Tales of steam from Marche
The RTC - Railway Touring Company - has organized for the past June some photo charters for foreigner tourists in nice land of Marche region. This society, not new to similar adventures in Italy, is one of the few in the world to organize photo trips for railfans in the entire globe, mostly looking for the last regular steam in action or with heritage trains using this kind of traction ( this is the site ). In this italian episode first programs were very interesting, with the usage of 4 diverse steam locos: 740.144, 940.006, 625.017, 940.044 and electric E.626. While organizing all details - through the AATV by G.Moreschi association - some problems emerged and programs had to be changed. Even if lines have remained the same from the beginning, the same thing can not be told for the machines used. Due to the well known problems on 940.044, was provided a substitution with the 740.160 from Fabriano depot, which should have been used on last two days of travel on Terni-Rieti-Sulmona and Sulmona-Castel di Sangro lines. Even the use of 625 from Roma seemed difficult, due to the long transfer trip he should have done from Roma to Fabriano, not so simply on an ancient loco like this. RTC use is infact to run many kilometers per day with steam traction, but if this target can be easily played with recent locos such chineese, polish, south african steamers, it is surely not applyable to our units, where younger locos have around 90 years of service. The final program has been modified, overall after the first two days, and was closed in this way: 1° day - 740.144 Ancona- Civitanova-Fabriano, 2° day - 940.006 Fabriano-Pergola, 3° day - visit to Falconara museum, 4° day - E.626 Ancona-Fabriano and from here E.626+740.160 Fabriano-Foligno-Assisi, 5° day - 740.160 Terni-Sulmona and finally 6° day - 740.160 Sulmona-Castel di Sangro . Even the consist of coaches should have been different on every train, with balcony coaches BT and ABDT, "centoporte" and other types. But even here the fate played its role: due to simultaneous overhauls or major works many coaches were unavailable and so for all the trips a consist of 4 2axles-balcony coaches coming from Roma has to be used. The RTC and AATV have also payed and accurate service of fire-guards: in this period in Italy fire on dry grass and bushes is easily dangerous and RFI has organized a check after the passing of every steam trains made by railcars following at appropriate distance. My first meeting with 740.144 has been in Montecosaro, where among yellow fields and trees i witnessed the train passing by in a concert of perfectly sincronized sounds, sign this of the nice working order this loco is mainteined to. From there a run by the train took place, ended only on the hard 35%0 climb to reach Macerata. Here the loco played a wonderful show, with black smoke and absolutely no problems while attacking the hard work. Break for lunch in Macerata and departure around 14.00. Sadly a typical meteo phenomenon of these regions and of this period took place from here to the end of the trip: huge and black clouds caused by evaporation due to the bad hot weather covered the sky and in some areas caused some damages. Train went on without problems, with many booked stops even along the line, arriving in Fabriano at 18.00. Shunted the 740 in the shed of depot for last attending , all of us were tasting the nice show will be played the day before looking at the 940.006 parked near our train. This loco saw its very last services 17 years ago, when it was keeped as emergency for help train or for shunt in the yard. After a long overhaul, it ran first test run in May on Genga and so it was at its debut on a passenger train right with this RTC one. The loco has traveled from Fabriano to Pergola with many stops in stations and in full line. Arrived at the terminus of this former line to Fermignano/Urbino, it inverted the direction rounding around the train, even here with a complicate and expensive move. This line is infact configured as a "point to point" service and no crossing points or switches are left to "complicate" the scheme of this service, called " a spola". So RFI workers had to unblock switches and block them immediately after 940 loco was passed on the ruined first track. Before the departure i provided to give my economic contribution to this adventure of Nigel Dobbins ( RTC chief ), who - this had to be told - seemed quite surprised of all this "italian correctness" (...). Even in the returning leg of the trip there were many photo stops, even if another problem could have wasted precious time to the 006 crew: once arrived in Pergola the loco needed water and only at that point were discovered those not working water pipes....so local firemen had to come to the station with their tank... Here finished my steam tour. News arrived after from other days of the tour were not so nice: during the trip of the 4th day, the 740.160 had problems to a side rod and had to be stopped in Foligno. The remaining trip was carried on by E.626. But the real matter was about the next days, when on thursday and friday - after all promises made by Trenitalia - has been forbidden the use of steam traction. Fire danger has been reputed too high - in first days of the tour they said many firestarters were founded - and so no steam substitution for the broken 740 was provided. The consequence has been an unexisting consist made up by a diesel D.343 plus balcony caoches which wasted the fun of rightly hangry travellers and italian photographers went to the event. Finally an adventure went well just for a part, again for the unfairness of Trenitalia/RFI, which in an another RTC trip in Sicily played a really ugly and disgusting role..... We all ask ourselves how - with all burocratic problems, organization and technical fails - foreigners still come to our country in search of emotion with our steam traction, when even in more "problematic" lands like Siria, Eritrea, etc. collaboration to events like these is undubitable higher.....