CUNEO - SALUZZO - SAVIGLIANO e CUNEO - MONDOVI'

CUNEO - SALUZZO - SAVIGLIANO

Let's start our virtual trip from Savigliano' station, where fronting the nice building with irony platform roff stands the great factories of former FIAT Ferroviaria. The Saluzzo's line is initially together with other two electrified tracks of the branch to Mondovì/Ceva from which it diverts with a switch that connect the new museum complex of MFP (Museo Ferroviario Piemontese). The single non-electrified track of our short line - just 15km until Saluzzo - divert abruptly west and goes straight on in the "Granda" country-side touching only the abandoned stop of Lagnasco. The entering in Saluzzo is with a sharp curve on the left, beside to the line coming from Moretta. This branch has seen regular traffic until 1985, when On.Min.Signorile wanted it closed (let's fly over...). Today rails are still down and used until Moretta thanks to the Milanesio Metalmeccanica factory, where railway pieces are rebuilt or restored. Until 1993 this "link" was serviced right by FS with a D.345 loco, by then is owned by the same Milanesio which operate its own shunting loco. Saluzzo' station is wide, with some service tracks and a shed (until 20's it was place for a depot) and nice wood roof on platforms (!). Service from Savigliano is near to be metro-like, with a train every hour per direction, used by commuters graviting on the big Torino city. From here to Cuneo everything changes. The 34km's line has now all the characteristics of a branch local line forgotten in a corner of Italy: just few trains (7 couples per day), small stations, many abandoned yards. After the small stop of Manta, the first station we reach is Verzuolo. As here as in Busca, we meet the true hidden resource of this line: freight operations. In Verzuolo infact stands linked the big Burgo's paper mill which send all over Europe tons of paper. The yard used by this traffic is about to be enlarged - RFI news - with the finality of fronting the encreasing business of the paper mill. After Verzuolo the track stands aside the statal road until reaching Costigliole Saluzzo, in the past a big operational yard for the movements of  livestock, as witnessed by traces of the big eleveted plans. From here the line design a large horse shoe curve, in the middle of which stands the abandoned Villafaletto, with a full vandalized building. Finally we reach Busca, another big yard with many tracks and a link to a mill which generate another relevant part of freight trains of the line. On this industrial rail shunting is in charge of an old 235 former FS. Busca, until the 70's was home of a connection to the short branch to Dronero, which saw freight traffic in charge of small famous 880 steam locos. From Busca the line is continuosly right to Cuneo, passing by some abandoned stations like Tarantasca and Roata Rossi. The entering in Cuneo is made with a switch that carry us to the new (built in the 30's) Cuneo Altipiano station. The other part of the switch bring us to the oldest station, Cuneo Gesso, in the past the only one in the city. Service on this line is provided by just dmus trains of ALn.663. Freights are in charge of D.345 locos, which cover their 3 trains daily duties (one Cuneo-Verzuolo and two Cuneo-Busca) trailing hoppers and Eaos wagons. Lines have many nice locations and spots to shot nice pics, overall in stations with still the ancient atnosphere around. Easily accessible by car, is easy to reach nice places, for best pictures in every season.

CUNEO - MONDOVI'

This other "cuneense" line leaves the ancient station of the city - Cuneo Gesso - that is linked with the more recent in "Altipiano" location with a brick viaduct and a rounding city line connecting to the track from Fossano. This nice bridge is double tracked: one is of our line, the other was the direct link in Fossano's direction, now usd as industrial rail to the container "Cobra" factory. These 2 rails and even the yard in Gesso were electrified in threephase mode because in the past from here departed the old line to Tenda and Ventimiglia via Boves, closed in the 50's and substituted by the direct one to Borgo S.Dalmazzo. For this reason some poles still remain in place on the bridge. Right after Gesso the line curve to the left on the bridge on Gesso river, which in 1994 during an heavy flood cut away some structures causing severe damages and the line's closure that still goes on. Works to restore service are now in progress, after some years of italian burocratic doubt....let's will see. After Beinette' station, the line nears the statal road and goes on touching Margarita (where there is another intermodal facility which generates some freight trains) and then the nice station of Pianfei. Then come Pogliola and Rocca de'Baldi and finally the rail reach the electrified line from Fossano, entering with it the nice strange Mondovì's yard, with an Y design. On a branch of the Y goes the line to Ceva, on the other branch all finish here. But you can guess the past was another: a strange gallery let remember us the line was still going on, to the old Mondovì Breo in the centre of the town, and then to Bastia Mondovì. This is another forgotten station on the line Torino-Ceva via Bra, closed in 1994 again because the severe damages of the flood. On Cuneo-Mondovì line service was done by 6 couples per day made by ALn.663 dmus, while freigth moves were and are in charge of D.345 or 245 locos. Analyzing this line in a photo-speech manner can now sounds like a mistake, so let's wait the events and the re-opening to trains, and we will back again !