Day Seven
The Marina di San Vito Electric Line (cont.)
Driving from Marina di San Vito to Laciano we found it was a large sprawling hill community and the railroad was very visible running along the road as it approached the town. But past Laciano development ended and we followed the railline through the village of Castel Frenteno and on to the station at Crocetta.
Here the railroad junctioned with an older line running further into the mountains but now heavily overgrown. The yard at Crocetta was full of antique and deteriorating railroad equipment. There were at least a dozen electric motor units and a number of freight and passenger cars rusting on the sidings.
After climbing aboard and inspecting a few of the motors we rode up the a steep grade to Castel Frenteno. The track rolled incessantly from side to side. The rail was very light and some of the narrowest I have seen. We had broken sunshine on the climb but the clouds off to the west were dark and threatening. Fortunately the rain never reached us but the ominous storm added to the drama of our ride.
On reaching Castel Frenteno we found a cafe adjacent to the tracks. A quick lunch and we continued a bit farther toward Laciano but were soon into residential developments and turned back. The descent was difficult because the track was so uneven and required constant adjustments to keep the bikes vertical while applying brakes to prevent a runaway.
Thus we bypassed Urbino and headed toward Ormea. I regret not seeing Urbino, as it is said to be one of the more beautiful of Italy’s hill towns and it would have been
nice to spend a couple of days there.
The steep grade is visible here, as are the threatening clouds. It was a difficult climb and
a tiring descent due to the condition of the roadbed.
There was enough rail to ride for at least two more days, but we didn't have the time to remain in the area. And regretfully, Urbino became a victim of circumstances. Carlos could not meet with us until the weekend and we had to be in Ormea on Saturday to meet another of our contacts, Andrea Bruzzonelo.
The restoration of the Urbino line had only cleared five kilometers of track, so we thought it more important to take advantage of the substantial rides we had discovered on the
Campobasso-Termoli and Laciano-Marina di S.Vitto lines.
Arne's Honda Jazz is parked at
the station at Crochetta.
From here we rode up the hill
to Castel Frenteno,
seen at the top of the ridge.
We carried one bike on the back rack
and the folding bike inside along with
the outriggers and all our luggage.
