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Genoa’s Early Tram Network – Part 3 – The Remainder of the Eastern Network before the First World War.

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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.

This map shows the three companies’ lines immediately prior to the date of unification under UITE. The Green lines were UITE (the former French Company). The Red lines were SFEF. The Blue lines were SATO, © Arbalete and authorised for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 2.0). [19]

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.

Piazza Raffeale de Ferrari was the busy hub for the Eastern network, © Public Domain. [7]

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.

Piazza Corvetto to Prato

Looking Northeast across Piazza Corvetto from close to Via Roma, circa 1900-1910. Via Asserotti leave the piazza at the mid point of the image. A tram can be seen leaving Via Asserotti in this image,, © Public Domain. [15]
A similar view from ground level in the 20th century, again Via Asserotti leaves the piazza at the centre of this image, [Google Streetview, August 2024]

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.

Piazza Manin is about 100 metres off to the left of this satellite image. Trams ran out from Piazza Manin to hed North up Via Leonardo Montaldo. [Google Maps, December 2024]
A tram heads away from Piazza Manin up Via Leonardo Montaldo from its southern end. It has just turned left at Largo Gaetano Giardino after passing under the city walls, © Public Domain. [26]
Via Leonardo Montaldo heading away to the North from Largo Gaetano Giardino. [Google Maps, December 2024]
Via Leonardo Montaldo follows the contours as it heads North, roughly parallel to Via Bobbio (SS45). [Google Maps, December 2024]
An early South facing view of a newly built Via Leonardo Montaldo, (c) Public Domian. [22]
Major changes have occurred in the area around Via Leonardo Montaldo. A relatively rural area in the early part of the 20th century is now well-developed. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
Looking North along Via Leonardo Montaldo, © Public Domain. [24]
The view North from a similar location in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
Looking North up the valley of the Bisagno with Via Leonardo Montaldo (not Via Canevari) on the left, © Public Domain. [9]
The view North from a similar location in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
Via Leonardo Montaldo joins Via Bobbio in Staglieno. [Google Maps, December 2024]
This panorama of the Bisagno Valley sows Via Leonardo Montaldo curving round towards the river in the middle distance. [28]
This closer view shows Via Leonardo Montaldo (on the left) curving round towards the river in the middle distance. [29]
Via Montaldo in the mid-20th century. This image was shared on the C’era una volta Genova Facebook Group by Christiano Burzi on 18th October 2016. [25]
The 21st century view looking North from a similar location. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
The final run down the hill to the valley floor in Staglieno. The building on the right is da Passano School, (c) Public Domain. [27]
A very similar view in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
A very early view of the UITE depot at the junction of Via Leonardo Montaldo and Via Bobbio in Staglieno, © Public Domain. [23]
The junction of Via Leonardo Montaldo with Via Bobbio in Staglieno. The buildings in the centre of the photograph belong to UITE, (c) Public Domain. [12]
The same view in the 21st century. Via Bobbio is on the left, Via Leonardo Montaldo is on the right. [Google Streetview, August 2024]

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.

Looking North along the right bank of the Bisagno River along Via Bobbio. Not too far ahead Via Bobbio becomes Via Piacenza. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
Staglieno Cemetery sits to the Northeast. Via Piacenza is on the right of this photo, the river just off the picture to the right. To the left of the prominent cemetery walls is Piazzale Giovanni Battista Resasco. The cemetery gates can be seen at the far end of the piazzale. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
1895: A tram at the end of Piazzale Resasco at the gates of Staglieno Cemetery, (c) Public Domain. [35]
The length of Via Piacenza approaching the gasworks at Gavette, (c) Public Domain. [34]
A tram passing the entrance to the gasworks. The line which runs from the camera into the works has been covered in another article on this website, © Public Domain. [43]

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]

A panorama of the Gavette gasworks . Trams ran along the road (Via Piacenza) between the works and the river. [c] Public Domain. [39]
The gasworks site is in the bottom-left of this extract from Google Maps satellite imagery. The tram line continued North along Via Piacenza on the West side of the River Bisagno. The main road (SS45) can be seen on the East side of the river. [Google Maps, December 2024]
Looking upstream along the right bank of the Bisagno river in San Bartolomeo. I have not been able to locate this view on Google Maps/Streetview, (c) Public Domain. [38]
Looking Southwest along Via Piacenza . The River Bisagno is off the left of the image, (c) Public Domain. [37]
The 21st century view, Southwest along Via Piacenza, from approximately the same location. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
Via Piacenza in San Goffardo looking back towards Stagieno, (c) Public Domain. [36]
It is difficult to be sure, but this is approximately the same location on Via Piacenza in San Goffardo. The church is behind the camera to the left. There has been a lot of development since the monochrome photograph above was taken. What seems like gardens to the left of the road in the image above have disappeared under more recent developments/buildings. Via Emilio is now between Via Piacenza and the river. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
This next extract from the satellite imagery shows Via Piacenza on the North side of the river as it heads away from San Goffredo and through Molassana. Trams continued to follow the right bank of the river through Molassana and on towards Struppa. [Google Maps, December 2024]
This final length of the tramway runs West to East through Doria to Prato. [Google Maps, December 2024]
A panoramic view from the Southwest of the hospital buildings in Doria (in the left and middle foreground) and the highway running through Prato (to the right side of the image) in Struppa, © Public Domain. [31]
The same buildings in the 21st century – Palazzo Della Salute, ASL3 Genovese  – seen from across the River Bisagno from approximately the same direction as the postcard image above[Google Streetview, August 2024]
The same buildings with a tram stopped outside in 1966. The notes with this photo say that the tram is sitting outside the Casa di Riposo. Line No. 12 was the last tramline to close, running until 27th December 1966, © Luciano Rosselli (La Valbisagno). [30]
Taken from the middle of the road in the 21st century. The tram stop outside of the hospital is now a bus stop! [Google Streetview, August 2024]

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.

Struppa – Prato – looking West on Via Nazionale (in the 21st century, Via Struppa), © Public Domain. [32]
Looking West again, at the same location on Via Struppa. [Google Streetview, July 2024]
In 1909 a tram sits at the terminus in Prato next to the recently completed tram company building, © Public Domain. [33]
A similar post card view, © Public Domain. [41]
Looking West along Via Struppa in Prato. The large tramway building that stood at the tramway terminus is still in use in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, July 2023]

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’. …..

We have previously looked at the blue line around the coast from Raibetta and that from Piazza Raffeale de Ferrari to Pila. The next line to look at is that from Pila North to Staglieno. We then complete looking at the routes by looking at the lines on the East side of the Bisagno valley, © Arbalete and authorised for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 2.0. [19]

Pila to Staglieno

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.

Ponte Pila bridging the River Bisagno, © Public Domain. [45]
Looking East across Ponte Pila, © Public Domain. [42]
Looking West across what was Ponte Pila, from Corso Buenos Aires towards Via Luigi Cadorna. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
Looking East from the location of Ponte Pila along Corso Buenos Aires which was the route followed by all tram services to the East of the River Bisagno. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
Looking North in the 21st century from the location of Ponte Pila. [Google Streetview, August 2024]

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.

Ponte Pila looking Northwest. Via Luigi Cadorna is ahead across the bridge on the left. Via Canevari runs North on the far side of the river, between the river and the public gardens which can be seen in front of the large building on the right half of the image, © Public Domain. [46]
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. [47]

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.

Via Canevari in the 1920s. The prominent buildings behind the tram appear in the image above, © Public Domain. [54]
Via Canevari runs North and Via  Giovanni Tommaso Invrea runs East across the River Bisagno in the 1930s, © Public Domain. [49]
A view from the North of construction work on the underpass which takes Via Canevari under the railway tracks at Brignole Railway Station in 1940, © Public Domain. [53]
The same underpass seen from the North in the 21st century, now with the Metro Station above the road. [Google Streetview, June 2022]
The junction of Via Canevari and Corso Monte Grappa to the North of the Brignole Railway Station, © Public Domain. [52]
A similar 21st century view. [Google Streetview, March 2023]
Looking downstream on the River Bisagno with Via Canevari in the centre of the picture. The Bakery is behind the camera. The main tramway route to Stagieno leaves the image bottom-right. The tramline crossing the river on Ponte Castelfidardo is not shown on the tram map of the network in 1901 above. [57]

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]

Via Canevari in the 1920s, © Collezione Vito Elio Petrucci, Public Domain. [51]
A similar 21st century view. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
This is the municipal bakery in 1921. e year 1921. Via Canevari runs North to the left of the bakery. The building is now a Police Stationand Via Moresco. . Now is the Local Police station.
The smoking chimney is the one of the Genoa Electric Offices (OEG), which produced electricity for the city of Genoa and its trams. It used coal as fuel. The image was included in the Municipal bulletin in 1921, (c) Public Domain. [55]
The old bakery is, in the 21st century, a police station. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
The large electricity generation station for the tramway network sat alongside Via Canevari, between Via Canevari and the river. [48]
This extract from Google’s satellite imagery shows Via Canevari running one street back from the waterfront. The blue line highlights the tramway route to Staglieno. The bakery building (now a police station) is bottom-left. The electricity buildings stretch diagonally Northeast across the image from the bakery. [Google Maps, December 2024]
Further North and looking North on Via Canevari, (c) Public Domain. [56]
A similar 21st century view. [Google Streetview, August 2024]

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.

This North-facing view of 1910 shows a tram on Ponte Castelfidardo with substantial municipal buildings on the East bank of the River Bisagno behind, © Public Domain. [62]
A later view of Ponte Castelfidardo seen from the Southeast, © Public Domain. [63]

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]

The route of this line beyond Piazza Giusti which circulated through Piazza Terralba. This is an extract from the 1956 tram map provided by Italian Wkipedia, © Arbalete and authorised for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 2.0). [19]

The route can easily be made out on the modern satellite imagery from Google Maps. [Google Maps, December 2024]
An early 20th century photograph (facing East) of Via Paolo Giacometti.. The building in the distance was removed when the road was extended, © Public Domain. [66]
Via Paolo Giacometti facing East in the 21st century. The buildings at the far end of the street face out onto Piazza Giovanni Martinez. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
An early photograph of Piazza Martinez with railway sidings in place, © Public Domain. [79]
Piazza Martinez seen from the Southeast. Rail tracks can still be seen crossing the piazza on the diagonal from the bottom-left of this image, remnants of the standard-gauge sidings in the image above. © Public Domain. [67]
A similar view in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
By 1937, the year of this photograph, the tram tracks had been removed from Piazza Giovanni Martinez. This view looks South towards the FS standard-gauge railway lines. Trams running out from the city centre passed across the far side o, © Public Domain. [68]
Looking West across Piazza Terralba in 1940, © Public Domain. [78]
Piazza Terralba, © Public Domain. [80]

Lines East of the River Bisagno – Corso Buenos Aires

Corso Buenos Aires looking West, © Public Domain. [59]
Corso Buenos Aires looking West. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
Looking East along Corso Buenos Aires, © Public Domain. [61]
Corso Buenos Aires looking East. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
The view from Corso Buenos Aires into Piazza Thommaseo in 1922, © Public Domain. [58]
A similar view from Corso Buenos Aires into Piazza Thommaseo in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
This photograph shows how the city of Genoa went about regrading streets to meet their aspirations as a modern, cosmopolitan city. This is Corso Buenos Aires in 1896. It was being lowered to connect it with the road axis that ran through to Via XX Settembre. As a result, the basements became shops and the shops above apartments. On the right you can still see a door, now located on the first floor. Also of interest is the use of steam power and rails to remove excavated m© Public Domain. [60]
An early view West from Piazza Thommaseo along Corso Buenos Aires, © Public Domain. [69]
A view West across Piazza Thommaseo towards Corso Buenos Aires. [Google Streetview, August 2024]

Corso Buenos Aires to Foce and beyond

Partway along Corso Buenos Aires a branch tramway ran South down Corso Torino. This was pre-1902 Line No. 38.

The line South to Foce along Corso Torino, which terminated in Piazza del Popolo. This extract comes for the pre-1902 plan of the tramways of Genova provided by Italian Wikipedia. It does no shows developments which occurred after 1902 and before WW1, © Arbalete and authorised for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 2.0). [19]

Facing North on Corso Torino, two trams pass, © Public Domain. [71]
Looking North on Corso Torino in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
It seems as though this photo was taken after 1923 when the national government enforced driving on the right. A tram heading South on Corso Torino close to the route terminus  which involved a loop in streets close to Piazza del Popolo (now Via Antonio Cecchi), which also host a local market, which was off to the right of the photograph, © Public Domain. [70]
A very similar view looking North on Corso Torino in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
Piazza del Popolo hosted a local market and was the effective terminus of the tram line to Foce. The red line marks the tram route which looped round the streets on the South side of the piazza. This is an extract from the Baedeker map of 1927, © Public Domain. [72]

Piazza del Popolo seen from the Southeast. [73]
Via Antonio Cecchi (previously Piazza del Popolo) in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, March 2023]

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.

The line to Nervi frpm Piazza Thommaseo, © Arbalete and authorised for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 2.0). [19]

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.

A later tramway map showing more of the route to Nervi. Note that on this later map an alternative route to that via San Martino marked as the terminus of Line 50 in 1956, was the route of Lines 51,52,53 in 1956, The two routes met at Piazza Sturla which is marked as the terminus of Lines 42 and 45 in 1956, © Arbalete and authorised for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 2.0). [19]

The more northerly route left Piazza Thommaseo along Via Montevideo.

Looking Northeast across Piazza Thommaseo and along Via Montevideo in the 1920s, © Public Domain.  [74]
A similar view in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, August 2023]
At the Northeast end of Via Montevideo (off to the left of the picture), this mid-20th century view looks East on Via Tolemaide, © Public Domain. [75]
A similar view in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
Looking West along Corso Giulio Cesare (now Via Aldo Gastaldi) early in the 20th century, © Public Domain. [76]
Again looking West along Corso Giulio Cesare (now Via Aldo Gastaldi) in the mid-20th century, © Public Domain. [77]
Via Aldo Gastaldi (SS1) is highlighted in yellow on this satellite image. Trams left Via Aldo Gastaldi at the left of this image, travelling along Via San Marino which can be seen on the South side of the SS1. At the bottom-right of this image the road carrying the tramway becomes Via Sturla. [Google Maps, December 2024]
Looking East along what is now Via Aldo Gastaldi. Via San Martino bears off to the right. An earlier picture at this location can be seen below, © Public Domain. [94]
The tram in this East facing image from 1929 is travelling on Via San Martino. Construction work on the SS1 is underway. That road will open in 1933. Via Aldo Gastaldi was first known as Via Nuova San Martino, then as Corso Giulio Cesare and, after WW2, it was named after the partisan Aldo Gastald, © Public Domain. [82]
Looking East at the same location in the 21st century. On the left is the SS1 . Via San Martino runs up the centre of this image. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
Looking West along Via San Marino, © Public Domain. [95]
The samw vie, looking West, as in the monochrome image above, in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
The tram route along Via Sturla (c) unknown but most probably Public Domain. This image was shared on the Foto Genova Antic Facebook Group by Luciano Lully Lulli on 31st March 2020. [92]
Via Sturla, San Martino, (c) Public Domain. [93]
Via Sturla, San Martino, 1956. This image was shared on the C’era Una Volta Genova Facebook Group by Maurizio Maggiali on 22nd November 2020. It it taken at the same location as the monochrome imgae immediately above. [81]
The same location in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
Via Sturla winds its way Southeast through th Genoa’s suburbs. [Google Maps, December 2024]
Much closer to the coast now trams leave Via Sturla to run along Via Dei Mille. [Google Maps, December 2024]
In this photo, the line from San Martino is close to Piazza Sturla where it merged
with the shorter variant coming from Via Albaro (see below). The tram is heading for Quarto, Priaruggia, Quinto and Nervi. The image is later than 1915 as the new Sturla railway station is present, (c) Public Doamin. [102]
A similar location looking North on Via Sturla in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
This extract from a map of the East of Genova copnurbation shows the length of the tramway running along Via Sturla, Via dei Mille and Via V. Maggio, (c) unknown but most probably Public Domain. This image was shared on the Fotto Genova Antic Facebook Group by Luciano Lully Lulli on 2nd May 2023. [18]
Piazza Sturla with Via dei Mille running away from the camera. Vis Sturla enters the image on the left, (c) Public Domain. [96]
Via Sturla looking Northwest from adjacent to Via dei Mille, (c) Public Domain. [97]
Lookin Northwest, Piazza Sturla in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, August 2024]

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.

Via dei Mille becomes Via V. Maggio. [Google Maps, December 2024]
A view West on Via dei Mille towards Piazza Sturla, (c) Public Domain. [91]
The same view in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
Looking Northwest from Via V. Maggio along Via dei Mille, (c) Public Domain. [98]
A more modern postcard image looking Northwest from Via V. Maggio along Via dei Mille, (c) Unknown. This image was shared by Diego Ardenghi on the Foto Genova Antica Facebook Group on 20th January 2024. [99]
Via V. Maggio wanders along beside the Mediterranean. [Google Maps, December 2024]
Looking East on Via V. Maggio, (c) Public Domain. [90]
A similar location looking East on Via V. Maggio in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
Via V. Maggio looking West, (c) Public Domain. [100]
Via V. Maggio looking West, (c) Public Domain. [101]
A similar location on Via V. Maggio to the two monochrome images above. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
Via V. Maggio continues East along the coast. [Google Maps, December 2024]
Quarto dei Mille looking East from Via V. Maggio to Via Quarto, (c) Public Domain. [50]
The same location in the 21st century. Via V. Maggio is about to lead into Via Quarto
Via V. Maggio gives way to Via Quarto and then Via Quinto as trams run East. [Google Maps, December 2024]
Via Qunito gives way to Via Angelo Gianelli. [Google Maps, December 2024]
Via Proveinciale, Quinto, (now Via Angelo Gianelli, (c) Public Domain. [105]
The same location, looking East on Via Angelo Gianelli in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
Trams ran along Via Angelo Gianelli across the full width of this satellite image. [Google Maps, December 2024]
The final length of the tramway took it along Via Guglielmo Oberdan to Piazza Antonio Pittaluga (once Piazza Virrorio Emanuele). [Google Maps, December 2024]
Tram tracks on Via Guglielmo Oberdan in the 1950s, (c) Public Domain. With the SSi running through this part of Nervi, it is very difficult to find this location on Google Streetview. The arch bridge in the distance should be a helpful indicator but, as you will see below, the built environment is very different. I have also found it impossible to match the arch bridge and the steep hill side visible in this photograph. [86]
Possibly the same arch bridge as on that image above. If so, the immediate built environment has changed dramatically. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
Looking West on Via Guglielmo Oberdan, (c) Public Domain. [107]
The same location, looking West on Via Guglielmo Oberdan in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, June 2021]
Trams in Nervi – those on the left are heading towards the camera on Via Guglielmo Oberdan. The tram seen side-on is just turning out of Viale Goffredo Franchini after running round the loop from the terminus, © Public Domain. [83]
Looking West along Via Guglielmo Oberdan from the same location in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, June 2021]
The terminus loop to allow trams to be turned. This replaced a simple terminus in Piazza Vittorio Emanuele (now Piazza Antonio Pittaluga). [Google Maps, December 2024]

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 municipally owned route to Quezzi – Ponte Castelfidardo is in the bottom left of this extract from the network map of 1956, © Arbalete and authorised for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 2.0). [19]
The line to Quezzi followed the left (East) bank of the River Bisagno North from Ponte Castelfidardo along Corso Galliera before heading Northeast along Via Monticelli. [Google Maps, December 2024]
Via Monticelli facing Southwest, (c) Public Domain. [89]
The same location on Via Monticelli in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
The route continued to the Northeast along Via Ferreggiano. [Google Maps, December 2024]
The remaining length of the tramway. [Google Maps, December 2024]
A panorama of Quezzi in circa. 1935, with a tram close to the end of the line, (c) Public Domain. [108]
Piazza Foreggiano, Quezzi – the end of the line, (c) Public Domain. [109]
Another postcard view of Piazza Foreggiano. [110]
Quezzi – the end of the line as seen in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, September 2008]

Summary

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.

References

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  2. https://rogerfarnworth.com/2024/12/08/genoas-early-tram-network-part-2-the-western-half-of-the-eastern-network/
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Genoa’s Early Tram Network – Part 2 – The Western half of the Eastern Network

3 Replies

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.

This map shows the three companies’ lines immediately prior to the date of unification under UITE. The Green lines were UITE (the former French Company). The Red lines were SFEF. The Blue lines were SATO, © Arbalete and authorisedd for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 2.0. [19]

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.

Piazza Raffeale de Ferrari was the busy hub for the Eastern network, © Public Domain. [7]

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.

Via Roma and Via Carlo Felice left the North side of Piazza Raffeale de Ferrari, © Public Domain. [8]
The same location in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, July 2015]
Looking Northeast from the Southwest end of Via Roma (only a few metres North of the last monochrome photograph, early in the 20th century, © Public Domain. [6]
Via Roma, © Public Domain. [6]
The same location as the two monochrome images above in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, November 2010]
Just a few metres further Northeast, Shop Canopies and Trams in Via Roma, © Public Domain. [5]
A ground level view in the 21st century from approximately the same location. [Google Streetview, November 2010]
Via Roma in the early 20th century. This image is much more difficult to locate than others because of its closer focus on the people rather than the built environment. It seems to be taken facing Northeast and was shared on the Foto Genova Antica Facebook Group on 2nd December 2024 by Luisa Torre, (c) Public Domain. [13]
Looking South West along Via Roma from outside Palazzo Doria Spinola – just Southwest of Piazza Corvetto, © Public Domain. [4]
The same length of Via Roma in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
Looking Northeast across Piazza Corvetto from close to Via Roma, circa 1900-1910, © Public Domain. [15]
A similar view from ground level in the 20th century. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
Piazza Corvetto, 1940, © Public Domain. [14]
Another ground level view which approximates to the monochrome image immediately above.

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.

Piazza della Raibetta. [Google Maps, December 2024]
Tram lines visible in the road surface of Piazza della Raibetta. This image was shared on the C’era Una Volta Genova by Alessandro Lombardo on 2nd April 2018, © Public Domain. [35]
Piazza della Raibetta in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, 2019]
Assuming that this network map is correct, the most likely route of Line 30 – the blue line round the coast and up the first length of Val Bisagno, left along Via XX Settembre to Piazza de Ferrari, along Via Roma to Piazza Corvetto and then along Via Serra to Piazza Brignole. Trams would, under these assumptions, return to Piazza Raibetta by the same route, © Arbalete and authorised for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 3.0). [19]

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.

A possible alternative route of Line 30, running South from Piazza Brignole along Via Galata, then East along Via Colombo, North along Via Ederra (now Via Fiume), Southeast across the front of Brignole Railway Station (across the North side of Piazza Guiseppe Verdi and Southwest alongside the River Bisagno on Via Canevari, before returning to Piazza Raibetta along Corso Aurelio Saffi. If this is the correct route it was probably travelled by trams in both directions, © Public Domain. [40]
The alternative route superimposed as a blue line on Google Maps satellite imagery. [Google Maps, December 2024]
Looking Southeast, trams on Via Mauritzio Quadro/Aurelio Saffi, (c) Public Domain. [39]
Via Corso Principe Oddone, later Via Aurelio Saffi, (c) Public Domain. [46]
A similar location in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
The coastal road running Southeast. The building which is being constructed with scaffolding around it is, I believe, the Genova Fire Station, (c) Public Domain. [46]
A very similar view in the 21st century. Note the two arches on the left of each image. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
Corso Principe Oddone  looking Northwest, early in 20th century. Road names were changed with the removal of the monarchy. This length of Corso Principe Oddone became Corso Maurizio Quadro, © Public Domain. [38]
A very similar view in the 21st century, the ornate building is long-gone! [Google Streetview, August 2024]
The fire station on Corso Principe Oddone, again looking Northwest, this length became Corso Maurizio Quadro or possibly Corso Aurelio Saffi. The point at which the name change occurred is not clear. The building which features in the monochrome image above can be seen just beyond the fire station in this image. The fire station sat on this site from 1906 until it was demolished in the 1990s. [39]
A very short distance Southeast along Corso Aurelio Saffi, this view looks North across what was once the site of Genova’s Fire Station. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
By 1916, the names of roads dedicated to royalty had been changed. This view looks East-southeast along the coast road, from Corso Maurizio Quadro towards Corso Aurelio Saffi, © Public Domain. [41]
Looking East at approximately the same location as the monochrome image above. [Google Streetview, August 2024]

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).

Villa Figari, Corso Principe Oddone (later Via Aurelio Saffi, (c) Public Domain. [41]
Villa Figari on Via Corso Aurelio Saffi, (c) Public Domain. [42]
A similar view in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
Villa Figari on Via Corso Principe Oddone, later Via Aurelio Saffi, (c) Public Domain. [43]
Another similar 21st century view. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
A tram on the curve on Corso Aurelio Saffi with the port buildings behind, (c) Public Domain. [38]
A similar view in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
Corso Aurelio Saffi ran/runs Southeast alongside the Mediterranean (previously Corso Principe Oddone). This image was shared on the C’era una volta Genova Facebook Group by Antonio Di Lorenzi on 2nd March 2018, (c) Public Domain. [28]
Via Corso Aurelio Saffi (Previously Corso Principe Oddone) in circa. 1930. Villa Figari can be seen on the left side of the image. This image was shared on the C’era una volta Genova Facebook Group by Elio Berneri on 20th April 2020, (c) Public Domain. [36]
Via Corso Aurelio Saffi. This image was shared on the C’era una volta Genova Facebook Group by Fulvia Enzina Benotti on 12th February 2018, (c) Public Domain. [44]
Corso Aurelio Saffi begins to head inland alongside the River Bisagno, (c) Public Domain. [47]
The curve on Corso Aurelio Saffi in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, Au8gust 2024]
Corso Aurelio Saffi and Ponte Bezzecca. Trams continued to travel North as far as Ponte Pila, (c) Public Domain. It is nigh impossible to replicateb this view in the 21st century. Not only has the river been culverted but the majotiy of buildings have been replaced. [37]
Looking East across the approximate position of Ponte Bezzecca in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
A postcard from the late 1940s or early 1950s. Via Ferruccio once ran from the Pila Bridge to the sea. In the 21st century, the avenue is now called Brigata Bisagno, © Collection of A. Pellerano, Public Domain. This image was shared on the C’era Una Volta Genova Facebook Group by Alessandro Pellerano on  29th May 2021. [89]
A 1913 view West from Pont Pila along Via Luigi Cadorna, (c) Public Domain. [48]
Looking West across the line of Ponte Pila in the 21st century. Via Luigi Cardona is directly ahead. In the far distance is Via XX Settembre. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
Looking East along Via XX Settembre under the bridge carrying Corso Andrea Podesta, (c) Public Domain. [51]
A similar view in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, April 2023]
Via XX Settembre looking West relatively close to Piazza de Ferrari, (c) Public Domain. [49]
Approximately the same location in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, April 2023]

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]

The majority of the route appears on this extract from the Baedeker 1906 map of Genova, (c)m Public Domain. [40]
This extract from Baedeker’s 1906 map covers the remainder of the tram route, (c) Public Domain. [40]
An early postcard (1895-1897) view showing the first tunnel that linked between Piazza Corvetto and Piazza del Portello. This is the portal closest to Piazza Corvetto. It was referred to as either Galleria Corvetto or Galleria Portello. Later it was known as.Galleria Regina Elena and even later, Nino Bixio. Circulation was alternate along a single line, © Public Domain. [53]
Piazza Portello, an early view of what once widened would become Galleria Giuseppe Garibaldi, © Public Domain. [59]
Piazza del Portello, looking West from the West Portal of Galleria Nino Bixio towards Galleria Giuseppe Garibaldi. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
Piazza del Portello, looking East from the East Portal of Galleria Giuseppe Garibaldi towards Galleria Nino Bixio. [Google Streetview, August 2024]

The two Galleria (Nino Bixio and Giuseppe Garibaldi) are covered in the first of this short series which can be found here. [1]

At the far end of the second tunnel the trams ran through Largo della Zecca onto Via Paolo Emilio Bensa.

The view East from Piazza della Nunziata towards Largo della Zecca along Via Paolo Emilio Bensa, © Public Domain. [58]
A similar view in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, 2009]
An early tram on Piazza della Nunziata, © Public Domain. [57]
Via Paolo Emilio is behind the camera. The photograph looks across Piazza della Nunziata and along Via Balbi, © Public Domain. [3]
A similar view to the one above with a tram closer to the camera, © Public Domain. [56]
A 21st century view from Piazza della Nunziata along Via Balbi. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
Looking Northwest along Via Balbi in 1917, with tram tracks in the road surface. The building at the centre of the next image appears in the distance. © Public Domain. [2]
A similar view in the 1950s, © Public Domain. [65]
A similar view in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
Via Balbi again, looking towards Piazza Acquaverde. The building was demolished in 1929. The Hotel di Londres sat at the mouth of Via Balbi on Piazza Acquaverde, © Public Domain. [62]
The location of Hotel di Londres in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
Hotel di Londres seen from Piazza Acquaverde, © Public. [63]
Looking back East along Via Balbi from l’Hotel di Londres, © Public Domain. [64]
Piazza Acquaverde seen from the roof of the Principe Railway Station, © Public Domain. [66]
With Via Balbi ahead on the left this photograph shows Hotel Colombia, seen from Piazza Acquaverde, © Public Domain. [67]

The sequence of photographs below shows the driver’s eye view from a tram heading from Via Balbi towards Via Andrea Doria.

Principe Railway Station seen from Piazza Acquaverde close to Via Balbi, © Public Domain. [68]
Another view across Piazza Acquaverde towards the buildings of Principe Railway Station. The arch behind the tram leads onto Via Andrea Doria, © Public Domain. [69]
A similar view of Principe Railway Station in 21//the 21st century. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
Looking South into Via Andrea Doria from Piazza Acquaverde at around the turn of the 20th century. The arched entrance to Via Andrea Doria was removed in 1931 to enhance traffic flows, © Public Domain. [70]
A 21st century view at the same location. [Google Streetview, August 2924]
Looking North out of Via Andrea Doria onto Piazza Acquaverde around the turn of the 20th century, © Public Domain. [71]
This extract from a photograph which looked South from higher ground to the North shows Principe Railway Station and Via Andrea Doria after the removal of the arch, © Public Domain. [72]
The view from Via Andrea Doria across Piazza Principe towards Hotel Miramar at the centre-top of the image. [Google Streetview, 2019]
An extract from a photograph of Piazza Principe. This photograph looks East along Via Andrea Doria towards its bend into Piazza Acquaverde, © Public Domain. [73]
Looking East across Piazza Principe, © Public Domain. [74]
Looking East across Piazza Principe in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, 2019]

Piazza Acquaverde to Piazza Manin through the Hills

At Piazza Acquaverde a line diverged from that heading to Piazza Principe. It immediately began to climb into the suburbs close to the city centre.

Line No. 25 was the line through the hills, © Arbalete and authorised for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 3.0). [19]

The full length of Line No. 25 appears diagrammatically above. It is shown on the two extracts from the Baedeker map of Genova of 1906 below.

These two extracts from Baedeker’s map of 1906 show Line No. 25 through the hills, © Public Domain. [40]

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.

Piazza Pedro Ferriera in the 21st century. The upper entrance to Galleria Sant’Ugo can be seen on the left. Via Sant’Ugo heads away from the camera on the right. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
Looking Northeast on Via Sant’Ugo. [ Google Streetview August 2025]
Looking Northwest on Via Sant’Ugo in the 1930s, © Public Domain. [75]
The same hairpin bend in the 21st century. The semi-circular stone facade is just off the left of this photo. Beyond the bend the road name changes to Via Almeria. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
The hairpin bend Corso (Via) Ugo Bassi is ahead of the camera [77]

Via Almeria ran West to another hairpin bend and another change in road name – Corso Ugo Bassi.

A tram approaching the hairpin bend into Corso Ugo Bassi, © Public Domain. [77]
Via Almeria is on the right, Corso Bassi is on the left of this 21st century image. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
Looking back to the hairpin bend on Corso Ugo Bassi, (c) Public Domain. [78]
The same view in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, April 2023]
Corso Firenze, looking East from the top of the switchback climb which culminated in the run up Corso Ugo Bassi, © Public Domain. [76]
The same view in the 2st century. [Goopgl;e Streetview, April 2023]
Looking North along Corso Firenze, © Public Domain. [77]
A similar view in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, April 2023]
Another view North along the same lenght of Corso Firenxe. [Google Streetview, April 2023]
These two photographs show Corso Firenze turning right then left before it reaches a hairpin bend around wooded park land. [Both, Google Streetview, April 2023]
These two view show Corso Firenze facing South after turning through the hairpin bend. [Google Streetview, April 2023]
Corso Firenze turns sharply to the left to run in an easterly direction. [Google Streetview, July 2022]

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 looking North, © Public Domain. [79]
A similar view of Corso Firenze, (c) Public Domain. [88]
Corso Firenze, looking North in the 21st century. A very similar view to the monochrome image above.

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.

Looking North on Corso Firenze close to Spianata Castellatto, © Public Domain. []
A similar view looking North on Corso Firenze in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, 2019]
The entrance to Piazza Goffredo Villa from Corso Firenze. [Google Streetview, April 2023]
Looking Southeast through Spianata Castellatto which became Piazza Goffredo Villa, © Public Domain. []
Looking Southeast through the centre of Piazza Goffredo Villa in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, April 2023]
Looking North-northeast along Corso Niccolo Paganini from close to Piazza Goffredo Villa in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, April 2023]
Looking North-northeast along the first length of Corso Niccolo Paganini, © Public Domain. [80]
Corso Niccolo Paganini, (c) Public Domain. [85]
The same view in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, August 2024]

A hairpin bend takes Corso Niccolo Paganini over Ponte Caffaro and after returning South the old tram route turned East on Corso Magenta.

Ponte Caffaro carries Corso Niccolo Paganini across Via Caffaro. [Google Streetview, April 2023]
Looking South down the eastern arm of Corso Niccolo Paganini, Via Caffaro runs below and to the right of the photograph. [Google Streetview, April 2023]
Looking North up the eastern arm of Corso Niccolo Paganini, © Public Domain. [81]
The same view in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, April 2023]
Trams turned left from Corso Niccolo Paganini into Corso Magenta. [Google Streetview, April 2023]
I believe that this is the first length of Corso Magenta looking East toward another hairpin bend. [83]
The smae length of Corsa Magenta, looking East. [Google Streetview, April 2023]
After the hairpin bend, trams on Corso Magenta ran generally in a southerly direction. [Google Streetview, April 2023]
They then turned left to travel East across the Northside of the Giardini Combattenti Alleati. [Google Streetview, April 2023]
Trams then turned Northeast into Corso Solferino which drifted down while running generally in an Easterly direction. {Google Streetview, April 2023]
Corso Solferino again. [Google Streetview, April 2023]
And Corso Solferino again. [Google Streetview, April 2023]
Trams left Corso Solferino, bearing left ontoCorso Carlo Armellini. [Google Streetview, April 2023]

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.

References

  1. https://rogerfarnworth.com/2024/12/03/genoas-early-tram-network-part-1-general-introduction-tunnels-the-years-before-world-war-one-and-the-early-western-network.
  2. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/404148027403?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=C67q2ovEQHK&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=afQhrar7TGK&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY, accessed on 14th November 2024.
  3. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/hLnhcu75AKzRGVSZ, accessed on 6th December 2024.
  4. https://www.collectoravenue.it/index.php/en/shop/cartolinagenovaviaromatramautodepocaanimata192858795-detail, accessed on 14th November 2024.
  5. https://www.collectoravenue.it/index.php/en/shop/cartolinagenovaviaromatramanimataedmodiano58957-detail, accessed on 14th November 2024.
  6. https://ceraunavoltagenova.blogspot.com/2013/09/?m=1, accessed on 14th November 2024.
  7. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Genova,_piazza_De_Ferrari_with_tram.jpg, accessed on 3rd December 2024.
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Genoa – Casella Narrow Gauge Railway Part 2 – Sardorella to Casella

4 Replies

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. …

Sardorella Halt. [Google Maps, November 2024]
Sardorella Halt seen from a Genoa-bound train, © Al*from*Lig and authorised for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 4.0). [3]
From Sardorella, the line drops South for a short distance before turning to the East. [Google Maps, November 2024]
It then heads Northeast towards Ponte Sul Sardorella. [Google Maps, November 2024]
At Ponte Sul Sardorella the line turns sharply round through 180° to run West. [Google Maps, November 2024]
The Ponte sul Sardorella (the bridge over the River Sardorella), authorised for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 3.0). [4]
The line continues to the West beneath the village of Vicomorasso, before turning North into Vicomorasso Railway Station. [Google Maps, November 2024]

Vicomorasso Railway Station is a more substantial site than those already encountered since leaving Genoa.

Vicomorasso Railway Station, © Jeremy Segrott and licenced for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY 2.0). [5]
Vicomorasso Railway Station, © AlfromLig and licenced for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 4.0). [6]
Vicomorasso Railway Station, © AlfromLig and licenced for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 4.0). [6]
An aerial view from the East across the village to Vicomorasso Railway Station. [Google Earth 3D, November 2024]
a1-1990vicomorasso
This image is embedded from Flickr and shows an A1 Class (ex FEVF) electric locomotive at Vicomorasso in 1990, © prazene, August 2010. [7]
A.2 in manovra a Vicomorasso.
This image is embedded from Flickr and shows an A2 Class electric locomotive of 1929, about to resume its journey towards Casella after a stop in Vicomorasso, © Andrea Catzeddu, June 2024. [11]
An aerial view from the Southwest of Vicomorasso Railway Station. [Google Earth, November 2024]
An aerial view of the railway immediately to the North of Vicomorasso Station. After a short length travelling North the line turns West, crossing Via Vicomorasso at level. [Google Earth 3D, November 2024]
Looking back towards Vicomorasso Railway Station from the junction of the Via Sant’Olcese (SP2) and Via Vicomorasso. [Google Streetview, December 2020]
Looking ahead from the junction of the SP2 and Via Vicomorasso, the line can be seen entering another tunnel. [Google Streetview, December 2020]
The tunnel at Vicomorasso. [Google Maps, November 2024]
The railway turns North and runs alongside the SP2 at a higher level than the road. [Google Maps, November 2024]
A tight S-bend takes the railway along the contours above the SP2 and to Sant’Olcese (Chiesa) Halt. [Google Maps, November 2024]
Sant’Olcese Halt. [Google Maps, November 2024]
Sant’Olcese Halt looking North. [9]
Looking Northeast this aerial view across Sant’Olcese (Chiesa) Halt shows the railway disappearing into a tunnel just to the Northeast of the Halt. [Google Earth 3D, November 2024]
The tunnel under Via A. de Gasperi in Sant’Olcese. The East portal of this tunnel is hidden by the tree canopy. [Google Maps, November 2024]

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.

Loco B52 in charge of a train heading towards Genova with the village of Sant’Olcese in the background. Something of the track arrangement here is visible. Another section of the line runs at a higher level off to the right of this image and runs into Sant’Olcese Tullo Halt, © Alberto Perego and authorised for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 3.0). [30]
Both the lower level (adjacent to the SP2) and the middle level of track (which includes the tunnel marked by the red dots) can be seen in this satellite image. The North portal of this tunnel is hidden by the tree canopy. The South Portal is shown below. [Google Maps, November 2024]
The South Portal of the tunnel shown on the satellite image above. [Google Earth, November 2024]
Leaving the tunnel the line runs South for a short distance before swinging round through close to 270° before entering another tunnel and then heading North. [Google Maps, November 2024]
The East portal of the tunnel on the above satellite image is shrouded in the shadow of the adjacent tree. [Google Earth, November 2024]
The Northwest portal is a little clearer. [Google Earth, November 2024]
The line turns West again, crosses the SP2 by means of a level crossing and enters Sant’Olcese Tullo Halt which offers a loop for trains to pass. [Google Maps, November 2024]
Looking back East along the line from the level crossing on Via A. De Gasperi (SP2). [Google Streetview, May 2022]
Looking ahead into Sant’Olcese Tullo Halt from the level crossing on Via A. De Gasperi (SP2). [Google Streetview, May 2022]
Sant’Olcese Tullo Halt. [Google Maps, November 2024]
Sant’Olcese Tullo Halt. [Google Streetview, May 2022]
Sant’Olcese Tullo Halt, looking back towards Genoa, © Eugenio Merzagora. [13 – Structurae.net]
Sant’Olcese Tullo Halt, © Andrea Martinelli and licenced for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 3.0). [12]
Leaving Sant’Olcese the line winds northwards following the contours, first alongside Via Rino and then switching over to the North side of Via Busalletta. [Google Maps, November 2024]
The railway alongside Via Ronco. [Google Streetview, May 2022]
The railway alongside Via Ronco. [Google Streetview, May 2022]
The line runs alongside Via Busalletta at a lower level before rising to cross the road at a level crossing. The route of the line is obscured by the Google Maps superimposed line of the SP2. [Google Maps, November 2024]
The railway on the North side of Via Busalletta. [Google Streetview, May 2022]
The railway crosses Via Busalletta at a level crossing. [Google Streetview, May 2022]
The same crossing from above. [Google Earth, November 2024]
Looking back along the line towards Sant’Olcese from the level crossing on Via Busalletta. [Google Streetview, May 2022]
Looking forward from the level crossing towards Busalletta. [Google Streetview, May 2022]
Via Busalletta runs beside the railway towards Busalletta Halt. [Google Streetview, May 2022]
Looking back from Via Brigata Balilla at the South end of Busalletta Halt towards Sant’Olcese. [Google Streetview, May 2022]
Looking forward from Via Brigata Balilla at the South end of Busalletta Halt. [Google Streetview, May 2022]
A closer view of Busalletta Halt. [Google Maps, November 2024]
A wide angle view of Busalletta Halt from the South. [Google Streetview, May 2022]
Busalletta Halt from the South. [Google Streetview, May 2022]
Busalletta Halt from the South. [Google Streetview, May 2022]
Busalletta Halt from the Northwest. [Google Streetview, May 2022]
Busalletta Halt, © Al*from*Lig and licenced for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 4.0). [14]
Busalletta Halt © Giorgio Stagni and licenced for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 3.0). [14]
Busalletta Halt, © Giorgio Stagni and licenced for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 3.0). [14]
Busalletta Halt, © Giorgio Stagni and licenced for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 3.0). [14]
Busalletta to Molinetti Halt. [Google Maps, November 2024]
To the North of Busalletta Halt, the line runs on the East side of Via Molinetti. [Google Streetview, May 2022]
Further along the line towards Molinetti. [Google Streetview, May 2022]
And again, further still towards Molinetti Halt. [Google Streetview, May 2022]
Much closer now to Molinetti Halt. [Google Streetview, May 2022]
Heading North still and closing in on Molinetti Halt. [Google Streetview, May 2022]
Molinetti Halt seen from the South on Via Molinetti (SP2). [Google Streetview, May 2022]
Molinetti Halt. [Google Earth, November 2024]
Molinetti Halt to Niusci Halt. The line is further from the SP2 and at a higher level. [Google Maps, November 2024]
Niusci Halt seen from the East. [Google Earth, November 2024]
Niusci to Crocetta D’orero. Google Maps, November 2024]
West and North of Niusci Halt, the SP2 and the railway run in parallel. Initially the railway is too far from the road to be seen. Later the two run immediately adjacent to each other. [Google Streetview, May 2022]
The line crosses the road on the level. [Google Streetview, May 2022]
Looking back towards Niusci from the level crossing. [Google Streetview, January 2021]
Looking ahead towards Liggia Halt. [Google Streetview, May 2022]
Beyond the crossing, the SP2 begins to rise above the railway. [Google Streetview, May 2022]
Liggia Halt. [Google Streetview, May 2022]
Liggia Halt, looking North. [Google Earth, November 2024]
Crocetta D’orero Halt seen from the SP2 to the South of the Halt. [Google Streetview, May 2022]
Crocetta D’orero Halt seen from the South. [Google Earth, November 2024]
North of the Halt, the line tunnels under Crocetta D’orero village. The southern tunnel.mouth is towards the bottom of this image. [Google Earth, November 2024]
A better view of the tunnel entrance can be seen in this picture. [Google Earth 3D, November 2024]
The tunnel at Crocetta D’orero.[Google Earth, November 2024]
The North tunnel mouth in shadow. [Google Earth 3D, November 2024]
Canova Crocetta Halt sits immediately to the North of the tunnel under the village. [Google Maps, November 2024]
Canova Crocetta Halt. [Google Earth, November 2024]
Canova Crocetta Halt, seen from the South on the SP3. [Google Streetview, 2011]
North of Canova Crocetta Halt, the line headed North-northeast above Via Pianogrande. [Google Maps, November 2024]
The line continues into Casella Depositi Halt. [Google Maps, November 2024]
As the line curved into Casella Deposito it crossed this stone arched viaduct. The image is of quite poor quality. [Google Earth 3D, November 2024]
Casella Deposito and Halt. [Google Maps, November 2024]
An early view of the first station at Casella, now known as Casella Deposito. Steam was employed during construction. This view looks Northeast across the site of the station and across the River Scrivia. © Public Domain. [16]
Casella Station, now Casella Deposito, on the South bank of the River Scrivia. The town of Casella is on the North bank.  The bridge over the Scrivia is in the right background, © Public Domain. [8]
The final run into Casella requires trains to reverse at Casella Deposito Halt. The line curved round to the North, crossed the River Scrivia (Flume Scrivia) on a bridge shared with the SP3. [Google Maps, November 2024]
Looking East through the site of Casella Deposito. [Google Earth 3D, November 2024]
Looking West through the site of Casella Deposito. [Google Earth 3D, November 2024]
The line from Casella Deposito curves round towards Casella Paese. [Google Streetview, May 2022]
The curve from Casella Deposito to the bridge over the River Scrivia seen from the Southeast. [Google Earth 3D, November 2024]

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.

The Vittorio Veneto bridge over the Flume Scrivia. [Google Earth 3D, November 2024]
The construction of the bridge over the River Scrivia at Casella © Public Domain. [15]
Looking North across the Ponte Vittorio Veneto. The railway runs along the East side of Via Ponte Vittorio Veneto over the bridge. [Google Streetview, May 2022]
Approaching the roundabout at the North end of the bridge. [Google Streetview, May 2022]
The railway crosses the SP226 immediately adjacent to the roundabout and then runs down the East side of Viale Europa. [Google Streetview, May 2022]
Looking back South over Ponte Vittorio Veneto. [Google Streetview, May 2022]
The railway heads Into the centre of Casella on the East side of Viale Europa. [Google Streetview, May 2022]
The line remains on the East side of Viale Europa right through to its terminus. [Google Streetview, May 2022]
The station throat, Casella Paese. [Google Streetview, May 2022]
The terminus at Casella Paese. [Google Earth 3D, November 2024]
The end of the line: Casella Paese Station seen from Via Aldo Moro to the North of the buffers. [Google Streetview, May 2022]

Locomotives and Rolling Stock

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]

The first electric train to arrive at Casella (now Casella Deposito). This image has already appeared in this article. It shows one of the first three locomotives supplied by Breda at the head of the train, © Public Domain. [21]
At the same location one of the three elettromotrices runs round its train of three coaches, © Public Domain. [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.

Locomotive No. 29 can be seen here. [24]

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]

Elettromotrice A2, © Ale Sasso, June 2006. [20]
Elettromotrice A3 in charge of a Genoa-bound train at Ponte Rovena. [27]

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]

Locomotive B52 at Niusci in the 1960s. The bogies of B51 and B52 were reused on the A8 and A9 elettromortrices of 1993, still in service. Locomotive B51 was restored/rebuilt and is preserved as a historic vehicle on the Trento-Malè Railway. That railway purchased it in 2008 and in 2009 the restored loco was in use pulling a single carriage on the Trento-Malè Railway, © Alberto Perego and licenced for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 3.0). [30]

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]

This monochrome image shows A4 climbing into Sant’Olcese Tullo Halt, © Georgio Stagni and licenced for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 3.0). [28]
This image shows A4 in a later colour scheme at Torrazza, © Georgio Stagni and licenced for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 3.0). [28]
A5 crossing Ponte Vittorio Veneto in the days prior to the railway being moved to the side of the road. In early days the railway ran along the road into Casella, © Georgio Stagni and licenced for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 3.0). [28]
A5 leaving Casella and approaching Ponte Vittorio Veneto in a later guise, still in the days prior to the railway being moved to the side of the road, © Georgio Stagni and licenced for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 3.0). [28]

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]

This image shows A8 (on the left) and A12 (on the right) at Genova Manin Railway Station, © Al*from*Lig and licenced for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 4.0). [21]
A9 in the snow at Crocetta, © Georgio Stagni and licenced for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 3.0). [29]
We have seen this image before. Its value here is to allow Elettromotrice A10 on the right, to be compared to Elettromotrice A5 on the left, © Andrea Martinelli and licenced for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 3.0). [1]

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]

Elettromotrice A11 at Sant’Olcese Tullo, © Andrea Martinelli and licenced for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 3.0). [31]

A12 can be seen on Flickr here. [32]

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]

References

  1. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genova%E2%80%93Casella_railway, accessed on 11th November 2024.
  2. https://www.bimbeinviaggio.com/en/italy/liguria-en/genoa/genoa-casella-train-route-timetable, accessed on 19th November 2024.
  3. https://it.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stazione_di_Sardorella#/media/File%3AStaz.Sardorella.jpg, accessed on 21st November 2024.
  4. https://www.stagniweb.it/foto6.asp?File=fgc19&Inizio=11&Righe=10&InizioI=1&RigheI=100&Col=5 , accessed on 21st November 2024.
  5. https://www.flickr.com/photos/126337928@N05/47033340152, accessed on 21st November 2024.
  6. https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Vicomorasso_train_station, accessed on 21st November 2024]
  7. https://www.flickr.com/photos/prazene/4889371810, accessed on 21st November 2024.
  8. https://www.ferroviagenovacasella.it/geca/il-primo-decennio, accessed on 19th November 2024.
  9. https://www.ferroviagenovacasella.it/geca/la-seconda-guerra-mondiale, accessed on 19th November 2024.
  10. https://www.ferroviagenovacasella.it/geca/dagli-anni-settanta-ad-oggi, accessed on 19th November 2024.
  11. https://www.flickr.com/photos/188768670@N06/53771228353, accessed on 21st November 2024.
  12. https://m.wikidata.org/wiki/Q56371269#/media/File%3AFCG_A11_Sant_Olcese_Tullo_20111228.jpg, accessed on 21st November 2024.
  13. https://structurae.net/en/structures/sant-olcese-tullo-station, accessed on 21st November 2024.
  14. https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Busalletta_train_station, accessed on 22nd November 2024.
  15. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/rHqZdscSXSdCuAKT, accessed on 22nd November 2024.
  16. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/hcrJ3NCNeUdQFZxX, accessed on 22nd November 2024.
  17. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/a1WSMYTtU7vbsyjT, accessed on ,22nd November 2024.
  18. https://rogerfarnworth.com/2024/11/21/genoa-casella-narrow-gauge-railway-part-1-genova-to-sardorella.
  19. https://www.mentelocale.it/genova/57212-ferrovia-genova-casella-dal-6-settembre-il-servizio-avverr-con-bus-sostitutivo.htm, accessed on 23rd November 2024.
  20. https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Elettromotrice_A2_della_Ferrovia_Genova_Casella.JPG, accessed on 23rd November 2024.
  21. https://it.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferrovia_Genova-Casella, accessed on 23rd November 2024.
  22. Corrado Bozzano, Roberto Pastore and Claudio Serra; Illustrated History of the Genoa-Casella Railway; Recco (GE), Il Geko Edizioni, 2016.
  23. https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Caerano.jpg, accessed on 23rd November 2024.
  24. https://passionetrasporti.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/fgc-29-campi-2008-11-22-cerizzamatteo-1.jpg?w=1110&h=, accessed on 23rd November 2024.
  25. https://it.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferrovia_della_Val_di_Fiemme, accessed on 23rd November 2024.
  26. https://www.ferroviagenovacasella.it/geca/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/VOLANTINO-viaggio-storica-AGGIORNATA-al-11.02.-2020.psd.pdf, accessed on 23rd November 2024.
  27. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/115360290908?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=Fbvtwm00Q0S&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=afQhrar7TGK&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY, accessed on 23rd November 2024.
  28. https://www.stagniweb.it/foto6.asp?File=casella2&Inizio=2&Righe=10&InizioI=1&RigheI=150&Col=5, accessed on 24th November 2024
  29. https://www.stagniweb.it/foto6.asp?File=fgc21&InizioI=1&RigheI=100&Col=5, accessed on 24th November 2024.
  30. https://www.stagniweb.it/foto6.asp?File=fgc19&Inizio=66&Righe=10&InizioI=1&RigheI=100&Col=5, accessed on 24th November 2024.
  31. https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FCG_A11_Sant_Olcese_Tullo_20111228.jpg, accessed on 24th November 2024.
  32. https://api.flickr.com/photos/188768670@N06/50009526478, accessed on 24th November 2024.
  33. Maria Vittoria Cascino; Il trenino di Casella arranca in ritardo tra guasti e amianto; on ilgiornale.it, 20th March 2008; accessed on 24th November 2024.
  34. Andrea Martinelli, La D1 è tornata!, in iTreni N° 388, January 2016, p24-26.
  35. https://www.hrohrer.ch/railways/carrozze/cap19.htm, accessed on 24th November 2024.
  36. https://www.hrohrer.ch/railways/carrozze/f1904.jpg, accessed on 25th November 2024.
  37. https://www.hrohrer.ch/railways/carrozze/f1901.jpg, accessed on 25th November 2024.
  38. https://www.hrohrer.ch/railways/carrozze/f1905.jpg, accessed on 25th November 2024.
  39. https://www.hrohrer.ch/railways/carrozze/f1902.jpg, accessed on 25th November 2024.
  40. https://www.hrohrer.ch/railways/carrozze/f1906.jpg, accessed on 25th November 2024.
  41. https://www.hrohrer.ch/railways/carrozze/f1903.jpg, accessed on 25th November 2024.
  42. https://www.hrohrer.ch/railways/carrozze/f1907.jpg, accessed on 25th November 2024.
  43. https://www.hrohrer.ch/railways/carrozze/f1908.jpg, accessed on 25th November 2024.

Genoa – Casella Narrow Gauge Railway Part 1 – Genova to Sardorella

3 Replies

The Genova–Casella railway is a 24.3 km narrow gauge railway that connects Genoa to Casella, a village in the mountains inland from the city. [1] The stations on the line are shown in the graphic immediately below:

The Route of the Line. [1]

This article covers the history of the line and a journey along the southern half of the railway (Genoa to Sardorella). The second article covers the northern half of the railway and its rolling stock. That second article can be found here. [16]

The route shown on a topographical map, © Public Domain. [1]
Perhaps the route is easier to follow on this map? [5]

When it is operating, “the line operates nine trains per day and it is used for both commuting and tourist purposes; it crosses three valleys and was opened in 1929. While it is owned by Liguria Region, it has been operated since 2010 by AMT Genova.” [1]

“At the end of the nineteenth century, a direct railway link between Genoa and Emilia Romagna was proposed, as an alternative to the Turin–Genoa railway. The railway had to start from the Port of Genoa and cross the Ligurian mountains to reach Piacenza railway station and Borgotaro. It was intended to be a fast, long-distance line primarily for goods.” [1]

“As a result, SAFEL (Società Anonima Ferrovie Elettrici Liguri) considered the construction of a local passenger line, complementary to the Genoa-Piacenza freight line. Its purpose was to connect the city centre to all the small municipalities and holiday resorts of the Ligurian hinterland … The first section of this network was the Genoa-Casella line.” [1]

“The original project was planned with a bifurcation to provide a branch towards Busalla and a line to Torriglia, which in a second phase would be extended to Piacenza.” [1]

These were just the first proposals from SAFEL. It considered a wide range of other schemes intended to follow on from their successful completion. A start was made when, in 1908, “SAFEL applied to the Ministry for a concession for the construction of the Genoa-Casella line. This concession was obtained on 17th June 1915. Like most of the local railways of the time, the line was almost entirely single-track and had a tortuous alignment (in order to follow the topography of the Ligurian mountains). Electrification was part of the original plans and the 950 mm track gauge was chosen to minimise infrastructure costs in accord with a directive from the Council of Public Works which recommended the adoption of an ‘Italian metric gauge’ (950 mm) for railways unlike the true metric gauge (1000 mm) adopted for tramways.” [1]

“To allow the construction of a connection at Manin with the Genoa tram network , the operating company presented a variation to the project, approved by the Higher Council of Public Works, which sanctioned the adoption of the 1000 mm gauge. This connection, however, although reported in the first design tables, was never built.” [12 – translated from Italian]

“The coming of the First World War imposed a long postponement to the construction of the railway line. It was not until 28th February 1921 that the final agreement between the Government and SAFEL was signed, which gave the permitted a start to construction work.” [1 – translated/adapted from Itailan]
“On 26th June 1921 the first stone was laid. The construction of tunnels, bridges, and station buildings was entrusted to the ‘Consorzio Cooperative Liguri di Produzione e Lavoro tra Combattenti’, which gave work to thousands of former soldiers and workers who remained unemployed after the first world war. The construction was entirely financed with private funds.” [1]

“On 26th June 1921 the first stone was laid. The construction of tunnels, bridges, and station buildings was entrusted to the ‘Consorzio Cooperative Liguri di Produzione e Lavoro tra Combattenti’, which gave work to thousands of former soldiers and workers who remained unemployed after the first world war. The construction was entirely financed with private funds.” [1]

Construction work proved to be complex. The section from Genoa to Trensasco required steep gradients. To facilitate construction, “a 1.2 km-long cable car was installed in order to transport  building materials from the Bisagno River valley. The cable car system lifted materials over a height of 450 m. Electric excavators and crushers (modern machinery at the time) were also adopted to produce the necessary sand and cement on site.” [1]

“In 1924 the S.E.N. (Società Elettrica Nazionale), a subsidiary of the Ernesto Breda industries, was awarded a contract for the laying of track, the construction of the overhead line, the construction of electrical substations, and for the supply of rolling stock.” [1]

“Meanwhile, resources were expended on pursuing a succession of extension projects, some of which were very unlikely. This resulted in ongoing financial instability and a slowing of the construction work already on site.” [1]

“The first tracks were laid in 1926 starting from Vicomorasso, with the help of a Mallet-type steam locomotive purchased by the Ferrovie dell’Appenno Centrale, but operations were interrupted due to lack of funds.” [1]

“Work resumed in 1927 thanks to a grant from the Municipality of Genoa and the National Bank. The Breda company was asked to complete the remaining civil engineering work in addition to the electrification of the line and the laying of the track (the bridge between the two Fontanassa tunnels, the Cicala and Puin viaducts).” [1]

The construction loco made an inspection journey along the line on 7th June 1928, pulling a passenger car with the Podestà of Genoa, Sant’Olcese, Serra Riccò and Casella on board, © Public Domain. [1]
Another photograph taken on 7th June 1928, © Public Domain. One of these two photos appears to be transposed. They are from different angles but the building and flag cannot be both sides of the line! [1]

“On 7th June 1928, the steam locomotive used in the construction of the line made an inspection trip to Casella pulling a passenger car with the Podestà of Genoa, Sant’Olcese, Serra Riccò and Casella on board. It was welcomed by the citizens in celebration along the way. Only on 2nd October 1928 was the first electric train – reserved for two hundred members of the Italian Electrotechnical Association which in those days held its annual congress in Genoa – able to travel the entire line.” [1]

“On 1st September 1929 the official inauguration took place. … Due to the lack of external funding, the ambitious projects planned for a Ligurian railway network were never fulfilled – Casella became the terminus.”[1][2]

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]

In 1930, “the Vittorio Veneto bridge over the River Scrivia [was constructed], but the railway was not immediately extended along the route.” [1][3]

The first train arrived at Casella (now Casella Deposito) on 1st September 1929, © Public Domain. [1]

“In 1933, even though the railway was operating at full capacity with a high numbers of passengers and freight, SAFEL was on the verge of bankruptcy. … The company had invested heavily in the extension projects without [paying] off outstanding debts with Breda and banca Nazionale del Lavoro, which had financed much of the construction of the line. … In 1934 SAFEL was declared bankrupt after a court trial, and the management of the railway was acquired by the Lazzi bus companies.” [1]

“On 23rd August 1937, two of the locomotives were destroyed in an accident near Vicomorasso. … Three [replacement A1-1A locos] were purchased, … built by MAN in 1913 for the Montebelluna – Asolo and  Montebelluna – Valdobbiadene tramways [which] closed in 1931. … The machines entered service in 1939, …  after conversion of the original power supply system from 975 V DC to 2400 V DC.” [1]

“During the Second World War the railway experienced its period of maximum use, since numerous families were evacuated to the area to the North of Genoa and the train operated both for passengers and for freight. … At the end of the conflict, both the infrastructure and the rolling stock were seriously damaged by intensive use and poor maintenance, so much so that use of the line was suspended and in 1949 it was placed under Government Commissioner Management.” [4: p16 – translated/adapted from Itailan]

“In 1953 the line was extended from the Casella depot to the town. … Since 1975, the railway has undergone complete … renovation, with the replacement of the rails, the electrical substation and the functional restructuring of the depots.” [4: p16 – translated/adapted from Itailan]

In 1956, a locomotive (No. 28) with a power of 355 kW with a maximum speed of 50 km/h was acquired from the Sangritana Railway; in 1960 another unit (No. 29) and spare parts were acquired.  “The locomotives were part of a contract of fourteen four-axle locomotives built in 1924 with electrical equipment and bogies supplied by TIBB and case made by Carminati & Toselli. Originally narrow-gauge at 950 mm, they were converted to [metre-gauge].” [1]

“The ‘Casella train’ remains one of the few secondary Italian railways still in use because not only does it serve a route for which there is no alternative road network, but it also is a tourist attraction (the route intersects numerous hiking trails, including those to the Forts of Genoa and a stretch of the Alta Via dei Monti Liguri) and has low operating costs.” [4: p16 – translated/adapted from Itailan]

In the four-year period 1997-2000, the line was entrusted to the Italian State Railways to achieve a technical-economic recovery, and from 1 January 2001 it became the property of the Liguria Region.][4: p16 – translated/adapted from Itailan]

“Starting from the terminus at Manin, the route winds its way out of the city: running along a stretch of the Val Bisagno, it serves the localities of S. Pantaleo, Cappuccio, Campi, Pino Soprano, Torrazza, before passing through the Trensasco tunnel into Val Polcevera and reaching the terminus at Casella, in Valle Scrivia.” [4: p16 – translated/adapted from Itailan]

The Route

The terminus in Genoa is the Genova Manin railway station, located above the Piazza Manin and can be reached via a flight of steps or by bus No. 64.

An early postcard view of Piazza Manin, taken prior to the construction of the steps giving access to the railway station and the removal of the graceful cast iron arched bridge, beyond which can be seen the arches which appear in the image below, © Public Domain. [6]
Looking West on Piazza Manin in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
Piazza Manin is bottom-left of this extract from. Google satellite imagery. The railway station is towards the top-right. [Google Maps, November 2024]
Genova’s Manin Railway Station. [Google Maps, November 2024]
The entrance to Genova Manin Railway Station in the 21st century, © Arbalete and approved for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 3.0). [7]
The same building seen from Via alla Stazione per Casella. [Google Streetview, April 2023]
The Station platforms seen from Via alla Stazione per Casella. [Google Streetview, April 2023]
Trains gathered at Manin station as they appeared in 1980, © trams aux fils and authorised for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY 2.0). [1]
Another view of the throat of Manin Railway Station, this time from the 21st century, © Emanuele Mauri (2022). [Google Maps, November 2024]
The station throat and the line North of Manin Railway Station. [Google Maps, November 2024]
Genova Manin Railway Station seen from the North. © Public Domain. [8]
Genova Manin Railway Station seen from the Northwest. © Public Domain. [11]
Genova Manin Railway Station in the 21st century, © Al*from*Lig and approved for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 4.0). [7]
Once beyond the station limits the line curves to the West. It is shown here and in subsequent satellite images by the dotted line. [Google Maps, November 2024]
The line then curves back to the North. [Google Maps, November 2024]
The line continues heading North. [Google Maps, November 2024]
The line continues generally heading North. [Google Maps, November 2024]
The line continues heading generally to the North. The first halt on the line (San Pantaleo Halt) appears towards the top of this satellite image and in greater detail in the image immediately below. [Google Maps, November 2024]
San Pantaleo Halt. [Google Maps, November 2024]

In subsequent satellite images, red dots will only be used where the route of the railway is less clear than it might be. The next 5 satellite images take us as far as the Ex-Chiesa San Pantaleo where the Via San Pantaleo passes under the railway.

Close to Ex-Chiesa di San Pantaleo the Via San Pantaleo passes under the railway. Google Maps, November 2024]
The stone-arched underpass which takes Via San Pantaleo under the railway, Luca Spinelli (2018). [Google Maps, November 2024]

The next sequence of 7 satellite images takes us to the San Antonino Halt.

Another sharp curve brings the line to Sant’Antonino Halt. [Google Maps, November 2024]
Sant’Antonino Halt, looking back towards Genova, © Filippo M., (2020). [Google Maps, November 2024]
Sant’Antonino Halt, looking forwards towards Casella, © Filippo M., (2020). [Google Maps, November 2024]

Three wider satellite views take the line as far as the Cappuccio Halt.

The line continues Northwest from Sant’Antonino Halt and the wends its way round, first to the East and then to the Northwest. [Google Maps, November 2024]
Further meanderings take the line around a large horseshoe curve over the A12 Autostrada (which is in tunnel) close to the Genova Est junction. [Google Maps, November 2024]
Before turning round to the North again and arriving at Cappuccino Halt. [Google Maps, November 2024]
A closer view of Cappuccino Halt which provides a loop to allow trains travelling in opposing directions to pass. [Google Maps, November 2024]
The Genoa to Casella Metre-gauge Railway, © Andrea Martinelli and authorised for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 3.0). [1]

The next two satellite images take the line on from Cappuccio Halt to one of the line’s tunnels.

The line continues its tortuous path To the North and then to the East. [Google Maps, November 2024]
It continues East to the tunnel which passes under the ridge carrying the Salita Preli (Mountain Path). [Google Maps, November 2024]
The route of the Salita Preli is marked on this satellite image in orange. The West Portal of the tunnel is more easily discernable than the northern portal. The Salita Preli is a long-distance hiking/mountain path. [12]
The Western portal of the tunnel. [Google Maps, November 2024]
The same portal in Google Earth 3D. [Google Earth 3D, November 2024]
The tunnel curves round to the North and the North portal is shrouded by the tree canopy. ,[Google Maps, November 2024]
This next length of the line includes a viaduct and two tunnels. The long straight length of the line at the bottom of the image may also include Poggino Halt. [Google Maps, November 2024]
The probable location of Poggino Halt seen from the Southeast. [Google Earth 3D, November 2024]
A closer view of the viaduct. [Google Maps, November 2024]
Google 3D image of the viaduct. [Google Earth, November 2024]
A closer view of the first of the two tunnels on this length. [Google Maps, November 2024]
The West Portal of this tunnel. [Google Earth 3D, November 2024]
The East portal of this tunnel. [Google Earth 3D, November 2024]
A closer view of the second tunnel. [Google Maps, November 2024]
The Southwest portal of this tunnel. [Google Earth 3D, November 2024]
It is just possible to make out the North portal of the tunnel under the tree canopy. [Google Earth 3D, November 2024]
Leaving behind the tunnel above, the line turns to the West and can still be made out in the lower quality portion of this satellite image. [Google Maps, November 2024]
Continuing in a generally westerly direction the line crosses Ponte Fontanassa and enters a tunnel. [Google Maps, November 2024]
A closer view of Ponte Fontanassa. [Google Maps, November 2024]
Ponte Fontanassa and the tunnel portal immediately adjacent to it, © Alessio Danovaro (2017). [Google Maps, November 2024]
Ponte Fontanassa seen from withinbthe tunnel to its Northwest, © Alessio Danovaro (2017). [Google Maps, November 2024]
Ponte Fontanassa is in the bottom-right of this next satellite image. The tunnel curves through a third of a full circle. Its Northeast portal is towards the middle-left of this image. A second tunnel follows almost immediately with its Northeast portal towards the top-right of the picture. In between the two tunnels the line bridges a narrow ravine and emerging from the second tunnel it again crosses a viaduct. [Google Maps, November 2024]
A closer view of the length of line between the two tunnels. This is the best view possible of this short section of line. Viewed on Google Earth 3D the tree cover is dense.  [Google Maps, November 2024]
A closer view of the line emerging from the second tunnel and crossing another viaduct. [Google Maps, November 2024]
The tree canopy shrouds the tunnel entrance but the bridge/viaduct can be picked out in this image, viewed from the Northeast. [Google Earth 3D, November 2024]
The line is now generally travelling in a northeasterly direction. [Google Maps, November 2024]
The line continues to meander Northeast. [Google Maps November 2024]
It then reaches Trensasco Halt. [Google Maps, November 2024]
A closer view of Trensasco Halt. Some limited passenger facilities are provided on the North side of the line. [Google Maps, November 2024]
Looking Northeast along the line through Trensasco Halt the passenger shelter is brightly painted, © Frankie Galway (2017). [Google Maps, November 2024]
Trensasco Halt seen from the road to the Northeast. [Google Streetview, December 2020]
Northeast of Trensasco Halt another tunnel take the line under the next ridge (which carries Via Forte Diamante). The red dots show the line through the tunnel and the shadowed area beyond. [Google Maps, November 2024]
The Southwest portal of the tunnel just to the Northeast of Trensasco Halt. The portal at the far end of the tunnel was shrouded by the tree canopy when the Google 3D images were drawn up. [Google Earth 3D, November 2024]
The next Halt was Campi, only a short distance to the Northeast of the tunnel. [Google Maps, November 2024]
A closer view of Campi Halt which was provided with a loop to allow trains to pass. [Google Maps, November 2024]
A vintage postcard shows an early service at Campi Halt, © Public Domain. [15]
Campi Halt is seen looking Northeast from Via Bastia. [Google Streetview, 2019]
A train from Casella has just arrived at Campi Halt, authorised for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence, (CC BY-SA 3.0). [9]
The line Northeast of Campi Halt, © Huanchun Xi (2017). [Google Maps, November 2024]
The line continues Northeast from Campi. [Google Maps, November 2024]
Passing through Pino Halt, the line turns to the North. The roads appearing to cross the line close to the Halt are in tunnel under the line. [Google Maps, November 2024]
A closer view of Pino Halt. [Google Maps, November 2024]
Pino Halt seen from the North, © Simone Manno (2018). [Google Maps, November 2024]
The line continued North of Pino. [Google Maps, November 2024]
Turning to the Northeast on the approach to Torrazza Halt. [Google Maps, November 2024]
Torrazza Halt. [Google Maps, November 2024]
A vintage postcard shows a train at Torrazza Halt, © Public Domain. [15]
Torrazza Halt seen from a Casella-bound train, © Al*from*Lig and authorised for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 4.0). [13]
Torrazza Halt once again. This image is authorised for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 3.0). [8]
The line turns East from Torrazza running close to Via Comunaglie. [Google Maps, November 2024]
When Via Comunaglie turns away, the finds its own route East following the contours. [Google Maps, November 2024]
The route is easier once again to make out among the trees as it turns North. [Google Maps November 2024]
The line continues to follow the contour, turning East then North. [Google Maps, November 2024]
And enters Sardorella Halt. [Google Maps, November 2024]
A slightly closer view of Sardorella Halt. [Google Maps, November 2024]
Sardorella Halt seen from a Genoa-bound train, © Al*from*Lig and authorised for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 4.0). [14]

This first part of the journey finishes here at Sardorella.

References

  1. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genova%E2%80%93Casella_railway, accessed on 11th November 2024.
  2. Il trenino di Casella: terapia su rotaia contro noia e stress; in ilGiornale.it (in Italian), https://www.ilgiornale.it/news/trenino-casella-terapia-su-rotaia-contro-noia-e-stress.html 28th November 2007; accessed on 11th November 2024.
  3. Ferrovia Genova Casella: https://www.ferroviagenovacasella.it/geca, accessed on 11th November 2024.
  4. http://www.uwrbancenter.comune.genova.it/sites/default/files/quaderno_arch_2011_03_21.pdf, accessed on 16th November 2024.
  5. https://www.bimbeinviaggio.com/en/italy/liguria-en/genoa/genoa-casella-train-route-timetable, accessed on 19th November 2024.
  6. https://www.delcampe.net/fr/collections/cartes-postales/italie/genova-genoa/16458-00-italie-genova-piazza-manin-469897224.html, accessed on 19th November 2024.
  7. https://it.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stazione_di_Genova_Piazza_Manin, accessed on 19th November 2024.
  8. https://www.stagniweb.it/foto6.asp?File=fgc21&Inizio=29&Righe=10&InizioI=1&RigheI=100&Col=5, accessed on 21st November 2024.
  9. https://it.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stazione_di_Campi, accessed on 21st November 2024.
  10. https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A5_A10_cappuccio.jpg, accessed on 11th November 2024.
  11. https://www.ferroviagenovacasella.it/geca/storia, accessed on 19th November 2024.
  12. https://it.wikiloc.com/percorsi-escursionismo/salita-preli-preli-passo-gandino-sella-del-diamante-forte-diamante-camporsella-chiesa-del-brasile-b-62000826, accessed on 20th November 2024.
  13. https://it.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stazione_di_Torrazza#/media/File:Locomotiva_A11_(1998)_a_Torrazza.jpg, accessed on 20th November 2024.
  14. https://it.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stazione_di_Sardorella#/media/File%3AStaz.Sardorella.jpg, accessed on 21st November 2024.
  15. https://www.stagniweb.it/foto6.asp?File=fgc19&Inizio=11&Righe=10&InizioI=1&RigheI=100&Col=5, accessed on 21st November 2024.
  16. https://rogerfarnworth.com/2024/11/25/genoa-casella-narrow-gauge-railway-part-2-sardorella-to-casella/

October 2024 – News about Railways in East Africa

3 Replies

Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) for Uganda

A report from The EastAfrican, 21st October 2024. [1]

On Monday 14th October 2024, Uganda signed a deal with Turkish firm Yapi Merkezi for the construction of the standard gauge railway (SGR) from Malaba to Kampala, after a 16-year wait.

When completed, the $2.9 billion-dollar electric rail project is expected to reduce transportation costs and increase the efficiency of the rail transport system in Uganda.

Construction of Uganda’s 273km SGR line, expected to be completed in four years, has started without a lender bankrolling the project, and authorities say it will be commissioned in the first week of November.

The EastAfrican has learnt that in this financial year, the SGR was allocated $40.8 million for compensation of project-affected persons. Canon Perez Wamburu, coordinator of Uganda’s SGR Unit, said the total budget is close to $49 million.

The Finance ministry has identified American lender Citi Bank to syndicate a loan of about $3 billion.

Uganda is under pressure from Tanzania and Kenya, which have SGR systems, to build its section to facilitate a synchronised regional rail network. Kenya is also working on extending its SGR line from Naivasha to Kisumu and on to Malaba.

“The two systems will be connected and will be seamless. We support our Kenyan friends in doing that. And the timelines agreed on with the Kenya brothers will be met,” said Gen Katumba Wamala, Uganda’s Works and Transport minister.

He explained that the two countries agreed that by the time the Malaba-Kampala SGR section reaches Kampala, the Naivasha-Kisumu-Malaba section will also be ready.

Uganda plans to develop 1,700km of SGR network covering Tororo to Gulu and Nimule at the South Sudan border, with a spur from Gulu to Pakwach and Vurra at the Democratic Republic of Congo border.

A western line will run from Kampala to Bihanga and Kasese-Mpondwe at the DR Congo border, with a spur southward from Bihanga to Mirama Hills at the Uganda-Rwanda border and another to Muko, Kabale.

Wikipedia tells us that the Ugandan SGR network will be part of a much wider SGR rail network in East Africa:

“The Uganda Standard Gauge Railway is a planned railway system linking the country to the neighboring countries of Kenya, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan, as part of the East African Railway Master Plan. The new Standard-gauge railway (SGR), is intended to replace the old, inefficient metre-gauge railway system. The entire 1,724 kilometres (1,071 mi) SGR in Uganda will cost an estimated $12.8 billion.” [3]

“This 1435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) railway line is intended to ease the transfer of goods between the port of Mombasa and the Ugandan capital of Kampala, and subsequently to Kigali in Rwanda, and to Beni in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and to Nimule and Juba in South Sudan. Goods would travel from Mombasa along the Kenya Standard Gauge Railway to Malaba, at the border with Uganda, and transfer on to this railway system.” [2]

“In March 2019, during a state visit to Kenya, President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda and his host, President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya, jointly publicly committed to extend the Kenyan Standard Gauge Railway to Uganda. Completing the critical missing link to the Kenyan SGR would then unlock the funding for Uganda’s Malaba–Kampala line. As of October 2023, the Naivasha–Malaba section of Kenya’s SGR has not been constructed.” [2] It seems that, in October 2024, a renewed commitment has been made to complete the SGR to the border with Uganda.

In Uganda the SGR network will consist of four main sections:

“Malaba–Kampala Section

Also referred to as the Eastern Line, this section will stretch from the border with Kenya at Malaba, through Tororo and Jinja, to end at Kampala. The distance of this section is approximately 219 kilometres (136 mi).[5] The entire Malaba–Kampala section, measuring 273 kilometres (170 mi) with associated train stations and railway yards, is budgeted to cost US$2.3 billion. Once funding is secured, the construction of the Eastern Line is expected to last 42 months.

Tororo–Gulu Section

Also referred to as the Northern Line, this section will extend from Tororo, through Mbale and Lira to Gulu, a distance of approximately 367 kilometres (228 mi). From Gulu, one spur will continue north to Elegu and on to Nimule and Juba in South Sudan. The section in Uganda measures approximately 106 kilometres (66 mi). Another extension stretches from Gulu southwestwards through Pakwach to end at Goli at the Border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a distance of approximately 187 kilometres (116 mi).

Kampala–Mpondwe Section

This is referred to as the Western Line. It will start in Kampala and pass through Bihanga in Ibanda District, continuing on to Mpondwe at the border with DR Congo, a distance of about 430 kilometres (267 mi).

Bihanga–Mirama Hills Section

This is also referred to as the Southwestern Line. It will stretch from Bihanga through Ibanda and Mbarara to end at Mirama Hills, at the border with Rwanda, a distance of about 191 kilometres (119 mi).” [2]

The Wikipedia article continues:

“The construction was expected to be financed by the government of Uganda, using borrowed money from the Exim Bank of China. However, the lender has been unwilling to approve the loan until Kenya finalizes the funding arrangement for the Naivasha–Kisumu–Malaba section of its SGR.

In January 2023, the Ugandan government terminated the contract that it had signed with China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) to build the Kampala–Malaba section of the Ugandan SGR, on account of ‘failure to execute’ for eight consecutive years.

In May 2023, the government identified Yapı Merkezi Group from Turkey as the new engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor. Funding is expected to be sourced from European banks. Works are expected to commence in 2024 starting with the 273 kilometres (170 mi) Kampala–Malaba section. The funding bank was later identified as Standard Chartered Plc of the United Kingdom.

In July 2023, the Ugandan and Kenyan cabinet ministers of transportation met in Mombasa. The communique issued at the end of the two-day consultations announced that going forward, the two countries will jointly explore funding sourcing for the Naivasha–Kisumu–Malaba portion of the Kenya Standard Gauge Railway.  Together, the two countries are seeking at least $6 billion in new funding for their SGR projects from financiers in Europe and the Middle East.

In February 2024, both countries reaffirmed their commitments to build the Naivasha-Kisumu-Malaba section in Kenya and the Malaba-Kampala section in Uganda, starting in 2024. The Ugandan government has contracted the Yapı Merkezi Group from Turkey to build the 273 kilometres (170 mi) section between Malaba and Kampala at a contract price of US$2.9 billion. Work was expected to start in August 2024. As of August 2024, the Uganda government was working on finalizing the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) documentation and obtaining approvals from relevant government bureaucrats. The construction distance from Malaba to Kampala is now reported as 332 kilometres (206 mi). Construction is expected to begin in [late] 2024.

On 14th October 2024, the government of Uganda signed the EPC documents with Yapı Merkezi to build the Malaba-Kampala section of the Uganda Standard Gauge Railway at a contract price of €2.7 billion (approx. USh10.8 trillion). Construction is expected to take four years and conclude in [late] 2028.” [2]

6th December 2024 Update: Mark Hambly has kindly sent me the latest news – please see this report from the Railway Gazette: https://www.railwaygazette.com/infrastructure/president-launches-construction-of-ugandan-standard-gauge-railway/67904.article?utm_campaign=RG%20-%20Railway%20Gazette%20International%20WEEKLY%20Rail%20Baltica%20061224-DE&utm_medium=email&utm_source=email&utm_content=newsletter

Other Railway News

A. The Uganda Railway Museum

The Cross-Cultural Foundation of Uganda (CCFU) a non-governmental, not-for-profit organisation that promotes and appreciation of culture as vital for human development that responds to our diverse identities, with support from the European Union and SOGEA SATOM and the Uganda Railways Corporation established the Uganda Railway Museum. [4]

The museum highlights the important role that railways played in Uganda’s history and nation building. It is located along the Jinja-Iganga Highway at the Railway Station in Jinja City. It offers a varied programme that includes heritage theme nights, exploring a locomotive and coach, film recollections/stories, guided tours and access to a cafeteria. Part of the museum has been designed with young people in mind to support their learning and appreciation of Uganda’s history.

Welcome to Uganda’s Railways Museum! This image was posted on the Museum’s Facebook Page  on 17th September 2024. [11]

The Museum’s formal opening ceremony took place in March 2022. It is now open for public visits every Tuesday to Sunday, 11:00am – 6:00pm at 5000 Ugandan shillings for adults and 2000 shillings for children.

While there are ongoing government efforts to revamp the railway transport with the rehabilitation of the northern line and the construction of the Standard Gauge Railway. The establishment of the railway museum complements the government of Uganda’s efforts to highlight the importance of railway transport by reinvigorating its interest among Ugandans.

B. Ugandan Old Railway Line Rehabilitation on Track

Uganda’s Railways are metre-gauge. This image is one of a series of U.S. Army photographs taken in September 2010, © John Hanson and made available for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY 2.0 Generic). [12]

In January 2024, The EastAfrican reported that Uganda’s planned overhaul of the metre gauge railway to cut transport costs on the Northern Corridor and improve trade competitiveness had entered its final stages, even as the country faced a shortage of equipment, wagons, and trains.

The EastAfrican reported in January 2024 that Spanish firm Imathia Construction had completed replacing steel sleepers with concrete sleepers on the Namanve-Kampala section of the line, which was handed over to the Uganda Railways Corporation (URC) at the beginning of 2024. The contractor then embarked on the final section, Namanve-Mukono.

This would be the second section of the track to be completed after rehabilitation of the Tororo-Namanve line, including the line to Jinja Pier, which was completed a year ago.

While the Malaba-Namanve metre gauge track is now in fair condition, importers, exporters, and shippers remain sceptical about switching to rail, citing a shortage of rolling stock and inefficiency, which has resulted in 90 percent of traffic on the Northern Corridor being carried by road and only about seven percent is carried by rail because of the poor state of rail infrastructure. [5]

Uganda’s General Motors GL30 Locomotives

C. Restoring Uganda’s Railways: The Long Road Ahead.

Rothschild Jobi; Restoring Uganda’s Railways: The Long Road Ahead; in Infrastructure, Travel and Tourism, Uganda, 9th August 2024. [10]

“The Uganda Railways Corporation (URC) is now focusing on restoring railway infrastructure in up-country areas, a step taken months after the successful resumption of limited passenger services on the Kampala-Mukono route. This move comes as part of an effort to address the deteriorating state of the country’s railway system.

Table: Status of Uganda’s main railway lines in August 2024.

In April, the Kampala-Mukono route was reopened, offering passengers a 40-minute journey from Namanve to Kampala in the morning, with a return trip available in the evening. This was seen as a positive development, but it also highlighted the need for broader improvements across the railway network.

URC’s Head of Communications, Mr. John Linnon Sengendo, stated in an interview on Monday that the focus is now shifting to the up-country lines. He emphasized that the aim is to complete the railway network by restoring these lines, which have suffered from neglect over the years.

One such line is the Pakwach railway, which was originally constructed in 1964. It played a crucial role in transporting goods and passengers from Nebbi District. However, by the 1980s, the line fell into disrepair. Despite plans announced in 2005 to repair the Gulu-Pakwach line, it remains overgrown with vegetation, and the infrastructure has deteriorated significantly.

Mr. Daudi Onencan, a 68-year-old farmer in Pakwach, reminisced about the line’s past significance. He noted that the railway provided a cost-effective way for farmers to transport goods to markets in distant districts.

Pakwach District Chairperson, Mr. Robert Omito Steen, highlighted ongoing efforts to revive the railway line due to its importance for transporting bulky goods. Discussions with various line ministries have been ongoing, with the hope that these efforts will lead to the line’s restoration.

In 2016, feasibility studies and bush clearance were carried out to assess the state of the railway lines. These efforts raised hopes for the line’s revival, but the overgrowth has since returned.

Mr. Sengendo mentioned that the study results will inform the government’s next steps. He noted that the Ministry of Works and Transport has sanctioned a company to undertake the study, and the restoration of the railway line is a key objective. The broader SGR (Standard Gauge Railway) project also includes the Tororo-Gulu-Pakwach line.

In Mityana District, residents in several villages are resisting eviction from the railway reserve despite numerous warnings. The railway reserve, now occupied by residential and commercial buildings and gardens, faces challenges as some residents claim they unknowingly purchased land in the reserve from individuals who have since relocated.

Mr. Ssande Kafunda, Chairperson of Bbuye Village, reported that affected residents are seeking advice on how to handle the situation, as they were misled about the land’s status.

Mityana municipal mayor, Mr. Faustine Mukambwe, supports the railway rehabilitation and believes it will boost local development. He urged residents to embrace the project and mentioned that the municipal council is exploring new land for constructing a new abattoir, as the current one is situated in the railway reserve.

In 2014, over 80,000 encroachers on railway reserves in various areas were given 28 days to vacate to allow for railway transport revitalization. Despite these orders, many encroachers remain, although some have relocated.

Progress is being made on the Tororo-Gulu line, with rehabilitation efforts underway. The previously non-existent track is now being upgraded with new tracks, improved drainage systems, and enhanced level crossings.

Regarding the Eastern route, Mr. Sengendo indicated that there are no immediate plans to work on this line but assured that the public will be informed if the need for restoration arises.

Mr. Sengendo also mentioned that the government, through URC, is committed to enhancing both land and water railway infrastructure to improve service for Ugandans. The aim is to reduce transportation costs for both exports and imports, thereby lowering prices for goods and increasing export earnings.

Passenger services are nearing completion on the Kampala-Mukono route, which is expected to be fully operational by September. Work will soon commence on the Kampala-Kyengera and Port Bell routes, funded by the African Development Bank.

For cargo transport, new locomotives and wagons are being acquired to support the expanding network. Plans include procuring multipurpose wagon ferries for routes between Kisumu and Mwanza. The goal is to have both the Metre Gauge Railway and Standard Gauge Railway networks complement each other, as part of the East African Community’s efforts to improve the railway system.

In the Teso Sub-region, Kumi Resident District Commissioner, Mr. Ahamada Washaki, stressed the importance of rehabilitating the railway line. However, much of the railway line in Teso remains vandalized, with key stations deserted. URC’s Mr. Sengendo explained that the line has been non-operational for over 30 years, contributing to its current state. Rehabilitation work by China Road and Bridge Corporation is ongoing on a 375km stretch, with completion expected in two years.” [10]

Uganda Railways Corporation locomotive. [13]

D. Uganda Railways Projects to be Implemented in the Financial Year 2024/2025.

On 21st June 2024, infrastructure.go.ug [6] reported that the Ugandan government was working on their objective of reducing the cost of doing business in Uganda by making improvements to the rail network.

They note the then imminent completion of the Kampala-Namanve project. They highlight ongoing work on the line between Tororo & Gulu, funded entirely by the Ugandan government. They talk of work on the African Development Bank project, which will address some of the unfinished portions of the Kampala-Malaba route. They mention work on the route between Port Bell and Kyengera in Kampala and plans for the acquisition of better passenger carriages and locomotives.

URC board technical committee chairperson, Andrew Muguluma commented in an interview with New Vision that, “Even though Uganda is developing its standard gauge railway at a different pace than other countries,  … the country is catching up to the current infrastructure.” [6]

The article on infrastructure.go.ug’s website continues:

“The government has made significant investments in the rail industry, according to Leonard Kerezya, senior principal auditor in the Office of Auditor General, who urged URC top management to conduct engineering audits in order to address risks.n … KAccording to him, due to inadequate infrastructure driving up transportation costs along the northern corridor (the Malaba-Kampala rail line), only 7% of traffic in Uganda travels by rail. This means that over 90% of traffic in Uganda moves by road.” [6]

“The government committed to building a multimodal transportation infrastructure as part of NDP III (FY2020–2025) in order to increase the nation’s competitiveness through investments in better and more affordable transportation.” [6]

In respect of the SGR, they say:

“The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, and other partner states of the Northern Corridor Integration Projects (NCIP) decided last month (May 2024) to pool resources to expedite the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) project’s development. … The Joint Ministerial Committee on SGR met in Mombasa, Kenya, and decided to take this action. … The transportation ministers restated their determination to finish the remaining SGR portions as soon as possible, from Kenya’s Naivasha to Rwanda, Uganda, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.” [6]

“Kenya pledged to restart building on the Naivasha-Kisumu-Malaba and Kisumu-Malaba SGR sections, respectively, beginning in July and September of 2024. … Subject to the availability of resources, Uganda is also anticipated to begin building on Malaba-Kamppala in September. The country is currently nearing the conclusion of discussions with Yapi Merkezi, the prospective contractor.” [6] An agreement which, in October 2024, now appears to be in place.

URC is a business entity that answers to the Ministry of Transportation and Works. It was founded to carry out railway, marine, and road services for the carriage of goods and passengers both inside and outside of Uganda, as required by the Uganda Railways Corporation Act, Cap 331. URC’s network of tracks spans 1,266 kilometers in total.

E. Uganda Railways Brochure

Uganda Railways Corporation has produced a glossy 4 page .pdf brochure. [7]

F. A Journey on Kampala’s Newly Reopened Commuter Train

By Kabona Esiara, Correspondent in Kampala, Uganda Nation Media Group [8]

“Five O’clock found me at the station ready for the 5.30pm train, which leaves Kampala city heading eastwards to Namanve, 16 kilometres away.

The Kampala train station, established in the 1920s, hosts the offices, service centre, and waiting and boarding areas, and has worked as the main office for passenger and cargo trains over the years.

Located in the central business district convenient for departing and incoming goods and passengers the station has recently become a beehive of activity after the return of the train.

Booking for tickets is done here. Mornings and evenings are busy, as dozens of passengers throng the station to get a trip worth Ush2,000 ($0.52), much cheaper than the fare of the commuter taxis for the same journey, which is Ush4,000 ($1.05) or more.

On the day I took the train, the line was long and the ticketing officers were picking out people who had smaller denominations of the Ugandan currency – 1,000; 2000 and 5,000 leaving those with big ones to wait.

As 5.30pm approached, the train hooted, sending an echoing sound into the city and signalling the start of the journey. The people in the queue rushed in to find seats.

Inside the coach, the once-tattered seats are now covered in brown leather and thin-inch sponge cushions making them more comfortable than the metal seats of the past.

The fans mounted above the dash of the coaches have been fixed, sending fresh air circulating and improving travellers’ experience. Before they were fixed, a frequent rider on the train says the heat in the coaches was unbearable.

The old, five-coach train snaked through Nakawa, Kireka, Namboole and terminated at Namanve.

For the 16km ride to Namanve, the train spent only 45 minutes, a huge difference from an average of two hours that vehicles, especially public commuter taxis, spend from the CBD to Kazinga near Namanve.

However, Uganda Railways Corporation (URC) is operating old rolling stock, and most of it is in disuse.

There are only five coaches to transport passengers in a city of four million people.

In order not to miss the train, many passengers reach the station early, some by 5.00am for the morning trip and 4.00pm to catch the train that departs at 5.30pm for the evening return journey.

With the market yearning for train services and Kampala struggling to achieve its ambitious plan to shift 20% of the freight and passenger bases to rail, Paul Power, a transport sector commentator based in Kampala, says the city needs $200 million to invest in rail passenger transport.

The money will be pumped into buying rolling stock, constructing stations and improving the safety and security of the railway system in the Kampala commuter railway networks.

‘My understanding is that at least 20% of the market share for rail transport is needed to make the planned standard gauge railway project viable and bankable. I don’t know the latest cost estimate, but I have heard anything from $3 billion to over $12 billion, with electrification’, Mr Power said.

He, however, noted that achieving a 20% market share for railway transport would be challenging, as currently rail transport on the metre gauge railway is less than one per cent of the freight transport market, and passenger services resumed on 1st May 2024, after almost a one year of absence due to track rehabilitation.

‘The rolling stock needed to transport 20 percent of the freight and passenger markets by rail is enormous’, he said.

The government has also to come up with deliberate policies to encourage private investment in the railway to achieve the significant shift from road to rail transport, some of which include subsidies, enforcement of tighter road weight restrictions, restrictions on the type of goods that can be transported on roads.

Uganda’s railway sector is described as not well organised. There is no safety regulator. Laws need to be updated, and there is no sustainable funding model for implementing a modern rail transport system.

According to Power, in Uganda, a strategic direction for the sector is missing, sector targets and objectives need to be defined, and a need to separate infrastructure management from train operations and safety regulation.

‘These challenges are mostly ‘soft.’ Institutional and private investors need clarity on the ‘operating environment’ – that is, rules – before significant investor interest can be mobilised’, he explained.

Uganda’s plan to grow rail freight and passenger traffic got a boost recently, when Italian investors, led by Ambassador Mauro Massoni, expressed interest in constructing a 64km railway line from Tororo to Majanji.

This alternative route on the Northern Corridor is meant to reduce congestion and increase efficiency in the region’s transportation network, as it links to water, railways, and roads.

The planned investment complements the SGR linking Kenya to Kampala, whose construction works are yet to begin. The details of the investment in the proposed route, funding, and implementation timelines have not been made public.

President Yoweri Museveni welcomed the proposal, highlighting the potential for the railway line to cater to traffic from northern Uganda and neighbouring countries, bypassing Kampala.

‘That traffic doesn’t have to come to Kampala. It can go straight either to Kenya or to Tanzania’, the President said, emphasising the project’s strategic importance.

The Italian investors also proposed establishing an academy to train Ugandans in cutting-edge railway construction and maintenance technology, ensuring skills transfer and job creation for the local workforce.

But, amid the challenges, signs that URC is fighting for a piece of the big commuter transport market share are clear. Lately, the train and coaches have been repainted.

Margret Nantume, one of the frequent users of the commuter train, said many people have not embraced the train because of the cost.

‘While I use the train to escape the daily traffic gridlock on the Kampala-Jinja highway, the increase in the train ticket from Ush1,000 ($0.26) to Ush2,000 ($0.52) for every stop is discouraging passengers’, she said.

‘Many people are opting for taxis and boda boda, which are flexible in pricing and charge fares per stop, while others walk to their destinations’.

Recently, URC acting managing director David Musoke Bulega revised the fares upwards to hedge his ticket sale revenues against fuel costs.

The train stops are located at far distances from the main road, which inconveniences passengers and adds to the transport costs to their destinations.

Passengers who live in Seeta and Mukono incur an additional Ush2000 ($0.52) to reach their destinations by taxi, in addition to the train ticket of the same amount, bringing the total to Ush4,000 ($1.05).

Besides, they have to walk 500 metres from the Namanve railway station to the nearest taxi stage.

The walk-to-work measure many households in Uganda have adopted to reduce pressure on their home budgets is also contributing to the reduced number of passengers travelling by train.

When the train stops at Namanve railway station, factory employees in Kampala’s Business and Industrial Park walk for either night shifts or to their homes. A 2021 study commissioned by Friedrich-Elbert-Stifting says 50 percent of workers in Uganda walk to and from work.

But John Leon Sengendo, URC publicist, says every inch of the train coach will be occupied in the coming days, when schools open for the second term.

He also expects passengers who opted for other transport modes to return and new ones recruited, especially when the Namanve-Kyetume line is completed in August [2024].

The Namanve-Mukono section will be the third track to be completed, after the rehabilitation of the Tororo-Namanve line, including the line to Jinja Pier, which was completed two years ago. The Namanve-Kampala section, which was handed over in January this year, was the second to be completed by Spanish firm Imathia Construction, after replacing steel sleepers with concrete beams.

After Uganda Transport Company, a public passenger transportation firm, folded in the 1980s, Kampala was plunged into a disorganised and unreliable transport service run by unprofessional private players.

The government, under pressure to reduce traffic gridlocks, is betting on an efficient railway system to address this challenge. A 2017 World Bank study estimated that traffic jams cost Uganda more than $800 million annually in lost productivity, wasted fuel and increased emissions.

The ultimate plan of URC is to extend passenger services to Mukono, Kyengera, and Port Bell Kampala.

‘We want to alleviate the problem and stress people face with road transport. Our roads are still highly congested, and people spend a lot of time in traffic jams for short distances. With the train service, it will be far smoother and faster. It is a worthwhile endeavour’, said Minister of Works and Transport Katumba Wamala. [8]

F. Uganda Railways Rules Out Electric Locomotives For Now

URN – 24th October 2024. [9]

“The Uganda Railways Corporation (URC) has no immediate plans to deploy electric trains, despite growing calls for a more modern railway system.

Instead, the focus remains on restoring the existing rail network and expanding services, particularly with diesel-powered trains, as part of the country’s railway revitalization strategy according to John Lennon Sengendo, URC’s senior public relations and communications officer.

URC recently completed upgrades on the Kampala-Mukono Meter Gauge Railway (MGR), primarily catering to passenger services. Plans are underway to introduce cargo services soon, while ongoing projects, including the Tororo-Gulu line, aim to enhance the rail system across key regions like Mbale, Kumi, Soroti, and Lira, culminating at the Gulu Logistics Hub.

Additionally, there is significant progress toward the construction of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) line between Kampala and Malaba, which will eventually extend to borders with the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, and South Sudan.

Unlike the planned SGR project, which will be electric, all upgrades on the MGR will continue using diesel-powered trains. According to URC, procurement is underway for diesel multiple units (DMUs), which are trains powered by onboard diesel engines and do not require a separate locomotive.

This decision has sparked debate, particularly as Uganda now generates electricity far beyond current demand. Many question why the country isn’t transitioning to electric trains, given its increased electricity capacity.

“For the improvements we are doing on the MGR network, specifically for the passenger service component, there will not be electrification, at least for now. Electrification will be purely on the SGR,” said Sengendo.

He emphasized that DMUs and electric multiple units (EMUs) are the same. The only difference is that one is electric and the other is Diesel,” he says, adding that the DMUs to be deployed will be able to move at speeds of 120 kilometres per hour, “which is relatively good.”

Furthermore, Sengendo pointed out that cost is a major factor behind the preference for DMUs. While Uganda has abundant electricity, the infrastructure needed for electrification is expensive. “A lot of work and money goes into the installation of the infrastructure, which may not make sense to do on the MGR, yet the government is constructing an SGR, which will be electric,” he explained.

Uganda plans to incorporate feedback from citizens to ensure the DMUs offer both comfort and efficiency, with the manufacturer tailoring them to the country’s specific requirements.

A potential challenge to seamless rail transport across the region lies in Kenya’s SGR, which remains diesel-powered. This could hinder smooth operations between Mombasa and Kampala. Sengendo, however, expressed optimism that by the time Uganda’s SGR is complete, the two countries will have aligned their strategies, possibly considering hybrid rolling stock that can operate on both diesel and electric tracks if Kenya doesn’t electrify its SGR.

Many countries worldwide continue to use DMUs, including the USA, Canada, the UK, Australia, Japan, and several European nations like Germany, Belgium, and Russia. Recent technological advancements have produced diesel-hydraulic engines, which can alternate between diesel and hydraulic power, reducing emissions, noise, and fuel consumption.

Experts note that DMUs offer more flexibility since they can run on electrified tracks, whereas electric trains can only operate on dedicated electric railways. While electrified systems may prove more cost-effective in the long run – typically after about 30 years, depending on electricity costs – DMUs remain a practical and affordable solution for Uganda’s immediate rail needs.” [9]

References

  1. https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/business-tech/uganda-s-funding-headache-for-eacop-sgr-projects-4797968, accessed on 22nd October 2024.
  2. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uganda_Standard_Gauge_Railway, accessed on 22nd October 2024.
  3. Julius Barigaba; Uganda refocuses on metre gauge rail as Kenya delays SGR; in The EastAfrican, Nairobi, 6th January 2018.
  4. https://crossculturalfoundation.or.ug/railway-museum, 23rd October 2024.
  5. https://www.icafrica.org/en/news-events/infrastructure-news/article/ugandan-old-railway-line-rehabilitation-on-track-672768, accessed on 23rd October 2024.
  6. https://infrastructure.go.ug/upcoming-fiscal-year-are-established-by-uganda-railways-corporation, accessed on 23rd October 2024.
  7. https://urc.go.ug, accessed on 23rd October 2024.
  8. https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/magazine/inside-the-new-kampala-train–4642982/, posted on 1st June 2024 and accessed on 24th October 2024. It is possible that this link may not be direct to the relevant article. If this is the case, then searching to site gir the article title will work.
  9. https://www.observer.ug/index.php/news/headlines/82768-uganda-railways-rules-out-electric-trains-for-now, accessed on 24th October 2024.
  10. Rothschild Jobi; Restoring Uganda’s Railways: The Long Road Ahead; in Infrastructure, Travel and Tourism, Uganda, 9th August 2024, via, https://kawundo.com/archives/news/travel-and-tourism/2413, accessed on 24th October 2024.
  11. https://images.app.goo.gl/GpDn2XS9HuFcDwHJA, accessed on 24th October 2024.
  12. https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Uganda_railways_assessment_2010_-_Flickr_-_US_Army_Africa_(6).jpg, accessed on 24th October 2024.
  13. https://businesstimesug.com/the-railway-system-in-uganda, accessed on 24th October 2024.

Mallet Locomotives in East Africa

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Ethiopia/Eritrea

The 950mm-gauge line from Massawa on the coast, inland to Agordot, was built during colonial occupation by the Italians with some steep gradients which meant that Mallets were considered to be suitable motive power.

The line should not be confused with the metre-gauge line running from Djibouti to Addis Ababa. A metre-gauge railway that was originally built by the French from 1894 to 1917 which has since been replaced by a Chinese built standard-gauge line. [5]

In 1907, Maffei built three 0-4-4-0T locomotives for the Massawa to Agerdot line.

Ansaldo the “supplied twenty five further engines of the same class between 1911 and 1915, and in 1931 and 1939 Asmara shops assembled a nominal three new engines from d components of earlier withdrawn engines. All these were standard European narrow-gauge Mallet tanks, saturated, slide-valved and with inside frames.” [1: p64]

In the mid-1930s, a series of fifteen larger 0-4-4-0T locomotives were built. These were “built to a superheated, simple expansion design, of which ten had piston valves and Walschearts gear and the other five, Caprotti poppet valves driven from outside cardan shafts.” [1: p65] A later series of “eight engines built by Analdo in 1938 reverted to compound expansion, retaining the superheater and piston valve features.” [1: p65]

The last of the Eritrean Mallets was built in their own shops in 1963, making it the last Mallet built in the world. [6]

The line closed in 1975. Eritrea was occupied by Ethiopia for many years. After gaining independence in 1993, some of the former railway staff started to rebuild their totally destroyed railway. Some of the Mallets, built by Ansaldo (Italy) in 1938, were brought back to life. Also one of the small Breda built shunters, two diesel locos and two diesel railcars (one from 1935) were put back into working order. [7]

A section of the line, between Massawa, on the coast, and Asmara, was reopened in 2003 and has offered an opportunity for Mallet locomotives to be seen in operation in East Africa. Indeed, an internet search using Google brings to light a list of videos of locomotives heading tourist trains in the Eritrean landscape.

Wikipedia notes that the line has a track-gauge of 950mm and that locomotives operate over a 118 km section of the old line. Italian law from 1879 officially determined track gauges, specifying the use of 1,500 mm (4 ft 11 1⁄16 in) and 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) gauge track measured from the centre of the rails, or 1,445 mm (4 ft 8 7⁄8 in) and 950 mm (3 ft 1 3⁄8 in), respectively, on the inside faces. [4]

Between Arbaroba and Asmara in November 2008, a single coach is headed by one of the surviving Mallet locomotives. This is an extract from an image on Wikimedia Commons (public domain). [13]

Steam operation on the line is over, no regular services are provided but occasional tours still take place with plenty of caveats about the availability of any form of propulsion. An example is a German-speaking tour planned (as of 24th March 2024) for November 2024. [8]

Tanzania (Tanganyika)

The metre-gauge line inland from Dar-es-Salaam was built by the Ost Afrika Eisenbahn Gesellschaft (East African Railway Co.). A.E. Durrant tells us that its first main line power “was a class of typical German lokalbahn 0-4-4-0T Mallets, built by Henschel in 1905-7. These were supplemented in 1908 by four larger 2-4-4-0Ts from the same builder, after which the railway turned to straight eight-coupled tank and tender engines.” [1: p67]

R. Ramaer notes that the first locomotives used by the Usambara Eissenbahn (UE) on the Tanga Line were five 0-4-2 locos which arrived on the line in 1893. Rising traffic loads led the UE “To look for something more substantial and in 1900, Jung supplied five compound Mallet 0-4-4-0T’s as numbers 1-5, later renumbered 6-10. … To provide enough space for the firebox and ashpan, the rigid high-pressure part, comprising the third and fourth axles, had outside frames, whereas the low-pressure part had inside frames.” [9: p19]

UE engine No. 1 (0-4-4-0T – supplied by Jung) with an early passenger train ready for departure at Tanga station in 1890. This image was posted on the Urithi Tanga Museum Facebook Page [10] and is also reproduced in R. Ramaer’s book. [9: p19]
UE Mallet 0-4-4-0T No. 8 heading a passenger train at Mombo. This image was shared in error on the Old Asmara Eritrea Facebook Page.  [11] It also appears in R. Ramaer’s book. [9: p20]

On the Central Line (Ost Afrikanische Eisenbahn Gesellschaft – or OAEG) which ran inland from Dar-es-Salaam, construction work started in 1905 and the first locomotives used by the OAEG were four 0-4-0T engines built by Henschel, a further four of these locomotives were supplied in 1909. These small engines had a surprisingly long life. Mallets were first supplied in 1905 by Henschel and were suitable for both coal and oil firing. These were 0-4-4-0T locos (four supplied in 1905 and one supplied in 1907). “The problem with this type of engine was the restricted tractive effort and running was not satisfactory because of the lack of a leading pony truck. … Therefore Henschel supplied a second batch of four locomotives in 1908 as 2-4-4-0Ts with larger boilers and cylinders. They also had a higher working pressure of 14 atmospheres (200lb/sq in) in comparison to 12 atmospheres (170lb/sq in)  for the earlier engines, while the bunker capacity had been increased from 1.2 to 2.2 tonnes of coal. (Oil fuel had been discarded).” [9: p21-23]

OAEG 2-4-4-0T No. 27, in the last Mallet class to be built for German East Africa. This locomotive appears in the Wikipedia list of Henschel steam locomotives. [12] It also appears in R. Ramaer’s book [9: p23] and A.E. Durrant’s book. [1: p66]

Kenya-Uganda

An ‘MT’ class locomotive in ex-Works condition at the Queen’s Park works of the North British Locomotive Co. [1: p66]

Mallets were the first articulated locomotives to operate in East Africa. Mallets were introduced on the Uganda Railway in 1913. A.E. Durrant notes that they consisted of “a batch of eighteen 0-6-6-0 compound Mallets to what was the North British Locomotive Co’s standard metre-gauge design, as supplied also to India, Burma, and Spain. They had wide Belpaire fireboxes, inside frames and piston valves for the high pressure cylinders only. Built at Queens Park works in 1912-1913, these locomotives entered service in 1913-14 and remained at work until 1929-30, when they were replaced by the EC2 and EC2 Garratts.” [1: p66]

North British Class ‘MT’ Mallets arrived in Kenya just before the start of WW1. [2]

These locomotives were given the classification ‘MT’ within the Uganda Railway fleet. Disappointing performance and high maintenance costs led to them being relegated to secondary duties and eventually being scrapped in the late 1920s as the Beyer Garratt locomotives began to arrive. [2] Their presence on the system was heralded by, “Railway Wonders of the World,” with the picture shown below. [3]

An ‘MT’ class Uganda Railway locomotive as illustrated in ‘Railway Wonders of the World’. [3]

References

  1. A.E. Durrant; The Mallet Locomotive; David & Charles, Newton Abbot, Devon, 1974.
  2. Kevin Patience; Steam in East Africa; Heinemann Educational Books (E.A.) Ltd., Nairobi, 1976.
  3. http://www.railwaywondersoftheworld.com/uganda_railway2.html, accessed on 1st June 2018.
  4. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eritrean_Railway, accessed on 22nd March 2024.
  5. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Addis_Ababa%E2%80%93Djibouti_Railway, accessed on 22nd March 2024.
  6. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/0-4-4-0, accessed on 22nd March 2024.
  7. https://www.farrail.net/pages/touren-engl/eritrea-mallets-asmara-2010.php, accessed on 24th March 2024.
  8. https://ecc–studienreisen-de.translate.goog/historische-eisenbahn-und-strassenbahnreisen-mit-peter-1/8-tage-eritrea-mallets-in-den-bergen-afrikas?_x_tr_sl=de&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc, accessed on 24th March 2024.
  9. R. Ramaer; Steam Locomotives of the East African Railways; David & Charles, Newton Abbot, 1974.
  10. https://www.facebook.com/urithitanga.museum/photos/pb.100063540805743.-2207520000/2336640756358366/?type=3, accessed on 24th March 2024.
  11. https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=2169593963301193&set=pcb.2169594269967829, accessed on 24th March 2024.
  12. https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_schmalspuriger_Lokomotiven_von_Henschel, accessed on 24th March 2024.
  13. https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eritrean_Railway_-_2008-11-04-edit1.jpg, accessed on 24th March 2024.

February 2024 – Recent & Relatively Recent News About the Railways of Kenya and Uganda – Metre-Gauge and Standard-gauge. …

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Uganda revives colonial-era railway after Chinese funds fall through

8th July 2023 – RFI with Reuters (https://www.rfi.fr/en/africa/20230807-uganda-east-africa-railway) [5]

Uganda has begun restoring a disused branch of a railway line built under the British Empire, which it hopes will offer a cheaper way to transport goods to neighbouring countries. … Work has begun to restore nearly 400 kilometres of the tracks between Tororo in eastern Uganda, near the border with Kenya, and Gulu in the north, near South Sudan.

“Our ambition is to move all long-distance bulk cargo transportation onto rail from roads in a few years because rail is cheaper in terms of cost and time,” a spokesperson for for state-run Uganda Railways Corporation, John Linnon Sengendo, told Reuters news agency.

Uganda decided to revamp the old network after plans to build a separate, modern line failed to secure funding from China.

The government cancelled its contract with a Chinese firm earlier this year and is now seeking a new contractor for the project, which would see the construction of a standard gauge railway linking the Ugandan capital Kampala to the Kenyan border, where it would join up with Kenya’s modern lines.

Another Chinese contractor, China Road and Bridge Corporation, will repair the old line over two years at a cost of 200 billion shillings (50.6 million euros) to the Ugandan government, Sengendo said.

Uganda’s railway network fell into disrepair during the country’s economic collapse in 1970s and early ’80s.

Ugandan officials hope once the link is restored, rail will replace trucks in shipping transit goods to South Sudan and north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Under its East African Railway Master Plan, the East African Community regional bloc is aiming to revive lines serving Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and extend them to Rwanda and Burundi. Ultimately it hopes to add South Sudan and Ethiopia to the network too.

Ugandan old railway line rehabilitation on track

14th January 2024 – The EastAfrican (https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/) [1]

Article by Kabona Esiara

A recently relaid section of metre-gauge track in Kampala, (c) Sylvia Katushabe

Uganda’s planned overhaul of the metre gauge railway to cut transport costs on the Northern Corridor and improve trade competitiveness has entered its final stages, even as the country faces a shortage of equipment, wagons, and trains.

The EastAfrican has learnt [that] Spanish firm Imathia Construction has completed replacing steel sleepers with concrete beams on the Namanve-Kampala section of the line, which is expected to be handed over this month, Uganda Railways Corporation (URC) publicist John Lenon Sengendo said, adding that the contractor will then embark on the final section, Namanve-Mukono.

This will be the second section of the track to be completed after rehabilitation of the Tororo-Namanve line, including the line to Jinja Pier, which was completed a year ago.
While the Malaba-Namanve metre gauge track is now in fair condition, importers, exporters, and shippers remain sceptical about switching to rail, citing a shortage of rolling stock and inefficiency, which has resulted in 90 percent of traffic on the Northern Corridor being carried by road and only about seven percent is carried by rail because of the poor state of rail infrastructure.

As a result, transport costs are comparatively high on the Northern Corridor, ranging from 20 cents to 25 cents per tonne per kilometre for road transport, while the cost for rail transport ranges from US cents 6 to US cent 12 per tonne per kilometre, depending on the type of cargo.

The shortage of rolling stock is partly blamed on URC. A June 2022 Uganda’s Auditor General after reviewing URC’s asset register, had 521 wagons located in different parts of Kenya.

But only 128 wagons exist, leaving a balance of 393 wagons unaccounted for, raising fears of a possibility of URC overstating its asset values in the financial statements.

[A] URC accounting officer explained that “there were many wagons left in Kenya by RVR (U) Ltd upon concession termination. A repatriation exercise to return these assets to Uganda commenced in July 2021 and by December 2021, a total of 243 wagons had been brought back.”

Under this project, Uganda is to buy 3,000 horsepower locomotives by 2026.
The number of Uganda government-owned wagon ferries is also expected to increase from the current two to four, a development set to help URC meet the growing traffic demand on Lake Victoria.

The other financiers are the African Development Bank, which will provide $233.2 million, and the African Development Fund to provide $100.7 million – both concessional loans to finance the construction and purchase of rolling stock, which includes locomotives, wagons and coaches.

URC’s target is to move cargo from road to rail, and we expect to be moving six million tonnes a year.

In its efforts to revamp the metre gauge railway, Uganda is also reviving the route from Tororo in Eastern Uganda to Gulu City in the north. The line is currently under construction. Significantly, the city also hosts the Gulu Logistics Hub, whose phase one is also under construction. … The hub – which will be rail-linked – was planned as a strategic location connecting to the growing markets of Congo and South Sudan.

Kenyan government to spend $731m on new trains, SGR revamp

11th May 2023 – The EastAfrican (https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/) [2]

Article by Business Daily

An SGR cargo train at the Naivasha Inland Container Depot in Kenya. Kenya’s National Treasury report shows Transport ministry will receive $714.7 million for the “Development of Standard Gauge Railway” between July this year and June 2026. [2]

The government of Kenya has stepped up expenditure on the Nairobi-Mombasa standard gauge railway (SGR) with a plan to hit Ksh100 billion ($731.53 million) in the next three years to revamp the line, build new sidings and buy more locomotives and cargo wagons.

A report by Kenya’s National Treasury shows that the country’s Transport ministry will receive an additional Ksh97.7 billion ($714.7 million) for the “Development of Standard Gauge Railway” between July this year and June 2026.

This reverses a trend where the previous government had cut allocations to the SGR and will push the spending related to this line beyond KSh780 billion ($5.7 billion) by June 2026.

Beginning July, the Kenyan government has allocated Ksh37.4 billion ($275.79 million) from the Railway Development Levy Fund (RDLF) for the Nairobi-Mombasa SGR.

A Mombasa-bound SGR passenger train on the extended viaduct in the ‘Maneaters Area’. The line is set at high level to allow the safe passage of wildlife, (c) Wachira Mwangi. [2]

The bulk of the allocation, according to the breakdown shared with the Business Daily from transport, has been earmarked for the acquisition of additional locomotives and freight wagons at a cost of Ksh11.9 billion ($87.1 million).

Kenya last bought its 1,620 locomotives and wagons from China in 2018.

State had no plans for extension – The allocations to transport ministry show that the government had no plans to extend the SGR beyond Naivasha to Kisumu and finally Malaba in the next three years.

The rest of the funds, which have been allocated under the “Mombasa to Nairobi SGR” vote will largely be used to build new feeder lines and rehabilitate the old metre gauge railway (MGR) lines.

Charged at the rate of two percent, the Railway Development Fund (RDF) is levied on all goods imported into the country for home use.

“The purpose of the levy shall be to provide funds for the construction of a standard gauge railway network in order to facilitate the transportation of goods,” reads part of the Miscellaneous Fees and Levies Act which establishes the kitty.

Budgetary allocations for the acquisition of locomotives and wagons are projected to increase to Ksh16 billion ($117 million) in Financial Year 2024/25 and Ksh22.2 billion ($162.4 million) in the Financial Year 2025/26 taking the total allocations for the three years to Ksh50.1 billion ($366.5 million).

Another Ksh5.9 billion ($43.16 million) will be spent on the rehabilitation, remanufacturing or overhaul of locomotives, wagons and coaches, according to a breakdown of the Ksh37.4 billion ($273.6 million) allocation.

The new feeder lines will link some of the sections of the modern railway such as the Mombasa SGR Terminus to critical urban centres.

This includes Ksh4.48 billion ($32.77 million) for the construction of the Riruta-Lenana-Ngong Railway Line and Ksh2.96 billion ($21.65 million) for the construction of a Railway Metro Line linking Embakasi Station and Ruai town.

In the next 12 months, the government will also build a new 2.8-kilometre Metre Gauge Railway (MGR) link from Mombasa SGR Terminus to Mombasa MGR station at a cost of Ksh2.5 billion ($18.29 million).

These funds will also be used to construct a railway bridge across the Makupa causeway that links Mombasa Island to the Kenyan mainland.

New MGR line – A new Metre Gauge Railway (MGR) line linking the Naivasha Inland Container Depot to the existing Longonot Railway Station has been allocated Ksh1.6 billion ($11.7 million) in the next financial calendar.

The construction of a Railway Metro Line connecting Athi River Station to the East African Portland Cement has been allocated Ksh400 million ($2.93 million).

This is projected to rise to Ksh1.17 billion ($8.56 million) in the Financial Year starting July next year and Sh1.36 billion in Financial Year 2025/26.

Another Railway Metro Line connecting Athi River Station to NSSF and Mavoko will absorb Ksh450 million ($3.3 million), a figure that is set to increase to Ksh1.56 billion ($11.4 million) and Ksh1.89 billion ($13.83 million) in 2024/25 and 2025/26.

The money will also be used to rehabilitate the line between Longonot and the Western border town of Malaba, which is aimed at facilitating the movement of cargo from the port city of Mombasa to Uganda.

Also in this border town, which is prone to congestion, the State plans to build Malaba Cargo Handling Yard. Around Ksh474 million ($3.45 million) has been set aside for this project.

Other spending items will be the acquisition of plant and equipment, which shall take up Ksh3.8 billion ($27.8 million) in the next fiscal year, Sh1.1 billion in Financial Year 2024/25 and Ksh600 million ($4.4 million) in the Financial Year 2025/26.

Logistics Hub – A logistics hub is planned for Athi River with the state putting aside Ksh1.125 billion ($8.23 million).

The allocation for this planned logistics hub will reduce to Ksh375 million ($2.74 million) in the year ending June 2025.

Initial plans were to extend the SGR to Uganda; however, this has since stalled with the Treasury not getting funds for the extension to Kisumu and finally to Malaba.

Murkomen at the beginning of this year said the Kenya Kwanza administration in partnership with the Chinese government is keen on extending the SGR from Naivasha’s Mai Mahiu to the border of Uganda through a five-year plan that will see the multibillion-dollar railway line run through Narok, Bomet, Nyamira, Kisumu, and Malaba.

“In the long run, we would like to complete the connection of the SGR from Suswa to Kisumu through Bomet, Nyamira, parts of Kisii and later to Malaba. Later, we can think of upgrading the existing MGR via Nakuru to Kisumu and via Eldoret to Malaba,” he said on December 15, 2022.

With the additional expenditure, the government hopes the country’s most expensive piece of infrastructure will help to grow the economy and improve the standard of living for Kenyans.

The administration of former President Uhuru Kenyatta borrowed Ksh656.1 billion ($4.8 billion) in three tranches for the construction of the two phases of the SGR, contributing to a major build-up of Kenya’s stock of debt.

Kenya will use Ksh11.9 billion ($87 million) to acquire rolling stock that will be used to ferry cargo on the SGR from Mombasa to Naivasha.

Grand $15 billion plan to expand Kenya SGR to Kisumu, Malaba, Isiolo

15th May 2023 – The EastAfrican (https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/) [3]

Article by Business Daily

The standard gauge railway line at the Naivasha Inland Container Depot, a transhipment hub for Kenya’s SGR from Mombasa, which is to extend to the proposed Malaba railway line in Uganda. [3]

Kenya has set sights on a Ksh2.1 trillion ($15.3 billion) plan to extend the standard gauge railway (SGR) to Kisumu, Malaba and Isiolo by the end of June 2027, a government document seen by the Business Daily shows.

According to the plan, the State Department of Transport will build another 2,746 kilometres of the SGR at $15.3 billion, a move that will push the total spend on the modern railway to more than Ksh2.75 trillion ($20 billion).

The plan, lifted from the Jubilee Government’s grand scheme on SGR (so far Kenya’s most expensive project), is part of the Ksh3.42 trillion ($24.9 billion) Lamu Port South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (Lapsset).

Lapsset is aimed at opening up northern Kenya and revamping the northern corridor by spurring movement within Kenya, South Sudan and Ethiopia.

It is an ambitious scheme that will not only see the modern railway reach the border town of Malaba via Kisumu, as it was initially envisioned, but also Isiolo, Moyale and the island of Lamu.

The line will move from Mariakani in Mombasa County to Lamu to Isiolo. From Isiolo, the SGR will be connected to the northeastern town of Moyale which borders Ethiopia.

From Isiolo, the government will extend the SGR to Nairobi, connecting the country’s capital city and commercial hub to northern Kenya and finally to Ethiopia.

From Naivasha, the SGR is extended to Malaba through Kisumu.

The bulk of the financing for these additional kilometres of the SGR, around Ksh1.8 trillion ($13 billion), will be from external financiers that the document has not revealed while the rest will come from the Kenyan government.

So far, the SGR from Mombasa to Naivasha has been financed by the Chinese at a total cost of Ksh656.1 billion ($4.7 billion)

The longest stretch of the planned SGR, 753.2 kilometres, will be from Isiolo to Nakodok, a small town near the border between Kenya and South Sudan.

The Transport Ministry, headed by Kipchumba Murkomen, has cost this phase of the SGR at Ksh443.2 billion ($3.2 billion).

From Lamu to Isiolo, a distance of 544.4 kilometres, the Ruto administration plans to build the rail line at Ksh348.7 billion ($2.5 billion).

From Isiolo to Moyale, a distance of 475.9 kilometres, the country is expected to use Ksh317.8 billion ($2.3 billion) to build a new SGR line.

The line connecting Mariakani to Lamu of 325.3 kilometres will cost Ksh257.3 billion ($1.8 billion).

Locations on Kenya’s planned SGR network. [3]

There will be another line of 278 kilometres connecting Nairobi to Isiolo that will consume Ksh239.2 billion ($1.7 billion).

Phase 2B of the SGR from Naivasha to the lakeside city of Kisumu will cost Sh380 billion while the last leg, 2C, from Kisumu to Malaba bordering Uganda will take another Ksh122.9 billion ($896 million).

The document from the State Department of Transport reveals what appears like a near-impossible feat of the government wanting to complete the entire transport circuit in four years from 2023 to 2027.

Although the ministry’s document indicates that construction of these railway lines is to begin at the start of July this year, no budgetary allocation has been made for the SGR for the next three financial years.

In 2014, the government entered into a tripartite agreement with the governments of Rwanda and Uganda to construct a standard gauge railway from Mombasa through Kampala to Kigali, Rwanda.

However, the SGR ended abruptly in Naivasha with China reportedly declining to finance the last leg of the modern railway after failing to strike an agreement with Uganda.

The new administration of President Ruto has rekindled plans to complete the SGR.

Through a partnership with the Chinese government, Mr Murkomen said earlier this year the government wanted to extend the SGR from Naivasha’s Mai Mahiu to the border of Uganda through a five-year plan that will see the multibillion-dollar railway line run through Narok, Bomet, Nyamira, Kisumu, and finally Malaba.

“In the long run, we would like to complete the connection of the SGR from Suswa to Kisumu through Bomet, Nyamira, parts of Kisii and later to Malaba. Later, we can think of upgrading the existing MGR via Nakuru to Kisumu and via Eldoret to Malaba,” the CS said in a statement on December 15 last year.

The Transport Ministry has been allocated Ksh100 billion ($729 million) from the Railway Development Levy Fund (RDLF) for the next three years to revamp the existing SGR line from Mombasa to Naivasha via Nairobi and build new sidings.

The money will also be used to buy more locomotives and cargo wagons, which are aimed at improving the freight capacity of the modern railway which is still facing cut-throat competition from trucks.

Plans to revamp the SGR involve mostly building new metre gauge railway (MGR) or rehabilitating them.

New Concrete Sleepers for the Metre-Gauge in Uganda

New Vision reported that, on 1st September 2023, President Yoweri Museveni opened a new Concrete sleeper making facility at Kawolo, Buikwe District, Kampala. The sleepers are to be used in the rehabilitation of the metre-gauge railway line.

The traditional steel sleepers are no longer in favour. Thefts and vandalism mean that alternatives have had to be sought. [6]

The old steel sleepers on the right. The new concrete sleepers in ballast on the left. [7]

The sleepers are being used on the Kampala to Namanve line before being rolled out to other projects. The construction of the factory valued at over 19 million Euros (about 76 billion Uganda Shillings) started in June 2020.

On-going work on the Kampala to Namanve line. [8]

The use of concrete sleepers on the suburban lines will be supplemented by the procurement of diesel multiple units and additional coaches.

“In August 2020, URC said the Government had secured funding from the Spanish government and African Development Bank (AfDB) to the tune of shillings 1.3 trillion to revamp the Metre Gauge Railway by rehabilitating about 250 kilometres from Malaba to Kampala.” [6]

On 1st February 2024, work on the Kampala to Namanve line was close to completion and a predicted opening in March 2024. [9]

Kenya Railways puts proposed Lapsset SGR costs at $16 billion: bulk on Isiolo-Nakodok line


Monday 22nd January 2024 – The EastAfrican

(https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/) [4]

Kenya will need at least Ksh 2.4 trillion ($16 billion) to construct a proposed Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) on the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia-Transport (Lapsset) corridor, according to projections by the Kenya Railways Corporation.

According to the parastatal, it would cost Ksh 523.05 billion ($3.49 billion) to build a 544.4 km SGR link to connect Lamu and Isiolo and a further Ksh 476.7 billion ($3.178 billion) to extend the line from Isiolo to Moyale over a distance of 475.9 km.

The largest spending would be on constructing the SGR line from Isiolo to Nakodok town on the border between Kenya and South Sudan over a distance of 753.2 km at a cost of Ksh664.65 billion ($4.431 billion).

Kenya Railways has estimated that a further Ksh 358.8 billion ($2.392 billion) will be required to link Isiolo and Nairobi via SGR over a distance of 278.6 km and a further Ksh 385.95 billion ($2.573 billion) for the 325.35 km stretch between Lamu and Mariakani.

The entire stretch will cover a total of 2,377.45 km, translating into a cost of Ksh 1 billion ($6.667 million) for every kilometre of the SGR.

But the cost of undertaking such a colossal venture, which would be by far the most expensive in Kenya’s history, will be far higher than Kenya Railways’ estimates considering the company did the costing at an exchange of Ksh150/US dollar.

The parastatal has nonetheless expressed confidence in raising Ksh275.9 billion ($1.84 billion) or 11.4 percent of the total project cost by the financial year 2027/28 through funding from the government, collections from the Railway Development Levy Fund (RDLF) and loans.

Kenya in 2014 began construction of Phase 1 of the SGR line between Mombasa and Nairobi covering 472km. Phase 2A Nairobi-Naivasha (120km) was constructed in 2017. The project was funded by a $5.08 billion loan from China.

“The SGR line has led to expansion of the Inland Container Depot (ICD) in Nairobi at Embakasi, and construction of the ICD – Naivasha at Mai Mahiu,” said Kenya Railways.

The firm added: “This has contributed to decongestion of the seaport of Mombasa and facilitated seamless transit of goods destined to Western Kenya and neighbouring countries.”

Already, two studies have been undertaken to explore the feasibility of a Lapsset corridor railway by Japan Port Consultants in 2009 and China Civil Engineering Construction Company (2015). The latter study estimated the cost of the project at $10.4 billion with a financial rate of return of between nine percent and 12 percent.

The proposal to build an SGR line along the Lapsset corridor is however not feasible yet as the Lapsset project has failed to take off due to lack of funding as well as insecurity. Kenya is also facing a huge debt pile which has been worsened by the rapid depreciation of the Kenyan shilling leading to a surge in foreign currency external loans.

References

  1. https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/business/ugandan-old-railway-line-rehabilitation-on-track-4490790, accessed on 15th January 2024.
  2. https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/business/kenyan-government-to-spend-731m-on-new-trains-4230714, accessed on 15th January 2023.
  3. https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/business/usd15bn-plan-to-expand-kenya-sgr-to-kisumu-malaba-isiolo-4235152, accessed on 15th January 2024.
  4. https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/business/kenya-puts-proposed-lapsset-sgr-cost-at-16b-4498058, accessed on 23rd January 2024
  5. https://www.rfi.fr/en/africa/20230807-uganda-east-africa-railway, accessed on 28th January 2024.
  6. https://newvisionapp.page.link/AnZKJYD8UVVMesj46, accessed on 10th February 2024
  7. https://metrospy.net/tag/president-museveni-commissions-ugandas-first-railway-concrete-sleeper-factory, accessed on 10th February 2024.
  8. https://twitter.com/IMATHIA_/status/1732763129472250220?t=gIdF9LI4kbCV89rYCs0MGg&s=19, accessed on 10th February 2024.
  9. https://youtu.be/Hf1Rr-2FPuU?si=NTFqVs7UgqeoASR3, accessed on 10th February 2024.

The Tramways of Nice:- Les Lignes de l’Arriere-Pays (The Lines of the Hinterland) Part 1 – First Generation Electric Tramways to Contes, Bendejun and La Grave de Peille, and a planned line to l’Escarene – (Chemins de Fer de Provence/Alpes-Maritimes No. 95)

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This article looks at two tramway routes which were built. The first ran from Nice to Bendejun via Pont de Peille and Contes. The second branched of the first at Pont de Peille and ran to along the valley of the Paillon de Peille to La Grave de Peille. It also covers a proposed tramway to l’Escarene which was not constructed.

Nice to Contes and Bendejun

This line was approximately 18.6 km long. The first part of the route (from Nice Place Garibaldi as far as La Trinite Victor) ran along the same rails as the urban service – a length of around 6.5km.Just over 9 km of line (which was deemed to be part of the coastal (littoral) network) brought trams to Contes. The final length of the line was regarded as part of the TNLs ‘departemental’ network and took trams to the terminus at Bendejun.

Only approximately 0.5 km of the line and (as far as Contes) was on the level. The remainder of the line was set at varying gradients with the steepest being 55mm/m. The line rose from 12 metres above sea-level at Place Garibaldi to 189 metres above sea-level at Contes, and 260 metres above sea-level at Bendejun.

The following notes on the significant dates associated with the line are gleaned from Jose Banaudo’s book. [1: p70] …

The line from Garibaldi to Abbatoirs opened to the public on 21st February 1900. On 2nd June of the same year, the line opened from Abbatoirs to Contes. Goods were carried on this section of the line from 1st October 1900.

It was not until 1st February 1909 that passengers could travel between Contes and Bendejun and no goods were carried along that length of the line until 1st January 1911.

After just over a year, in February 1912, subsidence closed the length of the line between Contes and Bendejun. The line opened again in March. During the winter of 1916-1917, the line was closed by snow and landslides.

On 1st January 1923 tram services were given new numbers: Nice to La Trinite or Drap became No. 26; Nice to Contes or Bendejun, No. 27.

Sadly, after further problems with landslides, the line between Contes and Bendejun was permanently closed from 18th November 1926.

On 8th October 1934 renumbering led to the line to La Trinite being numbered 36 and the Nice to Contes service, 37.

A landslide affected the line between the cement works and Contes. It was closed from November 1934 to March 1935.

Late in 1935, the Nice terminus of these services was moved from Place Garibaldi to Rue Geoffredo.

After damage to the electricity substation adjacent to Pont-de-Peille on 12th February 1938, the passenger service from Drap to Contes was curtailed and the No. 37 service was replaced by buses. 

There was opposition to the bus service being provided by a single company. This saw a reopening of the tram service on Ligne 37 on 15th March 1938. There followed a period between 3rd August 1938 and December 1944 when tramway services were interrupted relatively frequently for a variety of reasons which included damage during WW2.

On 23rd December 1944 the tram service resumed from Nice to Pont-de-Peille with a bus service covering the remainder of the route to the North.

On 17th January 1945, goods transport between Contes and Nice resumed and, on 20th January 1945, passenger trams returned to Contes.

In the winter of 1948-1949 bad weather saw the interruption of services North of La Pointe de Contes.

January 1950 saw the closure of the line to passenger services with buses used to replace that service on a permanent basis. In May 1950, the goods service was also closed permanently.

The line to Bendejun followed the left bank of the River Paillon between the centre of Nice and its terminus in Bendejun. Its terminus in Nice was at the Northwest corner of Place Garibaldi, where a wooden kiosk served as its station building. It used the same tracks as the urban services through Abattoirs to La Trinité-Victor.

L’Octroi de Turin at Contes was the terminus of Ligne 37 – Thomson-Houston tram No. 204 from l’Octroi sits at the tram stops at Pont Michel in 1949, © P. Laurent from the private collection of Jean-Paul Bascoul. This image was shared by Jean-Paul Bascoul on the Comte de Nice et son Histoire Facebook Group on 10th December 2021. Jean Claude Lehoux commented as follows: This route together with the line to La Grave de Peille were the last TNL non-urban lines to be converted to bus operation. Apparently, before WW2 the line was already predominantly served by buses. During the War, the trams returned but ceased passenger operations in 1947 (La Grave de Peille) and 1949/50 (Contes). The line to Contes, despite still having significant freight traffic, seems to have been completely abandoned around 1951. A similar picture, featuring trams No. 104 and No. 212, taken at the present day Post Michel appears in José Banaudo’s book. In that image, No. 104, heading for La Trinité crosses paths with No. 212 coming from Contes à l’Ancien-Octroi-de-Turin. Banaudo says that at the boundary of Nice, close to the current “Michel Bridge”, this stop had three tracks to facilitate the crossing between urban services, those serving the Paillon valleys and goods convoys. [1: p67]

For a short distance trams ran on the verge of Route Nationale No. 204. Stops at Roma and Random (which had a passing loop) were followed by the stop in the village of Drap which was adjacent to the bridge to Cantaron.

The Route Nationale in Drap. Tram tracks can be seen in the centre of the road. This old postcard view was shared on the Comte de Nice et son Histoire Facebook Group by Alain Nissim on 18th May 2022. [4]
Drap again, this image shows La Place des Ecoles and the Route Nationale. A tram can be seen on the road at the extreme right of the picture. This old postcard view was shared on the Comte de Nice et son Histoire Facebook Group by Alain Nissim on 18th May 2022. [4]
La Place des Ecoles viewed from almost the same location as in the monochrome postcard image above. In the 21st century the Plane trees have gone and cars have taken over from the park that made up much of the square. [Google Streetview, November 2022]
Turning just a little to the right and wandering a little further along the Route Nationale, this image shows the passing loop at the tram stop in Drap. It was shared on the Comte de Nice et son Histoire Facebook Group by Jean-Paul Bascoul on 22nd February 2019, and comes from his private collection. [5] The same photograph appears in José Banaudo’s book. [1: p68]
Approximately the same location as seen in the 21st century. The school on the left has seen its roof raised by the addition of another floor. [Google Streetview, November 2022]

It appears that as late as 1955, the tram track was visible in the road surface in the centre of Drap. The two parallel images from the IGN website show it present on Avenue de General de Gaulle when the map on the left was surveyed in 1955.

The Place des Ecoles in the centre of Drap. The ‘cross’ on the older map on the left is superimposed over the line of the tramway which was in the centre of the road. [11]
A little further North the tramway can be seen leaving the centre of the road in the 1955 map extract. Presumably it ran along the verge between the road and the River Paillon. It might already have been lifted by 1955. The map is of little help with establishing its presence immediately North of this location. [12]

Leaving the centre of Drap, trams then passed under the PLM line between Nice and Cuneo for the third time at Pont des Vernes which also spanned the River Paillon. Trams ran between the river and the road.

Pont des Vernes in the 21st century. What was the old Route Nationale still passes under the most Easterly span of the truss girder viaduct which also spans the River Paillon. [Google Streetview, 2011]

The confluence of two arms of the River Paillon lay shortly beyond the railway bridge (Paillon de Contes and Paillon de L’Escarène). The Paillon de L’Escarène flowed in from the Southeast from the heights of Peillon, L’Escarène and Lucéram. It was spanned by a five-arched viaduct, some 140 metres in length which carried both the Route Nationale and the tramway. The construction of the bridge was started in the last years of the 18th century. While the bridge may well have been completed within a few years, the construction of the road of which it was a part, between Turin and Nice, was interrupted by conflict and was not completed until 1838. [1: p67]

A postcard view from the Southwest looking towards Pont de Peillon. The old road bridge (and its five arches) sits at the centre of the view. [7]
A modern view looking Northeast along the D2204 where it crosses the Paillon de L’Escarene. [Google Streetview, April 2023]
The same bridge, viewed from Chemin du Fontanil de Croves to the Southeast of the bridge. [Google Streetview, May 2019]
This next extract from the parallel imagery provided by the IGN shows the tramway returning to the centre of the Route National as it crossed the bridge in 1955. It might be inferred from this that from Drap to this point it was still present on the West side of the highway. Again, however, the map extracts cannot be seen as conclusive proof of this. At the centre-top of the 1955 map extract the tramway appears to leave the road carriageway for a short distance for a tram stop and passing loop, which is mentioned in the text below. However Jose Banaudo has a photograph of the location in his book which seems to show the tramway remaining in the carriageway with an electricity substation just beyond it. [1: p69] There is now a roundabout at the junction between the road to Contes/Bendejun and the road East to La-Grave-de-Peille. [13]

Trams faced gradients on either side of the central arch of the bridge – 41mm/m and 34mm/m. Very soon after crossing the bridge in a northbound direction, trams encountered the stop at Pont-de-Peille, “where an electrical substation was located and from which the La-Grave-de-Peille line branched off to the east.” [1: p67]

A 21st century view North from the bridge. [Google Streetview, April 2023]
The hamlet of La Pointe-de-Contes was beyond the North end of the bridge over the Paillon de L’Escarene. [3]

Beyond the hamlet of La Pointe-de-Contes, the line crossed the Ruisseau de la Garde (a tributary to Le Paillon de Contes) on a single-span bridge.

This next extract from the parallel mapping of the IGN shows the highway bridge over the Ruisseau de la Garde. The bridge sits in the bottom half of the two map extracts. The 1955 mapping appears to show tram tracks over the bridge at the centre line of the road. To the South of the bridge, it seems that the tramway was on the West verge of the road. North of the bridge it appears to switch to the East side verge of the carriageway. Only a short distance further North the tramway appears to cross back to the West side of the road. Road realignments in this area have resulted in a roundabout at the location of the old bridge. [14]
The bridge over the Ruisseau de la Garde at La Pointe de Contes in 1953. The image was shared by Pierre Richert in the Comte de Nice et son Histoire Facebook Group on 31st October 2017 [15]
A similar view in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, April 2023.

Banaudo says that the road junction adjacent to the bridge was the point at which the L’Escarene tram line would have branched off the line to Contes. Work on that line wasn’t completed. [1: p67]

From this bridge, the line to Contes and Bendejun followed RN15 (now D15) North past the Lafarge lime and cement factory.  “This, which was the main reason for the line’s existence, was served by two branches allowing the reception of fuel and the shipment of its products to Nice and its port.” [1: p67]

The location of the Lafarge factory. The 1955 map seems to show the tramway on the West side of the road. There also appear to be at least two sidings on the East side of the road. [15]
An aerial image of the Lafarge Cement Works at Contes. The River Paillon de Contes is in the background. [10]

About a kilometre further North, the Contes station was located in the La Grave district adjacent to the footbridge leading to Châteauneuf. 

Another extract from the parallel imagery provided by the IGN. The tramway can be seen, in the 1955 map extract on the left, following the verge of the road and immediately adjacent to the river channel. The bridge shown crossing The river at this point provided access to Chateauneuf which sat above the valley to the West. The tram stop was close to the bridge and a little to the Northwest of it. [17]

At Contes, the tramway had a small building and a siding by the river beneath the perched village.  

Contes Gendarmerie and tram stop. This image was shared by Pierre Richert on the Comte de Nice et son Histoire Facebook Group on 30th October 2017 as part of an extensive album of postcard views of Contes. [3]
A view from a similar position in the 21st century. The construction  site is on the land once occupied by the Gendarmerie. [Google Streetview, April 2023]
This image from the Jean-Henri Manara collection was colourised and shared by Demian West on the Comte de Nice et son Histoire Facebook Group on 13th December 2022. This original image was included in the comments attached to the colourised image on the Facebook group by Demian West. [16]
A similar view in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, April 2023]
The tram terminus at Contes. This postcard view was shared by Jean-Paul Bascoul on the Comte de Nice et son Histoire Facebook Group on 21st January 2017. It comes from the private collection of Jean-Paul Bascoul. [9]

From there, the line continued up the left bank of the Paillon. Banaudo tells us that there was only one further passing-loop which was in the district of Roccaya, near the Rémaurian footbridge.  “The Bendéjun terminus was in the Moulins district, in a steep site where the road crosses the Paillon and definitively leaves the bottom of the valley to rise in bends towards this village and that of Coaraze.” [1: p67]

The Bendejun terminus of the tramway was in the valley floor close to the mills and alongside the river. There was a bridge just beyond the tram terminus which took the road over the Paillon de Contes and a series of hairpin bends lifted the road quickly up the valley side. This is another extract from the IGN parallel mapping. The map on the left was published in 1955. [18]
The tram terminus at Bendejun, beyond this point the road turns sharply to the left to cross the river and then climbs through a series of hairpin bends to Bendejun and on to Coaraze. This image was shared on the Comte de Nice et son Histoire Facebook Group by Roland Coccoli on 30th May 2023. [19]
A view from a little further South in the 21st century. The properties on either side of the road both remain. That on the East of the road now appears to be rendered. Of interest in this view are what appear to be tram rails in the right foreground. [Google Streetview, April 2023]

We have already noted that the tramway service North of Pont-de-Peille was frequently interrupted by landslides, subsidence and weather events. Banaudo also writes of significant problems with the trailers used for goods services which were often in poor condition or overloaded and as a result caused damage to the relatively light-weight rails of the tramway. [1: p71]

Pont de Peille to La Grave de Peille

Two branch-lines from the tramway to Contes were planned, the first was a line to La Grave de Peille. When built it had a total length of just short of 6.6 km. Its maximum gradient was 39 mm/m and only 360m of the route was on the level. The line ran from 112 m above sea-level to 195 m above sea-level at La Grave de Peille.

The concession for the operation of the line to La Grave de Peille was given to the TNL in June 1904. The line opened to passengers and freight on 12th June 1911. The route was numbered 28 on 1st January 1923 and saw construction traffic for the Nice-Cuneo Railway between 1923 and 1928. The cement works at La Grave was established in 1924.

At the end of 1926 the service was interrupted by a landslide. Work was undertaken between 1926 and 1927 to improve the electrical supply and September 1928 saw the official inauguration of the freight service associated with the cement works.

The Bridges and Roads Authority undertook paving work along the line in the winter of 1928-29. In August 1929, a landslide disrupted the service once again and a deviation was put in place.

On 8th October 1934, the line was renumbered, Ligne 38. The service was interrupted, once again, in November 1934. This time it was by a landslide at Châteauvieux.

The terminus in Nice was moved, along with that of the line to Contes and Bendejun, from Place Garibaldi to Rue Geoffredo in November 1935 and another landslide interrupted the service at Ste. Thecla between December 1935 and December 1936.

This tale of woe continued throughout the next decade with closures due to landslides, floods, the failure of bridges, or deterioration of trackwork. Banaudo provides a full list of these events. [1: p75]Such an unreliable service maintained at significant cost was of little use to users (passengers and goods). Closure became inevitable and it occurred on 1st April 1947.

The route started immediately to the North of the Pont de Peille stop on the line to Contes. Banaudo describes this connection as “une aiguille en rebroussement” (literally, ‘a turning needle’). [1: p72] In context, this appears to be a point which allowed access to the branch-line from the North. Trams from Nice would stop at Pont de Peille and then execute a reversal just to the North of the stop to gain access to the branch. This presumably involved a powered car running round its trailer at the tram stop and then reversing towards Contes. Banaudo provides one photograph of the manoeuvre taking place. [1: p72]

Such an unreliable service maintained at significant cost was of little use to users (passengers and goods). Closure became inevitable and it occurred on 1st April 1947.

The route between Pont de Peille and La Grave de Peille started immediately to the North of the Pont de Peille stop on the line to Contes. Banaudo describes this connection as “une aiguille en rebroussement” (literally, ‘a turning needle’). [1: p72] In context, this appears to be a point which allowed access to the branch-line from the North. Trams from Nice would stop at Pont de Peille and then execute a reversal just to the North of the stop to gain access to the branch. This presumably involved a powered car running round its trailer at the tram stop and then reversing towards Contes. Banaudo provides one photograph of the manoeuvre taking place. [1: p72]

The junction of the D21 and the D15 is shown on the right of these two parallel IGN images. The reverse curve, mentioned in the text about the tramway above, appears to be shown on the image on the left. The cross marks its location. The tramway appears to have run on the South side of the road.[20]
The road to La-Grave-de-Peille and L’Escarene. Tge tramway ran along the verge of the old road or within the width of the carriageway over much of the journey to La-Grave-de-Peille. [Google Streetview, April 2023]

The branch-line followed the valley of the River Paillon de L’Escarène valley, a route also used by the PLM Nice-Cuneo line.  Banaudo tells us that “the tram first took the right bank, sometimes on the shoulder and sometimes on the roadway of Route Nationale No. 21 (now departemental road No. 21).  It passed through the hamlet of Borghéas, then entered the Châteauvieux gorge where a three-arch bridge brought the road and the track over to the left bank.  After passing the pumping station of a spring which supplied part of the city of Nice with drinking water, trams reached the hamlet of Ste. Thecla.” [1: p72]

The location of the three-arched bridge which is mentioned by Banaudo in the quoted text above. [21]
The same location as seen on Google Earth in 21st century. [Google Earth, 18th October 2022]
A 21st century view, looking Northeast across the bridge carrying the D21 over the Paillon de L’Escarene. [Google Streetview, March 2023]
The village of Ste. Thecle sits in the valley floor adjacent to the Paillon de l’Escarene. It hosts a railway station which is named Peillon-Ste. Thecle which serves the two villages. Paillon is high above, and to the East of the village of Thecle. [22]
A view of Sainte Thecle, the mills and Peillon which shows the tramway alongside the road. The view looks Eastnortheast towards Paeillon. Note the kerb marking the limits of the highway. Peillon can be seen high above Ste. Thecle in this photograph. The River Paillon de l’Escarene is below the road and tramway to the left. This old postcard image was shared by Jean-Paul Bascoul on the Comte de Nice et son Histoire Facebook Group on 5th October 2023 and comes from the private collection of Jean-Paul Bascoul. The location of this photograph is difficult to confirm in 21st century. The relative positions of Peillon and the rock outcrops behind make it clear that the location is in Ste. Thecle but changes in the buildings in Ste.Thecle make ascertaining the location difficult. No doubt someone with local knowledge might be able to firm up the position of the camera!  [6]
The tram stop at Les Moulins de Peillon seems to be marked on the 1955 map extract on the left. However, it is worth noting Banaudo’s comments below which seem to suggest that the tramway was on the East side of the road. The tramway is perhaps marked by the single line on the East side of the road. The location is named on the modern map extract to the right. The valley has, by this time, turned to the North. Access to the village of Peillon is via the steep road with hairpin bends in the top right of each map extract. [23]
The village of Peillon sits high above the valley floor. It is a car free mediaeval perched village. [24]

The next stop was in the valley closer to Peillon and set among the mills. This stop provided a passing loop, the only one on the line. Banaudo continues: “On the right, the picturesque village of Peillon stands at 376 m at the top of a rocky spur in a site worthy of a postcard.  Immediately afterwards, the valley narrows once again and forms the narrow Bausset gorge where the tramway line was established over 567 m on its own site overlooking the road, finding it again to cross the Paillon on a single-arch bridge.” [1: p72]

These comments from Banaudo suggest that the line was on the East side of the road, perhaps indicated by the single black line on the 1955 map extract above which crosses the side road to Peillon only a few meters to the East of the main road. It seems that North of this point the tramway was very close to the road but held above it by a retaining wall. Road and tramway came together again at the next bridge over the Paillon de l’Escarene. That bridge is marked on both of the map extracts (1955 and 2023) above. The bridge used by the old road and tramway is marked in grey on the modern map.

Looking East off the modern road bridge, the single masonry arch of the old bridge can be seen in a collapsed state. A modern road realignment at this location removed some dangerous bends and improved traffic flow. [Google Streetview, April 2023]

Beyond this point, with the tramway and the D21 now on the West bank of the river, the valley opens out and the route of the old tramway passes through Novaines before reaching the location of its terminus at La Grave-de-Peille.

The tramway ran along the old Route Nationale No. 21 to La Grave de Peille. As the road turned to re-cross the River Paillon de L’Escarene, the tramway continued for only a short distance to serve a cement works on the West bank of the river. [25]
The terminus of the passenger service at La Grave de Peille. This image was shared on the Comte de Nice et son Histoire Facebook Group by Roland Coccoli on 2nd December 2018. [8]

The terminus of the route was sited at the meeting point of the boundaries of three communes, Peillon, Peille and Blausasc, adjacent to a cement works which was operating from the mid-1920s and had its own branch-line  from the tramway. The cement works became particularly significant in the life of the branch-line once the PLM opened its line between Nice and Cuneo in the late-1920s. Passengers deserted the trams as a much quicker journey to and from Nice was offered by the PLM from its two stations, Peillon-Ste. Thecle and Peille.

The railway station at Peille with the cement works visible in the distance on the right side of the image. This colourised monochrome postcard image was taken with the camera facing towards the Southwest. Trams ran along the valley from/to the lefthand edge of this image as far as the cement works. [26]

Banaudo highlights a particular problem with the line to La Grave de Peille. [1: p74] The tramway was built with minimal investment – just enough to reach its terminus. Rails were the lightest possible; the TNL used existing bridges not designed for the loads imposed by trams and trailers; road carriageway widths were decreased to provide space for the trams, (ather than setting the rails in the roads).

Local protests began as early as 1908, but issues becameore acute after the Great War because of the increased traffic on both the road and the tramway resulting from the construction of the Nice-Cuneo railway and the opening of the cement plant at La Grave. “Neither the road nor the railway were able to withstand this additional load.  On 21st November 1928, the municipal council of Peillon reported that the Bausset bridge was in a lamentable state and, for lack of urgent measures, serious misfortunes occurred during the winter of 1928-29. Despite the protests of the TNL company which rightly feared for the sustainability of its rails, the Bridges and Roads Authority covered the rails with macadam to widen the roadway accessible to cars.  What was predictable happened: insufficiently drained under this coating and tired by high tonnages, the rails were too weak and the already tired sleepers soon began to disintegrate.” [1: p74] 

In 1937 proper maintenance was undertaken between Borghéas and Châteauvieux, “but the alarming state of the track, the insufficient electricity supply and the shortage of wagons led the TNL to provide its passenger service by bus” [1: p74] The cement factory also began to use road vehicles.

WW2 resulted in traffic (both goods and passengers) returning to the rails in the summer of 1940, but by the beginning of 1941 the track had deteriorated to such an extent that all tramway traffic had to be suspended.

Sufficient maintenance was undertaken to allow goods services to resume within a few weeks but the condition of the bridge at Bausset meant that the line North of the bridge could not be used by trams. Lime and cement, “went down by truck to the Peillon stop (Les Moulins),  where it was transhipped on a train of two wagons limited to 6 km/h to Pont-de-Peille… The end-to-end service resumed on 7th July 1941, but it was again interrupted in September 1943 by the destruction of the Pont de Peille then at the end of August 1944 by that of the Pont de Bausset bridge.” [1: p74]

A temporary structure of steel beams and a wooden deck was quickly provided but “the track formed such tight curves on either side of the structure that derailments were not rare.” [1: p74]

Early 1945 saw the reintroduction of passenger and freight services but the following winter saw heavy flooding which destabilised the temporary bridge at Bausset and the line was again closed, this time for two and a half months. Ultimately the increasingly erratic service on the line resulted in its final closure in the spring of 1947.

La Pointe de Contes to l’Escarene

Sadly, this line was never used in earnest. Much was done to create the line but circumstances combined to mean the work done did not come to fruition. Initially, l’Escarene was chosen as the final destination for the tramway from Pont de Peille via La Grave de Peille in 1904. The concession for the line between La Grave and L’Escarene was awarded on 26th June 1904, but it was rescinded early in 1906.

Banaudo tells us that, “after several decades of procrastination, the construction of a Nice-Cuneo railway line had been approved by an international convention, granted to the PLM and made public. As the route of this line was  established by the Paillon de L’Escarène valley which the tramway should have taken.” [1: p76]

The result of that decision was the truncation of the route from Pont de Peille to La Grave de Peille and L’Escarène at La Grave.

Banaudo goes on to explain that “the idea of connecting L’Escarène to the tram network was not abandoned, especially since some were still considering extending a line as far as Luceram and even Peirs Cava, at an altitude of 1400 m.” [1: p76]

In 1910 the Bridges and Roads Authority commenced discussions with the TNL. The steep Gradients likely to be required saw the TNL propose an option of a rack system.

It was not until 1913 that the route from La Pointe de Contes was confirmed. Work began in January 1914. The Great War saw work come to a standstill.

It was 1919, before rearranged contracts saw work recommence on the line. Ok about was in short supply and priority was given to the construction of the PLM line between Nice and Cuneo. In the end, the Departement suspended work on the line in 1926 because costs of materials had risen dramatically.

In 1928, Banaudo tells us, “at the request of the municipality of Blausan, the general council took the decision to develop the length of the tramway formation which was remote from the existing road, from Fuont-de-Jarrier to the Col de Nice which became the departmental road 321.” [1: p76] The planned tramway to L’Escarène was finally abandoned/decommissioned on 29th June 1933.

Had it been built, the total length of the tramway would have been just under 7.6 km with a maximum gradient of 55mm/m. It would have risen from a height of 131m above sea-level at La Pointe de Contes to around 410 m above sea-level at the Col de Nice.

The route was to have been served entirely by a single-track tramway leaving the line to Contes at La Pointe de Contes.

The red line shown on these map extracts provided by the IGN shows the route of the planned tramway as it left the route to Contes and Bendejun. A road now follows that line and appears on the modern mapping on the right. The road is named ‘Chemin du Tram’. The main road towards L’ Escarène leaves both extracts at the top right. [27]
Looking North along the main road towards Contes. Behind the camera the road to L’Escarène heads away to the East. The tram stop for La Pointe de Contes was along this length of road. Just to the North of the tram stop was the point where the tramway to L’Escarène would have set off to the East. [Google Streetview, March 2023]
The tramway to Contes and Bendejun ran ahead along what is now the D15. The route to L’Escarène would have run off to the right at what is now a road junction. [Google Streetview, March 2023]
The route of the planned tramway followed what is now called ‘Chemin du Tram’ which runs directly ahead of the camera. It is the road to the left of the trees at the centre of this image. [Google Streetview, March 2023]
A little further East along what would have been the route of the tramway. [Google Streetview, March 2023]
The planned route ran to the right of the retaining wall before joining the D2204. [Google Streetview, March 2023]
Looking back towards the D15 from the D2204. The tram route followed the retaining wall running away from the camera on the right side of the photograph, and then curved round between the two buildings seen beyond the parked vehicles. [Google Streetview, April 2023]

Initially, it would have followed the Route Nationale No. 204 (now the D2204) up the valley of the Ruisseau de la Garde.

Parallel map extracts, once again, provided by the IGN. The main features, which can be seen on both the 1955 extract and the 21st century extract, are the bridges which carried the road over the Ruisseau de la Garde. [28]
The location of the first of the two bridges. There is little at road level to indicate that it is crossing the stream which passes some metres below the road. [Google Streetview, April 2023]
The location of the second bridge is easier to make out. The modern road has been straightened and a new bridge constructed. The old road which would have been followed by the tramway bears away to the left with the new bridge directly ahead. [Google Streetview, April 2023]
The view from the new bridge across the Ruisseau de la Garde of the old road. [Google Streetview, April 2023]
The view Southwest along the D2204 in the 21st century. The old road can be seen on the right of the picture. [Google Streetview, April 2023]
Further Northeast on the D2204 the verge of which would have carried the proposed tramway. [Google Streetview, April 2023]
Again, further Northeast on the D2204 the verge of which would have carried the proposed tramway. [Google Streetview, April 2023]

At the hamlet of La Fuont-de-Jarrier, the tramway left the road and the valley to embark on a dedicated length of almost 4 km. Banaudo tells us that the route ran through “a landscape of arid hills where only pines managed to grow on ridges of gray marl.  The only locality encountered was the village of Blausasc, below which a stopping point was to be established.  The line continued northwards, passing through a small tunnel at a place called La Blancarde, to join the road approaching the Col de Nice.”  [1: p76]

La Fuont-de-Jarrier was the point at which the proposed tramway diverted from the highway. The formation intended for the tramway became the base for the new CD 321.  The new road is that shown leaving the established road to the right on the 1955 IGN map extract. [29]
The junction between the D2204 and the CD321 in the 21st century. The CD321 follows the formation of the intended tramway to L’Escarène. [Google Streetview, April 2023]
The next length of the CD321. [30]
Over the first few kilometres, the carriageway was wide enough for two full lanes of traffic. [Google Streetview, March 2023]
A further length of the CD321 with Blausasc above the road to the East. [31]
The CD321 continues to follow the planned route of the tramway. This rock cutting was cut for the tramway. The location is at the bottom of the twin maps above.  [Google Streetview, March 2023]
The tramway route (CD321) runs ahead and bears to the right. The road which crosses the route at this location is the D221. [Google Streetview, March 2023]
The red line marks the route of the CD321 which is built on the formation of the proposed tramway. The road crossing it at the staggered junction seen here is the D221 which linked Blausasc to the Route de la Col de Nice. [Google Earth, December 2023]
Looking North-northwest along the CD321 towards the top of the twin map extracts above. [Google Streetview, March 2023]
This next set of two parallel map extracts from the IGN show the Route de la Col de Nice marked by two heavy bold lines and the CD321 above it to the East. [32]

This next sequence of photographs show the road (CD321) running from the bottom of the twin extracts above towards the tunnel which can just about be picked out on the modern map extract above.

This sequence of four images shows the CD321 in the 21st century. Over this length, no attempt to widen the formation built for the intended tramway has been made. Retaining walls, where they exist, will most probably be those constructed by the contractors developing the tramway route. [Google Streetview, March 2023]
An enlarged dual map extract of the area at the top-left of the last twin map extracts from the IGN. Both this, and the last pair of extracts show, on the right-hand, modern extract, the tunnel bored for, but never used by, the planned tramway which is, however, now used by the CD 321 in the 21st century. [34]

This next sequence of three photographs show the CD321 in the vicinity of the tunnel built for the planned tramway.

These three photographs show the Route de Blausasc (the CD321) passing through the old tramway tunnel. [Google Streetview, March 2023]
Another set of twin map extracts from 1955 and the 21st century provided by the IGN. This pair of images provides the reason for the separation of the planned tramway route from the older Route de la Col de Nice. The hairpin-bends shown centre left on each of the images meant that the road would have been completely unsuitable for use by trams. Track curvature and gradient would have been insurmountable obstacles. To the North of the hairpin-bends, both routes converge. [33]
The Col de Nice was the high point in the proposed tramway. The Route de la Col de Nice and the planned tramway met just to the South of the Col de Nice. [35]

North of the tramway tunnel, the last kilometre or so of the CD321 and hence the last length of the independent tramway formation required the construction of a series of retaining walls. These next few photographs illustrate the size of the task undertaken by the contractors in the early 20th century. The four photos follow the Route de Blausasc North towards its junction with the Route de la Col de Nice.

These four photos follow the CD321 North, each shows the size of the retaining structures built for the tramway. [Google Streetview, April 2023]

A few hundred metres before its junction with the D2204, the CD321 runs parallel to it with the two roads gradually reaching the same height above sea level.

The D2204 and the CD321 run parallel with no more than a few metres height difference. [Google Streetview, April 2023]
The planned tramway, now the Route de Blausasc (CD321) meets the D2204 just short of the Col de Nice. [Google Streetview, April 2023]
The Col de Nice in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, April 2023]

Banaudo talks of the tramway running in a cutting below and to the right of the road and then reaching L’Escarène at the end of a steep descent. [1: p76]

This final example of the parallel imagery provided by the IGN shows the D2204 (Rue de Chateau) running down into L’Escarène.

In the first instance, the tramway would have been within the width of the modern highway, but as shown below it did run below and to the right of the road on its way down into L’Escarène.

The view along Rue du Chateau, L’Escarène from the Col de Nice. The tramway formation ran on the right side of the road. [Google Streetview, April 2023]
Heading down into L’Escarène evidence can be seen of the prepared tramway route to the right of, and just below, the highway. [Google Streetview, March 2023]
The separated tramway route, metalled, runs to the right of, and below, the Rue du Chateau much of the way down into the centre of L’Escarène. [Google Streetview, March 2023]
Closing in on the centre of L’Escarène, the proper tramway would have been within the width of the modern highway. [Google Streetview, March 2023]

I have not been able to establish the location in L’Escarène planned for the terminus of the tramway.

This article completes a series of articles about the early 20th century metre-gauge tramways and railways of Nice and its hinterland. Perhaps the next series of articles centred on Nice will look at the standard-gauge line between Nice and Cuneo? ……

References

  1. Jose Banaudo; Nice au fil du Tram: Volume 2: Les Hommes et Les Techniques; Les Editions du Cabri, 2005.
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The Tramways of Nice:- Les Lignes de l’Arriere-Pays (The Lines of the Hinterland) Part 1 – First Generation Electric Tramways to Levens and Sospel – (Chemins de Fer de Provence/Alpes-Maritimes No. 94)

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The TNL (Tramways de Nice et du Littoral) had four lines which ran some distance inland from the coast. Three ran out from Nice, serving: Levens, Bendejun, and La-Grave-de-Peille. All followed valleys of the Paillon and its tributaries. As well as the line to La-Grave-de-Peille, the line to Contes and Bendejun was to have had another Branch to l’Escarene. Major work was undertaken on that line but it was never brought into use.

The fourth significant line operated by the TNL ran from Menton to Sospel. This line required some significant feats of engineering. The featured image above (public domain) shows one of the structures on this line.

You will find earlier articles about two of these lines on this website. They can be found by following these links:

Levens

Two earlier articles, the second of which involves some flights of fancy on my part – looking at a possible alternative routes for the tramway. As we will see below, those thoughts are not without merit given the discussions which took place around the best way for the tram network to serve Levens village.

The Nice to Levens Tramway – Part 1 (Chemins de Fer de Provence 55)

The Nice to Levens Tramway – Part 2 (Chemins de Fer de Provence 56)

Menton to Sospel

Three articles written at different times. In chronological order, these are:

Sospel to Menton Tramway

The Sospel to Menton Tramway Revisited (Chemins de Fer de Provence 51)

The Menton to Sospel Tramway Revisited Again! (Chemins de Fer de Provence 61)

Bendejun, and La-Grave-de-Peille

Bendejun and La-Grave-de-Peille will be covered in a future article. This article focusses on updating earlier articles about the tramways between Nice and Levens, and between Menton and Sospel. ……

Further notes on the Nice to Levens Tramway

The full length of the line from Place Masséna to Levens was just over 23 km of which a little less than 6km were part of Nice’s urban network (between Place Masséna and St. André).

Apart from the articles mentioned above, the first 6 km are covered in another, recent article (which also covers a number of lines which were part of Nice’s urban network), and can be read by following this link:

The First Generation Electric Tramways of Nice again. Five more lines. (Chemins de Fer de Provence/Alpes-Maritimes No. 89) …

These new notes are based around a section of José Banaudo’s French text: ‘Nice au fils de Tram, Volume 2: Les Hommes, Les Techniques‘ [1] Direct quotes are referenced.

In the main, the length of the line covered here is that from St. André to Levens (as built), and a section just over 1km in length which would have served the centre of Levens, Levens-Village but which was not completed because of the advent of WW1.

There was, however, a short length of tramway used by the Levens trams which did not follow the route of the urban trams to St. André. This detour followed the left bank of the River Paillon through Place Garibaldi, Rue de la République then Rue Barla and the Barla bridge, before rejoining the urban line of St. André on the right bank.

In addition, we need to note the significant impact of bad weather in the construction of the line in the area now known as ‘Pasteur’. Banaudo speaks of very significant storms during the winter 1907-1908. In particular, storms occurred on: 29th September; 3rd, 15th and 30th October; 3rd November; 10th and 27th December. Eventually work could recommence on 20th January and was finished on 27th March. Banaudo comments that “The additional work and necessary consolidations of the Paillon embankment ultimately increased the cost of the first construction contract for the Nice – Levens line by a third, compared to initial forecasts.” [1: p66]

Banaudo tells us that the maximum gradient on the whole line was 63mm/m and that less than 2 km of the line were level, having no gradient. At Place Masséna the line was only 9 metres above sea level, at Levens it reached 538 metres above sea level. [1: p62]

The St. André tram stop was the terminus of urban services. Banaudo tells us that “Beyond St. André, the tramway went up the valley of the Banquière or Gahre, right bank tributary of Paillon.  It passed several caves and two mills nestled at the bottom of deep gorges between the heights of Falicon and L’Ahadie.  Upstream of the Tinon bridge, the pass became so narrow that the tramway, hitherto on the shoulder, had to be embedded in the roadway with which it crossed the valley on several occasions. After the place called Les Clues, the valley widened a little and a tram stop served the hamlet of Moulin-de-Tourrette.” [1: p62]

Les Gorges de St. André de la Roche looking South towards Nice. The tramway can be seen on the right of the road. This image was shared on the Comte de Nice et son Histoire Facebook Group by Roland Coccoli on 26th September 2023. [6]
The tight Gorges de St. André looking towards Tourrette-Levens. The tramway is on the left of the road. This image was shared on the Comte de Nice et son Histoire Facebook Group by Alain Nissim on 3rd October 2022. [7]

From this point trams followed their own route a little removed from the main road for about 3 km, “punctuated by the curved Rio-Sec Viaduct and a short tunnel. The route overlooked the road, moved away from it, then finally rejoined it at the foot of the old village of Tourrette-Levens, renowned for its ancient castle. This locality, the most important encountered on the route. was served by a station established in the Quartier du Plan,” [1: p62] at the foot of the road serving the old village.

As noted above, a sequence of photographs of this separated tram route can be found here. [5]

Beyond Tourrette Levens, trams continued to climb through the Western slopes of the Mont Ferion range, “the line encountered two other passing places: at a place called Lava where a siding allowed wood to be loaded, and at the hamlet of Ste. Claire. The highest point of the line was reached on the plateau which forms the Grands Prés de Levens where festivals, sporting events and horse races are organized. The Levens terminus was located at a place called Les Traverses, where a wooden building housed a buffet enjoyed by travellers before the final climb on foot” [1: p62] to the village of Levens which is perched on a hillock at an altitude of 570 m above sea-level. “A superb site with both a Mediterranean and alpine appearance with the high peaks of the Vésubie valley in the background. In order to get closer to the center, a steep ramp extension including a curved line on its own site was undertaken to reach the current Lov Roux esplanade at the entrance to the village. Unfortunately, the war interrupted the work and this extension was never put into service.” [1: p62] Some further notes about the planned extension can be found after the review of key structures on the route.

Structures on the route included:

A. the Garibaldi and Barla bridges over the River Paillon (each made up of three cast iron arches);

This anonymous photograph (perhaps by Jean Walburg de Bray, 1839-1901), shows the Garibaldi Bridge and the right bank of the River Paillon. The view looks from southeast to northwest and is dated 1877. [2]

Three views of Pont Barla over the River Paillon in Nice, one even has a tram travelling over it! [3]

15th April 1912 – the line from Villa Caserta to Sospel was opened to passengers and the short branch to the PLM Station in Menton was closed.

B. the Tinon, Falicon and Clues bridges over the River Banquière (each a single masonry arch);

This extract from Google Maps shows the length of the M19 (Route de Levens) as it appears in November 2023. This area has experienced what might be termed some ‘remodeling’ as the quarrying works have expanded. The numbers superimposed on the satellite image are: 1: the location of an old road bridge across the River Banquière which also carried the tramway, referred to by José Banaudo as the bridge at Falicon; 2: the location of another old bridge spanning the river which, I believe, is that referred to by Banaudo as the bridge at Les Cles; 3: the present route of the M19 which appears to have once been the line of the old tramway; the line of the M19 before quarrying work expanded. The locations ‘1’ and ‘2’ are down in more detail below. The routes of the M19 denoted ‘3’ and ‘4’ are further illustrated by the map immediately below. [Google Maps, November 2023]
An extract from the mapping of http://www.mapsof.net. Location ‘1’ on the satellite image is bottom-right in this image. A narrow older road is shown and the bridge over the Banquière is hidden by the symbol for the Grottoes de Saint Andre de la Roche. The old tram route then followed the north bank of the river along the route indicated by grey/white dashes. It appears that the M19 ran to the North of this as shown and rejoined the valley of the river via two hairpin bends. The second bridge is at the top-left under the ‘M19’ indicator. [4]
A closer view on Google Maps of the location of the Falicon Bridge Location ‘1’ above. The new road bridge can easily be made out. The older bridge sits to the right of the Route de Levens close to the word ‘Services’. [Google Maps, November 2023]
Looking Southeast from the abutment of the new bridge at the location of the old structure. [Google Streetview, November 2022]
This is location ‘2’ above. One of the hairpin bends on the older M19 stands guard over the arch bridge which carried the older road over the River Banquière. The modern bridge is to its left. I think this is the bridge referred to by Banaudo as the bridge at Les Cles. [Google Maps, November 2023]
Looking from the hairpin bend in the image above across the old arch bridge. [Google Streetview, October 2022]
The next section of the M19 heading North. It crosses the River Banquière close to ‘A’ at the bottom of this extract from Google Maps, and again at D’. At location ‘A’ there is an older bridge across the Banquière which is probably the bridge referred to by Banaudo as the Tinon Bridge. This location is shown below.

Banaudo tells us that the tramway was remote from the main road on its own formation over this length for around 3 km “punctuated by the curved Rio-Sec Viaduct and a short tunnel.” [1: p62] That length of tramway commences at ‘C’ and continues through ‘E’ and onwards to Tourette-Levens. Some details of that length appear below but a fuller series of photographs can be found at https://rogerfarnworth.com/2018/03/20/the-nice-to-levens-tramway-part-1-chemins-de-fer-de-provence-54.
Location ‘A’ showing the modern M19 and the older road bridge over the Banquière. [Google Streetview, April 2023]
At location ‘C’ the tramway separated from the road and followed its own route to ‘E’. [Google Streetview, April 2023]
Looking South at ‘E’ the old tramway rejoined the M19 but only for a very short distance. [Google Streetview, April 2023]

C. the Rio-Sec Viaduct (a single curved masonry arch) and the Moulins tunnel (40 m) which were on an independent formation a short distance to the East of the M19;

The Rio-Sec Viaduct curves round the East side of the area marked ‘P’ for Parking. The Tunnel des Moulins is the shaded length of road to the North of the parking area. [Google Maps, 2018]
Almost as soon as trams began running alongside the road again, they separated onto their own route once more. This dedicated formation took trams over the Viaduc de Rio-Sec and through the Moulins tunnel. [Google Streetview, April 2023]
The Rio-Sec Viaduct, seen from the East. [Google Streetview, 2018
The Tramway formation over the Rio-Sec Viaduct. [Google Streetview]
The approach to the Moulins tunnel over the Rio-Sec Viaduct. [Google Streetview, 2018]
The Moulins Tunnel South portal. [Google Streetview, 2018]

D. the Levens tunnel (95 m, on the section built but not opened and now in use as a vehicular route into the centre of the village).

Some further observations ……..

Banaudo tells us that the process of agreeing the TNL tramway route serving Levens was different than for other routes (which were primarily dictated by the terrain and the orientation of the valleys). Early studies led to some elected officials recommending “linking Nice to St. Martin-Vésubie via the traditional stagecoach route via Tourrette, Levens, Duranus and St. Jean-la-Rivière.” [1: p66]
When the project took shape in 1904, three routes were considered:

  1. One extended the Cimiez line in the direction of Rimiez, L’Aire St. Michel, and Gairaut, from where it skirted the Mont Chauve massif to the west to serve the hilltop villages of Aspremont, Castagniers and St. Blaise, before arriving at Levens. This extremely picturesque cornice route would have served a well-populated area, but the travel time to Levens would have been prohibitive.
  2. Another left the Paillon valley in St. André and climbed in switchbacks to the village of Falicon, then it joined the previous route in Gairaut. This route would have been even longer and more tortuous!
  3. The last also left from St. André, but it went up the Gorges de la Banquière towards Tourrette, Ste. Claire and Levens. It served a smaller population than the previous ones, but had the advantage of being more direct route.

The third option was chosen and built between 1907 and 1909!

Banaudo continues to explain that the Compagnie du Sud [which ran the TAM tram network] applied for the concession of the Nice – Levens line, in the hope that, should an extension from Levens to St. Jean-la-Rivière be built it would connect with its own line in the Vésubie valley. But the chief engineer of bridges and roads decided to allocate the route to the TNL. His decision meant that the usage figures for the TNL network were reduced by this lightly populated route and as a result greater the line attracted greater subsidies from the State. [1: p66]

After the completion of construction in 1909, the commune of Levens lobbied for an extension into the village. Banaudo tells us that a route had already been considered by the Bridges and Roads Department which took the form of a long loop to keep gradients as low as possible. Initially a sizeable cutting was proposed which ultimately was superseded by a tunnel. [1: p66]

A contract was awarded and work started early in 1914. Work continued through to 1916-1917 slowed by the shortage of labour during the War. After the war, work restarted but disagreements over the financing of station facilities held up the works. Finally, the general council decided in 1926 to postpone the completion of the line and then, in 1929, proposed converting the route into a motorable road. It is in use as a road under traffic-light control in the 21st century. [1: p66]

Further notes on the Menton to Sospel line

Banaudo tells us that the total length of this line was close to 17.4 km of which the TNL saw the length from Place St. Roch along Rue Partouneaux to Villa-Caserta (2.4 km) and the short stub to Menton Railway Station (0.15 km) as part of its coastal network. The remaining length from Villa Caserta to Sospel (14.9 km) was deemed part of their departmental network. [1: p77]

This Baedeker map of Menton in the early 20th century (1902) has been annotated to show tram routes in red. The line from Monaco to Menton ran along Avenue Carno and Avenue Felix Faure. At Place St. Roch the line to Sospel left the coastal route and ran along Rue Partouneaux as far as Avenue de la Gare and then Northwest alongside the River Carei. A short branch left the line to serve the Railway Station, but was only in use for a few years. [21]

The line originated in Place Saint Roch and ran first along Rue Partouneaux.

Avenue Felix-Faure/Place St. Roch, Menton, looking Northeast. On the left we can see the waiting kiosk of the TNL tram urban lines. There is a tram waiting at the stop which will leave along Rue Partouneaux to the Careï valley which exits the photograph to the left. It will possibly stop at the Villa Caserta terminus, or it will continue towards Monti, Castllon, the valley of Bévéra and the Sospel terminus. This image was shared by Jean-Paul Bascul on the Monaco4Ever Facebook Group on 28th September 2023 (Collection privée J-Paul Bascoul). [15]
Looking into Rur Partouneaux from Place St. Roch. The Hotel des Postes is visible at the first junction down Rue Partouneaux. Note that it has an extra storey in the modern image. [Google Streetview, April 2023] This view is surprisingly similar to an early 20th century view which can be found on the Maonaco4Ever Facebook page on this link: https://www.facebook.com/MentonDuPasseAuPresent/photos/a.635924896587645/904791879700944/?__cft__[0]=AZX5F8XW__jQPAyygfwvR03xmeAlwW_69beRs7RwlwE6xsjQfZ63F76O9fVpVPdM1BJs7Sko4cCH399fbkWwRbZM3L9NxeGF889CfcQ1_7n1krmUaygG3KAdo2h7ZHbuHUUryowX6X5bDwpFxz0OAGE5IBIgQ4UTuX_U-hOLi7R9JLmGRwSgl8bz-28sshkfnjk&__tn__=EH-R . [20]
The view from close to Place St. Roch along Rue Partouneaux. The Hotel des Postes et Telegraphes is seen on the corner of the next junction. A tram travelling towards Les Jardins Biovès is seen immediately outside the building. [17]
A similar view in April 2023. The building has the additional storey noted above. [Google Streetview, April 2023]
Further Northwest along Rue Partouneaux. This old postcard view shows the road as it runs toward Les Jardins Biovès. The trees on the right of the road were Orange Trees. [18]
This is the same location in the 21st century. Rue Partouneaux runs towards what were Les Jardins Biovès. [Google Streetview, October 2022]
A tram leaving Rue Partnouneaux and about to turn North alongside Les Jardins Biovès. [19: p5]
The same location in the 21st century. Rue Partouneaux is directly ahead of the camera. The old tramway curved round to the North. Its route approximated to the curved line of bollards. [Google Streetview, March 2023]

The maximum gradient on the line was 68mm/m, only 0.144 km of the line was on a level formation. The line started in Place St. Roch at 3 metres above sea level and reached a maximum altitude of 572 metres above sea level at the Castillon tunnel. In all, trams had to negotiate 482 curves as they travelled the line of which 143 had a radius less than 40m. [1: p77]

Over 75% of the route was independent of the road between Menton and Sospel, now the D2566/D2566A. With its tight curves, “its imposing structures and its stations with spacious buildings, the Menton – Sospel line appeared much like a real  mountain railway.  In this way, it was more similar to the daring branches of the TAM network than to the other TNL lines in the Nice hinterland which retained the appearance of urban tramways.” [1: p77]

Banaudo tells us that “the line was entirely single track.  It met the coastal artery at a triangular connection on Place St. Roch, at the entrance to the old town of Menton.  The tram left from the western branch of the triangle, along which a wooden kiosk housed travelers and company agents.  Via Rue Partouneaux, trams accessed the Biovès public garden which occupies an esplanade created by covering the River Careï. At the top of Avenue de la Gare (today Verdun) there was a short branch of 147 m on a ramp of 40 mm/m which ended in a dead end at the entrance to the courtyard of Menton PLM station. [That branch] served as a terminus for urban shuttles from Place St. Roch.” [1: p77] The branch lineline was brief both in length and life since, “after only operating from 1903 to 1912, it was abandoned during the First World War.” [1: p77]

Immediately beyond the station branch, the tramway passed under the bridge of the PLM Nice – Ventimiglia line then continued up the right bank of the River Careï where there was a goods station. Banaudo says that, “the line passed at the foot of the L’Annonciade Hill, where a funicular served a hotel and a monastery.” [1: p77]

The Funiculaire de L’Annonciate served a hotel and Monetary at the summit of L’Annonciade Hill in 1919. The funicular railway opened in 1914 and closed circa. 1939. [8]

Continuing North, three passing-loops were provided at “Villa-Beau-Séjour, at the Gioan-Bosio property Ans at l’Octroi-due Careï. Soon after, “the Villa-Caserta tram stop marked the terminus of urban services. Upstream and downstream of this point, two dedicated branch lines allowed the Mercier and Gianotti companies to load materials to be sent to Sospel for the construction of the PLM Nice – Cuneo line.” [1: p77]

The route continued North along what is now the D2566 avoiding one tight bend by following its own course for approximately 450 metres. The hamlet of Monti had its own tram stop and was the location of a reinforced concrete viaduct which spanned both a ravine and the road. Pictures of this structure can be seen further down this article.

The tramstop and passing loop at Monti. [16]
A similar location in 2023. Both views look South from a point just to the South of Viaduc de Monti. [Google Streetview, March 2023]

Now running on its own formation, the tramway climbed above the road for 2.3 km. Banaudo explains that the road climbed to meet the tramway “at the Ubac-Foran forest house.  Arriving at a point where the valley narrows sharply and where the gradient becomes steeper, the track ran again on its own formation to span the road and the River Careï on the curved Careï viaduct, with five masonry arches.” [1:p77]

Over the River Careï the tramway continued climbing steeply in a Southeasterly direction to the location of the Caramel viaduct, “whose bold silhouette had already been visible for several minutes standing out against the mountainside.  This major [structure] on the line had thirteen arches with a total length of 120 m, which were part of an omega-shaped loop below the road.” [1: p77] To the Northwest of the Viaduct, two dead-end tracks were provided, one to serve a quarry, the other to stop trams whose brakes had failed before they ran out onto the viaduct.

Continuing its ascent, the tramway again left the road and approached the bottom of the valley where the Castillon tram stop was located. “It was in a damp and isolated site below the village and the pass of the same name. A substation incorporated into the station building provided the line’s electrical supply. This was also the location of the southern portal of the 763 m tunnel under the Col de Castillon, the longest structure of this type drilled for a tramway in the Alpes-Maritimes.” [1: p77]

At its Northern portal, the tunnel opened into the green valley of Merlanson at an altitude of 572 m, the highest point on the TNL network. “From there, the line descended on its own formation for 4900 m on the right bank of the river. To the west stands Mount Barbonnet crowned with a fort while in the background, at the foot of the amphitheater formed by the mountains of the Authion massif, the Bévéra valley widens to form the basin where the town of Sospel is located.” [1: p77]

Approaching Sospel, the tramway ran under the embankment of the PLM Nice – Cuneo line then ended its journey at the entrance to the town where a station was built with a passenger and goods facilities and a motor shed. Banaudo tells us that during the years of construction of the PLM railway, “the track extended to the platform of the future PLM station, where the materials could be supplied by the Mercier and Gianotti companies.” [1:p77]

Sospel showing the tram stop/station centre-left and the PLM station top-right. This is an enlarged part of a photograph taken after the completion of the construction of the PLM railway line. It was shared on the Comte de Nice et son Histoire Facebook Group on 15th March 2017 by Pierre Richert. [12]
Sospel tram station. This image was shared on the Comte de Nice et son Histoire Facebook Group by Roland Ciccoli on 11th September 2017. [13]
TNL Tram No. 13 is heavily laden with bags of cement and in charge of a long load affixed to two short, flat wagons. The photograph is taken close to Sospel with the works underway on the PLM Nice to Cuneo line. [19: p6]

Key Dates

Banaudo provides details of dates relating to the life of the whole line. [1: p78] The more significant of these are: 1903 (the line between Place St. Roch and the PLM Railway Station was opened to traffic); 1911 (the route between Avenue de la Gare, Menton and Villa Caserta was opened); 1912 (a courier service between Menton and Sospel was opened); 1913 (the goods service between Menton and Sospel was inaugurated); 1923 (the new numbering system was put in place: No. 45 was given to the urban service between Menton and Villa Caserta; No. 46 TP the interurban service Menton to Sospel); 1927 (the urban service (No. 45) was extended to Route-de-Monti); 1931 (trams on Ligne No. 46 were replaced by buses and the tram service (Ligne No. 45) between Villa Caserta and Route de Monti ceased); January 1932 (trams on Ligne No 45 between Avenue de la Gare and Villa Caserta were replaced by a bus service); March 1932 (the remaining length of the line between Place St. Roch and Avenue de la Gare was closed). In the summer of 1933 the full length of the line was decommissioned.

The full service between Menton and Sospel was active for less than 20 years!

The Main Structures on the Line

These were: the Peïrola Ravine Bridge; the Monti Viaduct (1 concrete arch of 36 m, total length 79 m); the Ture Ravine bridge; the Pian Ravine Bridge; the Careï Viaduct (5 arches of 8 m); the Caramel viaduct (13 arches of 8 m, length 120 m); and the Castillon Tunnel (763 m).

Structurae.net provides a number of photographs of the Viaduc de Monti which remains standing in the 21st century. These images can be found here. [9]

Viaduc de Monti in the early 20th century, probably 1910. [10] Banaudo tells us that this was chosen from five design submissions. The structure was designed by François Hennebique was selected in 1907 by the deputy chief engineer Amaud who judged it to be the most economical (38,000 francs), the most advantageous and the most satisfactory in appearance. [1: p81]
The Viaduc du Monti again. One of the very few times that steam was seen on TNL lines. We see the same consist at Viaduc du Caramel a little further down this article. [19: p7]
A tram crosses Viaduc de Careï having run down the gradient from the Viaduct du Caramel which can be seen in the distance. The tramway can be seen running below the road on the left of this image.
Viaduc de Careï seen from the hillside to the South. In the 21st century the viaduct looks very different as the D2566 has been widened and realigned. [11]
A photograph from a similar location showing the way in which the valley has been remodelled, realigning and lifting the road, so that the piers of the viaduct seem much shorter. [Google Streetview, April 2023]
This is an evocative photograph which pictures a small steam engine travelling up the Menton to Sospel tramway. The location is the Viaduc du Caramel and the photo is taken from the carriageway of what will become the D2566. The 0-6-0T locomotive is in-steam but the tram (TNL No. 13, which we have seen in an image earlier in this article) also has it supply pole raised and in contact with the overhead lines. It is positioned behind the locomotive presumably to give some tractive effort and perhaps also as a fail-safe needed because of the gradient of the line. The locomotive is being moved to work on the PLM railway line between Nice and Cuneo (Nice – Sospel – Breil-sur-Roya – Cuneo). [19: p4]
A view of the Viaduc du Caramel in March 2023, taken from a similar position as the monochrome image above. [Google Streetview, March 2023]
The approach to the Castillon Tunnel from the South in around 1920 with a tram heading for Menton. The hamlet of Castillon sits more than 130 metres above the tram stop. This image was shared on the Comte de Nice et son Histoire Facebook Group on 6th August 2021 by Alain Nissim. [14]
A modern view of the old tramway tunnel. The original bore is on the right. The new bore is on the left. The modern road is the D2566A which follows the line of the old tramway. The works underway in March 2023 were still being undertaken in November 2023 when we followed the route by car on the way from Sospel to Nice. [Google Streetview, March 2023]
The southern portal of Tunnel de Castillon (public domain). [22]
A closer view of the southern portal of the old tunnel in 2023. [Google Streetview, March 2023]
The northern portals of the two tunnels in 2023. [Google Streetview, March 2023.

The Tunnel de Castillon was an essential element of the scheme, the additional climb to the village would have required a significant series of loops either side of the pass and severe gradients. Structurae.net provides a number of photographs of the Tunnel which remains standing in the 21st century and is in use as a road tunnel. These images can be found here. [24]

Steep Gradients on the Menton to Sospel Tramway and the wider tram network

Banaudo’s book has a short feature relating to the exceptional gradients on the Menton to Sospel line and throughout the TNL and TAM networks. [1: p81]

99% of the Monton to Sospel tramway was on a gradient. The average gradient between Menton and the summit of the line at the North end of the Tunnel de Castillon was 46mm/m over almost 12.4 km. This was unique in the Alpes-Maritimes and “assez exceptionelles (quite exceptional) en France.” [1: p81]

Over 7.7 km was graded between 46mm/m and 60 mm/m. 60 mm/m was specified as the steepest grade permitted, but during construction it became obvious that complying with the specification would unduly lengthen the line. Ultimately, the Department of Bridges and Roads permitted over 4.1 km to be built with steeper grades (between 61 and 68 mm/m), mainly in the Careï valley.

Banaudo points out that at “the same time, in Switzerland, Italy and Austria, such lines were put into service with vehicles equipped with specifically adapted traction and braking mechanisms, the Departement des Alpes-Maritimes and concessionaires (the TNL on Menton-Sospel and the Sud-France on the entire TAM network) did not seem to appreciate the level of risk involved in such operations.” [1: p81]

The TNL had been successfully running 168 hp bogie trams equipped with compressed air brakes on the Contes and Levens lines. However, trials on the Menton-Sospel line demonstrated that their electrical equipment could not sustain the stresses imposed by such long and steep gradients. “As soon as sustained effort was required, the entire circuit was at best overheated, the circuit breaker tripped and the fuses blew, the wheels of the trolleys could melt, the controller would start to smoke, and soldered connections could melt and cables ignite. It was therefore decided to modify these trams and equip them with more powerful motors. But pressure from the Departement to put the Sospel line into service, meant that the service was opened in the spring of 1912 with two standard type T2 passenger trams and one self-propelled goods van. These two-axle vehicles only had a power limit of 70 and 84 hp which did not even allow for the lightest of wagons to be towed. The handbrake was supplemented by (un freinage rheostatique) rheostaic braking. No air-brake was provided!” [1: p81]

Banaudo goes on to explain that, “The inadequacy of this equipment was tragically brought to light on 11th September 1912, when a train carrying gravel for finishing work on the line ran down the steepest slope: The handbrake was unable to hold it and the power pole separated from the overhead supply, rendering rheostatic braking inoperative. The convoy ended up derailing and crashing at the foot of the Monti viaduct, killing the driver and the conductor.” [1: p81]

Sadly, just two weeks later the first of the modified bogie power cars Nos. 214 to 216 entered service (on 23rd September 1912). These were equipped with “hand, air and rheostatic brakes, developing a power of 240 hp, these tramcars proved to be better adapted and could tow two passenger trailers or three goods wagons on the steepest slopes. In June 1913, two self-propelled goods vehicles were modified in the same way and moved to the Sospel line, which ensured regular freight traffic from summer onwards. A third ‘tracteur’ of a similar design was put into service the following year.” [1: p81]

In the meantime a derailment of a train on the TAM line between Cagnes-sur-Mer and Grasse occurred on 17th September 1913 at the Viaduc de Cloteirol near Villeneuve-Loubet. “This disaster caused many deaths and the commission formed following this accident to improve the safety of the departmental network covered all the lines, including that of Sospel on 29th January 1914. Following its conclusions, the Department of Bridges & Roads limited tram speeds to 16 km/h uphill and 12 km/h downhill as well as when crossing viaducts. Four safety stops were established for descending convoys at points located at the top of steep slopes: above the Viaduc du Caramel viaduct, at l’Ubac-Foran, above the Pont de Monti and at km 3,350 between this hamlet and the stop at Villa Caserta. The first two stops, where the tramway could leave and pick up passengers, were equipped with a point directing an out-of-control convoy into a dead-end siding with a strong contrary slope. … In Villa-Caserta, a similar device was provided to stop any runaway of vehicles parked at the terminus of the urban service.” [1:p81]

References

  1. José Banaudo; Nice au fil de Tram, Volume 2: Les Hommes, Les Techniques; Les Editions de Cabri, Breil-sur-Roya, France, 2005.
  2. https://artplastoc.blogspot.com/2023/02/1292-nice-la-passerelle-et-le-pont.html?m=1, accessed on 21st November 2023.
  3. https://twitter.com/actualites_nrv/status/990903681389400064?t=rpQXwAb7jIlpMfdfM8RoIg&s=19, accessed on 21st November 2023.
  4. https://www.mapsof.net/saint-andre-de-la-roche-fr, accessed on 22nd November 2023.
  5. https://rogerfarnworth.com/2018/03/20/the-nice-to-levens-tramway-part-1-chemins-de-fer-de-provence-54.
  6. https://m.facebook.com/groups/ciccoli/permalink/3231219313790582, accessed on 23rd November 2023.
  7. https://m.facebook.com/groups/ciccoli/permalink/3504633499782494, accessed on 23rd November 2023.
  8. https://cronobook.com/pic/1e977519-3f4c-427f-9bdb-ba67e3c07054, accessed on 27th November 2023.
  9. https://structurae.net/en/structures/monti-viaduct, accessed on 27th November 2023.
  10. https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Viaduc_de_Monti_(1910).jpg, accessed on 27th November 2023.
  11. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1d/Viaduc_du_Carr%C3%A9i_%281910%29_Ouest.jpg, accessed on 27th November 2023.
  12. https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10210534413814255&set=a.10210534255570299, accessed on 28th November 2023.
  13. https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=472351886472746&set=pcb.2011981832381009, accessed on 28th November 2023.
  14. https://m.facebook.com/groups/ciccoli/permalink/3158590614386786, accessed on 28th November 2023.
  15. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1389253567814679/permalink/9979281115478505/?mibextid=rS40aB7S9Ucbxw6v, accessed on 14th March 2023.
  16. https://m.facebook.com/franckasfaux06/photos/a.1412935558990256/1412939378989874/?type=3 accessed on 30th November 2023.
  17. http://dofusleguide.com/2019/12/photos-et-cartes-postales-anciennes-de-menton-06500.html, accessed on 30th November 2023.
  18. https://cartorum.fr/carte-postale/204383/menton-menton-la-rue-partourneaux-et-lallee-des-orangers, accessed on 5th December 2023.
  19. https://excerpts.numilog.com/books/9782903310608.pdf, accessed on 30th November 2023.
  20. https://www.facebook.com/MentonDuPasseAuPresent/photos/a.635924896587645/904791879700944/?__cft__[0]=AZX5F8XW__jQPAyygfwvR03xmeAlwW_69beRs7RwlwE6xsjQfZ63F76O9fVpVPdM1BJs7Sko4cCH399fbkWwRbZM3L9NxeGF889CfcQ1_7n1krmUaygG3KAdo2h7ZHbuHUUryowX6X5bDwpFxz0OAGE5IBIgQ4UTuX_U-hOLi7R9JLmGRwSgl8bz-28sshkfnjk&__tn__=EH-R, accessed on 20th November 2023.
  21. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/203526019792, accessed on 5th December 2023.
  22. https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ligne_du_tramway_de_Menton_%C3%A1_Sospel,_Tunnel_de_Castillon.jpg, accessed on 7th December 2023.
  24. https://structurae.net/en/structures/castillon-tunnel, accessed on 7th December 2023.

Monte-Carlo to Menton – La Ligne du Littoral et ses Antennes, First Generation Electric Tramways – (Chemins de Fer de Provence/Alpes-Maritimes No. 93).

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This post covers the line from the Port of Monaco and Monte-Carlo to its terminus in Menton. A short article about this length of tramway was included in the French-language ‘Tram Magazine‘ of 1980 [7], and it is covered by José Banaudo in his book ‘Nice au fil du Tram, Volume 2‘ [1]

Earlier articles in this series can be found by following these links:

Nice to Antibes:

La Ligne du Littoral et ses Antennes, First Generation Electric Tramways – Nice-Cap d’Antibes (Chemins de Fer de Provence/Alpes-Maritimes No. 90) …

Nice to Monaco:

La Ligne du Littoral et ses Antennes, First Generation Electric Tramways – Nice-Monte Carlo (Chemins de Fer de Provence/Alpes-Maritimes No. 91) …

Branch-lines between Nice and Monaco:

Nice to Monte-Carlo Branch Lines – La Ligne du Littoral et ses Antennes, First Generation Electric Tramways – (Chemins de Fer de Provence/Alpes-Maritimes No. 92) …

Other articles about railways and tramways in and around Nice can be found here:

https://rogerfarnworth.com/category/railways-and-tramways-blog/french-railways-and-tramways/railways-and-tramways-around-nice/

A project for a steam tramway linking the principality of Monaco to Menton via the Basse Corniche dates back to 1892 but seems that it may have encountered opposition from the various communes along the route. It is possible that this opposition centred on the use of steam as the  power-source chosen.  [7]

However, the Monaco Tribune suggests that it was clear that the capacity of steam engines to pull adequate loads on the gradients needed to serve the principality was always in doubt. The Triune comments: “At the start of the 1890s, there was a project for a Nice-Menton tramway line which would run through Monte Carlo. Following the example of French towns that were opening up tramway networks, horse-drawn at first, then with mechanical traction and finally electric-powered, the Principality eventually accepted the necessity of a line crossing Monaco, from Le Rocher to Saint-Roman, passing through Monte-Carlo and serving the Casino. The Principality’s topography was an issue: horse-drawn and steam trams were not an option. Electric trams had to be developed.” [6]

The Monaco tramways had three lines:

  • Place d’Armes – Saint Roman, opened on 14 May 1898.
  • Gare de Monaco – Place du Gouvernement, opened on 11 March 1899.
  • Casino – Gare de Monte-Carlo, opened on 3 May 1900. [8]

In 1897, the TNL (Tramways de Nice et du Littoral) obtained the concession for a metre-gauge coastal line between Cagnes, Nice, Monaco and Menton.

The main difficulty encountered in establishing this route was crossing the principality of Monaco, where in 1898 a local company opened an urban tramway powered by underground electric cables. [7]

While waiting for the establishment of an agreement to allow the passage of their trams through the principality, the TNL transported part of their fleet of by rail to Menton and opened a section of tramway from Garavan to Cap-Martin on 20th December 1902. One year later, this isolated section was linked to the rest of the network with the commissioning  of the complete section from Monaco to Menton on 28th December 1903. [7]

In 1910, the TNL bought out the Monaco Tramways concession but continued to operate a split operation with connections in the principality between the Nice and Menton lines.  During the Great War, the TNL’s tramway experienced heavy passenger and goods traffic, with the PLM line being reserved primarily for strategic transport. [7]

After the war, the Monaco to Menton line was designated Ligne No. 43 in the TNL’s new operating plan.  But very quickly, road competition and the narrowness of the Basse Corniche roadway made sharing the road with lorries, vans and cars almost impossible. [7]

On 26th January 1931, the Nice to Monaco line was closed, followed a few months later by the departmental connection Menton (Villa Caserta) – Sospel.  As during its first years of operation, the Menton tramway found itself isolated from the rest of the network and continued for a few months with reduced service to Monaco Garavan and Menton Villa Caserta, with the equipment based at the small Carnolès depot.  This reprieve was only short-lived, because these lines were in turn closed in January 1932. [7]

This extract from the 1914 plan of Monaco shows the tramway running along the Condamine on the West side of the port before heading up the Avenue de Monte-Carlo. For a time there was a junction at the top of the gradient with trams for Menton turning North. [2]
Tram outside Monte Carlo International Sporting Club. The position of the pole shows that this tram is heading down hill to the Port. [9]
A similar view in 2011 looking down Avenue d’Ostende towards the Port. [Google Streetview, March 2011]
A later image showing a tram just a little further up l’Avenue de Monte-Carlo (now Avenue d’Ostende), but on the other tramline heading up hill towards the Casino. [11]
Tram outside Le Restaurant de Paris, Monte-Carlo. [10]
The  tram tracks outside Restaurant/Cafe de Paris. Apparently these tracks were only in use for a very short time around 1902/1903. This picture was shared by Jean-Paul Bascoul on the Monaco4Ever Facebook Group on 19th July 2023. (Collection privée J-Paul Bascoul). [12]
Trams heading for Menton turned Northwest on Rue des Lilas (now Avenue Princesse Alice). For a short while in the very early 20th century a short branch continued up towards the Casino. Trams for Menton turned right at the top of Rue des Lilas onto Avenue de la Costa. [2]
This extract from Google Maps shows the route of the tramway as the primrose yellow line snaking from the bottom to the top of the image. A little confusing because the North point of the 1914 map extract above is not the same as Google Maps. The tram route enters at the bottom of this extract along Avenue d’Ostende. It then turns through more than 90° to run along Avenue Princesse Alice, executing a reverse curve along the way and then turning onto Avenue de la Costa. [Google Maps, November 2023]
These trams sit at the junction of the line to Menton (turning away to the left) and that to the Casino. They sit directly in front of the old Office de Poste et Telegraph. This image was shared on the Monaco4Ever Facebook Group by Jean-Paul Bascoul on 7th July 2017. (Collection privée J-Paul Bascoul). [21]
The same location as appears in the colourised postcard view immediately above. This is the point at which the tramway turned Northwards from Avenue de Monte-Carlo onto what was Rue des Lilas (now Avenue Princesse Alice). Access to the Casino is along the road to the right which for a time carried a branch tramway serving Monte-Carlo Casino. [Google Streetview March 2011]
The trams for Menton followed Rue des Lilas (now Avenue Princesse Alice). This image looks Northwest from the Southern end of the Avenue in 2021, [Google Streetview, July 2021]
At the North end of Rue des Lilas (now Avenue Princesse Alice), trams turned right onto Avenue de la Costa. [Google Streetview, July 2021]
Looking Northeast along Avenue de la Costa in 2021, towards Boulevard des Moulins. [Google Streetview, July 2021]
Avenue de la Costa, after a short distance, led  straight onto Boulevard des Moulins. It was only a short walk from this point to access the funicular railway to La Turbie. The terminus can be seen at the top of this map extract. [2]
The primrose yellow line again indicates the line of the old tramway heading Northeast along Avenue de la Costa and then Boulvard des Moulins. [Google Maps, November 2023]
Looking Northeast from the bottom of Boulevard des Moulins in 2021. The Office de Tourism can be seen on the right of this image. [Google Streetview, July 2021]
Boulevard des Moulins continued in northeasterly direction towards Menton. Again, please don’t be fooled by the orientation of the North point on this 1914 map. [2]
A tram on Boulevard des Moulins heading Northeast. This image was included in a Monaco Tribune article about Monaco’s trams (Collection privée J-Paul Bascoul). It also appears in José Banaudo’s book where he notes the change to a single track line from a double-track length which ran from Avenue des Beaux-Arts to the edge of the St. Roman dustrict of the principality. He describes the dual length of track elsewhere as running from Credit Lyonnaise to Hotel du Littoral. Banaudo tells us that the tram in this image is TNL No. 27, a Thompson-built tram providing a Monte-Carlo to Menton service. [6][1: p57]
This postcard view of a tram on Boulevard des Moulins also appears in José Banaudo’s book. He notes that this tram is providing an urban service in Monaco and travelling Northeast on Boulevard des Moulins. [1:p57]
So much has changed. Much of Boulevard des Moulins would be unrecognisable to those who knew it in the early 20th century. This is a similar view looking Northeast along Boulevard des Moulins. It is possible that the tree, visible in each of the monochrome images above, is that which appears in this image. The building immediately beyond the tree, where the street curves away to the left seems to be common to all three images. [Google Streetview, July 2021]

Boulevard des Moulins led directly onto Boulevard d’Italie. Banaudo tells us that “the line became single track in the Boulevard d’Italie, where two sidings allowed the cars of the coastal line to pass those providing the urban service. The latter’s terminus was established in the St. Roman district where the three-track TM depot-workshop was also located, just before the border between the principality of Monaco and the French commune of Roquebrune.” [1: p56]

This extract from a map shared in an earlier article shows the tramway heading on from Avenue des Moulins along Boulevard d’Italie into St. Roman. The article from which this image was taken was shared on the Monaco4Ever Facebook Group by Jean-Paul Bascoul on 17th May 2015. [24]
A tram on Avenue d’Italie in St. Roman. [27]

After leaving the principality, Banaudo tells us that the road and the tramway ran through picturesque even grandiose scenery as they run through “Cabbé cove, bounded to the east by the tip of Cape Martin. Since leaving the principality, five passing loops and sections of double track of varying lengths followed one another on this route where the Basse, Moyenne and Grande Corniche come together below the picturesque medieval village of Roquebrune.” [1: p56]

Boulevard des Moulins finishes just at the bottom-left of this Google Maps satellite image. Avenue d’Italie runs diagonally from the bottom-left of the image to the top-right. The road is marked by the primrose yellow line. This was the route of the TNL tramway.close to the top right of the image the Avenue d’Italie gives way to the Avenue de France at the gyratory. [Google Maps, November 2023]
The primrose yellow line closest to the sea in this satellite image marks the route of the old tramway (now the D6098). Avenue de France gives way to Avenue Jean-Jaures towards the top right of the image. [Google Maps, November 2023]
The route of the old tramway continues along the present D6098 (Avenue Jean-Jaures) until it joins the D6007 (Avenue de la Cote d’Azur) and then curves around the valley at Cabbe.  [Google Maps, November 2023]
The route of the old tramway continues along the Avenue Cote d’Azur (A6007). [Google Maps, November 2023]


Shortly after the location where the Basse, Moyenne and Grand Corniches meet, the “national road 7 describes a series of tight turns on a steep slope to cut across the base of Cap-Martin.  In order to follow a more favorable route, the tramway penetrated quite far into the pine forest of the cape for approximately 1600 m on an independent platform.  Here it served housing estates, vast properties and villas, some of which were not yet connected to motorable roads.” [1: p57]

A tram runs along the highway, some distance above sea-level, having passed through the district of St. Roman. [23]
The tramway through Roquebrune and Cap-Martin was remote from the highway for about 1.6km. On careful inspection its route can be seen on this map. The pictures below show the length of tramway described by José Banaudo, which ran on its own formation for some distance. [17]
A Thomson TNL tram passes in front of the Roquebrune post office, in the Cabbé district. The tram is heading for Monaco. I have struggled to locate this image in relation to modern maps of the area. [7]

Banaudo continues to describe the route followed by the tramway. He says that the old tramway ran out onto the Cap-Martin peninsula where it “described a long hairpin loop at the bottom of which was a 108 m tunnel, in a curve with a radius of 35 m and a slope of 70 mm/m. From the Cap-Martin stop, located at the exit of the tunnel, the single track was subsequently doubled to facilitate crossings in this hilly sector. The descent on the eastern slope of the cape then offered a vast panorama of the town of Menton and the Ligurian Riviera. Since entering [Cap-Martin], the line had lost around sixty metres in altitude when it reached the seashore at the Victoria Hotel, not far from which the Cap-Martin depot was located.” [1: p57]

Close to Roquebrune, trams left the main road to follow a dedicated formation. The highway had a series of tight curves and significant gradients which were not suitable for trams. From this point, the trams travelled out onto Cap-Martin while gradually descending almost to sea-level. [16]
Approximately the same location as that shown in the photograph above, as it appears in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, October 2022]
Looking Southeast, the old mainroad followed the route on the left trams ran on a separate route which has been transformed to Avenue Paul Doumer, which appears on the right side of this photograph. [Google Streetview, October 2022]

Today, Avenue Paul Doumer (D52) follows the route of the old tramway fairly faithfully as it heads out onto Cap-Martin. Avenue Paul Doumer gives way to Avenue Sylvio de Monleon which follows the old tramway to and through the location of the tramway tunnel which has been supplanted by a road tunnel on the same alignment.

Avenue Paul.Doumer (D52) shown in grey follows the route of the old tramway. [Google Maps, November 2023]
The tram in this photograph is heading towards Roquebrune and then Menton. The single-track line is on its own formation, separated from the road both horizontally and vertically. [15]
Looking Southeast on Avenue Paul Doumer. The main road is marked by the green railings at a higher level. This is approximately the same location as that shown in the postcard view immediately above. [Google Streetview, March 2023]
The D52 continues to follow the old tramway route, although it takes the new name of Avenue Sylvio de Monleon on the right third of this extract from Google Maps. [Google Maps, November 2023]
The old tramway turned through a tight hairpin bend , the first part of which was in tunnel. [Google Maps, November 2023]
The road tunnel that replaced the narrower tramway tunnel. [Google Streetview, March 2023]
A tram leaves the tunnel on Cap-Martin and approaches the tram stop. The pedestrian access to the tram stop appears to the left of the tram in this image. [14]
From a slightly different angle, the modern tunnel portal close to the old tram stop is visible in this image. The image shows that the steps which provided access to the tram stop are mirrored by similar steps in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, March 2023]
The tram stop on Cap-Martin. The tram is heading for Monaco. [16]
This image shows the same location today. [Google Streetview, March 2023]
A tram running downhill towards the Plage de Carnoles. [26]
A similar location in the 21st century, looking down Avenue Sylvio de Monleon towards the Plage de Carnoles. [Google Streetview, April 2023]
Banaudo mentioned Hotel Victoria in his description of the tram route. In the 21st century it remains at the same location as in the early 20th century. It features at the bottom of this extract from Google Maps. South of the Hotel Victoria a block of flats can be seen adjacent to the tight curve on the D52. Those flats sit on the site of an old chapel – Chapelle du Cap-Martin. [Google Maps, November 2023]
The ruins of the Chapelle du Cap-Martin with dual tram tracks running close to its doors. [22]
A early postcard view showing a TNL tram running past the Chapel towards Menton. [34]
The same location in 2023. [Google Streetview, April 2023]
This extract from the map seen earlier in this article shows the tram route entering bottom-centre, close to what would have been the Chapelle du Cap-Martin, and running for just a short distance along Promenade du Midi before turning inland to pass under the PLM mainline. [17]
An early postcard view of La Plage de Carnoles, looking East from Cap-Martin. Tram tracks are clearly visible on the beach and a tram appears to be heading for Menton. [45]
Looking Southwest in 1910 towards Cap-Martin from La Plage de Carnoles. Banaudo notes that at the time it was built, the tramway sat on the beach. [25]
A similar view in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, April 2023]
This image shows a tram running along the edge of the beach in Carnoles. Just to the right of this image trams turned away from the beach. [7]

After running past the Chapelle du Cap-Martin trams ran alongside the beach for a short distance. The route they took has since become the Promenade du Midi. They turned inland at what is now Avenue Francois de Monleon and ran under the PLM mainline before turning to the right along Avenue Julia, a road which appears to no longer exist, and following the curve of that road as far as its junction with what is now the D6007. The length before that junction was along what is now Avenue du Marechal Foch.

This old post card image shows a tram on Avenue François de Monleon. It was shared on the Menton du Passé au Present Facebook Page on 3rd December 2017. [35]
Avenue François de Monleon in the 21st century at a similar location to the monochrome image above. [Google Streetview, November 2023]
Trams ran Northwest along Avenue François de Monleon passing under the PLM mainline through the bridge shown here. [Google Streetview, April 2023]
Running Northeast the tramway met the N7 (now the D6007) and then turned right along it towards the PLM mainline and the beach along what is now Avenue Aristide Briand. [17]
The primrose yellow D6007 shows the route of the old tramway. [Google Maps, November 2023]
This monochrome image shows a tram on Avenue Julia (now Avenue du Marechal Foch) adjacent to St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Carnoles. The road on the right of the image is Route National 7 (RN7). [19]
This modern image shows approximately the same location in the 21st century. Google Streetview, October 2022]
Turning through about 120°, this view looks down Avenue Aristide Briand towards the railway bridge which is shown below. The tram tracks are clearly visible in the road surface. This old postcard image was shared on the Menton du Passé au Present Facebook Page on 9th August 2017. [18]
Trams once ran along what is now Avenue Aristide Briand (D6007) and passed through this railway bridge before running Northeast closer to the sea. [Google Streetview, October 2022]
Pont de l’Union sat at the boundary between Carnoles and Menton. This image is an early 20th century postcard view of Pont de l’Union. It looks East. The overbridge carrying the PLM line is directly ahead at the extreme left of this image. It is not possible to show a modern version of this image as the photograph is taken from a point inside one of the more modern buildings on Avenue Aristide Briand. [7]
The view East-northeast east along Avenue Aristide Briand which is the route being travelled by the tram in the monochrome image above. [Google Streetview, October 2022]

The TNL had a depot at Carnolès-plage from 1902 to 1932. [20] Banaudo notes that the tramway passed twice under the PLM Nice to Ventimiglia line. After “the second underbridge, the Union bridge over the Gorbio valley demarcated the territories of the communes of Roquebrune and Menton.” [1: p57]

Banaudo keeps his comments on the remainder of the old tramway route succinct. On entering the commune if Menton, he says, “the tram followed the Avenue de la Madone (today Général De Gaulle), the Borrigo Bridge, the Avenue Carnot, the Biovès garden which covers the Careï torrent then the Avenue Felix Faure.  Place St. Roch, where the Sospel line branched off, marked the entry into the old town of Menton. Here, the single track made its way through the very narrow Rue St. Michel then entered the port where it  followed the Quai Bonaparte.  The tramway entered Garavan beach then ended its course near the Hanbury fountain, a few hundred metres from the Italian border at that time.” [1: p57]

We will try to unpack Banaudo’s description with images that show the route through Menton. Trams entered Menton on the RN7 (now D6007). Until the mid-20th century people were expected to leave the tram at the boundary between Roquebrune Cap-Martin and Menton to declare the goods they were carrying. The Octroi, shown below, was the ‘custom point’.

Everyone crossing into Menton was expected to declare taxable goods at the ‘border’ of the commune. [7]
The location of le Pont de Borrigo at the point where Avenue Cernuschi met the RN7 (D6007). [Google Maps, November 2023]
Le Pont de Burrigo close to the beach on the road into Menton. The road over the bridge carried the tramway. [49]
A view West back across the location of Pont de Burrigo. [Google Streetview, October 2022]
The tram has stopped on Avenue Carnot next to Le Kiosque de Musique (Bandstand) in the gardens alongside the Promenade de Midi. [7]
Looking East along Avenue de Carnot, approaching the centre of Menton. This was the route taken by the tram. [Google Streetview, April 2023]

Trams continued along Avenue Carnot past l’Eglise Anglais and onto Avenue Felix Faure.

Avenue Carnot runs past St. John’s Church in Menton  (the Anglican Church). Tram tracks can be seen on the road surface in this image which was shared on the Comte de Nice et son Histoire Facebook Group by Pierre Richert on 8th January 2018. [37]
L’Avenue Carnot and St. John’s Anglican Church in 2023. [Google Streetview, March 2023]
St. John’s Church is shown on this extract from Google Maps with Avenue de Carnot on its South side. The D6007 turns right and then left to run along the Promenade. The old tramway ran straight ahead onto Avenue Felix Faure. [Google Maps, November 2013]
St. John’s Church can be seen in the bottom-left of this image. Avenue Felix Faure runs Northeast from St. John’s Church. It is the grey line, one block back from the Promenade. [Google Maps, November 2023]
Avenue Felix Faure, Menton, in the early 20th century, looking towards the old town. Tram tracks are visible in the road surface. [38]
Avenue Felix Faure in the early 20th century. This is a view from a very similar location as the image above, this time a tram can be seen heading out of the old town towards Monaco. [40]
The same location that appears in the two monochrome images above, as it appears in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, April 2023]
One street corner along Avenue Felix Faure, looking Northeast. The only thing in common with the present is the Hotel des Colonies building, which you can see on the left of image. [51]
Approximately the same view in the 21st century. [Google Streetview March 2023]
Avenue Felix Faure, looking Southwest from a point close to Place St. Roch. [50]
A similar view in the 21st century, looking Southwest. [Google Streetview April 2023]
This old postcard image shows Avenue Felix Faure entering Place St. Roch. It looks Southwest from Place St. Roch. Overhead tramway cables can be seen running in two directions, ahead into Avenue Felix Faure and right into Rue Partouneaux. The tram tracks leading into Avenue Felix Faure can be seen to the left of the photograph. Note the publisher shelter close to the centre of the image. [53]
A similar view to the one immediately above. A statue now sits in front of the building. [52]
A similar modern view looking across Place St. Roch towards the Southwest and Avenue Felix Faure. [Google Streetview, March 2023]

Rue Partouneaux on the North side of Place St. Roch was followed by trams for Sospel which set off from or terminated at the mouth of Rue St. Michel at Place St. Roch. This route is covered elsewhere in this series about trams in and around Nice:

Three articles written at different times, in chronological order are as below:

Sospel to Menton Tramway

The Sospel to Menton Tramway Revisited (Chemins de Fer de Provence 51)

The Menton to Sospel Tramway Revisited Again! (Chemins de Fer de Provence 61)

Avenue Felix-Faure in Menton, seen from Place St. Roch, looking Northeast. On the left we can see the waiting kiosk of the TNL tram urban lines. There is a tram waiting at the stop but rather than following the main route between Monaco and Menton it will leave along Rue Partouneaux to the Careï valley. It will possibly stop at the Villa Caserta terminus, or it will continue towards Monti, Castllon, the valley of Bévéra and the Sospel terminus. This image was shared by Jean-Paul Bascul on the Monaco4Ever Facebook Group on 28th September 2023 (Collection privée J-Paul Bascoul). [5]
A similar view, looking Northeast in the 21st century from Place St. Roch. [Google Streetview, April 2023]
Looking East from Place St. Roch along the most easterly length of Avenue Felix Faure, we see a tram heading West, although it is not clear whether it will head for Monaco or bear round in front of the camera onto Rue Partouneaux to the Carei Valley. [7]
An early 20th century postcard image of Rue St. Michel/Avenue Felix Faure, looking East, Tram tracks are visible in the road surface. [29]
The same location in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, April 2008]
An early postcard view of Rue St. Michel, looking West. [39]
Rue St. Michel in 2008 looking West at approximately the same location as in the postcard image above. [Google Streetview, December 2008]
Rue St. Michel in 2008 looking East. [Google Streetview, December 2008]
A powered car and trailer stopped at Place aux Herbes in the 1920s. This image was shared on the Monaco4Ever Facebook Group on 23rd March 2022 by Jean-Paul Bascoul. (Collection privée J-Paul Bascoul). [3]
The same location in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, 2021]
Rue St. Michel looking West in the early 20th century. The tramway track is easily seen in the cobbled road surface, the overhead cables in the sky! [46]
The same location, close to the eastern end of Rue St. Michel in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, 2008]
A further extract from Google Maps. The tramway ran along Rue St. Michel which enters this image just beneath the Carrefour City blue flag to the bottom-left of the image and runs in an approximately straight line East-northeast to meet the present D6007 (Quai Bonaparte). Here trams turned North along the D6007 before heading East towards Garavan. [Google Maps, November 2023]

Trams left the East end of Rue St. Michel and crossed Place du Cap before running out onto Quai Bonaparte.

An early 20th century postcard image of Place du Cap, Menton. Overhead wires for the trams cross the image and, to the right side of the image a tram can be seen turning into Place du Cap from Quai Bonaparte. [32]
This image was shared by Jean Claude Volpi on the Entraide Menton Monaco Roquebrune Cap Martin et sa région Facebook Group on 17th September 2021. It shows the tramway leaving Place du Cap. It refers to the Quai as ‘Quai de Monleon’. [48]
The old postcard image refers to the Quai as ‘Quai Boneparte. The camera is situated a little further to the North than the camera in the image above. [31]
A short distance to the North again, this old postcard image is annotated ‘Le Boulevard de Garavan’. Literally only a couple of hundred metres along the shore from the last postcard image. This colourised image comes from the early 20th century. [30]
The modern D6007 now follows the Quai Bonaparte/Quai de Monleon. A constant feature is the large building at the centre of this image which seems to have a central gable. In the 21st century this is the Menton campus of Sciences Po Paris. [Google Streetview, April 2023]
This last extract from Google Maps shows the remaining length of the old tramway. The line followed the Promenade de Garavan and is shown in primrose yellow. It was on the seaward side of the RN7 (D6007). The terminus was close to the grey flag at the right side of this image. It was adjacent to La Fontaine de la Frontiere. [Google Maps November 2020]
A tram heads towards Menton old town along Boulevard de Garavan. [7]
The view from a very similar location in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, March 2023]
A tram stopped on La Promenade de Garavan. Menton’s old town can be seen in the distance. [26]
A similar view from Porte de France in 2023. [Google Streetview, April 2023]
The terminus of the line is some distance ahead in this view. The tram is heading towards the terminus of the line. [26]
This image was shared on the Monaco4Ever Facebook Group on 23rd March 2022 by Jean-Paul Bascoul. Looking East, it shows a tram at the extreme Eastern end of the TNL network, about to set off for Nice. [4]
As can be seen close to the centre of this view looking East, the Fontaine de la Frontiere still stands in its historical location, although the Italian border has moved further East! [Google Streetview, March 2023]

The terminus of the TNL network was on La Promenade de Garavan, immediately West of the Fontaine de la Frontiere which itself was very close to the then Italian border.

The tram terminus was just to the West of the Fontaine de la Frontiere in almost exactly the same location as the earlier horse-drawn tram in this old postcard image. [47]
The Fontaine de la Frontiere in 2023. At one time the border with Italy was a little to the East of the fountain. [Google Streeview, November 2022]

Images in this article credited to Jean-Paul Bascoul can be found on his blog: Monaco 4Ever.blogspot.com.

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