The Lucca–Ponte a Moriano Tramway () was an urban

steam tramway A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

line that connected

Lucca railway station Lucca railway station (Italian: ''Stazione di Lucca'') is the principal railway station serving the city of Lucca, in Tuscany, central Italy. It is located on the Viareggio–Florence railway and serves both as a through station and a terminus. Be ...

with a renowned

jute Jute ( ) is a long, rough, shiny bast fibre that can be Spinning (textiles), spun into coarse, strong threads. It is produced from flowering plants in the genus ''Corchorus'', of the mallow family Malvaceae. The primary source of the fiber is ...

factory in Ponte a Moriano. The line was closed in 1932 and ran almost parallel to the

Lucca–Aulla railway The Lucca-Aulla railway also known as the Garfagnana railway is an Italian railway branch line. Running from the city of Lucca the line crosses the Garfagnana and Lunigiana regions to join the Parma–La Spezia railway in Aulla. The railway is ...

History

Ponte Moriano is a ''

frazione A ''frazione'' (: ''frazioni'') is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' ('municipality') in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidat ...

'' of Lucca located north of Lucca, and at the time was an area known for the manufacture of jute goods in factories powered by the river

Serchio The Serchio (; ) is the third longest river in the Italian region of Tuscany at , coming after the Arno at and the Ombrone, . By mean rate of flow, it is the second largest, smaller than Arno but larger than Ombrone. The principal source forms ...

. The project of the short tramway was born on the initiative of the Genoese entrepreneur Emanuele Balestreri, owner of the Ponte a Moriano jute factory. Lucca - Tram per Ponte a Moriano

The Lucca–Ponte a Moriano line was inaugurated in 1883, with the initial southern terminus located outside the city walls at Porta Santa Maria. In June 1884 the line was extended closer to the existing

, despite resistance from some who opposed the opening of a passage for the tram through the ancient

walls of Lucca The walls of Lucca are a series of stone, brick, and earthwork fortifications surrounding the central city of Lucca in Tuscany, Italy. They are among the best preserved Renaissance fortifications in Europe, and at 4 kilometers and 223 meters in ...

. Trams were routed through the city along ''via dei Borghi'' and ''via dei Bacchettoni'' before exiting the city walls via a specially constructed short tunnel subsequently called ''sortita Cairoli'', until reaching the new terminus station of Porta San Pietro located in the square in front of the railway station. Ponte a Moriano - Tranvia

The northern terminus station of the tramway was located in Ponte a Moriano, with both a connection for the factory as well as a dedicated track connected to which opened in February 1892. Primary use of the line was the transport of goods and workers to Balestreri's factory, whose ownership controlled the tram operating company which was named "Tranvia Lucchese". By 1899 the factory was known as ''Società Emanuele Balestreri & C.'' and was put into liquidation due to technical and economic problems. Balestreri died a few months later and in 1900 the company Manifattura Italiana di Juta was established in Genoa, which took over the site in Ponte a Moriano including the operation of the tramway. Owing to both the political atmosphere of the time and as well as changes to the legislative structure concerning the concessions of the railway facilities, the factory, no longer interested in the operation of the tramway ceded ownership of the same to the ''Consorzio Trasporti Pubblici'' (CTS), based in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, on 1 January 1924. On 19 May 1931 the CTS sold the line to a local industrialist Luigi Barsotti who entrusted its operation to the company ''Lazzi e Govigli di Pistoia'' which continued to operate services on the line until its abolishment on 30 June 1932.

Rolling stock

Services on the line were initially operated by two two-axle tramway locomotives built in 1883 by {{ill, Cerimedo & C., it and named no. 1 ''India'' and no. 2 ''Victory''. A third was added in 1884; no. 3 ''Adele'' and a fourth locomotive, no. 4 ''Lucca'' built by

Henschel & Son Henschel & Son () was a German company, located in Kassel, best known during the 20th century as a maker of transportation equipment, including locomotives, trucks, buses and trolleybuses, and armoured fighting vehicles and weapons. Georg Ch ...

in 1895, was acquired in used-condition by ''Manifattura Italiana Juta'' from the ''Società Anonima dei Tramways di Torino''. 10 two-axle carriages were available for passenger services, to which was added an unspecified number of freight wagons.

References

Lucca Transport in Tuscany