Altavilla–Casale Monferrato Tramway

The Altavilla–Casale Monferrato tramway represented an important section completing an extensive network of extra-urban tramways that served the territories of the provinces of Asti and Alessandria between 1880 and 1935. Built to replace a planned economical railway, the line served a portion of the Monferrato region, connecting it to the two provincial capitals.

History

In 1862, the construction of a narrow-gauge railway from Asti to Moncalvo and Casale Monferrato along the valley of the Grana stream was proposed; to this end, in 1881 the municipalities of Montemagno, Vignale, Viarigi, Altavilla and Castagnole Monferrato formed a committee, which among various proposals chose that of the French banker Alfonso Raoul Berrier-Delaleu, already known for having built the steam tramways Cuneo–Dronero and Saluzzo–Cuneo between 1879 and 1880.

Part of a network

The bankruptcy of Berrier-Delaleu, declared on 10 March 1883, prevented the construction of the tramway, which was again discussed in 1893, when the municipal council of Asti promoted the establishment of the Consortium for the Asti–Montemagno railway, the authorization for the construction and operation of which was granted to the Alessandria entrepreneur Vincenzo Remotti by ministerial decree of 18 February 1896.

Meanwhile, with the ministerial decree of 3 July 1882, on 22 December of that year an agreement was stipulated between the municipality of Alessandria and Vincenzo Remotti, with the participation of engineer Radice, for the construction and operation of a "steam guideway" from Alessandria to Quargnento and Fubine, with terminus at the Altavilla crossroads; in 1886 an agreement was also stipulated for the extension from Altavilla to Montemagno, an additional section of the connection originally planned.

The prefectural authorization for the opening between Asti and Montemagno was granted on 23 April 1898, and the line was opened the following year; in 1900 the aforementioned extension to Altavilla was activated, thus realizing the connection with the Alessandria–Altavilla tramway.

Meanwhile, thanks to Remotti's enterprise, work had begun on the construction of the Altavilla–Casale Monferrato line, which would finally allow the large agricultural area south of Casale to be served. Its opening to service took place in 1888, completing the 1862 project, after the positive outcome of the test run held on 21 May, which highlighted the low danger of some landslides that had occurred during the construction of the line.

Management and decline

The management of the line, granted in 1886 to the company "The Monferrato Railways Limited" for a period of sixty years, led by Remotti, was entrusted to the Società Anonima delle Tramvie Astigiane, established in 1897 to build and operate the Asti–Montemagno line, while simultaneously taking over the management of the Asti–Canale and Asti–Cortanze tramways.

In 1908 the company was renamed Società Astese-Monferrina di Tramvie e Ferrovie (SAMTF); in 1926 it came under government management.

On 1 July 1932, the provincial management (which had in the meantime taken over from the government management) of the Asti-Monferrato lines ceased, and was replaced by the Società Anonima Ferrovie Elettriche Riunite (FER), a new name for SAMTF, which presented a project for the electrification of its network; also considering the difficult economic climate of the time, this project was not successful and on 30 December 1935 FER declared bankruptcy, ceasing operations and suppressing its lines, replaced by bus services operated by motor trains.

Characteristics

The tramway, built to standard gauge (but actually 1,445 mm), was 21 km long, with maximum gradients reaching 27 per thousand; the curves had a minimum radius of 100 metres.

Route

Compared to the 1862 railway project, which envisaged a route parallel to the Rotaldo stream with a station at the locality mulino della Stramba, the tramway used the route of the Casale–Vignale road.

Connecting to the Altavilla–Asti section at the original station, the line headed north, with a predominantly flat course, serving the nearby town of Vignale and the area south of Casale; after a route of 16 km, the Camagna junction was reached, a branching point where trams from Altavilla merged onto the Alessandria–Casale Monferrato Tramway.

Due to the strategic position of the Altavilla station, on which three lines converged, it was chosen in 1999 as the site of a transport museum displaying a collection of rolling stock that served on some Italian railways and tramways. This exhibition was inaugurated on 4 June 2005 under the name Museo dei Tramways di Altavilla Monferrato.

Rolling stock

The rolling stock of SAMTF, used interchangeably on all standard-gauge lines of the company, consisted between 1927 and 1930 of twelve steam locomotives, 30 two-axle carriages and 70 freight wagons.

See also

• List of tram and light rail transit systems
• History of rail transport in Italy
• Alessandria–Altavilla tramway
• Asti–Montemagno–Altavilla tramway
• Alessandria–Casale Monferrato Tramway

Bibliography