The Bemberg railway

The Bemberg is a famous and well known Italian society engaged in the fiber production of Cupro, Viscous and Acetate. The society owns three plants: in Magenta, in Rieti and in Gozzano (NO). Just in this last locality exists the pole all dedicated to the production and webbing of the cupro, a matter obtained from the cellulose and from the spinning of cotton. This technique born in Germany to the end of 1800 but in Italy it has arrived only in 1927, just with the opening of the plant of Gozzano, industrial reality with which by then the citizen in province of Novara has always cohabited and lived. Since from the construction of this system, the society thought to receive the raw materials via railway and to send finished materials by the same meaning. In 1926 infact they started the works for the construction of the connection with the near Gozzano FS station, located on the Novara-Borgomanero-Domodossola line. The Bemberg connection born inside the narrow courtyard of the company - where two recovery rails exist, then comes out through a gate in via Beltrami crossing it with a level crossing protected from revolving slabs. It continues rectilinear beside of via Insorti and make a tightened left curve, between trees and some houses. Here - in a light trench - it's connected with a still existing switch to another rail that until 1991 served a warehouse fuels of the Army. This connection today is completely abandoned and many trees grow on the roadbed between the ties of the still existing track. The works of construction for the new Bemberg connection in the 1926 ended here, with a laying of new railroad of only 450 meters. This why, from this switch until Gozzano FS station a private railroad already existed and since 1886. In that year infact it was constructed a short railway line that connected Gozzano to Alzo, passing for the countries of Cremosina, Pogno and S.Maurizio d' Opaglio. Right in the last area of this council existed since a long time a rock cave, whose transport was the only true motivation of opening of this line. The information on this line are most insufficient: two steam locomotives 0-2-0, two only 2 axles coaches and some flat wagons for the transport of the extracted rock. Every circulating train was mixed: the prevalence of the extraction traffic was obvious. When in the mid 20's the road haulage began to take importance, the destiny of Gozzano-Alzo was already marked: with its closure in the 1924 the supremacy of being one of the first railroads in absolute to stop service in Italy for the competition on rubber was conquered! Nearly all the system was dismantle, the stations sold or demolished. Still today remain some manufactured reused, between which the ancient depot in Alzo, but nothing more. The roadbed and the rails of the first part are instead remained waiting the arrival of the Bemberg, than therefore found already ready the second part of line (from the switch to Gozzano FS, others 650 meters approximately) . This part is nearly all in rectilinear: always in most light trench between trees and houses, it reaches and crosses SS 229 with level crossing and revolving slabs, always continues in rectilinear between fences of private houses and small alleys, crossed with a sequence of level crossing without barriers. To the end the railroad is placed side by side to the FS line coming from Omegna, continues joined until finishing in a small yard with doubling where the wagons are exchanged from FS loco and from the Badoni shunter that services the connection. The traffic is currently only of tanks loaded with dissolvents necessary to the production of the cupro, until some year ago were handled also covered wagons with the finished product, that now are sent by truck because of the more and more disastrous organization of the Cargo/DGOL of the zone. The freight Novara-Gozzano does not exist from many years. Until the 2002/2003 was used the train Novara-Romagnano Sesia-Borgomanero-Novara that previewed - in necessity case - appropriate additional trace Borgomanero-Gozzano-Borgomanero . Currently the wagons arrive following the Novara-Romagnano-Novara freight. If there are wagons from or for the Bemberg they create an appropriate extraordinary trace (NCLS) from Romagnano to Gozzano via Borgomanero and return. All these services always have been in charge of the D.345 from Novara/Alessandria depots, also now that the line of Gozzano is electrified. The orange Badoni shunter that make service on the connection is of the type VI, builted around to the 19XX, of uncertain origin. The service was regular until the 90's, nearly every day. Now instead to see that short train on "former Gozzano-Alzo" is a rare matter: the Bemberg has recently crossed some moments of difficulty. Now the situation seems has become stabilized, but the inadequate management of DGOL freights and the greater elasticity of the road haulage cause an absolute irregolarity in the travelling of the little moves along the industrial connection. These - if happen, are early in the afternoon, normally in the single days of Wednesday or thursday. Take with you patience and fortune and good photo! Mine that you see in this page arrive after a waiting of some...... years!

See here the pictures