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Probably one
of the greatest spots on the Faentina: 685.196 had just climbed
the northern slope of the Apenin all the way from Faenza to the summit
tunnel at Crespino del Lamone, where it passed this picturesque
village. Belive it or not, but there was not a single satelite dish
I had to "photoshop" out of the picture! May 9th, 2009.
"..Die Apenninen sind mir ein merkwürdiges Stück Welt. Auf die große
Fläche der Regionen des Pos folgt ein Gebirg, das sich aus der
Tiefe erhebt, um zwischen zwei Meeren südwärts das feste Land zu
endigen. Wäre die Gebirgsart nicht zu steil, zu hoch über der
Meeresfläche, nicht so sonderbar verschlungen, daß Ebbe und Flut
vor alten Zeiten mehr und länger hätten hereinwirken, größere Flächen
bilden und überspülen können, so wäre es eins der schönsten Länder
in dem herrlichsten Klima, etwas höher als das andere Land. So aber ist's ein seltsam Gewebe von Bergrücken gegeneinander;
oft sieht man gar nicht ab, wohin das Wasser seinen Ablauf nehmen
will. (...) Kastanien kommen hier sehr schön, der
Weizen ist trefflich und die Saat schon hübsch grün. Immergrüne
Eichen mit kleinen Blättern stehen am Wege, um die Kirchen und
Kapellen aber schlanke Zypressen."
Johann Wolfgang Goethe, 22.Okt. 1786
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Spettacolare
doppia trazione con due seicento ottanta cinque - something not seen in
Italy for about 30 years! With remarkable speed, 685.196
and 089 thrashed up the valley near
Brisighella. The four-cylinder, superheater design of the 685 goes
back to 1909. The engines reached 110km/h, but a couple of engines later modified
even reached 120km/h. May 9th, 2009. |
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Near
Strada-Casale, 685.089 and 196 interrupted the quietness in the
countryside for a few moments with their heavy passenger consisting of
seven 'centoporte' and a 'bagagliaio'. May 9th, 2009. |
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At San Cassiano, a stop
was scheduled. Time to build up the fire and check
the running gear before the final ascent to Marradi. Note the copped
cab and smokebox door that greatly contribute to the elegance and
simplicity of the overall design - resembling old Bavarian types. |
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From south,
the 2.5% ascent to the Faentina summit tunnel starts right at Borgo
San Lorenzo, where 685.196 passed this bridge. Because
the Apenin mountain range marked the frontline between German and
Allied Toops for a long time during the war, the line got heavilly destroyed. It was not until 1957 that some trains
worked again from
Firenze to Faenza. Rebuilding the last section between Firenze
and Borgo San Lorenzo via Fiesole-Caldino took even longer: Before its
completion in the eighties(!), all trains had to take an alternative
route over Sieeci - Pontassieve. May
8th, 2009. |
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At
Marradi on the Northern side of the pass, the train passed this old iron bridge
over the Lamome
river.
08.05.2009. |
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The Santa
Eufenia station could perserve its charme and character from the steam
era till present days. 685.196 and 089 just had passed a small tunnel
and stormed through the halt.
May 9th, 2009. |
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The Faentina
passes no less than 47 tunnels and 167 bridges. Still, most of them are hard, if not impossible to photograph because of the dense and
ever growing vegetation. A notable exception was this viaduct close to
San Cassiano, where the two 1C1 stormed up the Lamone valley. May 9th, 2009. |
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Close to
Marradi, the two elegant fast passenger engines passed this rural
scenery. May 9th, 2009. |
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Undoubtedly
one of the highlights of the trip were the night shots at
Faenza - Who would miss two perfectly iluminated 685 next to each
other? It goes without saying that I had instantly dropped my Birra and my
Scaloppine when I got news that
both engines and lights had been put in position for a night session down at
Faenza shed. May
8th, 2009. |
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(c) Markus Fischer, Z uerich |
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