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The Ferrovia Pugliano-Vesuvio

The Ferrovia Pugliano-Vesuvio was a historic railway line in Italy close to Napoli. The railway connected the town of Pugliano, located near the modern-day municipality of Ercolano (formerly Resina), to the slopes of Mount Vesuvius and he funicular, Funicolare Vesuviana. Construction  was completed by 1903 by Compagnia Ferrovia e Funicolare Vesuviana. It was a narrow-gauge rack railway designed to handle the steep gradients leading up the slopes of Vesuvius to a cable railway to the top. The cable railway was later replaced by a chair lift. The line used a rack-and-pinion system (Abt system) to manage the steep inclines. Steam locomotives powered the trains, later supplemented by electric engines as technology advanced. The main station at Pugliano was connected to other local transportation networks, making it accessible from Napoli and surrounding areas. It was famous for its scenic rides, offering panoramic views of the Gulf of Napoli and the surrounding countryside. Eruptions in 1929 and 1944 seriously threatened the railway, damaging some sections of track, but they did not jeopardize the existence of the plant: the low tourist traffic caused by the war and the high management costs forced the Compagnia Ferrovia e Funicolare Vesuviana to put the plant up for sale. Between 1946 and 1947, the new owner restored the destroyed sections and the locomotives were able to return to the former valley station of the funicular, from which the crater was reached by a path. In 1948, at the dawn of the automobile boom, it was decided to build a road to the old lower station and from there a chairlift. In 1953, the runs were limited to shuttle services between  the lower station of the chairlift. In 1955 the road was completed up to the thousand-metre mark and the railway was definitively closed, with the dismantling of the facilities three years later.  Today, remnants of the railway, including old tracks and station buildings, can still be seen, offering a glimpse into a bygone era of travel.

January 5th 2025

 

 
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