Venetian Finds

'Let's go to Venice, you'll love it. Canals, old buildings, history, boats. It's got everything'.

'Mmmm. Except anything rail related', I replied.

So we went.

Now I assumed Venice WAS all canals, old buildings, history and boats, so wasn't that disappointed when we got there. We were right over on the eastern side of the island, near St Mark's Square. I just wrote off rails and started taking all the obvious pictures, helped by a mist on the second day.

To get around Venice you walk, or take the water taxis. (Or, apparently, if you're made of money and romantic, whatever that is, a gondola).

We jumped on a water taxi that second morning, in the mist and biting cold. I noticed a stop 'Ferrovia'. My Italian's good enough to know that means railway station, so that's where we went! The western side of Venice is a little atypical as it does have a few cars and a cruise terminal (and some great shops and restaurants) and from the boat I spotted something I really wasn't expecting - rail!! Okay, it was a monorail, but that's a train too. Seconds later we were on land. Jumping off I spotted what looked like tram wires on a bridge. I had to explore. A minute later I was standing in front of a tramway!! A weird sort of tramway mind, with just a single rail, but a tramway nethertheless.

I later discovered the tramway only opened in 2015 and links Venice with the mainland, with two lines from Mestre further into the hinterland.

My wife then said, as I relayed news of my discovery to her, 'I told you there was a tramway in Venice'. True, she had, but I didn't believe her!

After that we went to the railway station, which I also didn't realise was there, always assumed Venice's railway station was on the mainland, a big 20-odd platform affair with trains in just about every platform. I took photos of all of them whilst she bought baby clothes from a nice shop on the station concourse.

The next day we took a trip on the strange tramway over the bridge and to Mestre, which was a strange experience. The tram runs on rubber tyres so felt a bit 'bussy' at first, but soon slipped into normal tram mode - fast acceleration, quiet running etc.

All in all Venice had plenty of rail interest and is well worth a visit in any case. Go there whilst it's still all there! 

The People Mover.

The monorail tramway at Venice.

Variety at Venice station.

The trip to Mestre.

All pics copyright Steve Sainsbury/Rail Thing 2019)

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The best place for a rail fan on Earth?

(All pics 23.6.2015 copyright Steve Sainsbury/Rail Thing)

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I always assumed the closest thing to rail heaven (if your interest extends to trams and narrow gauge!) would be somewhere in Switzerland, perhaps Aigle or Interlaken Ost, or possibly Wales (Porthmadog or Llanberis) but I think I've found it in Italy of all places!!

Porta Maggiore is a stop on four of the city's tram routes, but also on the 950mm suburban line to Giardinetti and with the busy main line into Roma Termini as a backdrop. The whole area is intersected by a number of Roman aqueducts and the trams and trains happily thread through the arches. The whole area is so busy that there seems to always be at least one thing moving, often more!

The narrow gauge line seems to have a constant procession of yellow and white trains intersecting the whole site, cutting across tram tracks, through arches, past what appears to be a Roman temple and then across one of the busiest Rome streets (all completely unprotected of course!) and down a side street into the city centre.

Later in the week we went on a tram tour from here and in the evening the place is even better, busier and with nicer light. Well worth a visit even if trams and light railways aren't your thing!

Roaming Roman Rails

9250 Rome 17.6.2015

9023 and 9250 Rome 17.6.2015

9116 Flaminio Rome 17.6.2015

Ostia train at Roma San Paolo 19.6.2015

423 Porta Maggiore 20.6.2015

7021 Coloseo 22.6.2015

(All pics copyright Steve Sainsbury/Rail Thing)

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Just returned from my first visit to Rome. Fantastic in many ways and also plenty for rail and tram enthusiasts, with a lot more promised in the future! Highlights were a trip to the Vatican in a huge thunderstorm which stopped the trams for a while, urban street running narrow gauge, the tram by the Colosseum and the best of all, the Jazz Tram. Low point was the disgusting state of the line to Ostia, Rome's port. More to follow on all of this and more - still recovering at the moment!

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The Swiss (RhB) station in Tirano.

The Italian station in Tirano.

Mystery steam loco at Tirano. All 4.12.2008

I've yet to really 'do' Italy, the closest I've come is the Italian section of the Centovalli and the southern section of the Rhatische Bahn's Bernina line, which terminates in Tirano.

We were staying in St Moritz in December 2008 and travelled on the Bernina line during the stay. The Bernina line is of course one of the most scenic lines in the world, and I've visited it a number of times. But this was the first time I'd actually left the station to look around the town. As well as the metre gauge station it also has a terminus on the Italian State Railways, which was very different from the Swiss station. A distance from this station, on some sidings, stood this steam loco, a complete mystery to me. Was it one of the famed reserve stock of steam locos kept by the Italian railways to use after the oil runs out, was it a privately owned loco or perhaps something to do with a preservation scheme? Any ideas??