Val Trompia Tramway

Brescia–Salò–Gargnano tramway
Gardone Riviera in the 1930s
Overview
StatusClosed
Termini
Service
TypeInterurban tram
Operators
  • TEB (1922–1954)
  • Tramways à Vapeur de la Province de Brescia (1887–1907)
  • SEB (1907–1922)
History
Opened
  • 1887 (Brescia–Salò)
  • 1900 (Salò–Gardone)
  • 1902 (Gardone–Toscolano)
  • 1921 (Toscolano–Gargnano)
Closed
  • 1933 (Toscolano–Gargnano)
  • 1934 (Salò–Toscolano)
  • 1954 (Brescia–Salò)
Technical
Line length53.6 km (33.3 mi)
Track gauge1,445 mm (4 ft 8+7⁄8 in)
ElectrificationOverhead line, 1,200 V DC
Route map
Tranviadellariviera.jpg

The Brescia–Salò–Gargnano tramway was a tram line of the Brescia extra-urban network, connecting the city of Brescia with the Lake Garda Riviera.[1]

History

Steam tram at Nuvolera

The history of the tram line is closely linked to that of the Brescia–Vobarno–Vestone tramway. Among the concessions obtained by engineer Corti, later transferred to the Compagnie Generale des Chemins de fer secondaires, was one concerning the construction of a tramway that would connect Brescia to Salò and Vobarno.[2]

The Tramways à Vapeur de la Province de Brescia, an Italian subsidiary of the Belgian company that obtained the concessions in 1880, initially preferred to focus on the Brescia–Vobarno line, as it was considered more profitable for freight traffic due to a possible connection to the Vobarno ironworks. This section was inaugurated on 8 December 1881.[1][3]

Construction of the tram branch from Tormini di Roè to Salò was delayed by the need to overcome the elevation difference between the two localities. Two different proposals were put forward to bring the tram down the slope to the lakeside town:

  • reaching Salò via a short, direct route, which however would have required a steep gradient;
  • passing through the Cunettone locality, with a longer route but gentler slopes.

The Belgian company approved the Cunettone project. Despite the gentler gradient, overcoming the actual difference in altitude between Tormini and the town on Lake Garda was still complex and required several extensions of the construction deadline. The line opened for service on 1 May 1887.[4][5]

According to the agreements between the Tramways à Vapeur, the Provincial Deputation and the municipalities of the Garda Riviera, the line was to be extended as far as Gargnano. Initially the Belgian company did not proceed with the extension works, citing the lack of road restructuring after Salò. However, in December 1897, the Rezzato–Vobarno railway opened and a concession application was submitted to the provincial administration for a narrow-gauge tramway connecting Toscolano to the Tormini Scalo railway station. The project planned to use the road to Salò that had been discarded in the 1885 plans. The Tramways à Vapeur was therefore forced to move forward with the extension to Toscolano, asking in return for an extension of the concession. The Brescian Provincial Deputation granted the start of works and postponed the concession expiry from 1929 to 1932.[6] The tram reached Gardone Riviera on 13 May 1900, while Toscolano Ponte was reached on 22 March 1902.[7][8] Due to the failure to rebuild the bridge over the Toscolano stream, which prevented the tram from safely crossing to the centre of the lakeside town, for a certain period the line terminated before the structure, in the territory of Maderno.[6]

With the transfer of the concession to the Società Elettrica Bresciana (SEB) in 1907, the electrification and restructuring phase of the line began. On 29 July the electric company entered into an agreement with the Province, committing to electrify the Brescia–Tormini–Toscolano section by 1913 and to replace the track with heavier rails. In return, the Brescian company would obtain an extension of the concession until 31 December 1960. The renewed section opened on 27 June 1910.[9][10]

It remained to complete the extension to Gargnano. The SEB, following legal action by the Provincial Deputation,[11] was forced to honour the concession commitments, building the missing electrified section from Toscolano to Gargnano, which was inaugurated on 10 December 1921.[12]

Brescia–Salò timetable in 1939

With the transfer of the concession to the Tramvie Elettriche Bresciane (TEB) in 1922, the SEB purchased the concession of the Rezzato–Vobarno railway from the Province and set up a special joint-stock company (FRV), whose ownership was entrusted to the TEB itself.[13][14] After the failure of the "marciatram" hypothesis – i.e., separating the carriageway occupied by the tram tracks to ensure better safety for automobile traffic – in 1929 the TEB decided to electrify this railway line. The aim was to progressively route trams along the latter, exploiting the two points where the tramway and railway ran side by side: near the Treponti locality of Rezzato and near Tormini. In this way, the TEB could dismantle the section between the Treponti tram station and the Tormini station, freeing the provincial road Brescia–Salò, as requested by the Azienda Autonoma Statale della Strada (AASS).[15]

The electrification works and construction of the necessary connections were authorised by Royal Decree No. 146 of 13 January 1931. By August of the same year, both the connection between the Treponti tram station and the Virle railway stop (converted into a station on that occasion), and the connection between the Tormini Scalo railway station and the tram line, had been completed. On the morning of 24 August, the first tram was routed onto the railway track: the Brescia–Gargnano express. As the catenary had not yet been fully installed, in the early days the railway was used only for direct services, employing the FRV's railway-type steam locomotives, which towed tram-type trailers by means of barrier cars with couplings of both types.[16]

In June 1932, electrification was completed, so all trams were channelled along the railway line.[17] The abolished tram stops of Nuvolera, Nuvolento and Paitone were replaced by a bus service that connected to Treponti to coincide with the local Brescia–Treponti service.[18]

Thanks to Royal Decree No. 1496 of 14 October 1932, which favoured the transition from tram to bus services, the TEB closed the Toscolano–Gargnano section on 4 October 1933, starting a replacement bus service.[19] During the following year, the section between Salò and Toscolano was also closed to traffic.[19]

The Brescia–Salò line was used for another twenty years and was closed to traffic on 10 July 1954 by service order no. 15 of 7 July.[16][20] The sections on mixed road were dismantled two years later,[21] while the Rezzato–Vobarno railway remained in service for freight only. Replacement bus services were operated by the SIA, belonging to the SEB group.[22]

Characteristics

At the time of opening, the rails used were Vignoles type weighing 18 kg/m. Following the renewal carried out by the Società Elettrica Bresciana, the weight of the new rails was 22 kg/m on extra-urban sections and 34 kg/m on urban sections.[23]

Traction was provided by steam locomotives until 1910, when the tramway was electrified with 1200 volt direct current.[24][10]

Route

Tormini station in 1908

The line, entirely single-track, started from the central tram station of Brescia Porta Stazione, located near the railway station, then ran in mixed road along the ring road outside the city walls to reach Porta Venezia station.[7] This facility was located next to the Porta Venezia freight yard, terminus of the tramway to Mantua, to which it was connected.[7] The line then crossed the eastern part of Piazzale Arnaldo, where until 1909 there was a connection with the urban trams that allowed the local service Brescia–Sant'Eufemia to be operated with horse-drawn trams.[25]

From Porta Venezia, the tramway ran in mixed road along the provincial road to Verona, passing through the inhabited centres of San Francesco di Paola and Sant'Eufemia, reaching Rezzato, which had a station, and then to the Treponti locality, where another station (whose building still exists on Via Garibaldi) was located next to the Virle Treponti stop on the Rezzato–Vobarno line.[26] At this point, in 1931, a connection was opened that branched off from the tramway just before entering the Treponti station to join, with a wide curve from the south, the railway track at the level crossing gatehouse.[16]

The tramway route continued along the provincial road to Salò (later the Strada statale 45 bis Gardesana Occidentale), serving, in order, the localities of Mazzano, Nuvolera, Nuvolento, Paitone, Gavardo, Villanuova sul Clisi and Roè Volciano, intersecting the railway connections serving the Lanificio di Gavardo and the Cotonificio Bresciano Ottolini.[16]

After the connection with the railway, located just above the Tormini railway station, the line reached the homonymous tram station, from which the line to Vestone branched off.[27] Continuing to the right, it passed under the railway bridge and then descended along the provincial Tormini–Cunettone road, at the end of which a new tram station was located, along with the start of a reserved track that brought the line to Salò, where there were two stations: Piazza, to the south, and Carmine, to the north.[6]

After the Salò centre, the tramway continued north, resuming the provincial road to Gargnano, subsequently serving Gardone Riviera, Fasano, Maderno and Toscolano Ponte, which until December 1922 was the terminus.[28] With the construction of the section to Gargnano, an intermediate station was also opened to serve the Bogliaco hamlet.[12]

Rolling stock

During the steam traction era, tram carriages were hauled by steam locomotives produced by Krauss of Munich.[29]

Following electrification, the trams consisted of bogie electric motor cars built by Carminati & Toselli of Milan, which towed two-axle trailer cars equipped with open platforms.[30] Four Carminati motor cars (series 21–24) and six Casaralta trailers were transferred to ATM Milan upon the line's closure.[31]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Ganzerla 2004, p. 281.
  2. ↑ Oliva 2022, pp. 23–25.
  3. ↑ Oliva 2022, p. 39.
  4. ↑ Mafrici 1997, p. 34.
  5. ↑ Oliva 2022, p. 55.
  6. 1 2 3 Mafrici 1997, p. 38.
  7. 1 2 3 Ganzerla 2004, p. 284.
  8. ↑ Oliva 2022, p. 73.
  9. ↑ Mafrici 1997, p. 41.
  10. 1 2 Oliva 2022, p. 101.
  11. ↑ Judgments of the Court of Brescia of 3 and 25 May 1921, cited in Oliva 2022, p. 153.
  12. 1 2 Oliva 2022, p. 153.
  13. ↑ Spinelli 1992, p. 352.
  14. ↑ Oliva 2022, p. 150.
  15. ↑ Mafrici 1997, p. 259.
  16. 1 2 3 4 Bicchierai 1997, pp. 8–9.
  17. ↑ Ganzerla 2004, p. 293.
  18. ↑ Bicchierai 1997, p. 9.
  19. 1 2 Mafrici 1997, p. 262.
  20. ↑ Oliva 2022, p. 222.
  21. ↑ Ganzerla 2004, p. 294.
  22. ↑ Bicchierai 1997, pp. 12–13.
  23. ↑ Mafrici 1997, pp. 30, 41.
  24. ↑ Ganzerla 2004, pp. 285–287.
  25. ↑ Mafrici 1997, p. 48.
  26. ↑ Bicchierai 1997, p. 8.
  27. ↑ Ganzerla 2004, p. 285.
  28. ↑ Ganzerla 2004, pp. 284–286.
  29. ↑ Ganzerla 2004, p. 282.
  30. ↑ Ganzerla 2004, p. 286.
  31. ↑ Cornolò 1980, p. 227.

Bibliography

  • Bicchierai, Mario (February 1988). "Le tranvie interurbane bresciane" [The Brescia interurban tramways]. Mondo Ferroviario. No. 22. pp. 4–9.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
  • Bicchierai, Mario (February 1997). "Treni e tram lungo la Valle Sabbia" [Trains and trams along the Valle Sabbia]. Mondo Ferroviario. No. 128. pp. 6–15.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
  • Cornolò, Giovanni (1980). Fuori porta in tram. Le tranvie extraurbane milanesi 1876–1980 [Outside the gates by tram: the Milanese extra-urban tramways 1876–1980]. Parma: Ermanno Albertelli Editore.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
  • Ganzerla, Giancarlo (2004). Binari sul Garda – Dalla Ferdinandea al tram: tra cronaca e storia [Rails on the Garda – From the Ferdinandea to the tram: between chronicle and history]. Brescia: Grafo. ISBN 88-7385-633-0.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
  • Mafrici, Claudio (November 1997). "I binari promiscui – Nascita e sviluppo del sistema tramviario extraurbano in provincia di Brescia (1875–1930)" [Mixed tracks – Birth and development of the extra-urban tramway system in the province of Brescia (1875–1930)]. Quaderni di sintesi. No. 51.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
  • Oliva, Mauro (2022). Tram extraurbani a Brescia. Dalla «Compagnie Générale» alla «Tranvie Elettriche Bresciane» [Extra-urban trams in Brescia. From the "Compagnie Générale" to the "Tranvie Elettriche Bresciane"]. Brescia–Milan: Club Fermodellistico Bresciano / Musil / Trenidicarta. ISBN 9788831949996.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
  • Spinelli, Giovanni (1992). "Una ferrovia anomala: le vicende della Rezzato–Vobarno" [An anomalous railway: the events of the Rezzato–Vobarno line]. In Montanari, Daniele (ed.). Mazzano: Storia di una comunità – Secoli XII–XX [Mazzano: History of a community – 12th–20th centuries]. Travagliato: Tipolitografia Lumini.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
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