Historical train

At 7 in the morning I enter in the station, my backpack on my shoulder, a faithful companion of my adventures.
I arrive at the platform and it seems to be back in time, to be the protagonists of an old film in black and white.
A steamy locomotive snorts, a boy hits me , he frenzy of running to see that rattling and whistling meander resting on the track.


The day is beautiful, blue and bright sky, a few minutes at the start, a short check she took everything you need for a nice trip in a historic train.

Where are we going?  Obviously we travel by train, but which train? Definitely not a high-speed train, indeed the opposite. A steam train or one of the first diesel engine

Let's take a step back in time. The history of the railways in Italy began with the opening of a short line at the foot of Vesuvius, the Naples-Portici ,just over seven kilometers, it  was inaugurated on October 3, 1839.

Over the years the various kingdoms, present in the Italian territory, opened new railway lines:

Kingdom of the Two Sicilies

• Nocera Avellino

• Various traits that united the kingdom to the Papal States and Puglia

Kingdom of Lombardy-Veneto

• Milan - Venice, it was called Ferninandea in honor of the Austrian emperor Ferdinando I

• Milan - Monza

Kingdom of Sardinia

• Turin - Genoa

Pontifical State

• Rome - Frascati

• Rome - Civitavecchia

• Rome - Ancona

• Bologna - Ancona

... and many more.

After the unification of Italy many new railway lines were born, separated by categories of trains, speed and travel times. The High Speed ​​revolutionized this transport system. The smaller stations were closed and the secondary lines were abandoned although they were able to connect the lost corners of the country.

This abandonment gave rise to the tourism of old trains. The sound of a steam train, the slow passage of the landscape by the window, the rediscovery of forgotten places, enjoing local products.

The FS Foundation promotes the restoration of carriages, locomotives, stations and infrastructures and organizes a calendar with the departures of these jewels on rails.

This is the link to the calendar 

Warning: tickets are in demand and it is often not easy to find them.

Some voluntary associations deal with the restoration of trains, restoring old stations, making tourist guides.

Below you find the restoration of a train carried out by Italvapore