Renon railway
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| Renon railroad | |
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| Info | |
| Type | passenger |
| Status | piece abandoned |
| Terminals | Bolzano Collalbo |
| No. of stations | 12 |
| Operation | |
| Opened | August 13, 1917 |
| Operator(s) | SAD |
| Technical | |
| Line length | 11,80 km |
| Gauge | 1000mm |
| Electrification | 750 Volt direct current |
The Renon railway connected Bolzano with the Renon plateau.
Contents |
[edit] Track
The line started as a tram at Piazza Walther where it shared the track with the Bolzano Tram until Brennero Street. From here until Maria Assunta the line was a rack railway with a special locomotive. At the middle of this trail there was a railroad switch so that the trains could meet. The train that went down to Bolzano produced some of the power that was necessary to get another train up. Arrived at Maria Assunta, the train leaved the locomotive and could get on alone on normal tracks until the terminal Collalbo.
[edit] History
The Renon plateau in the 19th century was an important place to pass the weekends for the people of Bolzano. To connect the two places better, it was decided to build a rack railway and 1906 the famous railway engineer Josef Riehl could start to plan the line. At the end of the sixties, a new street had been build from Bolzano to Renon, so people now could use their own car to get from on place to another. After that the railway was nearly abandoned and less maintenance was made. It was decided to build a funicular, to replace the rack railway. Shortly before the funicular was opened to public, because of the less maintenance, a train of the rack railway derailed and many people where seriously injured and some of them even killed. Today only the trail from Maria Assunta to Collalbo is operational, which was fully renovated in 1985.
[edit] Today
Today the remaining piece of the line is still working, and often used by tourists and train enthusiasts. In 1986 some old tram cars from Germany where bought to replace some of the old cars, which so could stay in garage and get some serious maintenance. Some of the original cars are today at the Tiroler Museumsbahnen museum in Innsbruck. The company that today provides the service is the same company that runs all the busses in Bolzano-Bozen and the Venosta valley railroad.
 On the line |
 Old rack railway |
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 Abandoned rack railway |
 The new funicular |
 Engine shed of the Tiroler Museumsbahnen in Innsbruck |
 Rack railway locomotive restaurated at the Tiroler Museumsbahnen |
[edit] Literature
- Josef Dultinger: Vergessene Vergangenheit. Verlag Dr. Rudolf Erhard, Rum 1982
- Josef Dultinger: Auf schmaler Spur durch Südtirol. Verlag Dr. Rudolf Erhard, Rum 1982
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