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South of the Alps - 6: Steam in Tuscany (50 p.)

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Roni

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Joined
19 Mar 2007
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611
Location
Vienna, Austria
Hi,



To the previous part of the series:
South of the Alps - 5: Out of the Rain to Cinque Terre (50 p.)



The video for this part:




April 25 2019

After arriving at Monte Antico, I had time to sprint ahead for the departure of R 3032 Grosseto - Firenze S.M.N. at 7:56 a.m.
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Castello Banfi in Poggio alle Mura village above the station, part of the well-known red wine region Brunello di Montalcino. Rivers Ombrone and Orcia are meeting in the valley here.
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I walked through the landscape in bloom looking for photo spots.
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R 3031 Florence - Grosseto passed by the colourful potpourri.
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I waited next to the railway gate, detail in the picture. Two Italian photographers joined me, one of them was a retired engine driver.

April 25 is celebrated as Liberation Day in Italy:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberation_Day_(Italy)

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Typical concrete fences.
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We were expecting a Val d’Orcia steam special which ran quite often throughout the year. R 96545 Siena - Monte Antico - Asciano - Siena could even be tracked in real time by Trenitalia app. So, we knew it would arrive about twenty minutes delayed.
Indeed, steam appeared in the distance at 10:28 a.m. on the line from Siena.
I had not looked into the current engine roster beforehand - to my surprise FS 728.022 (Floridsdorf #2650 / built in 1920, ex Società italiana per il Mar Nero 270.158, 1945-58 JŽ 25-022) from Trieste showed up!
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Panorama featuring Poggio alle Mura to the right and the outline of 5,702 ft tall Monte Amiata in the distance - the highest mountain in Southern Tuscany, of volcanic origins.
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Nothing more has to be said about the wonderful rake of Centoporte ("a hundred doors") carriages which had been constructed since 1928.
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The engine had to run around the train as the line to Asciano branched off into the opposite direction. A tank wagon was conveyed at the back of the train for the steamer to take water.
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It does not get much more authentic on a charter run, including patina on the loco – we will see shortly, why.
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I took my position in the landscape, then steam was boiled for about fifteen minutes before departing at eleven o'clock.
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Pure Tuscany - panoramic view towards the vineyards of Monte Antico, a row of olive trees started to the left. I have virtually removed the tank wagon in this instance.
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I already had captured the smoking 728.022 in 2016 around Trieste:

Eastern... Alpine Tour? - 1: O Romeo! (50 p.)


Horses, smoke and Castello Banfi in the background. You can enjoy the steam scenes on video from minute 5:20.
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R 21375 Siena - Grosseto arrived soon after, 24 minutes late due to the special. For me, this meant more photo opportunities.
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Once more the lovely railway building complex.
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R 21376 Grosseto - Siena was equally late, so the train meeting went ahead as scheduled by the timetable.
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You could spend the waiting time on a concrete bench.
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R 21379 Siena - Grosseto approached the barrier punctually at 1:37 p.m. - nice to see that many Fiat DMUs in service.
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Single ALn 663.1124 returned as R 21380 and took me to Siena.
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The following railcar ride can be experienced on video from minute 9:20.
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Arrival after three o'clock.
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I waited on the platform to capture R 3033 arriving from Florence.
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I walked to the old city. You are aided up the hill by escalators in a shopping centre, then you still have to walk a mile through densely packed pedestrian streets before reaching Piazza del Campo.
This had to become a 1x2 iPhone panorama due to the height of the tower.
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Threewheeler driving school to the right.
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Because of fatigue and grey weather I took R 11778 towards Florence and enjoyed the delicacies purchased at Siena.
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Of course I chose a carriage with windows to open. We met R 3135 from Florence behind Certaldo at about 70 mph per direction. Video screenshot.
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More from the region with steam from my 2013 trip:

Tuscany 2013 - 8: Deeper into the Heart of Tuscany (50 p.)

Tuscany 2013 - 9: Around Siena (50 p.)


R 3147 Firenze S.M.N. - Livorno Centrale took me from Empoli to Pisa in half an hour.
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I arrived in time to capture E402B 164 hauling Nightjet 1234 Livorno Centrale - Vienna Hauptbahnhof Car Loading Station, video screenshot. To the left of the tracks is the line of the "Pisamover". Video scenes with complete sleeper train can be found at minute 11:35.
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Iskra

Established Member
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11 Jun 2014
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Very nice Roni, beautiful pictures as always and thanks for sharing.

I travel to Italy every year and always try to travel on the railways, so it's nice to see what I might be missing out on this year!

I didn't realise that the old diesel locomotives and railcars ran in the North too, I thought they were mainly found in the South.

Sienna looks stunning, thanks for sharing, I will try visit it sometime. It is unusual that such a big place does not have an electrified train line.
 

Roni

Member
Joined
19 Mar 2007
Messages
611
Location
Vienna, Austria
Hi,

Thanks! :)

Yes, but sadly they are quickly disappearing... Let's hope we can travel to Italy again next year...
 
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