Jack May in Genoa

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daveklepper

Member since
June 2002
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Jack May in Genoa

Posted by daveklepper on Wednesday, November 30, 2016 4:51 AM

Jack May <jackmay135@gmail.com>

To

Jack May

On Tuesday, November 29, 2016 5:28 PM, Jack May <jackmay135@gmail.com> wrote:

Thursday, April 14

We were awakened by the public address system speaker in our room and soon prepared for our 8 o'clock arrival in Genoa. As it happened we didn't come to a halt until 8:20, and it was a good 10 minutes more before we were allowed off the boat and back onto the mainland. This was the beginning of the home stretch of our trip, as we would be flying back to the U. S. on the next day. However we had some time in Genoa for some of our favorite activities before our afternoon train to Milan.

Genoa has a population of about 650,000 and lies between the Mediterranean Sea and some steep hills. Its legacy tramway was abandoned in 1966, leaving just a combination of bus and trackless trolley routes. However, that was deemed insufficient to serve Genoa's residents and a short light metro system was opened in 1990. The mostly underground line has been extended since and now is 4 miles long and has 8 stations. Only the two terminals are above ground (see http://www.urbanrail.net/eu/it/gen/genova.htm).

A view of Genoa from our ferry as it docked at the pier.

Because of the city's topography there are also two funiculars, a rack railway and ten (!) public elevators. And, there is also an electric interurban that runs from Genoa to Casella, a distance of some 15 miles. None of the lines connect with each other. Since 2014 the 3000-volt DC rail route has been closed for renovation, but fortunately I rode the scenic operation on a previous visit. Apparently it reopened on May 21, some 6 weeks after our visit to the city.

Here is a photo of the Casella line from the internet.

Image result for genova casella may 21 2016 photo

Anyway, we dragged our carry-ons across a busy roadway to a bus stop, and found rubber-tired transportation to Genova-Principe, the city's main railway station. A large statue of Christopher Columbus, who was born in Genoa, stands in the plaza adjacent to the facility. We soon found the left luggage office and stowed our bags, and then bought one-way tickets for the 14:18 departure to Milan, a 90-minute run (service operates every two hours, with the occasional extra train in between during busy hours).

I didn't observe anyone laughing at Christopher Columbus at the railway station's busy plaza, but then I was pretty sure neither of the Gershwin brothers were in the vicinity.

The fence along a walkway above the tracks at Trenitalia's Principe station was not high enough to dissuade me from taking a photo of an express train. The streamlined electric unit was probably loading passengers for Milan or Rome.

Clare rode a bus to the art museum while I headed for the light metro, a few blocks away, but down a steep hill. As mentioned earlier only the two terminals of the rapid transit line are in daylight. The AnsaldoBreda-built rolling stock is now over 25 years old and new cars have been ordered from the same manufacturer (now Hitachi Rail Italy). Actually, news reports indicated that some have been delivered but I failed to see any. Here is a photo from International Railway Journal, which is followed by some of my pictures.

A terminating train of articulated metro cars enters Brignole. The operator will change ends beyond the station. Genoa's platforms are sufficiently long to permit the operation of three car trains. Transdev operates the standard-gauge line for AMT Genova. Both local buses and Trenitalia feed passengers to the metro at this point.

Above and below: Two views from the arrival platform at the elevated Brin terminal of Genoa's light metro. With passengers congregating only on the other platform for departing trains, No. 14 would have to make a complicated move to enter service. Plans are afoot to extend the line beyond this point, and 9 new cars (see above) are presently being delivered to supplement the current roster's 18 two-section AnsaldoBreda units from 1990.

After I navigated the hill back to the railroad station I continued further, to Genoa's Principe-Granarolo rack railway. Headways vary between every 40 and 50 minutes, and I had just missed the only car operating on the single-track line, so I had to linger for quite awhile. One-way running times are just under 15 minutes, so the passing siding midway along the route is rarely used. But my wait was worth it, as the line is very scenic, climbing high above the city's rooftops. But there was no way I could afford to consume an additional headway to stop over for photos at any of the 7 intermediate stops. The 1200-mm gauge line is seven-tenths of a mile long, but rises 640 feet in that distance, with a maximum grade of 21 percent and an average of 16. The two cars on the roster are original equipment, constructed to coincide with the line's opening in 1901. They were rebuilt in 1929 and again in 1993, and travel at a maximum speed of just under 4 1/2 miles per hour under 550-volt DC overhead.

Above and below

: Two views of car 1 of the Granarolo rack railway approaching Principio, the lower terminal of the line. No. 1 is one of two cars built for the railway's opening in 1901. The line has a maximum grade of 21 percent. Note that pedestrians have a choice between a slanted walkway and steps.

Car 1 at the Granorolo terminal of the 1200-mm gauge rack railway. Arriving passengers are protected from the elements at the road's ancient shop, but departing ones have to use an unsheltered platform behind the photographer. The company's second car is inside the shed.

Since I still had some time before meeting Clare back at the railway station, I decided to ride an even steeper line, the Zecca-Righi funicular. This is a typical counter-weight incline, running for a length of just under 9/10ths of a mile. The meter-gauge line opened in 1895 and is rather precipitous, rising some 915 feet from end to end. Grades average 20 percent and an especially arduous section climbs at a rate of 35 percent. There are 5 intermediate stops and service operates every 15 or 20 minutes. The lower end of the line from San Nicolo, where the two cars pass, to Zecca, is in a tunnel. The funicular has been rebuilt twice over its lifetime and the travel time from end to end is 12 minutes. I rode the entire line, boarding at San Nicolo, but had time to stop over for photos at only one station. To get to San Nicolo I rode the 36 bus, which traversed a steep twisting street from the Principe railway station.

The Via Preve station on the Zecca-Righi funicular, one of two inclines in Genoa. Platforms consist of steps, and the cars have compartments with level floors that line up horizontally. The two vehicles, built in 1990, travel at a speed of 13.5 miles per hour.

I got back to Principe at 14:00, just in time to meet Clare, pick up our luggage and board Trenitalia's 14:18 express to Milan. We had reserved seats and our compartment was full. We left 3 minutes late and arrived at Milan Centrale at 15:57 (50). It was an uneventful journey, and we dozed off a few times.

It was quite warm in Milan, and the walk to our B&B, located along a street parallel to the railway station's throat, seemed overly long, but we eventually made it. We normally stay within a few blocks of Centrale, but when planning this trip I hadn't realized that today would mark the end of Milan's Design Week, a huge exposition of the newest in furniture, lighting, interiors and the like. So when I went online to find a hotel room for our last night in Italy way back in January, I saw prices running in the range of $250 to $500, rather exorbitant for at least those lodgings that had not yet sold out. Of course I didn't want to pay that high an amount, and after much more surfing, I was lucky to find a highly-rated B&B somewhat near the station for about $200 for the night.

Our accommodations were on the third floor of a mid-rise mixed use building and consisted of a large loft-like area surrounded by bedrooms. The interior "bullpen" was decorated with works of art, including paintings and sculptures of all sizes, and art books were stuffed into numerous bookcases. Fascinating, but more important, we were only two short blocks from Milan's route 1 tram line. So while Clare rested I walked over and got a few slides before the shadows became too long (photos in part 15).

We had passed a few restaurants en route to the B&B, and our two proprietors recommended one of them for dinner. We ended up having one of the best meals of the trip in this neighborhood home-style cafe.