A closer look
Tranvia di Valenza: at a glance
The Tranvia di Valenza was an electrical tranviary line connecting the center of the Valenza to the its railway station, located outside the town, in operation from 1914 to 1947.
History
With the activation of the railway line Alessandria-Novara-Arona ( 1854 ) the city of Valenza he had his train station, but a few kilometers away...Explore this chapter
With the activation of the railway line Alessandria-Novara-Arona (1854) the city of Valenza he had its railway station, but located a few kilometers away from the urban centre.
In the following decades there were so many proposals for a connection of the station with the city, but they did not realize.
Finally, in 1906 was formed the Society Tramviaria Valenzana (STV), chaired by Pietro Caniggia, one of its founders[1], who drew up the project for an electric tram line, and with royal decree no. 1262 of 12 October 1913, the agreement of 30 June of the same year was approved and made executive for "the concession to the Valencian Tramway Company of the construction and operation of the electric traction tramway Valenza city-Valenza railway station"[2].
The line was built quickly and activated on June 3, 1914.
For all the 1920s and 1930s, the line was affected by good traffic levels, so much to make it necessary to purchase a car from the ATM in Milan in addition to the two already existing; after the outbreak of World War II, the line began to suffer for the obsolescence of the plants, aggravated by poor maintenance.
Another royal decree, no. 2100 of 21 November 1935, sanctioned the decline of Societa Tramviaria Valenzana from the concession of the line[3] that in 1944 the STV was placed in liquidation; the exercise of the line was assumed by the Società Tramvia Elettrica di Valenza (TRAVA), which however did not possess the necessary resources to modernize the line.
After the war, the company decided to resign the tranviary exercise, in favor of an autoline. The last tram race was made on June 20, 1947.
Characteristics
RouteExplore this chapter
Route
| Stations and stops | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
0+000 | Piazza Vittorio Emanuele | ||||
|
Via Garibaldi (optional) | |||||
|
Via della Lega Lombarda (optional) | |||||
|
Porta Casale | |||||
|
1+450 | Cantino | ||||
|
2+324 | Railway station | ||||
|
FS Station | |||||
Leaving the square in front of the station, the tranviary track intersected the road to Mortara, and then engaged the ascent that leads to the city center.
After passing the so-called "cantinone", where there was a crossroads, the old town was reached in correspondence of Porta Casale, over which the tranvia made a curve in the city streets serving, with as many stops on request, via della Lega Lombarda and Via Garibaldi, to finally reach the central terminus of Piazza Vittorio Emanuele (the square XXXI martyrs).
Rotatable material
At the opening, two twin-axis electromotors were in service built by Carminati & Toselli in Milan, plus a trailer with luggage compartment.Explore this chapter
At the opening, on the line were in service two two two-axis electromotors built by Carminati & Toselli of Milan, plus a trailer with trunk.
In the early 1930s, an additional two-axis car was purchased by ATM in Milan, larger than the previous ones, with all probability belonging to the 600 series.
Image gallery
Explore this chapter
-
The long road connecting to the station (postcard of epoch) -
Piazza Giuseppe Verdi, along Corso Garibaldi (postcard of epoch) -
Capolinea in front of the train station (postcard)
Notes
Explore this chapter
- ^ Pier Giorgio Maggiora, The story of Valenza, July 2012, p. 148. Freely downloadable online. URL visited in November 2013.
- ^ Royal decree 12 October 1913, n. 1262, regarding "The Convention concluded with the 'Valnzana tramway company' is approved for the granting of construction and operation of an electric tramway from Valenza railway station to the city of Valencia."
- ^ Royal decree 21 November 1935, n. 2100, regarding "Decadence of the «Tramviaria Valenzana society» by the concession of electric tramway Valencia city-Valenza station."
Bibliography
Explore this chapter
- Franco Castiglioni, By tram in the city of gold, in "The Trains" n. 241 (October 2002), pp. 30–32.
Continue your journey