Iskra
Established Member
Yeah that’s where it started off at least
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Iskra's Odysseys
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Yeah that’s where it started off at least
Iskra
Established Member
Peak Rail 16/4/22
Peak Rail has been on my target list for quite a while, with the pandemic preventing me from getting there. It's only just over 20 miles from my house on the Northern edge of Sheffield, and there was the added bonus of a nice scenic drive through the Peak District too. Peak Rail conveniently advertise their locomotive roster well in advance which helped with choosing my visiting day over Easter weekend at the planning stage. The options were a GWR tank locomotive, a Class 25 or a Class 44 Peak locomotive. I don't mind steam locomotives, but a GWR loco well-off patch just seemed a bit wrong to be honest and steam locomotives do attract a crowd, which I couldn't be bothered with on a day off. The class 25 would have been okay, but I've travelled behind them before. So, the Peak it was. I've never travelled behind a Peak before so that was a big selling-point, as was the fact it was used historically on this line and they just look like impressive machines due to how big they are and then finally, this one is evocatively named after an impressive Yorkshire hillock: Penyghent.
The drive down was good fun on quiet country roads in the sun through the Peak district in the Iskramobile, even skirting the edge of Sheffield wasn't too troublesome and I arrived awfully early. There was ample parking and with a good hour before my train departed I purchased a day ticket and had time for a pleasant mornings walk around the site of Rowsley South station, using a public footpath adjacent to the river to go marvel at the locomotives on shed. Spotted were an 08, 37 and 73. I could just see the nose of the Peak in the shed. On my walk back to the station I positioned myself perfectly to observe the locomotive shunting out of the shed into the head shunt before heading back to the platform for departure. Rowley South station feels a little makeshift, but has everything you need such as ticket office, toilets and a cafe. There is also a lot of interesting rolling stock milling around the station and shed area. I'd purchased a day ticket and our train was formed 4 carriages - a mixture of Mk1/2's. The coach directly behind the locomotive was reserved for a coach party, but I'd noticed that the rear coach was a compartment coach. Knowing full well that nobody would bother with the rear coach due to poor proximity to the locomotive, I went and bagged myself the rearmost compartment, knowing that I'd be in the prime place on the return journey. On the journey towards Matlock I sat and admired the countryside. The scenic credentials of this line are extremely high, with it running through a Peak District valley along a river for most of the journey. Our first call was Darley Dale, which is a pleasant little station with one platform fascinatingly and unusually preserved in a slightly run-down manner, which I thought might provide a photo opportunity later in the day. Continuing out of the station, we then passed the shunter depot where a whole host of shunting locomotives are preserved. Next it was on to Matlock Riverside, with the scenery improving on the way and the river joining us. Matlock Riverside (another makeshift affair, but with less facilities than Rowsley South) was the terminus on this trip, unfortunately we weren't able to run onto Matlock station I assume due to engineering works, this did make the journey feel a little unfinished. Originally, I had planned to change at Matlock onto an EMR service towards Derby as I need to cover the branch still, but unfortunately trains were bustituted due to engineering works, so I will need to revisit. I spent the journey back North right behind the loco, and I have to say as stunning as she looked D8 sounded totally underwhelming, but then I suppose this is a powerful mainline express locomotive trundling at 25mph (if that) so perhaps to be expected. Heading North I took some more photo's of Darley Dale station for editing purposes and then back at Rowsley South I had a quick lunch from the cafe, before completing another round-trip in the same compartment. I was under the impression that this was my first ever trip on Peak Rail, but that evening I headed up to my parents house for dinner and they informed me that I'd visited as a small child due to the Heights of Abraham being closed, although I had no knowledge at all of this!
Peak Rail has been on my target list for quite a while, with the pandemic preventing me from getting there. It's only just over 20 miles from my house on the Northern edge of Sheffield, and there was the added bonus of a nice scenic drive through the Peak District too. Peak Rail conveniently advertise their locomotive roster well in advance which helped with choosing my visiting day over Easter weekend at the planning stage. The options were a GWR tank locomotive, a Class 25 or a Class 44 Peak locomotive. I don't mind steam locomotives, but a GWR loco well-off patch just seemed a bit wrong to be honest and steam locomotives do attract a crowd, which I couldn't be bothered with on a day off. The class 25 would have been okay, but I've travelled behind them before. So, the Peak it was. I've never travelled behind a Peak before so that was a big selling-point, as was the fact it was used historically on this line and they just look like impressive machines due to how big they are and then finally, this one is evocatively named after an impressive Yorkshire hillock: Penyghent.
The drive down was good fun on quiet country roads in the sun through the Peak district in the Iskramobile, even skirting the edge of Sheffield wasn't too troublesome and I arrived awfully early. There was ample parking and with a good hour before my train departed I purchased a day ticket and had time for a pleasant mornings walk around the site of Rowsley South station, using a public footpath adjacent to the river to go marvel at the locomotives on shed. Spotted were an 08, 37 and 73. I could just see the nose of the Peak in the shed. On my walk back to the station I positioned myself perfectly to observe the locomotive shunting out of the shed into the head shunt before heading back to the platform for departure. Rowley South station feels a little makeshift, but has everything you need such as ticket office, toilets and a cafe. There is also a lot of interesting rolling stock milling around the station and shed area. I'd purchased a day ticket and our train was formed 4 carriages - a mixture of Mk1/2's. The coach directly behind the locomotive was reserved for a coach party, but I'd noticed that the rear coach was a compartment coach. Knowing full well that nobody would bother with the rear coach due to poor proximity to the locomotive, I went and bagged myself the rearmost compartment, knowing that I'd be in the prime place on the return journey. On the journey towards Matlock I sat and admired the countryside. The scenic credentials of this line are extremely high, with it running through a Peak District valley along a river for most of the journey. Our first call was Darley Dale, which is a pleasant little station with one platform fascinatingly and unusually preserved in a slightly run-down manner, which I thought might provide a photo opportunity later in the day. Continuing out of the station, we then passed the shunter depot where a whole host of shunting locomotives are preserved. Next it was on to Matlock Riverside, with the scenery improving on the way and the river joining us. Matlock Riverside (another makeshift affair, but with less facilities than Rowsley South) was the terminus on this trip, unfortunately we weren't able to run onto Matlock station I assume due to engineering works, this did make the journey feel a little unfinished. Originally, I had planned to change at Matlock onto an EMR service towards Derby as I need to cover the branch still, but unfortunately trains were bustituted due to engineering works, so I will need to revisit. I spent the journey back North right behind the loco, and I have to say as stunning as she looked D8 sounded totally underwhelming, but then I suppose this is a powerful mainline express locomotive trundling at 25mph (if that) so perhaps to be expected. Heading North I took some more photo's of Darley Dale station for editing purposes and then back at Rowsley South I had a quick lunch from the cafe, before completing another round-trip in the same compartment. I was under the impression that this was my first ever trip on Peak Rail, but that evening I headed up to my parents house for dinner and they informed me that I'd visited as a small child due to the Heights of Abraham being closed, although I had no knowledge at all of this!
D6130
Established Member
Nice photos and a lovely day for your visit. When I last visited Peak Rail about ten years ago with a friend from France, we travelled from Matlock to Rowsley South and back with 31 270 at the North end of the train and an 0-6-0 saddletank steam loco at the South end, topping and tailing. We were very kindly offered a cab ride in the 31 on the outward journey and the volunteer driver told us that the maximum permitted speed with a steam loco trailing was 15 mph. At least that lengthened the journey slightly and gave us more time to enjoy the scenery.
Iskra
Established Member
Wow, you got lucky there! Top and tailed is the normal method of operation when running in to Matlock I believe, as I'm guessing there is nowhere to run-around there? There is a run-around loop at Matlock Riverside so they can get away with just one locomotive (although it was crewed at each end). I'm guessing that saves them a bit of money too with the current fuel/coal costs.
xotGD
Established Member
- Joined
- 4 Feb 2017
- Messages
- 7,822
Nice report and nice photos.
I've only been to Peak Rail once, and back then it only ran from Matlock to Darley Dale. While I require D8 for haulage I think they will need to get their 37 in service to tempt me to pay a return visit.
I've only been to Peak Rail once, and back then it only ran from Matlock to Darley Dale. While I require D8 for haulage I think they will need to get their 37 in service to tempt me to pay a return visit.
Iskra
Established Member
Thanks! The 37 was outside the shed looking excellent in large logo blue, it does indeed seem a tempting proposition when it’s running again
Iskra
Established Member
Thank you @Cowley - one of the motivations for travelling behind this Peak was my unavailability for the Sheffield-Paignton Peak tour in October due to being overseas on that date, you mentioned meeting for a beer that day so I thought I'd let you know! I'm sure you've travelled the other Peak classes however since they were regulars to Devon at one point weren't they? If you've had a 45, then you've had a 44 basically as there's not much difference at all really!
Ah that’s a shame about the tour, but yes, definitely got quite a few Peaks in the book back in those days.
Funnily enough I remember sitting in the nose of D4 at the Bounds Green open day with my stepbrother in 1987. I really don’t know why we ended up in there though…
Iskra
Established Member
That's a bit different! ...but a happier memory than my main memory of Peaks before this weekend; which is seeing them strewn around the network, looking dilapidated while awaiting scrapping or restoration in the 90's/00's.
Iskra
Established Member
For various reasons I’ve not been out on the rails much recently, so today while in the area I’ve jumped on the KWVR for a quick spin on the Ivatt- the other choice was the Taff Vale tank engine that I had earlier in the year. More interesting rail times are ahead in the back half of the year.
D6130
Established Member
Great photo! Looking forward to hearing about your travels in Italy in the very near future. It's almost unbearably hot here at the moment....33 in Tuscany this afternoon!
Lovely. But just mind that gap!
Iskra
Established Member
Thank you! Yes, I will be setting off this Saturday morning if all goes to plan. I’m really looking forward to hitting the rails over there
Yes I have heard it is the same in the South, it is due to peak when I arrive and then thankfully cool down a little after that. Indeed, it’s a platform with quite a curvature.
Today’s video has now uploaded to provide the sights and sounds of today’s trip. Also worth noting was that my favourite beer Timothy Taylors Boltmaker was available for purchase on the train- I highly recommend it!
xotGD
Established Member
- Joined
- 4 Feb 2017
- Messages
- 7,822
I like how you panned the camera to show the brewery!
Hopefully I'll be able to claim that same droplight at the diesel gala in just over a week's time...
Hopefully I'll be able to claim that same droplight at the diesel gala in just over a week's time...
Iskra
Established Member
Wondered if anyone would notice that
I fear there may be a little more competition next week for that drop light! But, my tactic is to sit at the rear of the train heading down to Keighley, so that I am in place for the much more spectacular ascent back up the valley. In terms of droplight availability, it was good to note today that the other rake was made up entirely of Mk1 Suburbans, which obviously have many more droplights close to the locomotive to enjoy- so maybe aim for that rake next week.
Iskra
Established Member
Well, greetings from Italy! Currently enjoying a nice Peroni red on the terrace after a tiring but enjoyable trip down from the UK.
Originally, I had planned to get a transpennine express service to Manchester Airport but the strikes scuppered that plan. Luckily, it turned out my sister was also heading to the airport that morning and was getting a taxi. Thus, I arose at 0000 and drove up to West Yorkshire for 0200 to jump in said taxi. Unfortunately, my sister’s flight was 3 hours before mine so I arrived very early, but it was worth it for a relatively stress-free passage through the airport. I napped on a bench for a couple of hours before getting through security, which was actually really easy. My flight was with the Austrian version of Easyjet to Milan Malpensa.
The flight over was really nice, which I enjoyed after a really rough flight down to Catania last Autumn. The highlights as always when flying to Milan Malpensa were the snow/capped Alps and Italian Lakes which were resplendent. I arrived in the midst of a heat wave and the heat really was a shock to the system so I changed in the toilet into Italian mode before heading through immigration. Immigration is a bit strange at the moment in that Brits still join the EU queue for the passport gates but then have to get a manual stamp immediately afterwards. Mask wearing was also strange, with most wearing them through the terminal, but then barely anybody was in the lobby.
My next move was to head to Milano Centrale using the train. It was my first time using the Malpensa Express. It’s a fairly mundane but passable operation, costing 13 Euro and taking around 45 minutes.
I then had quite a considerable amount of time to kill before my train to the South so I took some photos, visited the excellent Bistrot Milano Centrale for Lunch, Dinner and on-train snacks courtesy of @D6130 ’s recommendation. I also braved the heat to take some pictures of outside the station which I quickly regretted after quickly getting very hot. While loitering on a bench on the concourse, awaiting my trains appearance on the departure boards, I was approached by a Policeman and two soldiers who requested my documents, and once satisfied that I was a harmless tourist they continued asking random people for their ID. Once the sun withered I spent a bit of time watching the impressive trains at the end of the platform before boarding my train South.
My train South was Train 765 InterCityNotte from Milano Centrale to Lecce, although I would be alighting at Taranto to change there for an IC to Locri. This was my first time on an Italian Sleeper train and I was quite intrigued as to how it would be. The train certainly looked good at least.
Inside, I was impressed with the Deluxe cabin, which I thought was good value at £70. The aircon was only just keeping pace with the outside air temperature even on its highest setting, but there is also a window that really helped with ventilation once the train got moving. The train was quite busy but I could hear little noise from the cabins either side on this journey- just the occasional bark of a dog. Having been up 22 hours at boarding, I was quite keen to get off to the land of nod, but this was not to be. Some Italian Theatre had to be endured first. Trenitalia kindly provide an excellent amenity kit, and an array of pre-packaged breakfast snacks and drinks. Once underway, these were delivered to my cabin. Not all at once though, that would be far too sensible. Instead, the attendant conveyed each item to each cabin one at a time, thus requiring me to be present to recieve around 10 seperate items that were delivered over a 45 minute period. During this time I turned off the light, opened the window and enjoyed the ride out of Milan. Tonight we were heading down Italy’s East Coast towards Taranto. Once the seemingly endless procession of deliveries was completed, I proceeded to close the door and go to bed. About 20mins later, there was a knock on the door and the Capotreno was there wanting to check my ticket and passport. After that I was left in peace and I had quite good sleep. The bed was comfortable, everything worked in the cabin, the ride was generally smooth- although that was probably helped by being in the centre of the coach. There were a couple of harsh jolts when stopping at stations, but with so many station stops on this train there were always going to be some jolts. The train was going full-tilt in between stations, which was quite enjoyable as an enthusiast laid in bed- there was no sauntering like you get on some night trains.
The sleep was good and I’d set an alarm for 0700 to be awake before Bari. The room really started to warm up again so I deployed the window once more which worked well. After having breakfast, which was nicer than it looked, I opened my cabin door to be able to see both sides and watched the world go by, the scenery improving as we headed South. At Bari, the train reversed and the rear loco took us forwards. After Bari, newpapers and a very welcome espresso was brought around. We were running around 10 late at this point, which was no trouble as my connection was 20 minutes and 10 minutes is nothing considering the distance covered. 5 minutes before Taranto the sleeper attendant came around to check that I was up and ready so that I wouldn’t miss my stop.
At Taranto, it was a quick interchange across the plaform onto my next train, but making that move was quite chaotic due to the volume of people and luggage. Annoyingly, I just missed the small shunter detaching from the IC train and heading back to the depot, but I did get a picture of the diesel loco. I’ve used this rare diesel IC train before, but today I would be travelling new track as far as Sibari to complete the full length of the line.
The train was formed of 3 carriages. Access to the first two was unimpeded, but the third, and obviously the one I had been seated in was absolutely swamped with people, like a scene from Dunkirk, for reasons that I didn’t understand. I boarded one of the virtually empty carriages instead and took a seat while the rush died down. Closer to departure time, I made a move on my assigned seat and discovered the cause of the chaos- a large school party were taking up the rest of the coach and all their parents had come to the station to help them onto the train with their luggage and see them off. Once the train got moving things weren’t too bad as it was one person per seat. But, I had to laugh at all the school-related drama- the school party literally travelled one station down the line so they weren’t going far! After that, the remaining passengers were relieved and spread out across the rest of the carriage. I then very much enjoyed the journey from that point, eating my snacks as we went. Taranto was more industrial than I expected, but after that the scenery was nice and of course it looked great in the sun. We passed a couple more LHCS services on the route including one that has been recently reliveried which I think looks really nice.
Originally, I had planned to get a transpennine express service to Manchester Airport but the strikes scuppered that plan. Luckily, it turned out my sister was also heading to the airport that morning and was getting a taxi. Thus, I arose at 0000 and drove up to West Yorkshire for 0200 to jump in said taxi. Unfortunately, my sister’s flight was 3 hours before mine so I arrived very early, but it was worth it for a relatively stress-free passage through the airport. I napped on a bench for a couple of hours before getting through security, which was actually really easy. My flight was with the Austrian version of Easyjet to Milan Malpensa.
The flight over was really nice, which I enjoyed after a really rough flight down to Catania last Autumn. The highlights as always when flying to Milan Malpensa were the snow/capped Alps and Italian Lakes which were resplendent. I arrived in the midst of a heat wave and the heat really was a shock to the system so I changed in the toilet into Italian mode before heading through immigration. Immigration is a bit strange at the moment in that Brits still join the EU queue for the passport gates but then have to get a manual stamp immediately afterwards. Mask wearing was also strange, with most wearing them through the terminal, but then barely anybody was in the lobby.
My next move was to head to Milano Centrale using the train. It was my first time using the Malpensa Express. It’s a fairly mundane but passable operation, costing 13 Euro and taking around 45 minutes.
I then had quite a considerable amount of time to kill before my train to the South so I took some photos, visited the excellent Bistrot Milano Centrale for Lunch, Dinner and on-train snacks courtesy of @D6130 ’s recommendation. I also braved the heat to take some pictures of outside the station which I quickly regretted after quickly getting very hot. While loitering on a bench on the concourse, awaiting my trains appearance on the departure boards, I was approached by a Policeman and two soldiers who requested my documents, and once satisfied that I was a harmless tourist they continued asking random people for their ID. Once the sun withered I spent a bit of time watching the impressive trains at the end of the platform before boarding my train South.
My train South was Train 765 InterCityNotte from Milano Centrale to Lecce, although I would be alighting at Taranto to change there for an IC to Locri. This was my first time on an Italian Sleeper train and I was quite intrigued as to how it would be. The train certainly looked good at least.
Inside, I was impressed with the Deluxe cabin, which I thought was good value at £70. The aircon was only just keeping pace with the outside air temperature even on its highest setting, but there is also a window that really helped with ventilation once the train got moving. The train was quite busy but I could hear little noise from the cabins either side on this journey- just the occasional bark of a dog. Having been up 22 hours at boarding, I was quite keen to get off to the land of nod, but this was not to be. Some Italian Theatre had to be endured first. Trenitalia kindly provide an excellent amenity kit, and an array of pre-packaged breakfast snacks and drinks. Once underway, these were delivered to my cabin. Not all at once though, that would be far too sensible. Instead, the attendant conveyed each item to each cabin one at a time, thus requiring me to be present to recieve around 10 seperate items that were delivered over a 45 minute period. During this time I turned off the light, opened the window and enjoyed the ride out of Milan. Tonight we were heading down Italy’s East Coast towards Taranto. Once the seemingly endless procession of deliveries was completed, I proceeded to close the door and go to bed. About 20mins later, there was a knock on the door and the Capotreno was there wanting to check my ticket and passport. After that I was left in peace and I had quite good sleep. The bed was comfortable, everything worked in the cabin, the ride was generally smooth- although that was probably helped by being in the centre of the coach. There were a couple of harsh jolts when stopping at stations, but with so many station stops on this train there were always going to be some jolts. The train was going full-tilt in between stations, which was quite enjoyable as an enthusiast laid in bed- there was no sauntering like you get on some night trains.
The sleep was good and I’d set an alarm for 0700 to be awake before Bari. The room really started to warm up again so I deployed the window once more which worked well. After having breakfast, which was nicer than it looked, I opened my cabin door to be able to see both sides and watched the world go by, the scenery improving as we headed South. At Bari, the train reversed and the rear loco took us forwards. After Bari, newpapers and a very welcome espresso was brought around. We were running around 10 late at this point, which was no trouble as my connection was 20 minutes and 10 minutes is nothing considering the distance covered. 5 minutes before Taranto the sleeper attendant came around to check that I was up and ready so that I wouldn’t miss my stop.
At Taranto, it was a quick interchange across the plaform onto my next train, but making that move was quite chaotic due to the volume of people and luggage. Annoyingly, I just missed the small shunter detaching from the IC train and heading back to the depot, but I did get a picture of the diesel loco. I’ve used this rare diesel IC train before, but today I would be travelling new track as far as Sibari to complete the full length of the line.
The train was formed of 3 carriages. Access to the first two was unimpeded, but the third, and obviously the one I had been seated in was absolutely swamped with people, like a scene from Dunkirk, for reasons that I didn’t understand. I boarded one of the virtually empty carriages instead and took a seat while the rush died down. Closer to departure time, I made a move on my assigned seat and discovered the cause of the chaos- a large school party were taking up the rest of the coach and all their parents had come to the station to help them onto the train with their luggage and see them off. Once the train got moving things weren’t too bad as it was one person per seat. But, I had to laugh at all the school-related drama- the school party literally travelled one station down the line so they weren’t going far! After that, the remaining passengers were relieved and spread out across the rest of the carriage. I then very much enjoyed the journey from that point, eating my snacks as we went. Taranto was more industrial than I expected, but after that the scenery was nice and of course it looked great in the sun. We passed a couple more LHCS services on the route including one that has been recently reliveried which I think looks really nice.
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Iskra
Established Member
Catanzaro was filled with engineering wagons and historic-looking diesel locomotives so I can only imagine big engineering works are imminent in the area.
Also noteworthy was that nearly all the single-car DMU’s that ply their trade on the Ionian Coast line, were doubled-up- which has been a long time coming.
The IC train at Locri:
My view as I type:
Overall, a long but interesting trip down on loco hauled services. I’d definitely do Italian Sleeper trains again, they are good value, comfortable and less stressful than flying. It does of course help your sleep if you are totally exhausted on boarding a sleeper train, which I was in this instance.
Also noteworthy was that nearly all the single-car DMU’s that ply their trade on the Ionian Coast line, were doubled-up- which has been a long time coming.
The IC train at Locri:
My view as I type:
Overall, a long but interesting trip down on loco hauled services. I’d definitely do Italian Sleeper trains again, they are good value, comfortable and less stressful than flying. It does of course help your sleep if you are totally exhausted on boarding a sleeper train, which I was in this instance.
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Iskra
Established Member
Yes, it is of course a timeless classic! They do seem to borrow from other countries liveries in Italy the IC red/white on the carriages is very DB to me and the ICN blue sleeper coaches are the same as OBB Nighjet ones too. The blue/white engineering loco is reminiscent of DP1 too. There’s something about old loco’s in modern livery’s that just looks good.
D6130
Established Member
Glad to hear that you had a good trip. I see that your sleeper train departed from track 17 at Milano Centrale....right opposite the bistrot. I can recommend the Train Timetable - Italy app, which is the nearest thing in Italy to Real Time Trains. You can use it for trip planning - on both Trenitalia and 'private' lines - and check real time train running information for Trenitalia services....and it will tell you the scheduled track number for your departure and connections. It's available in English and it's well worth paying the small annual fee for the advanced version. The old diesel locos that you saw on the p.way trains at Catanzaro Lido are ex-SNCB/NMBS class 51 Co-Cos, purchased second-hand from Belgium by track renewals contractor Francesco Ventura, based at Paola on the West Coast of Calabria. Hope you enjoy the rest of your holiday. Are you returning North by train at the end of it? Excellent photos by the way!
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Iskra
Established Member
Yes, I have the free version of the app and it is very useful indeed thank you.
The Class 51’s look Hellfire but I’ve only ever seen one in action up North from another train, hopefully I get to see one operating in the flesh sometime.
Thank you. No, I am flying home from Lamezia Terme to Milan Malpensa and then to Manchester. TUI have put a direct flight on this year but it’s £300! I don’t have any other train journeys planned down here as the local regional trains here don’t have air conditioning and aren’t pleasant in the hot weather, especially with a mask on. However, some local English have requested that I escort them to Catanzaro Citta on the narrowgauge line, so I may end up doing that and if I do I will travel past Catanzaro Citta and explore the line into the hills beyond while they enjoy the city.
I should be getting TP back to Leeds from Manchester so will try and choose a train that gives me some new/interesting TP stuff as I still haven’t sampled any of their new stock yet.
Techniquest
Veteran Member
An epic time so far, I did not envy the early start to get to the airport though! That system for delivering goodies on the sleeper seems silly too, I'd be tamping at the idea of waiting so long to go to sleep!
Iskra
Established Member
Thank you! No it wasn’t pleasant in all honesty, but needs must! Yes, I didn’t appreciate it, but ‘when in Rome…’
Today produced a stormy forecast for my part of Calabria, so I made a last minute decision to hit the rails.
I booked a return out of Locri to Catanzaro on the 2 daily Trenitalia IC loco-hauled services for around 8 Euro each and then planned to head up the Ferrovie Della Calabria (FC) lines to the end of the line at Soveria Mannelli in the mountains.
After having a quick espresso we headed to the station. I was pleased to find we would be hauled today by the freshly painted IC-liveried D445 that I spotted the other day.
The journey outward along the coast was lovely on the aircon stock. We were also able to see my sister out at sea who just happened to be passing by on the cruise ship Celebrity Constellation, which was a novelty.
At Catanzaro Lido, I found the FC line up to Catanzaro Citta (covered in October- scroll back to then in this thread for details of this line), was bustituted due to engineering works. I checked that my journey later on, wasn’t bustituted too and it wasn’t, so I stuck to the days plan. On last years visit, it was apparent that they were building a new line parralel to the current one with new build stations too; thus the track was lifted and I assume will be relaid alongside the new station structures.
After a 45 minute wait, the bus journey was a little slow, and the roads up to the hilltop city of Catanzaro are not well suited to large vehicles. Frustratingly, we missed a train by around 3 minutes leaving another lengthy wait. After a while, a charming but externally dilapidated railcar appeared to take me up to Soveria Mannelli which would be new line.
While rough-looking on the outside, it must be said that this unit was well-maintained and comfortable on the inside and I was quite looking forward to a trip on one of these veteran railcars, with opening windows on the rugged line.
The journey onwards was frankly stunning on an impressively engineered route involving countless tunnels and viaducts climbing into more Alpine-style scenery. I will post a few photos here, which admittedly aren’t great but hopefully they at least give you a feel for the line:
Part 2 incoming…
Iskra
Established Member
The return journey was sadly made on a more modern 2-car unit:
The rail replacement bus connection worked better at Catanzaro Citta FC and the bus was also faster down to the coast at Catanzaro FS, where I was deposited around 15 minutes ahead of my IC train back to Locri, hauled by another D445- this year they seem to have found enough D445’s to run all the desired loco-hauled diagrams which is good news.
The journey back to Locri was pleasant enough and the stations en route were busier than normal. Unfortunately, we were delayed slightly waiting for delayed trains coming in the opposite direction on the single line, which happens frequently.
Overall a good day out completing the Eastern side of the FC narrowgauge network, getting some loco hauled services in and all for the sum of 21 Euro
The rail replacement bus connection worked better at Catanzaro Citta FC and the bus was also faster down to the coast at Catanzaro FS, where I was deposited around 15 minutes ahead of my IC train back to Locri, hauled by another D445- this year they seem to have found enough D445’s to run all the desired loco-hauled diagrams which is good news.
The journey back to Locri was pleasant enough and the stations en route were busier than normal. Unfortunately, we were delayed slightly waiting for delayed trains coming in the opposite direction on the single line, which happens frequently.
Overall a good day out completing the Eastern side of the FC narrowgauge network, getting some loco hauled services in and all for the sum of 21 Euro
D6130
Established Member
A great day out and some wonderful photos. Did you, by any chance, record the number of the repainted loco which hauled you on the outward journey? It's hidden by the buffer. I believe that Reggio depot has acquired some additional D445s from Padova this year, due to the reduction - and possibly elimination of loco-hauled push-pull working on the Padova-Montebelluna/Treviso routes.
Iskra
Established Member
Ah, so that’s where they have come from, there were a fair few spread around Bari, Taranto and Catanzaro sheds on the way down:
1056 I believe
D6130
Established Member
Thanks. I still need that one for haulage!