph, the tram tracks remain in place. This image was shared on the Foto Genova Antica Facebook Group by Gianfranco Dell’Oro Bussetti on 14th November 2019, (c) Unknown Photographer. [103]The tram terminus at Nervi in the mid-20th century. This image was shared on the Foto Genova Antica Facebook Group by Giovanna Levaggi on 13th May 2022, (c) Unknown Photographer. [87]The same location in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, May 2022]
The Line to Quezzi
Partially in anticipation of taking control of the whole tram network before WW1, the municipality constructed its own line to Quezzi which used existing tram tracks as far as Ponte Castelfidardo. The transfer of the network to the municipality did not happen and this line, while remaining in the ownership of the city authorities was operated on their behalf by the tram company.
The first three articles about the trams of Genoa cover the network up until the First World War. Future articles will go on to look at the later history of the network and the rolling stock used.
I have not been able to identify the source of this image. It was sourced on line and is likely to no longer be within copyright. Please let me know if this is not the case.
A Summary of what was covered in the First Article
In the previous article in this short series we looked at the history of trams in Genoa (Genova) – both horse trams and electric trams. We covered the story as far as the beginning of the First World War. That article can be found here. [1]
In that article we looked at the tunnels which the city created in order to facilitate access to different parts of the tram network.
That article also covered the Western Network (which is marked in green on the map below). We still have to look at the remainder of the network and the history of the network through to its final closure in the mid-1960s.
As well as looking in detail at the Western network, we noted the services provided on the whole network before the First World War. Details of the lines which formed the Western network can be found in the earlier article – here. [1]
In this article we look at the service provided on another large portion of the remainder of the network in the period up to the First World War.
The Years Before World War One – The Eastern Network
Before the start of World War 1, the Eastern network provided these services: [19]
I. Eastern Network:
21 De Ferrari – Manin – Staglieno 22 De Ferrari – Manin 23 De Ferrari – Manin – Castelletto 24 De Ferrari – Manin – Castelletto – San Nicholo 25 Circuit in the hilly suburbs 26 Piazza Principe – Corso Ugo Bassi 27 De Ferrari – Zecca – Principe 28 Caricamento – De Ferrari – Galliera ‘Ospital 29 De Ferrari – Carignano 30 Circular Raibetta – Brignole – Corvetto – Raibetta 31 De Ferrari – Staglieno – Molassana – Prato 32 De Ferrari – Staglieno – Molassana 33 De Ferrari – Pila – Staglieno 34 Staglieno – Iassa 35 Pila – Staglieno 36 Pila – Staglieno – Molassana 37 De Ferrari – San Fruttuoso 38 De Ferrari – Foce 39 De Ferrari – San Francesco – Sturla – Priaruggia – Quinto – Nervi 40 De Ferrari – San Francesco – Sturla – Priaruggia – Quinto 41 De Ferrari – San Francesco – Sturla – Priaruggia 42 De Ferrari – San Francesco – Sturla 43 De Ferrari – Villa Raggio – Lido 44 De Ferrari – Tommaseo – San Martino – Borgoratti 45 De Ferrari – Tommaseo – San Martino – Sturla 46 De Ferrari – Tommaseo – San Martino 47 De Ferrari – Tommaseo 48 Raibetta – Pila
III. Municipal line: A. De Ferrari – Quezzi
Initially the East and West networks touched only at a location close to Principe Railway Station. Later, after a link was made between Piazza Caricamento and Piazza Raibetta (only a short length of rails) there was a coastal line which linked Piazza Caricamento to the Eastern lines through Raibetta.
The Eastern network focussed on Piazza Raffeale de Ferrari. We looked at images from that piazza in the first article about the trams of Genoa (Genova). At one time, Piazza de Ferrari was full of ‘circular tramlines’ and it was congested through much of the day.
Tram lines left Piazza Raffeale de Ferrari along Via Roma, to the Northeast and along Via XX Settembre.
The lines along Via Roma led to Piazza Corvetto where lines diverged to Carignano, Brignole, Manin and Acquaverde and Principe. A further line looped through the hills North of the city centre from Acquaverde to Manon, and a line ran North from Manin up the Val Bisagno to Staglieno and Prato. We will lookat these line in this article, those which ran out of Piazza de Raffeale Ferrari along Via XX Settembre will be for a further article.
As we have already noted, at Piazza Corvetto lines diverged to Piazza Carignano, Brignole, Manin and Acquaverde and Principe.
Line No. 29 – Piazza Corvetto to Carignano
The line to Carignano left the piazza in a South-southwest direction. The roads used are currently named Via XII Ottobre and Viale IV Novembre, Corso Andrea Podesta (which bridges Via XX Settembre), Via Corsica, Via Galeazzo Alessi.
This extract from the Baedeker Map of Genova from 1906 shows the route of Tram No. 29 – from Piazza de Ferrari to Piazza Corvetto, then South on the East side of Ospidale di Pammatone, along Corso Andrea Podesta (which bridges Via XX Settembre), then in a loop including Via Corsica, Via Nino Bixio, Piazza Carignano and Via Galeazzo Alessi, (c) Public Domain. [40]The route of Line No. 29 is shown dotted on this extract from Google’s satellite imagery. [Google Maps, December 2024]This image shows a tram heading out of Piazza Corvetto in the Carignano direction down the present Via XII Ottobre. The image was shared on the C’era una volta Genova Facebook Group by Alessandro Pellerano on 23rd March 2021, (c) Public Domain. [22]A similar view looking towards Piazza Corvetto along Via XII Ottobre in the 21st century. [Googl;e Streetview, August 2024]If this image is prior to 1923, traffic in Genova would have been on the left. This tram would then be travelling away from the camera leaving Viale IV Novembre to run along a short length on Via XII Ottobre to Piazza Corvetto. This image was shared on the Foto Genova Antica Facebook Group by Silvia Brisigotti on 31st May 2024, (c) Public Domain. [26]A similar view towards Piazza Corvetto from Via IV Novembre. [Google Streetview, August 2024]Looking South along Corso Andrea Podesta with Abbazio di Santo Stefano peeping out behind the first building on the right. This image was shared on the Foto Genova Antica Facebook Group on 15th February 2020 by Enrico Pinna, (c) Public Domain. [33]The same view in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, August 2024]Looking North along Corso Andrea Podesta. This image was shared on the Foto Genova Antica Facebook Group on 14th March 2019 by Enrico Pinna, (c) Public Domain. [31]A similar view facing North on Corso Andrea Podesta across the bridge over Via XX Settembre.on the left of the photograph is Abbazio di Santo Stefano. [Google Streetview, August 2024]Looking East along Via XX Settembre with Abbazio di Santo Stefano on the left and the bridge carrying Corso Andrea Podesta ahead. [Google Streetview, August 2024]Corso Andrea Podesta, 1906. This image was shared on the Foto Genova Antica Facebook Group on 26th July 2022 by Renata Fergola, (c) Public Domain. [30]A similar view in the 21st century. The three buildings on the right of the monochrome image above dominate this photo. [Google Streetview, August 2024]Looking North along Corso Andrea Podesta from a point a few hundred metres to the South of the bridge over Via XX Settembre. This image was shared on the Foto Genova Antica Facebook Group on 7th July 2024 by Zenzero Secondo from the Collection of Stefano Finauri, (c) Public Domain. [29]A similar view in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, August 2024]At the South end of Corso Andrea Podesta, looking North. This image was shared on the Foto Genova Antica Facebook Group on 26th July 2024 by Pietro Spanedda, (c) Public Domain. [27]This view seems to be as close as it is possible to get on Google Streetview to the colourised postcard image above. The steps which are prominent in the image above can be seen through the balustrade to the right of this image. [Google Streetview, 2019]Via Corsica, 1916. This image was shared on the C’era una volta Genova Facebook Group on 23rd November 2019 by Pietro Cassani, (c) Public Domain. [34]Via Corsica in the 21st century – the trees evident in the monochrome image above have matured significantly since the early 20th century. As a result it is difficult to determine the modern equivalent of the older view. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
A loop ran round Via Galeazzo, Piazza Carignano and Via Corsica as shown below
Piazza Carignano in the early years of the 20th century looking along Via Galeazzo Alesi. The tram in the picture appears to have travelled to Piazza Carignano along Via Galeazzo Alesi. It will turn to its left along the side of Piazza Carignano before leaving the piazza along Via Nino Bixio. The loop may also have been travelled in the reverse direction, if so, this tram is leaving Piazza Carignanao down Via Galeazzo Alesi. This image was shared on the C’era una volta Genova Facebook Group by Franco Bonadonna on 18th October 2022, (c) Public Domain. [25]Tha same view in the 21st century. [Googl;e Streetview, August 2024]This picture shows the tram tracks running along the side of Piazza Carignano from Via Galeazzo Alesi and turning down Via Nino Bixio. This image was shared on the Foto Genove Antica Facebook Group on 30th April 2024 by Pietro Spanedda, (c) Public Domain. [23]This view of Via Nino Bixio seen from Via Corsica shows a tram running away from the camera along Via Nino Bixio having turned right from Via Corsica. Prior to 1923 Genova traffic travelled on the left. This image was shared on the C’era una volta Genova Facebook Group by Roberto Cito on 9th September 2023, (c) Public Domain. [24]A similar view in the 21st century of Via Nino Bixio from Via Corsica. [Google Streetview, September 2020]
Line 30 – Piazza della Raibetta to Piazza Brignole via Piazza Corevetto
Italian Wikipedia describes this route as a ‘circular’ (Circolare) – we will need to consider how this route differs from an ‘out-and-back’ service (such as Line 29 between Piazza de Ferrari and Piazza Carignano).
Piazza della Raibetta was the terminus of a coastal tram route. Initially, it was only served by Line No. 30.
These three extracts from the Baedeker 1906 map of Genoa show the route of Line No. 30.
Again, assuming the map by Arbalete is correct, the line ran South from Piazza Raibetta along (probably) Via Filippo Turati and then through Piazza Cavour onto Sottopasso di Carcimento. The line continued around the South side of the city along Corso Maurizio Quadro and Corso Aurelio Saffi (previously Corso Principe Oddone) to the mouth of the River Bisagno where it turned inland, following the Val Bisagno as far as Via Luigi Cardorna where trams turned left following that road to the West which continued into Via XX Settembre. Then into Piazza de Ferrari, Via Roma, Piazza Corvetto, Via Serra and finally Piazza Brignole, (c) Public Domain. [40]
Line No. 30 from Piazza Raibetta along (probably) Via Filippo Turati and then through Piazza Cavour onto Sottopasso di Carcimento. The line then continued around the South side of the city along Corso Maurizio Quadro and, at the bottom of this satellite image, Corso Aurelio Saffi. [Google Maps, December 2024]Trams followed Corso Aurelio Saffi (previously Corso Principe Oddone) to the mouth of the River Bisagno where they turned inland, following the Val Bisagno as far as Via Luigi Cardorna where trams turned left following that road to the West which continued into Via XX Settembre. [Google Maps, December 2024]From Via XX Settembre trams entered Piazza de Ferrari ran along Via Roma, through Piazza Corvetto onto Via Serra and into Piazza Brignole. [Google Maps, December 2024]
There is an alternative to this route. This would have trams returning from Brignole to Ponte Pila by a more direct route and so completing a ‘circular’ as suggested by the route listings above. The 1906 Baedeker below shows a tram route which would permit this option.
These next few photographs of the coast road (Circonvallazione a Mare) focus on a dramatic Villa which overhung the road – Villa Figari (also known as Villa Mylius).
Via Settembre feeds into Piazza de Ferrari and trams passed through Ferrari onto Via Roma and then on to Piazza Corvetto. Pictures of this length of the route can be found in the part of this article (above) covering Line No. 29.
From Piazza Corvetto the trams ran along Via Serra to Plaza Brignole.
The view East from Piazza Corvetto along Via Serra towards Piazza Brignole. [Google Streetview, August 2024]A view across the railway tracks at Brignole station, looking West through Piazza Brignole and along Via Serra, (c) Public Domain. [50]Looking West from Piazza Brignole along Via Serra. This image was shared by Gino Ratto on the C’era una volta Genova Facebook Group on 14th July 2020, (c) Public Domain. [55]The view along Via Serra from Piazza Brignole in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, August 2024]Piazza Brignole to the Northwest of the Railway Station. This image was shared by Corallo Giorgio on the C’era una volta Genova Facebook Group on 9th November 2016, (c) Public Domain. [61]Piazza Brignole in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
Just to the West of Piazza Brignole, a tram line ran along Via Galata, South from Via Serra to Via Colombo, along Via Colombo to Via Ederra (now Via Fiume), then North on Via Ederra before turning Southeast across the front of Brignole Railway Station (across the North side of Piazza Guiseppe Verdi and then Southwest alongside the River Bisagno on Via Canevari.
Trams ran South on Via Galata. [Google Streetview, August 24]Trams ran East on Via Colombo. [Google Streetview, April 2023]Looking North on Via Fiume (once Via Edeera) which trams followed towards Brignole Station which sits beyond the trees to the right of this image. [Google Streetview, August 2020]The curve round to the front of Brignle Railway Station, (c) Public Domain. [60]A similar view in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, August 2024]Looking South down the line of the right bank of the River Bisagno (now culverted). The street is Via Canevari. Trams ran South alongside the river on Via Canevari.Looking North up Via Canevari with the River Bisagno on the right. This image was shared on the Foto Genova Antica Facebook Group by Asinus Natator on 7th February 2022, (c) Public Domain. [52]Looking North from a similar position in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
From the location of Ponte Pila trams followed the route alongside the River Bisagno and then along Corso Aurelio Saffi back to Piazza Raibetta.
Piazza Corvetto to Piazza del Principe
Two tunnels made it possible for trams to run between Piazza Corvetto and Piazza Principe. The route ran via, what are now Galleria Nino Bixio and Galleria Giuseppe Garibaldi, through Largo della Zecca, along Via Paolo Emilio Bensa, through Piazza della Nunziata, along Via Balbi, through Piazza Acquaverde and then along the South side of Principe Railway Station along Via Andrea Doria to Piazza del Principe.
The tram route we are looking at now runs West-northwest out of Piazza Corvetto through two tunnels and through Piazza Acquaverde before reaching Piazza del Principe. A relatively straight route except for the dog-leg close to Piazza Acquaverde. [19]
Trams on Line No. 25 turned to the Northwest at the East end of Piazza Acquaverde. A short climb led to the lower entrance to Galleria Sant’Ugo. That tunnel is covered in the earlier post in this short series, here. [1]
Galleria Sant’Ugo was a horseshoe shaped tunnel which lifted trams to pavement level in Piazza Pedro Ferriera. Leaving the tunnel trams ran Northeast along Via Sant’Ugo.
Corso Firenze continues East then Northeast. It then turns sharply to the right, heading Southwest. The next monochrome image looks North from the end of that southwesterly length of the road.
Corso Firenze gives out onto Piazza Goffredo Villa where the tram route ran Northwest-Southeast for a short distance before heading Northeast on Corso Niccolo Paganini.
Trams ran the full length of Corso Magenta and onto Corso Solferino which in turn led to Corso Carlo Armellini. Passing the Manin/Contardo Lift on their left, trams entered Piazza Manin.
Looking East into Piazza Manin from Corso Carlo Armellini. [Google Streetview, April 2023]Piazza Manin seen from the East looking off The Ponte di Via della Crocetta, (c) Public Domain. [82]Piazza Manin, (c) Public Domain. [84]A simila view in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, April 2023]Piazza Manin, (c) Public Domain. [86]Piazza Manin, looking East, (c) Public Domain. [87]A view looking East from Piazza Manin in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
Piazza Corvetto to Piazza Manin, Staglieno and Prato in Val Biasagno.
This article has covered the Western half of the Eastern tram network. We will cover the length of line from Piazza Corvetto to Plato (via Paizza Manin and Staglieno) along with the lines which ran East along Via XX Settembre to Val Bisagno and then diverged to serve Staglieno, Raibetta (which we have already looked at), Foce, Thommaseo and Nervi in another article.
We will also cover the history of the Genoa Network from the end of the first World War in that next article and, either in that article of a further article, the rolling stock used on the network.
We begin this article with a look at maps of the Piazza Raffeale de Ferrari and its immediate environs over the years around the turn of the 20th century. The Piazza became one of two focal points for tramways in the city (the other was Caricamento).
I found the series of maps interesting and they provoked a desire to find out more about the network of horse-drawn and later electric trams and tramways of Genoa. ….
Italian Wikipedia informs us that: “The first public transport in Genoa was provided by a horse bus service linking the city centre and Sampierdarena, that started in 1873. In 1878, the French company Compagnia Generale Francese de Tramways (CGFT, French General Company of Tramways) began to build a horse tram system.” [16][17]
Towards the end of the century, the new urban plan led to the construction of new roads with wider carriageways, principal among these were:
Via Assarotti connecting Piazza Corvetto to Piazza Manin;
Via XX Settembre, built between 1892 and 1899, widening Strada Giulia and connecting the Palazzo Ducale (Piazza de Ferrari) with Porta Pila and the banks of the River Bisagno (once the eastern boundary of the city);
Corso Buenos Aires, once outside the city walls, was lowered to the level of Ponte Pila and the new Via XX Settembre, to form a single artery that would connect the centre with the Albaro district;
Corso Torino, perpendicular to Corso Buenos Aires.
After this work was done, the city began to look more modern and the widened streets made room for tramways in the centre and East of the city. The municipal administration began to plan new lines, both towards the eastern suburbs and in the central districts of the city. [19]
The city welcomed competition and set up a series of concessions which were given to different groups: the French Company kept the Western concession; Val Bisagno and the hilly areas to two Swiss businessman (Bucher & Durrer); and the east of the city was granted to a group of local businessmen. [19][20: p66]
The two parties, other than the French, formed companies: Bucher created the Società di Ferrovie Elettriche e Funicolari (SFEF) in 1891. [20: p85] The Genoese entrepreneurs founded the Società Anonima Tramways Orientali (SATO) in 1894. [20: p120] The two companies took on the two concessions which envisaged electric traction on metre-gauge lines to accommodate running on the narrow winding streets of the city centre. [19]
“By 1894, SFEF had achieved no more than a single short electric tram line between Piazza Manin and Piazza Corvetto, whilst SATO had not progressed beyond the planning stage. The CGFT system had extended through the city and the Val Polcevera, but was still horse operated.” [16][17]
“In 1894, the German company Allgemeine Elektrizitäts Gesellschaft (AEG) … bought both the SFEF and SATO companies. The following year AEG created the company Officine Electrical Genovesi (OEG), … which took over the city’s existing electricity supply company, and the Società Unione Italiana Tramways Elettrici (UITE), … which purchased the CGFT’s concession. By the end of 1895, AEG had a monopoly of both electricity supply and public transport provision in the city.” [16][17] Under AEG’s “ownership, SFEF and SATO developed a tram network of more than 53 km (33 mi) reaching Nervi and Prato, whilst UITE electrified their lines to Voltri and Pontedecimo.” [16][17]
As we have already noted, the first electric traction line connected Piazza Corvetto to Piazza Manin, running along Via Assarotti. [20: p92] It was activated by SFEF on 14th May 1893 [20: p96] The single-track line was 800 metres long and ran on a constant gradient of 7% [20: p95]; the tickets cost 10 cents. The electrification (600 V DC) was via an overhead cable and was carried out by AEG of Berlin, which, as we have already seen, later acquired a significant shareholding in the company. [19][20: p86-87]
In subsequent years the SFEF network expanded rapidly; in 1895-96 the Monte line to the North of the city centre entered into service, including the Sant’Ugo spiral tunnel; in 1896 the line from Piazza Principe to Piazza Brignole was born. It included two tunnels in the Castelletto area. [21: p20] , In 1897, the Val Bisagno line up to Prato began operation. [19][21: p26]
The first SATO line entered into service on 26th July 1897, connecting Piazza Raibetta to Staglieno through the Circonvallazione a Mare, [20: p122] followed two years later by the long coastal line to Nervi. [20: p127] In 1900 the eastern trams reached the central Piazza de Ferrari, travelling along the new Via XX Settembre which was formed through widening of the old Via Giulia. [19][21: p53]
The two networks, SFEF and SATO, were technically compatible and the two companies, both controlled by AEG, soon unified the two networks. [20: p142]
“Finally in December 1901, AEG merged SFEF and SATO into an enlarged UITE.” [16][17]
The enlarged UITE found itself managing 70 km of network, divided between the 30 km of the ‘Western network’: (formerly the French Company) and the 40 km of the ‘Eastern network’ (formerly SFEF and SATO). [20: p170-171] The unification of the network led to an increase in overall traffic, symbolised by the creation of the vast ring terminus in Piazza de Ferrari in 1906. [20: p129]
This seems the right time to look again at the ‘ring terminus’ in Piazza de Raffeale Ferrari. ….
In 1908, after three years of construction work, Galleria Certosa (Certosa Tunnel) was put into use. It facilitated tram journeys to and from the Polcevera valley, avoiding the crossing of San Pier d’Arena. [19][21: p38] The tunnel connected Piazza Dinegro, in the port area, to the Rivarolo district in Val Polcevera. It was 1.76 km long. [22]
In 1934, Galleria Certosa was used every day by five lines: Tram No. 9 (San Giorgio-Rivarolo), tram No. 10 (San Giorgio-Bolzaneto), tram No. 11 (San Giorgio-Pontedecimo) and the two circular lines between San Giorgio and Sampierdarena. [22]
Having noted the construction of Galleria Certosa in the early years of the 20th century (above), it is worth looking at some other tunnels which were built to facilitate the movement of trams.
Galleria Vittorio Emanuele III (renamed Galleria Giuseppe Garibaldi on 27th November 1943)
There seems to be quite a story to the life of this tunnel! The first two photographs show the first tunnel. They focus on the portal in Piazza Della Zeccan.
These next two photographs show the tunnel as it was first widened in the form which preceded the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele III which had a much smaller bore.
Named after Christopher Columbus, whose house was nearby, the gallery was opened to the public in the 1930s and was hailed as the city’s gateway to the sea. It connected Piazza de Ferrari and Piazza della Vittoria.
Now long gone, there was a tram tunnel on Via Milano to the Southwest of the city centre. It took the tramway (and roadway) under San Benigno Hill. It was.built in 1878 by the Compagnia Generale Francese dei Tramways for its horse-drawn trams. Its Southwest portal was in Largo Laterna. Its Northeast portal is shown in the first image below.
In the early years of the 20th century, the municipal administration began to consider the idea of taking control of the tram service. In anticipation of this, in 1913, it built its own line from Marassi to Quezzi, known as Municipal Line A, it was operated by UITE on behalf of the Municipality. [19][21: p44]
Before the start of World War 1, the tram network provided these services: [19]
21 De Ferrari – Manin – Staglieno 22 De Ferrari – Manin 23 De Ferrari – Manin – Castelletto 24 De Ferrari – Manin – Castelletto – San Nicholo 25 Circuit in the hilly suburbs 26 Piazza Principe – Corso Ugo Bassi 27 De Ferrari – Zecca – Principe 28 Caricamento – De Ferrari – Galliera ‘Ospital 29 De Ferrari – Carignano 30 Circular Raibetta – Brignole – Corvetto – Raibetta 31 De Ferrari – Staglieno – Molassana – Prato 32 De Ferrari – Staglieno – Molassana 33 De Ferrari – Pila – Staglieno 34 Staglieno – Iassa 35 Pila – Staglieno 36 Pila – Staglieno – Molassana 37 De Ferrari – San Fruttuoso 38 De Ferrari – Foce 39 De Ferrari – San Francesco – Sturla – Priaruggia – Quinto – Nervi 40 De Ferrari – San Francesco – Sturla – Priaruggia – Quinto 41 De Ferrari – San Francesco – Sturla – Priaruggia 42 De Ferrari – San Francesco – Sturla 43 De Ferrari – Villa Raggio – Lido 44 De Ferrari – Tommaseo – San Martino – Borgoratti 45 De Ferrari – Tommaseo – San Martino – Sturla 46 De Ferrari – Tommaseo – San Martino 47 De Ferrari – Tommaseo 48 Raibetta – Pila
III. Municipal line:
A De Ferrari – Quezzi
The Western Network, particularly before World War One
Lines 1 to 11 constituted the Western Network. All of these lines had their city centre terminus at Piazza Caricamento. The Piazza is shown on the adjacent 1916 map.
The map shows part of the Port area of Genoa (Genova) in 1916 with a significant series of standard-gauge railway sidings in evidence (black lines) and some red lines which indicate the metre-gauge tram routes. Piazza Caricamento is close to the water halfway down the map extract. [31]
There were three main routes out of Piazza Caricamento, one of which followed the coast round to meet the lines on the East of the city. The other two shared the bulk of the services leaving the piazza. One of these two routes ran West through San Pier d’Arena (Sampierdarena), the other ran through Galleria Certosa.
The route to San Pier d’Arena (Sampierdarena) closely follows the coast and ran through the Galleria on Via Milano before the San Benigno Hill was raised to the ground.
Pictures of the Galleria can be seen earlier in this article.
West of the Galleria, the original tramway ran along what is now Via Giacomo Buranello (what was Via Vittorio Emanuele) to Sampierdarena. This route appears to the North of the SS1 on the satellite image below.
Before looking at line further West from Sampierdarena we need to note a line which was added to the network before WW1.
A second tramway was built which ran alongside the railway sidings on what is now the SS1, it was then Via Milano, towards Sampierdarena. The route is illustrated by the mid-20th century view below.
That route along Via Sampierdarena (Via Milano and Via Colombo) and then Via Pacinotti is illustrated at the bottom of the map below. After running along the centre of Via Sampierdarena, trams turned inland, heading Northwest to join the earlier route, West of Piazza Vittorio Veneto on Via Pacinotti.
A map provided by the Marklinfan.com Forum which shows the new coastal tram route mentioned above. [92]
The Western Network’s Coastal Line(s)
At Sampierdarena the original lines of the Western network separated. Some lines continuing along the coast and others turning inland. The lines diverged at the West end of Piazza Vittorio Veneto. The coastal line ran along what is today Via Frederico Avio, then turned onto what is now Via Antonio Pacinotti, before turning West on what is now Via Raffaele Pieragostini, crossing the River Polcevera at Ponte di Cornigliano, running along Via Giovanni Ansaldo before joining Via Cornigliano at Piazza Andrea Massena.
We have followed the Western Network as far as we can along the coast. We now need to look at the line(s) of the Western network which ran up the valley of the River Polcevera from Sampierdarena.
To do this we need to return to Piazza Vittorio Veneto in Sampierdarena.
The Western Network and Val Polcevera (the Valley of the River Polcevera)
The lines to the North left Piazza Vittorio Veneto at its Western end, passing immediately through an underpass under the FS Standard Gauge railway.
In the 19th century the route was known as ‘Via Vittorio Emanuele’. In the early years of the 20th century the road was renamed ‘Via Umberto 1’. In 1935, the city gave the road the name ‘Via Milite Ignoto’ (the Unknown Soldier). This decision appears to have been short-live as very soon the road was divided into two lengths, the more southerly length becoming ‘Via Martiri Fascisti’, the remaining length, ‘Via delle Corporazioni’. After the end of Word War Two renaming again occurred. In 1945 the names which continue to be used in the 21st century were chosen – ‘Via Paolo Reti’ and ‘Via Walter Fillak ‘. Fillak and Reti were partisans in WW2. [59][66]
A view from above … This is Piazza (Via) Vittorio Emanuele seen from the West. The tram tracks can be seen heading away through the underpass in the foreground. [75]
The route of this part of the old tramway network begins at this rail underpass (where the street is now named, ‘Piazza Nicolo Montano’, having once been Via Nino Bixio), [65] before running along Via Paolo Reti and then Via Walter Fillak. Just beyond the underpass the railway station access left the road on the left. The first old postcard views below show this location.
Two pixelated, low definition images showing the bottom end of what was Via Umberto 1. One the left in both images is the incline leading to the Sampierdarena Railway Station forecourt. [59]A tram sits at a stop at Piazza Montano. This image was shared on the Foto Genova Antica Facebook Group by Annamaria Patti on 22nd May 2022. [3]Three further postcard views, of better quality, of the bottom end of Via Umberto 1, (c) Public Domain. [59][62][63]The view to the Northeast from the rail underpass in 2024. The station approach is on the left. The old tramway curved round to the left below the station approach’s retaining wall. [Google Streetview, August 2024]Just a little further along the old tram route. The retaining wall on the left supports the station approach road. The tramway ran on along what is now Via Paolo Reti. For some distance the road was flanked by a retaining wall supporting the FS standard-gauge railway. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
The adjacent Google satellite image shows roads over which the old tramway ran. In the bottom right is Piazza Nicolo Montano. It is also possible to make out the station approach ramp which has a number of cars parked on it. In the immediate vicinity of the passenger railway station, railway buildings can be seen separating Via Paolo Reti from the railway but very soon the road and the railway run side-by-side with the railway perhaps 2 to 3 metres above the road. Via Eustachio Degola passes under the railway just to the North of the station buildings. Towards the top of the satellite image, Via Paolo Reti can be seen turning away from the railway wall. [Google Maps, December 2024]
Via Paolo Reti (the former Via Umberto 1) turns away from the railway wall which is now much lower than it was near the station buildings. [Google Streetview, August 2024]Via Umberto 1, looking North from the bend visible in the photograph above where the road leaves the side of the railway, (c) Public Domain. [68]Via Paolo Reti (once Via Umberto 1) at the same location as the monochrome image above. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
The monochrome image below purports to show Piazza San Marino. As far as I can work out the piazza was historically, ‘Piazza Vittorio Emanuele III’ and later renamed for another partisan from World War 2 – ‘Piazza Ricardo Masnata’.
A relatively low quality image of Piazza San Marino and Via Umberto 1. The piazza later became Piazza Ricardo Masnata. This view looks North with a tram visible on the left, (c) Public Domain. [64]Piazza Ricardo Masnata, looking North. There is little to link this image from 2024 with the monochrome image above, other than the alignment of the roads and the shape of the piazza. However, at the centre of this image is a lower building which also appears in the monochrome image. [Google Streetview, August 2024]Via Umberto 1 looking North from what became Piazza Ricardo Masnata, (c) Public Domain. [67]The same location in the 21st century. [GVia Umberto 1, now Via Walter Fillak with a tram heading towards Genoa. [69]The same location on Via Walter Fillak in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
The line from Sampierdarena ran towards Certosa where, once Galleria Certosa was completed, it met the line through the tunnel.
The tramway followed Via Celesia through Rivarolo (Superior). Rivarolo and Via Celesia can be seen at the bottom of this extract from openstreetmap.org. [79]
This image from the early 20th century looks North along Via Celesia. Space on the street was clearly at a premium! [80]Via Celesia in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
North of Via Celesia, the tramway ran along Via Rivarolo.
This postcard shows the junction at the North end of Via Celesia, circa. 1920s. Via Rivarolo is ahead. This image was shared on the C’era una volta Genova Facebook Group by Mario Vanni on 18th August 2019, (c) Public Domain. [82]The smae location in the 21st century. [Google Streeetview, August 2024]This next extract from openstreetmap.org shows Via Rivarolo entering bottom-left. Trams ran on into Teglia on Via Teglia and continued on to Bolzaneto (in the top-right of this extract) along Via Constantino Reta. [79]This postcard view looks South along what is now Via Teglia (then Via Regina Margherita. This image was shared on the C’era una volta Genova Facebook Group by Elio Berneri on 19th October 2020, (c) Public Domain. [83]A very similar view at the same location in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, August 2024]Car 906 in service on line 7 Caricamento – Pontedecimo, one of the longest of the UITE, is seen here running in Bolzaneto. The photograph was taken facing North. In the background you can see another Tramcar, as well as a third on the track in the opposite direction, (c) Public Domain. [84]A similar North facing view in Bolzaneto in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, August 2024]A tram waits at Piazza del Municipio in Bolzaneto. This image was shared by Mario Vanni on the C’era una volta Genova Facebook Group on 8th July 2021, (c) Public Domain. [85]A very similat view of the same location in the 21st century. The road on which the bus is standing is now known as Via Pasquale Pastorino. [Google Streetview, August 2024]A few hundred metres to the Northeast is the area known as ‘Bratte’. A tram waits in the mid-20th century to set off for Caricamento. This image was shared on the C’era una volta Genova Facebook Group by Roberto Della Rocca on 12th December 2020. [86]A similar view at the same location in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
North of Bratte, Trams crossed the River Secca, a tributary of the Polcevera, following Via Ferriere Bruzzo and then continued North alongside the River Polcevera on Via San Quirico.
Tram No 79 leads a trailer car South on Via San Quirico in the first decades of the 20th century. It seems as though Ponte Tullio Barbieri can be seen behind the tram. This image was shared by Sergio De Nicolai on the C’era una volta Genova Facebook Group on 21st October 2018. [88]A similar location on Via San Quirico in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, July 2022]
Trams passed under the FS Standard-gauge lines close to Ponte Tullio Barbieri. [Google Streetview, June 2022]Trams ran on through the centre on San Quirico on Via San Quirico.Before returning to the side of the river, passing under the railway again. [Google Streetview, July 2022]
The next length of the journey is the last. Trams terminated at Pontedecimo. [79]
A tram and trailercar on Lungo Polcevera in Pontedecimo close to Pontedecimo Railway Station, This image was taken looking South along the river bank and was shared by Giorgio Gioli on the C’era una volta Genova Facebook Group on 4th November 2020. [89]This view looks South along the bank of the River Polcevera at a location similar to that in the image above. [Googler Streetview, January 2021]
The central piazza in Pontedecimo. The terminus of the tram service. This image was shared on the C’era una volta Genova Facebook Group by Roberto Cito on 29th October 2023. [87]Trams terminated in Pontedecimo. [Google Streetview, July 2022]The tram depot at Pontedecimo. This image was shared on the C’era una volta Genova Facebook Group by Alessandro Lombardo on 30th October 2019. [90]
The Metropolitana di Genova is, in 2024, a single-line, double-track light rapid transit system that connects the centre of Genova, Italy with the suburb of Rivarolo Ligure, to the north-west of the city centre. It runs through to Brignole Railway Station in the East of the city. In 2024, the service is managed by Azienda Mobilità e Trasporti (AMT), which provides public transport for the city of Genoa. [1]
The Metro is a 7.1 kilometres (4.4 mi) long 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) (standard gauge) double-track line and is electrified with overhead lines at 750 volts DC. It has a direct connection with Trenitalia’s mainline railway station, Principe. [1]
The origins of a subway in Genoa date back to the beginning of the twentieth century; in 1907 Carlo Pfalz, who had already designed the Zecca-Righi Funicular, [2] was the first to explore the construction of an underground railway with electric traction. Several projects, including that of the engineer Angelo Massardo and those of Renzo Picasso (1911 and 1930), were proposed without being realized. Instead, a tram system at surface level was built which ultimately was abandoned in 1966. An attempt to introduce an alternative means of transport was made on the occasion of the International Exhibition of Marine and Maritime Hygiene of 1914: it was a ‘Telfer’, an elevated monorail that connected the Port (Giano Pier area) to the exhibition area in Piazza di Francia, in front of the Brignole station. The infrastructure was then abandoned and finally demolished in 1918. [1]
An article about the Telfer can be found here. [3]
The underground ‘Metro’ was built in a series of phases. “The first section, opened on 13th June 1990 in time for the 1990 FIFA World Cup, was 2.5 kilometres (1.6 miles) [6] between the stations of Brin and Dinegro. [7] The line was extended to Principe in 1992, [6] to San Giorgio-Caricamento in 2003, [6] to De Ferrari (the underground station at Piazza De Ferrari) in 2005, [6] and to Brignole in 2012.” [8]
Since 2024, citizens of Genoa have been able to use the subway free of charge without any time restrictions.[9]
Stations
Brin Station – is currently (2024) the Northwest terminus of the line. It is situated along Via Benedetto Brin in the neighbourhood of Certosa in Rivarolo Ligure, a suburban area in the north-western outskirts of Genoa, Italy. The station, currently the terminus of the line, is located just west of the tunnel mouth on the line from Dinegro station. [10] It is built on a viaduct, which allows for the line to be extended to the north.
The station was designed by architect Renzo Piano, the station’s official opening took place on 13th June 1990. [10]
Dinegro Station is located under Via Milano, adjoining the Piazza Dinegro from which it derives its name, in the Fassolo area of Genova. It is just East of the business district of San Benigno and close to the ferry terminal.
Darsena Metro Station is located on Via Antonio Gramsci close to Piazza della Darsena. ‘Darsena’ translates to ‘dock’ in English. The station serves the old port area of the city. [15]
San Georgio Station is located under Piazza della Raibetta beside the Palazzo San Giorgio, after which it is named. It is in the Old Harbour area near the Aquarium of Genoa. It was opened together with Darsena Station on 25th July 2003 and saw its first trains on 7th August 2003. [17]
The tracks of the San Giorgio station run beneath the Piazza Caricamento underpass and its underground architecture is similar to the model adopted for the Principe and Darsena stops, that is, with the tracks on the sides of the single central platform. During 2006, some electronic display boards were installed to inform users of the arrival times of trains. [17]
Sarzano/Sant’Agostino Station is located in the historical centre of Genoa. The main entrance is in the Piazza di Sarzano near the Church of St. Augustine, now deconsecrated and turned into a museum, with a second entrance on the Mura della Marina, the old seawall. It opened on 3rd April 2006. [19]
De Ferrari Station is close to Teatro Carlo Felice, Galleria Mazzini, the Doge’s Palace, and Via XX Settembre. It opened on 4th February 2005. It was originally designed, like others, by Renzo Piano with finishing touches by Renzo Truffelli. This used to be the last station on the line until the easterly extension towards Genova Brignole Railway Station opened in 2012. [21][22]
The entrance to de Ferrari Station. [23]Platform level at de Ferrari Station. [€23]
Corvetto Station – In March 2024 3Ti Projeto announced that the design of Corvetto Station had been approved by the municipality. Work is expected to cost around 38.3 million Euros and be completed late in 2024 or early in 2025. [24][25][26]
These two images show the 3Ti Projeto design for Corvetto Station. [24]
Brignole Station – sits close to the main line Brignole Station to the West of the city centre. It opened in 2012. [27]
Wikipedia tells us that Genova is just (in 2024) bringing a fourth generation of trams into service. The three previous generations each served the city well.
First Generation Rolling Stock – consisted of 6 sets of articulated cars, built by Ansaldo, and introduced in 1990. They were derived from the Zurich Tram 2000 tram used in Switzerland, but altered for standard gauge running. Each vehicle had two sections with one central articulation. They were supported on three bogies The two outer bogies were motorised. The vehicles were bidirectional and had four sets of doors on each side. They had blue seats in a transverse arrangement. The train were numbered 01 to 06. [1][29]
Second Generation Rolling Stock – was made up of a group of 12 trains. Numbered 12 to 24. Like the first generation, each train was made up of two sections resting on three bogies, with the outer two motorised. The trains were bidirectional with six doors on each side, and the seats were arranged longitudinally. The trains were built by Ansaldo and introduced in 1992. [1][30]
Third Generation Rolling Stock – these trams/trains significantly differ to the previous two. They were delivered by Hitachi Rail Italy in 2016. There are 7 trains numbered 31 to 37. The trains are longer than previous generations at 39 metres and four articulated sections with five bogies. Of the five bogies, the central three are motorised. There are a total of four doors per side of the bidirectional sets. [1][31]
Fourth Generation Rolling Stock – In anticipation of the planned extensions (see below) and considering the now thirty-year service of the first generation trains, in 2020 the Municipality obtained a loan of 70 million Euros to purchase 14 new generation trains. [32] In 2021, Hitachi Rail signed the contract to supply the new trains on a rolling programme, monthly by month, to coincide with the inauguration of the Brin-Canepari and Brignole-Martinez routes. [33]
In June 2024, Sustainable Bus E-magazine reported that the first of these new units had arrived in Genoa. [26]
New tram/train No. 42. [26]
The new units will be numbered 41 to 54. “Each of the 14 new vehicles is made up of four half-cars, resting on five bogies, for a total length of 39 metres, will be able to accommodate up to 290 passengers, will be bidirectional, and will also run in double formation for a total length of 78 metres and a capacity of 580 passengers.” [26]
“In order to ensure greater operating flexibility, these trains will also be able to operate in double traction with the 7 third-generation vehicles, the 31-37 series delivered in 2016, currently in service.” [26]
The new units entry into service will “allow the scrapping of the 6 first-generation trains, series 01-06, … the average age of the fleet will thus be lowered from 18.5 years to 9.8 years. The 10-series trains (11-22 series) built between 1991 and 1995 will be kept in operation.” [26] The fleet will therefore consist of the 21 trains of the 30, 40 and 10 series trains.
Extensions to the Network
In 2022, the Railway Gazette reported that Genova municipality had approved plans for a 3 km western branch of the metro with four stations, linking Fiumara with the city centre. [4]
The western extension of Genoa’s Metro is shown in blue. [4]
In September 2024, the city secured 74.5 million Euros to significantly expand the Metro network as shown on the map below. [5]
The planned Metro network for Genoa (Genova) as reported in September 2024. [5]
As can be seen in the map above these significant additions to the network include a length up the Val Bisagno of elevated railway (SkyMetro).
The planned SkyMetro, running up the valley of the River Bisagno. [34]
The planned investment is over 400 million Euros at 2022 prices. Genoa will receive 418.9 million Euros to finance the SkyMetro of Val Bisagno, the extension of the metro from Brin to Via Canepari and work associated with the Rio Maltempo. The majority of the new money (398.8 million Euros) is intended for the construction of the SkyMetro.
During rush hour, the new line will be able to transport eighty percent of the valley’s users, resulting in a significant reduction in the production of exhaust fumes from private cars. It will be seven kilometers long and will have a neutral energy balance thanks to the photovoltaic system mounted on the roof, which will make the SkyMetro partially sustainable. The project will reach as far as Molassana but the city has every intention to take the scheme further, as far as Prato. [34]
Veronica Pallotta; Metropolitane: Genova, Comune e Ferrovie siglano accordo per il prolungamento verso Canepari; in Ferrovie.Info (in Italian), 30th December 2020, accessed on 24th February 2022.
This article covers the northern half of the line and has a quick look at the motive power and rolling-stock used.
Another article covers the history of the Line and the southern half of its route. It can be found here. [18]
This article covers the length of the line from Sardorella to Casella. [1]A topographical map of the route. [1]Perhaps a little clearer than the topographical map. [2]
We restart our journey from Genoa to Casella at Sardorella Halt. …
The railway is on three different levels on the hillside at Sant’Olcese. The first accommodates the Chiesa Halt, the tunnel above opens out onto the second level. The third level hosts the Tullo Halt.
A photograph of a later elettromotrice travelling on this curve can be found here. [17] In the linked image, unit A12 is shown on the curve from Casella Deposito to the Vittorio Veneto bridge (over the River Scrivia). It was shared by Gian-Paolo Codebo on the Sei de Casella se… Facebook Group on 7th May 2020.
During Construction steam power was employed by the contractor and there are images around which show at least one excursion event that was steam hauled prior to the Line’s formal opening.
Two pictures can be found on the first article in this series, here. [18]
In that first article, we noted that the electric supply was originally 2400V DC. “The first electric locomotives were supplied by Breda, numbered 1 to 3. They were 360 horsepower Bo-Bo locomotives with an innovative Breda-Somarini energy recovery system, unique in Italy. In addition to the motive power, 4 third-class carriages (Nos. 50-53); 3 mixed first-third class carriages (Nos. 20-22) and 16 freight wagons of various types were delivered in 1926, well before the railway opened.” [1]
Unless noted otherwise, the paragraphs below are translated/paraphrased/amended from the Italian Wikipedia page about the Genoa (Genova) to Casella Railway. [21]
Locomotives
At the commencement of the service on the railway, the three locomotives mentioned above were supplied by Breda and numbered 1 to 3. [21]
On 23rd August 1937, two of the locomotives were destroyed in an accident near Vicomorasso in which five people lost their lives. [22: p67]
This accident meant that replacement locomotives were required. Three electric locomotives were purchased from the Società Veneta. They had been built by MAN in 1913 for the Montebelluna – Asolo and Montebelluna – Valdobbiadene tramways in Veneto which closed in 1931. [21]
One of the locomotives mentioned in the paragraph above at Stazione di Caerano sometime between 1913 and 1931 in Montebelluna, at [23]
“These locomotives entered service in 1939, initially maintaining the original numbering (053, renumbered 055 in 1943, 054 and 056), after conversion of the original power supply system from 975 V DC to 2400 V DC.” [1]
Locomotive 28 and 29 were built in 1924 for the Adriatic-Appennino Railway. The electrical equipment was supplied by TIBB of Vado Ligure; the body and bogies were made by Carminati & Toselli of Milan. Originally, they were part of a 1922 order for 14 locomotives of 950 mm gauge for the Sangritana Railway. Two (Nos. 28 and 29) were sold to Ferrovia Genova Casella (FGC) – No. 28 in 1956 and No. 29 in 1960. [22: p98 & 184] Conversion was necessary as the locomotives required a gauge change and modification from freight/baggage locomotives to passenger locomotives.
The two locomotives entered service in 1962. No. 29 is currently the oldest electric locomotive still in operation in Italy and is used in composition with three carriages (C22-C103-C104) as a historic train used on charters. No. 28 was placed in storage in 1975 and finally decommissioned and dismantled in 1998. [21][22: p184]
Electtromortices A1, A2 and A3 were built in 1929 for the Ferrovia della Val di Fiemme (Ora – Predazzo), similarly by TIBB and Carminati & Toselli. These were transferred on the closure of the Ora – Predazzo line in 1963 to the Ferrovie Genoa Casella. [21][1]
Elettromotrice A1 while employed by Ferrovia della Val di Fiemme (Ora – Predazzo) at Ora depot. [25]
A1 was painted blue/cream in 2011 with AMT logos. It was used for ordinary trains until 2019 and in 2022 it was set aside awaiting significant maintenance. [21]
A2 was reconditioned and returned to its 1929 condition. It re-entered service in June 2018. In that December it was involved in an accident but emerged with little damage. In September 2019, further restoration work was completed and from February 2020 it was undertaking a regular historic train service, usually being timetabled for Saturday running. [21][26]
A3 was built by Gleismac/EAA, after having suffered serious damage in an accident at Sardorella in 1974. It returned to service in 1983. It remained in service until 1999. After it was withdrawn, it doesn’t 12 years in storage before ultimately being dismantled in 2011. [21]
Elettromotrices, A1, A2 and A3 were part of a batch of about thirty electric locomotives which were built by Carminati and Toselli of Milan. Twenty-three of these were very similar to each other. being produced between 1924 and 1940. Three of this batch of locos (A1-A3) were deployed on the Ora-Predazzo line and on its closure came to the FGC. [21]
In addition, two 420 horsepower locomotives (max. speed 45 km/hr), B51 and B52 with Bo-Bo running gear were also transferred to the FGC in the early 1960s. [1]
Also from Val di Fiemme came six bogie-carriages, two longer coaches numbered C101 and C102 and four of shorter carriages, numbered from C103 to C106. [1]
Elettromotrices A4-A7 were built in 1957 on the chassis and bogies of locos built by TIBB/Carminati & Toselli in 1926 for the Spoleto-Norcia railway. That reconstruction was undertaken by Casaralta-TIBB. It saw the application of new electrical equipment and the adoption of a new rounded body, typical of the mid-20th century. These elettromotrices transferred to Genoa in 1970 with the closure of Spoleto-Norcia line. They entered regular service, re-numbered A4-A7, between 1971 and 1973 after gauge-conversion from 950mm to metre-gauge. [21]
Units A6 and A7 were visually the same as units A4 and A5.
Elettromotrice A6 at work on the line before it was set aside. [10]
Units A4 and A7 were scrapped (in 2014 and 2016 respectively), while A5 was restored to running order in February 2010, with the installation of fully electronic speed measuring devices and a dead man’s device, the application of a cream/blue anti-graffiti film and new AMT logos. It was taken away for restoration in 2022, and finally A6 has been shelved for over 10 years awaiting restoration. [21][22: p191]
Electric locomotives A8-A10 were built in 1993 by Firema-Officine di Cittadella at the request of Ferrovia Genova-Casella, they have identical bodies to the decommissioned A3. However, A8 uses the TIBB bogies from B51, the A9 those from B52 and the A10 those from A3. This last unit also has a body slightly different from the others due to the lower window line. [21]
Elettromotrices A11-A12 were built in 1998 by FiReMa-Officine di Cittadella at the request of Ferrovia Genova-Casella. They have a body identical to the A10. A11 underwent a restyling in 2011 with the application of cream/blue anti-graffiti film and new AMT logos and is currently used in regular service. A12 is also back in service after an extraordinary overhaul of the bogies. [21][22: p198]
Locomotive D1 was built in 1964 on behalf of the German railways by the manufacturer Gmeinder & Co. by adapting the MaK V100 standard-gauge locomotive to metre gauge, it was numbered V52 902 (later 252 902) and used on the 28 km long Mosbach-Mudau metre-gauge line. When it’s service on that line came to an end (2nd June 1973), it was first converted to standard-gauge by Gmeinder and used by Sudwestdeutsche Eisenbahngesellschaft (SWEG) which put it to work on the Breisach-Endingen-Riegel line (numbered VL46-01). In 1986, it was sold to the Gleismac company which converted it to metre-gauge and then sold it to the FGC. It was used to haul construction and passenger trains during the renovation of the overhead line. It was then set aside at Casella Deposito for over 10 years until in 2008 it was sent to Monopoli where it was rebuilt by 2014 and it returned to service on the line in November 2015. [33][34]
Locomotive D1 responsible for a single coach. [9]And here with two coaches. [9]And here, escaping from a tunnel portal. [19]
Other Rolling Stock
We have already picked up some snippets of information about coaching stock and wagons. …
When the line opened there were “4 third-class carriages (Nos. 50-53); 3 mixed first-third class (Nos. 20-22) and 16 freight wagons of various types (delivered in 1926, well before the railway opened).” [1]
We also noted that, along with the B51 and B52 locos “from Val di Fiemme came six bogie-carriages, two longer coaches numbered C101 and C102 and four of shorter carriages, numbered from C103 to C106.” [1]
The following information is gleaned from H Rohrer’s detailed website about Italian railways. That website can be found here. [35]
Coaches C20-C22 were built by Breda and supplied in 1926, of which C22 was renovated by FGC in 1960 and C21 was renovated by Gleismac in 1979-1980. An image of Coach 22 can be found here. [36]
Coaches C50-C53 were built by Breda and supplied in 1926. An image of Coach C50 can be found here. [37] An image of refurbished Coach C53 can be seen here. [38]
Coaches C101-C102 were long-wheelbase bogie coaches, built by Carminati Toselli and supplied in 1929. These were later renovated by Gleismac between 1980 and 1983. An image of Coach 101 in original condition can be found here. [39] The renovated Coach 101 can be seen here. [40]
Coaches C103-C106 were short-wheelbase bogie coaches built by Conti (?) and supplied in 1929 (?). Of these C105 and C106 were later renovated by Gleismac between 1980 and 1983. The original Coach 104 can be seen here. [41] A refurbished Coach C106 can be seen here. [42]
Coaches C60-C62 were built by Citadella Firema and supplied in 1996/1997. An example can be seen here. [43]
Roger Farnworth 
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