Day Two
The Camigliatello - San Giovanni Line (Narrow Gauge)
We arrived in Camigliatello Silano late in the preceding evening and checked into our hotel. If the narrow gauge proved to be as exciting as we anticipated we planned to spend most of one week here. In the morning we set up our bikes at the railroad station and headed toward San Giovanni in Fiore, the eastern terminus of the line. This section of the railroad between Camigliatello and San Giovanni had been shut down for many years. Our research on Google Earth showed some growth along the line, but what we encountered was impenetrable. We crossed a beautiful stone bridge on the outskirts of town but were only able to ride another 500 meters before the blackberries stopped us. So much for the “street views” on Google Earth. If the photos were more than a couple of years old they proved totally inaccurate. We decided the devil must surely have created blackberries as a plague on railbikers.
Peter crosses the picturesque stone viaduct in Moscone
Back at the station we had the option of leaving the area or trying our luck in the other direction. Up until two years ago tourist trains ran from the western end at Cosenza to our location in Camigliatello, so we rationalized the line had a better chance of being clear. As we wound through the wooded section of town we came to a overhead road crossing. Unfortunately some have no compunction about throwing their trash anywhere it is convenient. For 50 feet in either direction under the overpass the tracks were covered with garbage of all descriptions. We had to clear the rails of the most ungodly refuge before riding past.
After a few kilometers we entered the small village of Moconne. To our delight there was a restaurant occupying the old railroad station and they were serving lunch on the platform right next to the tracks. We parked our railbikes and grabbed a table. A bowl of delicious pasta, a basket of bread and a carafe of red wine and all was right with the world once more.
Tourist trains had ceased to run two years ago and the station at Camicliatello had been closed. Note that all the lower doors and windows have been filled with stone to match the facade. No break-in problems here.
After lunch we were soon out into the wilderness, the rugged hillsides punctured with tunnels and the lush forest providing a canopy over our heads. It was on this stretch that we entered one of the longest tunnels either of us had ridden through. A straightbore under the summit of a ridge that was 2.2 kilometers in length. We rode ten minutes with nothing but blackness ahead before the far end finally appeared as a pin prick In the distance, and then another ten minutes passed before we reached the opening.
We passed the abandoned station at Fondente where a mudslide had covered the tracks. Although we were descending we were still wet with perspiration as the humidity was very high. Soon the grade dropped off to what must have been well over four percent and we couldn’t take our hands off the brakes for more than a few seconds. Arne said he had never seen such a steep grade and I must agree. And it was relentless, descending around sharp curves and along the side of steep canyons. We
knew we were in for a tough climb on the return trip, but the lure of continuing downward was overpowering. Further on we passed under a high freeway bridge which we knew we could use to pinpoint our progress on the map, so we reluctantly turned around and headed home, getting in a good 30 kilometers of riding on our second attempt of the day.
With a few hours of light remaining we decided to drive out and scout the line for our next day. In the village of Spezzano della Sila we found the rails were completely covered with blackberries. We guessed it would be the same in the other villages in close proximity. It appeared that riding the railroad would not be possible in many of the hill towns which dotted the route as It wound down the mountainside to Cosenza. This was a major disappointment which meant leaving the narrow gauge which we thought would be our optimum adventure. But higher up in the mountains we found the tracks clear at the abandoned station at Santo Janni so we decided to give it one more try the next morning.
Parked at the restaurant
at the closed railroad station
at Moscone, the other diners didn't even
take note of us. Italians in general were not
the least bit curious. Our fears of eliciting complaints were ungrounded.
A railbiking experience at its finest!
It was hard to get back on the bikes
and move on from here.
