Lucca–Ponte a Moriano Tramway
Overview
Native nameItalian: Tranvia Lucca-Ponte a Moriano
LocaleProvince of Lucca, Italy
Transit typeTram
Number of lines1
Number of stations11
Operation
Began operation1883
Ended operation1932
Operator(s)Tranvia Lucchese (TL) (1883-1924)
Consorzio Trasporti Secondari (1924-1931)
Lazzi e Govigli (1931-1932)
Technical
System length10,645 km (6,614 mi)
System map

 to Aulla
 Ponte a Moriano
warehouse and factory
 Rebecca
 Torrette
 Ponte Rosso
 Froga
 San Pietro a Vico
 Bozzaccio
 Borgo Giannotti
Lucca Porta Santa Maria
 Lucca Porta Elisa
 Cairoli exit
 Lucca–Monsummano tramway
 Lucca Porta San Pietro
 Viareggio–Florence railway

The Lucca–Ponte a Moriano Tramway (Italian: Tranvia Lucca-Ponte a Moriano) was an urban steam tramway line that connected Lucca railway station with a renowned[1] jute factory in Ponte a Moriano.[2] The line was closed in 1932[3] and ran almost parallel to the Lucca–Aulla railway.[4]

History

Ponte Moriano is a frazione of Lucca located 6 miles (9.7 km) north of Lucca, and at the time was an area known for the manufacture of jute goods in factories powered by the river Serchio.[5] The project of the short tramway was born on the initiative of the Genoese entrepreneur Emanuele Balestreri, owner of the Ponte a Moriano jute factory.[6][2]

Tram at Porta Santa Maria in Lucca, in a vintage postcard of the early twentieth century

The Lucca–Ponte a Moriano line was inaugurated in 1883, with the initial southern terminus located outside the city walls at Porta Santa Maria.[7] In June 1884 the line was extended closer to the existing Lucca railway station, despite resistance from some who opposed the opening of a passage for the tram through the ancient walls of Lucca.[8] Trams were routed through the city along via dei Borghi and via dei Bacchettoni before exiting the city walls via a specially constructed[9] short tunnel subsequently called sortita Cairoli, until reaching the new terminus station of Porta San Pietro located in the square in front of the railway station.[10][11]

Ponte a Moriano, tramway tracks in the centre of the town (vintage card).

The northern terminus station of the tramway was located in Ponte a Moriano, with both a connection for the factory as well as a dedicated track connected to Ponte a Moriano railway station[10][8] which opened in February 1892.[12]

Primary use of the line was the transport of goods and workers to Balestreri's factory, whose ownership controlled the tram operating company which was named "Tranvia Lucchese". By 1899 the factory was known as Società Emanuele Balestreri & C. and was put into liquidation due to technical and economic problems. Balestreri died a few months later and in 1900 the company Manifattura Italiana di Juta was established in Genoa, which took over the site in Ponte a Moriano including the operation of the tramway.[8]

Owing to both the political atmosphere of the time and as well as changes to the legislative structure concerning the concessions of the railway facilities, the factory, no longer interested in the operation of the tramway ceded ownership of the same to the Consorzio Trasporti Pubblici (CTS), based in Rome, on 1 January 1924.[8] On 19 May 1931 the CTS sold the line to a local industrialist Luigi Barsotti who entrusted its operation to the company Lazzi e Govigli di Pistoia which continued to operate services on the line until its abolishment on 30 June 1932.[8]

Rolling stock

Services on the line were initially operated by two two-axle tramway locomotives built in 1883 by Cerimedo & C. and named no. 1 India and no. 2 Victory. A third was added in 1884; no. 3 Adele[8] and a fourth locomotive, no. 4 Lucca built by Henschel & Son in 1895, was acquired in used-condition by Manifattura Italiana Juta from the Società Anonima dei Tramways di Torino.[8]

10 two-axle carriages were available for passenger services, to which was added an unspecified number of freight wagons.

References

  1. ↑ Strafforello, Gustavo (1896). La Patria: Geografia dell'Italia [The Homeland: Geography of Italy] (PDF) (in Italian). Turin: Unione Tipografico Editrice. [The important Balestrieri jute factory is not in Lucca but in Ponte a Moriano, on the road that goes to Bagni di Lucca.]
  2. 1 2 Petroni, Gaia (2006). "Una tranvia per la fabbrica. L'impianto Balestreri a Ponte a Moriano". Locus (in Italian) (1): 42–46. ISSN 1827-7772. OCLC 237093642.
  3. ↑ Giovani, Annalisa; Maggi, Stefano (2005). Muoversi in Toscana. Ferrovie e trasporti dal Granducato alla Regione [Getting around Tuscany. Railways and transport from the Grand Duchy to the Region] (in Italian). Bologna: Il Mulino. ISBN 9788815108142. OCLC 64219566.
  4. ↑ Rivista generale delle ferrovie e dei lavori pubblici [General magazine of railways and public works] (in Italian), Florence: Tip. dei successori Le Monnier, 7 February 1892, p. 92
  5. ↑ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Lucca" . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
  6. ↑ Paoli, Castruccio (1883). Tramvia Lucca-Ponte a Moriano proprietario Cav. Emanuele Balestreri, Progetto della linea urbana. Relazione dell'ing [Lucca-Ponte a Moriano tramway owner Emanuele Balestreri, Urban line project. Engineer's report] (in Italian). Lucca: Tipografia editrice del Serchio.
  7. ↑ "The Gates Of the Walls Of Lucca City". lucca.com.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Betti Carboncini, Adriano (1990). Un treno per Lucca. Ferrovie e tranvie in Lucchesia, Valdinievole e Garfagnana, funicolare di Montecatini [A train to Lucca. Railways and tramways in Lucchesia, Valdinievole and Garfagnana, Montecatini funicular]. Storia dei trasporti pubblici (in Italian). Vol. 32. Calosci. ISBN 9788877850447. OCLC 878733516.
  9. ↑ Ross, Janet (1912). The Story of Lucca. OCLC 670196697. An opening has been recently made in the walls to admit the new electric tramways, but we believe it has not yet been dignified with the name of a gate.
  10. 1 2 Garzaro, Stefano (1978). "Città e binari: Lucca". Italmodel Ferrovie (in Italian). No. 218 (Edizioni la Modeltecnica ed.). Rovigo.
  11. ↑ Bedini, Gilberto; Fanelli, Giovanni (1998). Lucca: Iconografia della città [Lucca: Iconography of the city] (in Italian). Vol. 1. Lucca: Fondazione Ragghianti. OCLC 741487177. …entrando in citta dalla sortita cairoli (realizzata nel 1883) e uscendo da Porta Santa Maria dopo aver percorso la Via dei Borghi […entering the city from the Cairoli exit (built in 1883) and exiting from Porta Santa Maria after having traveled along the Via dei Borghi]
  12. ↑ Ufficio Centrale di Statistica delle Ferrovie dello Stato (1927). Alessandro Tuzza (ed.). Prospetto cronologico dei tratti di ferrovia aperti all'esercizio dal 1839 al 31 dicembre 1926 (in Italian). Rome, Italy.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
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