Tures valley railroad

Infobox rail line
name = Tures valley railroad

---

image_width = 270px
caption =
type = passenger/freight
system =
status = abandoned
start = Brunico
end = Campo Tures
stations = 7
open = July 21, 1908
close = February 1, 1957
owner =
operator = Austrian Southern Railway / Ferrovie dello Stato
character =
stock =
linelength = 15,40 km
tracklength =
notrack =
gauge = RailGauge|sg
el = 800 Volt direct current
speed =
elevation = |

The Tures Valley railroad connected Campo Tures with the Pusteria Valley railroad.

Track

Just after leaving the station of Brunico and after crossing the Rienza, the track followed the Ahr river until the terminus. Only two bridges were necessary to build the line. Between the two termini there had been the stations of San Giorgio, Gais, Uttenheim, Mühlen in Taufers and Kematen.

History

The railroad was built by the famous Tirolean railway engineer Josef Riehl and from 1907 300 people were working on the construction site. The needed 800 Volt direct current for the train where produced by a small power plant in the valley using the water of the Ahr River. Until World War I the service was provided by the same company that ran the Brennero railway and the Pusteria Valley railroad. The cars had two motors with each 48 Kilowatt power. Because the line had only one track from one end to the other only one train could drive back and forward. Six trains daily got from Brunico to Campo Tures and vice versa in 50 minutes.Like many other secondary train lines the service today is made by buses.

Today

Today the track is part of the south Tyrolean bike trail network, no signs of the old railway are visible.

Literature

* Josef Dultinger: "Vergessene Vergangenheit". Verlag Dr. Rudolf Erhard, Rum 1982
* Josef Dultinger: "Auf schmaler Spur durch Südtirol". Verlag Dr. Rudolf Erhard, Rum 1982