ROCCHETTA S.A.L.
The station of Rocchetta Sant'Antonio Lacedonia stands like a huge cathedral in wide desert spaces and windy hills of Foggia innerlands. It's a wide yard, junction for not less than 3 lines, all single binaried and not electrified: from the stretch coming from Foggia/Cervaro rails go to S.Nicola di Melfi and then Gioia del Colle, to Avellino and to Potenza Inferiore. The complex itself is only a big railway junction erected in the nothing, surrounded by four houses of the "Scalo" municipality, fraction of 2 big towns placed high on the hills at some 10 kilometers far away. But the reason of existence of a similar point have to be searched in the past years of railways, when apparatus still here found a reason to be. Still today there is a covered 2 way shed and a railway hotel, but now they are completely closed. The shed served a pair of steam locos used as pushers on the hard climb of the Potenza line, ending in the now closed stop of Leonessa. With the strong dieselization of these lines already placed in the 50's/60's, the traction panorama began populated of railcars and D.341 locos, on local and freight services. On Potenza line freight traffic has ever been regular and daily until the 80's, when it vanished. The Avellino line instead is today as in the past a disgraced railway, when a scarce traffic served a rock plant. To Gioia del Colle the freight flow was unexisting. Over the years situation has changed radically, first with new D.345 and D.443 locos, then with a new service starting to haul heavy freight trains of auto parts for a new plant which Fiat decided to open in S.Nicola di Melfi. In the 90's even the yard allignement has changed, with tracks pairied, new wide platforms, underpassages. Now services on various lines are pretty diversified, in line with the real demand on single directions: on Gioia and Avellino lines there is the worst service. On the first trackage only 3 returning trains travel for all the trip, while there are 6 more trains ending in S.Nicola used only by Fiat workers. On the Avellino line - modernized after the serious damages of the 80's earthquake, but never really utilized - only a returning train per day cover all the distance, while to partial trips are provided to Lioni intermediate stop. The only relation seeing good traffic is the one to Potenza, served completely by ALn.668.1900 dmus from Foggia depot or ALn.663 from Benevento. The freight matter instead is still a big business on the S.Nicola line (Gioia d.C.) with heavy trains hauled by m.u.'s of D.345 or D.443 locos. To be onest, it's the landscape that really hurt somebody and overall the imagination of a railway photographer: wide extensions of grain in spring and brown hills in the winter work as backdrop to trains rolling along this horseshoe trackage so similar to a big modelling layout. The fast wind for all the year (also used by some electric apparatus standing high on hills crest) make impossible the growth of trees and made all the scene so similar to some Scottish views. Looking silently the slow passing by of a long freight snaking from a side to the other of the valley is something quite relaxing, which is in contrast with the sense of lonelyness taking one every time he's walking along the desert platforms in the station... Which future for these emotions? Probably the Avellino line will be desappearing in next time, when the political protection will cease and its life will follow. The rest will continue in the same manner, except for a new bad trend of autocar market which could hit even this Fiat plant. If you'll be on the road to the south and you'll notice a lonely track going on your right bound to the hills, probably you'll remember these short notes: it could be the right time to stop, take a breath and really watch a train in silent!