Asti–Canale Tramway

The Asti–Canale tramway was an interurban tramway that connected the cities of Asti and Canale from 1882 to 1935.

History

On 15 January 1882, the French banker Alfonso Raoul Berrier-Delaleu, who between 1879 and 1880 had built the Cuneo–Dronero and Saluzzo–Cuneo tramways, signed a contract with some municipalities in the Asti area for the construction and operation of a tramway line from Asti to Canale d'Alba; a similar contract followed a month later for a line to Montechiaro. The entrepreneur undertook to complete the construction of the lines within six months of the start of work. The line to Canale was opened on 31 December 1882; the first timetable provided for four pairs of daily trips that covered the 24 km of the line in one hour and fifty minutes.

The service on the Asti tramways was soon characterised by complaints from users and the press, due to frequent derailments: on the Canale line, five were recorded in the first month of operation. The situation of the tramways deteriorated further with the bankruptcy of Berrier-Delaleu declared on 10 March 1883, also due to the failure of the municipalities concerned to pay the shares contractually established, which caused the bankruptcy of the banks of Carmagnola and Savigliano involved in the French financier's lines. The Asti tramways were therefore forced to suspend operations and in 1884 they were put up for auction. At the fifth auction, the lines were sold to Credito Torinese.

On 18 December 1897, the Credito Torinese, which had gone into liquidation, sold the two tramway lines to the Società Anonima delle Tramvie Astigiane, established that same year to operate the two lines and to build and operate the . In 1908 the company was renamed Società Astese-Monferrina di Tramvie e Ferrovie (SAMTF).

In 1926 the SAMTF came under government management, under which a project was drawn up for the reconstruction of the lines, which included the complete reconstruction of the Asti–Canale as a low-cost standard-gauge railway, to be operated with diesel railcars and to be connected to the Turin–Genoa railway at San Damiano d'Asti railway station.

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), the new name of SAMTF; on 30 December 1935 the line, together with the others of the FER (which had failed that same year), ceased operations, replaced by buses.

Characteristics

The tramway was a single-track line with a narrow gauge of . It extended for . The maximum gradient was 35 per thousand, the minimum radius of curves 40 metres; the maximum permitted speed was 18 km/h.

The line had fourteen stops and stations, some of which were optional.

Route

Until 1889, the line ran along the west side of Piazza Campo del Palio, Piazza Alfieri and Corso Alfieri, reaching Porta Torino; from that year, the tram changed its route, to limit noise and pollution, passing through Corso Stazione (later renamed Corso Gramsci and Corso Don Minzoni) to Porta Torino, then continuing to the Torretta district, where the line to Cortanze branched off.

From there the line followed the state road to Turin as far as Palucco, where it entered the Asti–Alba provincial road, following the valley of the Borbore stream; near Vaglierano station it crossed the Turin–Genoa railway, also serving what would later become San Damiano d'Asti railway station.

Rolling stock

Steam locomotives of the tramway type served on the tramway; the first to enter service were built by Winterthur, and they were joined by others built by Henschel & Sohn, Krauss and Hanomag. The carriages were built by the Locati works in Turin and Grondona in Milan.

In 1927 the rolling stock consisted of six steam locomotives, 16 two-axle trailers and 36 freight wagons.

Power units – summary table

See also

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

References