When David Nesi , who knows how few railway development in the course of time , he spoke to our association of the idea of publishing a book on the route climbing Calabria-Lucania , I was impressed by both the quality of the person, both the validity of the research from which could give rise to interesting areas of commitment .
In fact , the story ” sad ” the FF.CC.LL. is under the eyes of all. The many ruins scattered along a path of great natural and historical interest , are the most obvious sign of a failure of a man with an idea to design truly visionary .
Perhaps, in the late 70s were not yet ripe for a relaunch is that he could be a driving force of extraordinary growth for an area suited to a quality tourism. Do not forget that the ” railroad betrayed ” would have crossed two parks : the Pollino as well as that of the Val d’Agri – Lagonegrese . To sum up : in a setting worthy of the most beautiful Mediterranean landscapes , would fit a system of locomotives useful to connect the many villages in the valleys of Calabria and Basilicata as well as allowing many tourists can enjoy pristine environments .
Unfortunately, history has gone in the opposite direction to these arguments .
In reading the press of the time , you’ll find heartfelt complaints of the local ruling class to which it is interfaced a real desire to mantenimeno of a railway from the great engineering value . Of course , the wonder of this railway is also related to the man-made , at the beginning of the last century , to allow locomotives to win many swings as well as the many hardships of morphological unique territories . Outstanding are the galleries as well as bridges to the works in support of the railway.
Unfortunately, in addition to stop a nefarious policy blatantly service , allowed the slow but inexorable dismantling of all structures.
This book photo of a Tuscan love of our sites has two objectives : the first to determine the time and deliver the present and future generations an important piece of history . The second objective , more daring , is put at the center of a path that could be revisited in the light of a new sensitivity to environmental matters and do. Let me be clear : it is virtually impossible to imagine a complete restoration of the railway , but a recovery of significant parts of an enterprise may be feasible.
This effort edititoriale certainly goes in this direction. I like to close with the foresight of a local ruling class who did not echo an equal attention of higher authorities . Here is the text of a volontino circulated in Morano Calabro during a debate in 1980 which parteciperano the President of the Pollino Mountain Community Nicola Rocco , the Officer of the compartment of the Bari FF.CC.LL. Salvatore Rangone , the officer of the Ministry of Transport Gain Walter , the Director of the magazine ” Clam railways ” Alfredo Falcone.
” The operation of the trunk Castrovillari – Lagonegro Railroad Calabria-Lucania was suspended and its facilities are likely to be dismantled overnight . One of the two steam locomotives, the last car travelers, some turnouts and other devices have already been sold ; freight wagons have been removed or are deteriorating , and several toll booths are going to collapse in a few years will be the ruins , remain the only some rails and railcar.
Railway Calabria-Lucania has an undeniable historical value for our area . To obtain fought hard , with some politicians of the time ( including the combative Louis Saracens ) , the people of the district . When finally came running, saw in it a real achievement: some countries could break a centuries-old isolation and the improvement of the transport system could benefit the whole area .
Within the industrial ( a whole new discipline that tends to assert itself more and more ) , the railroad Calabria-Lucania, offers an example of great interest , it would be necessary to safeguard and not waste so foolishly ( abroad or in Northern Italy would do everything to preserve from destruction a rail like that) .
But the value of the railroad in question is mostly of a tourist . In the stretch between Castrovillari and Lauria , it passes through some of the most picturesque area of Pollino , a journey along this line ( possibly to be made of vintage carriages pulled by a steam locomotive un’ansimante ) can be an ideal opportunity not only to regain some sensations that are now entrusted only to the memory and relive a significant moment in childhood, but also to enjoy panoramic views and landscape of great beauty.
As connects the inner and decentralized locations from a large area on the border between Basilciata and Calabria, Calabria-Lucania Railway may also still have its usefulness especially for populations of some campaigns and may play a role in communications system of the Pollino .
Bearing in mind these reasons , it is necessary to conduct immediate and decisive action to block, on the one hand , the smatellamento already underway Railways Calabria-Lucania, and to you , secondly, that it be adequately exploited in terms of tourism. It can thus give a concrete contribution to the tourism development of the Pollino. This action , which is responsible in the first place the Pollino Mountain Community , must involve to be successful, the people of the district , municipal governments of the countries concerned and the institutions and associations working for the protection and enhancement of cultural and environmental . ”
And here was a debate held at the Lucan of the railway , May 18, 1980 .
” Two years have passed from the suspension of railway traffic Lagonegro – Castrovillari , run by the railways Calabro Lucania on behalf of the Ministry of Transport and the same , at present, is being dismantled .
Its location offers panoramic views and landscape of great beauty, it also connects some of the most decentralized internal and of a large area on the border between Basilicata and Calabria. Railway Calabro Lucan can then be exploited properly on the tourist and may play a role in the communication system of the Pollino . On the problem of the Railroad , Sunday, May 18, 1980 , at 8:30 am , under the auspices of the Municipal Castelluccio Superiore (Potenza) , Belsito in the living room , there will be a photographic exhibition on the part of the Circle of Cultural Animation Hobby Photos Castrovillari (Cosenza ) and will hold a conference debate will be attended by : Prospero Pagano Mayor of Castelluccio Superiore , Nicola Savino Basilicata Region Councillor for Education , Mattia Di Deco Mayor of Castelluccio Inferiore , Giuseppe La Rocca, President of the Montana Lagonegrese Nicola Rocco President of the Mountain Community Pollino , Lamberto Mainieri and Francesco Giorgio Members of the Circle Animation, Hobby Photos . ”
But here’s what showed in the book David Nesi .
Archaeology is the branch of science that studies ancient artifacts more or less in the public interest , it also provides useful and interesting information for other researchers.
The archeology station is a specific section of the largest industrial archeology and in particular will appeal to scholars in the field but also to the simple fan , as told by the various artifacts of railroad history lost.
This research does not want to be presumptuous content is not exhaustive , but simply rode a historic and maybe even a tourist railroad, the Lagonegro – Castrovillari – Albanian Spezzano that like many other railways in Italy have seen great expenditures of human energy and financial activities aimed at work building considered to be of primary importance then but then ended up being abandoned and even completely dismantled and relegated to the back burner .
So a traced image properly as the title of this study , which is useful to the student indicating what remains today of the railroad and useful to the simple fan that thanks to notes contained in the cards can retrace the path encountering artifacts described and admire them in their entirety, beauty and particularity .
Also meant to be a contribution to the knowledge on how many other scenic beauty of two beautiful regions , Basilicata and Calabria and a wonderful national park , the Parco del Pollino , in fact, that thanks to this railway could be restored if the track can live new and returning the splendor of the years when connecting countries carrying passengers and freight, to experience and see nature up close in its entirety.
As the author of this study, passionate about archeology and train bound by suffering in this part of Italy I would like to express in this introduction to the municipal administration of Lauria praise for the good work done by restoring the railway line hanging in their common , such as track path for use by pedestrians and cyclists who love nature walks.
Thanks also to the mountain community of Lagonegrese I showed genuine interest in my project , and finally a thank you to the Park of Pollino that is always sensitive to the respect and appreciation of nature in this area .
I would like to conclude this introduction with a thought for the reader who is a scholar or not, or less passionate , reminding him that nature is a gift of all and must be respected , it deserves to be, and is an opportunity to prove it when you visit wonderful areas such as Pollino National Park, so enjoy this journey of images in the history of the railroad Lagonegro – Castrovillari – Albanian Spezzano and then if you have the curiosity piqued , take a nice little trip in Basilicata and Calabria to see live these wonderful glimpses of nature.
The paths of memory
The railway Lagonegro – Spezzano was part of a more ‘ broader project , which aimed to establish a connection on iron in the longitudinal direction between the Tyrrhenian and the Ionian coast from Naples to the plain of Sybaris and was managed , between the ’20s and ’70s , by Ferrovie Calabro Lucania .
The link was to be achieved from line Battipaglia – Sicignano – Lagonegro branch line to power of the State Railways , (built in standard gauge ) , and tie the Sybaris – Cosenza with the trunk Spezzano – Sybaris. But the financial difficulties and the usual misunderstandings policies prevented the realization of the project , so that by law 580 of July 1910 , the Parliament decided to appoint a private company to the construction of the railway , the Company was selected for the Railways in the Mediterranean who in 1911 signed an agreement for the construction and operation of 1271 km of railways, narrow gauge of 950 mm .
The narrow gauge appeared convenient for the construction , using less material, and for the exercise view that the lines to be implemented, including the Lagonegro – Castrovillari – Albanian Spezzano , essentially have winding paths and characteristic of mountain railways, so as not to allow higher commercial speeds from 15 to 30 km / h.
In addition, the transfer stations correspondence with the ordinary gauge rail network , was also well tolerated because the line passed through sparsely connected by road and then the train appeared the most viable alternative to the movement of people and goods.
In 1915 was inaugurated the first section , from Albanian Spezzano Castrovillari , including sections on rack ; designed directly by FS and in the absence of rolling stock MCL was carried out with steam locomotives of the group FS 370 and other material from the narrow gauge network FS lines in Sicily. In 1916 the service was extended to Morano Calabro , the characteristics of artifacts and buildings , is totally different from those of Spezzano is to witness the passage of the design engineers of the Mediterranean . A further crisis braked again and work only in 1929 was realized trafficking Lagonegro – Laino Bruttium , as it was called the unified common of today and Laino Borgo Laino Castello , adherence mixed and only in 1931 , with the opening of the section Laino – Castrovillari is completed the connection between Basilicata and Calabria. The line ran through the territories of difficult terrain then both economy and for this reason it was necessary to establish design concepts and executive special : long livellettes up to 60% led to the pass Campotenese , at an altitude of 1030 m . , Across bridges and viaducts bold and tortuosity artificial , necessary to maintain the gradients acceptable ; singular , to that proposed , the presence of numerous bends , as the ” craggy ” or helical tunnels , in Castelluccio . At both ends of short stretches rack (type Strub , with slopes of 75% and 100%) for about 3 km. Total , reduced speeds and commercial potential of the railway. In addition, the stations Castelluccio top and stop Laino Castello were equipped with rails rescue : binary logs covered up in strong counterslope , to stop in case of emergency or any vehicle convoys on the run, because of the slope that is reached in those stations . The railroad is not always kept close to the villages so that the stations or stops were difficult to reach quickly or even a considerable inconvenience , for example, the station Lauria , far from town, or station Rotonda common Basilicata but the station fell within the territory Calabrese , finally I would like to mention the stop Shepherdess near the homonymous church , but to reach with extreme difficulty , as happened during the survey carried out on the track , that to succeed we had to scramble to find it in trails through the woods bold . All this is to allow the connection of town poorly served by roads and to be closer to areas of agricultural production, for the sake of development in the future proved futile , even completely exaggerated. Singles appeared the terminal side is Spezzano , the last kilometers of the railway line were common to FS Cosenza – Sybaris , from the station at the junction of Sybaris Spezzano trafficking was armed with three rails, to allow the transit of trains and railway FCL. This solution allowed to use part of the narrow gauge railway viaduct the important metal on the crater of the FS , avoiding the construction of an additional and expensive works of art. For the movement of trains across the board we made use of the Command Station , the station master was in command of Castrovillari , where there was also the depot , workshop and main auxiliary facilities (washing etc. . ), While on ‘ last stretch on the mixed with FS , special rules existed with phonographic communications between the two executives of their respective networks . A Round Lagonegro and deposits were present for locomotives including those narrow gauge , given the presence of some rack falling nearby. Although considered a railroad bold and the mountains, it was the same considered interesting and had nothing to envy to the most famous mountain railways . But unfortunately, it is these characteristics and , now clear distance of some stations in the eponymous countries , brought the railroad to a gradual abandonment of the people who chose the middle road. Even the advent of the curious diesel railcars capacity of 29 seats , the historic ” EMMINE ,” did not bring further impetus to their use, in fact, precisely the reduced seating capacity not made it into a great result. In fact, the railroad was already born old , given the strong development of road transport began to see that in the ’30s , and so even though the train , they said, would bring development , did not happen as she had hoped. For decades , the railway was served from 3-4 pairs of trains, interim reports Lagonegro ( or Castelluccio ) – Castrovillari and Castrovillari – Spezzano , the lack of races to be run on the route was a complete demonstration of the absolute lack of transit traffic , for which the railway project was originally conceived . Freight traffic instead prove satisfactory , considering also the low cost of labor required for transhipment of goods from the gauge to the ordinary lines that were owned by Lagonegro and Spezzano . Unfortunately, the treacherous nature of the land , brought the railway administration to invest considerable resources , since the early years of operation , to maintenance of structures ( bridges, viaducts, tunnels and more) , and Body road , which had a great influence on the history of the railroad. In the stretch Lagonegro – Riverside showed up in the most problems : the failure times of the galleries , and works of art , in particular the majestic viaduct Lagonegro , now known as the viaduct by the student , because of the tragic cases in which some students with some kind of trouble , they fell by the said viaduct. Just this viaduct was interested in the 50s by large bradyseism , which led to the deformation of the arch of time , and the track that was based on, resulting in disruption of rail service and establishment of replacement bus services , saw no convenient idea of restructuring, taking account of the low rail traffic at the time. So since the trains arrived more Lagonegro , the line would stop at the station in Riverside and there were still passengers travel by bus to the station Lagonegro . In the years following the rail traffic is concentrated on the remaining although in the period of the ’60s, also on the route from Civita in Spezzano instability manifested in the body and works of street art : in particular , there were failures in key viaduct 7 km arc . 93674.01 , near Cassano to the Ionian Sea . With special precautions circulation times, but in the early ’70s sagging became unsustainable and therefore it was decided for the final interruption of traffic on Castrovillari – Albanian Spezzano , and the establishment of replacement bus services . The railroad is deprived of its natural links with the national network , it became a useless stump and both the passenger traffic of goods that suffered a considerable drop to get to 1973, which also comes in from Riverside Crossroads in Latrobe , there were failures in artifacts , with consequent closure of the line. Meanwhile, the station is Castrovillari began the dismantling of the railway infrastructure to make way for new bus station of Pullman, as can be seen today. Last vestiges of the times of the railway remains the passenger building and something else , and the locomotive as a monument FCL 503 . This is survived by Crossroads Latrobe Castrovillari , it appeared less and less able to compete with the road system , especially after the implementation of the Salerno – Reggio Calabria. The operation of the railway continued for a few more years , and was finally abolished in June 1978.