Good afternoon everyone. With today's proposal I want to push myself a bit outside the normal field that characterizes my proposals. In fact, this is a historic route. Set between 1992 and 1994. The route I propose you today is a great classic in my country: the Central Tuscany Railway, also known as Empoli-Siena-Chiusi . In particular, the main section, between Empoli and Siena. We are in Central Italy, in the Tuscany Region territory. The hills dominate the landscape, with cultivated fields, small and ancient villages perched on slopes, hedges and small groups of isolated trees. This is the territory that hosts this railway: Chianti. One of the most famous and appreciated places in this country. One step away from Florence. A unique and exciting journey, following the track that climbs the Sienese hills. You'll have to manage commuter services to and from cities of Florence and Pisa, on Siena-Empoli stretch. Try your hand at driving powerful diesel units that operates regional services. And finally, manage local freight convoys, delivering and collecting wagons from station freight platforms and taking them down hills. This is the Central Tuscany Railway: Empoli-Siena! GENERAL FEATURES The route in question boasts 62km/38,5mi of track. The line is served by single track (standard gauge - 1435 mm/4 ft 8+1⁄2 in), no electrification on site (with the exception of stretch next to Empoli, powered by 3kV DC OHLE). At that historical moment (early 90s), there was a doubling of track, between Granaiolo and Castelfiorentino stations. Double track was also present on the junction immediately after Siena station (Siena-Chiusi and Siena-Grosseto lines junction). From '92 to '94 the double track section between Castelfiorentino and Certaldo was also opened. The route was equipped with the following safety systems: - Automatic Electrical Block with Coded Currents (BAcc), in the Empoli area(Leopolda tracks). - Automatic Electrical Block with Fixed Currents (BAcf), on Empoli-Siena stretch (this route). The maximum gradient of this route reaches 2% (20x1000), along Poggibonsi-Siena climb. The maximum permitted speed ranges between 50km/h (31mph) and 160km/h (100mph) (maximum speed was reached in the Granaiolo-Certaldo double track area). However, due to the maximum speed of trains in service (130km/h), they never exceed 120-130km/h. The line (at the time) was managed by the Tuscan department of Ferrovie dello Stato (FS). The passenger service was operated by: - Ferrovie dello Stato (FS), Siena, Pisa and Florence sections. The whole route was managed by the Italian Government (public company). ROUTE AND STATIONS The route has 12 stations (including the two terminus of Empoli and Siena). Two of these are considered as stops (Staggia Senese and Cambiano). The calls are, as follows: - Empoli FS (Station located on the "Leopolda" Florence-Pisa-Livorno Railway, with which it shares structures and services), with large freight yard, km316* ---> Junction with Empoli-Siena Line (start of single track and absence of electrification) - Ponte a Elsa, km311* - Granaiolo (Beginning of double track section), km305* - Cambiano (opened in 1990), km302* - Castelfiorentino (end of double track section and beginning of the construction site for the new track, towards Certaldo), km299* - Certaldo (end of track doubling construction site), km291* - Barberino Val d'Elsa, km282* - Poggibonsi-San Gimignano FS (intermediate station of the route, with commuter and freight trains recovery sidings), km278* - Staggia Senese, km270* - Castellina in Chianti-Monteriggioni, km267* - Badesse, km260* ---> Montarioso Tunnel (1654m) - Siena FS (South-East terminal of the route, equipped with passenger train depot, diesel refueling point, train wash and maintenance workshop) There is also a yard, in front of Siena station, used both for passenger and freight trains recovery. ---> Chiusi and Grosseto junction *Distance from route origin, Orte FS (km0) ROUTE PLAN Orange lines: double track areas; Yellow line: construction site for second track doubling. PASSENGER SERVICE There are different types of passenger service on this route: - Empoli-Siena commuter service: 16-18 outbound and 16-18 return trips/day. - Florence S. Maria Novella-Siena shuttle service: 16 outbound and 16 return trips/day. - Florence S. Maria Novella-Siena Regional service: 18 outbound and 18 return trips/day. - Siena-Pisa C.le Regional service: 15-16 outbound and 15-16 return trips/day. - Siena-Chiusi Regional service: 7 outbound and 7 return trips/day. - Siena-Grosseto Regional service, divided into: a) Siena-Grosseto via Siena-grosseto Railway: 4-5 outbound and 4-5 return trips/day. b) Siena-grosseto via Asciano-Monte Antico Line: 2-3 outbound and 2-3 return trips/day (“b”operated until 1994). Approximately 161 services/day (divided into outbound and return trips). There was a train every 30 minutes. FREIGHT SERVICE The freight service provides: - Trips from Chiusi to Livorno, passing through Siena and Empoli. - Trips from Grosseto to Florence, through Siena and Empoli. - Trips from Livorno to Arezzo, through Empoli and Siena (Using the Sinalunga junction, not included in this route). There's also an internal collection/delivery service for goods, reporting to the Siena yard. This is a service that takes advantage of loading platforms of some stations, and then forms convoys along the route. The destinations are: Empoli yard, Grosseto, Chiusi and Arezzo. ROLLING STOCK The following rolling stock was present on this route: PASSENGER - ALn668 3100 Series, Diesel-mechanical railcar. For Regional and Commuter services. Type: Diesel railcar with mechanical traction Year : 1981-2023 Manufacturer: Fiat Ferroviaria s.p.a Gauge: 1435 mm/4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (standard) Wheel arrangement: (1A)(A1) Power supply: 2x 200kW IVECO flat 6 cyl., turbocharged Transmission: Mechanical, 5-speed gearbox and automatic clutch+hydraulic joint . Max speed: 130km/h (81mph) Number of cars: 1 (can be coupled with a second ALn668, 663 or in a triple formation, with a 663 at the head). Seats: 68 Specimens: 20, mainly assigned to the Siena depot but also to the Pisa one Livery: FS Regional, lightblue/grey-parchment-red - ALn663 1100 Series, Diesel-mechanical railcar. For Regional and Commuter services. Type: Diesel railcar with mechanical traction Year : 1985-today Manufacturer: Fiat Ferroviaria s.p.a Gauge: 1435 mm/4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (standard) Wheel arrangement: (1A)(A1) Power supply: 2x 200kW IVECO flat 6 cyl., turbocharged Transmission: Mechanical, 5-speed gearbox and automatic clutch+hydraulic joint . Max speed: 130km/h (81mph) Number of cars: 1 (can be coupled with one or two other Aln663/668). Seats: 63 Specimens: 10, mainly assigned to the Siena depot but also to the Pisa one Livery: FS Regional, lightblue/grey-parchment-red ALn units are famous for their particular combined power/gear control lever. A selector drum is rotated from left to right, engaging one of the 5 gears present. At this point, by pushing the lever forward, it's possible to select the 4 power notches of each gear. Watch this video: - D.445 2nd and 3rd Series, Diesel-electric locomotive. For Shuttle services. Type: Diesel locomotive with electric traction Year: 1978-taday Manufacturer: Fiat Ferroviaria, O.M E.C A., TIBB Gauge: 1435 mm/4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (standard) Wheel arrangement: B'B' Power supply: 1x 1560kW FIAT V12 95.7 litres, turbo-intercooler Transmission: Alternator+2x electric drive motors Traction motors: 2x 630kW AC = 1260kW Max speed: 130km/h (81mph) Specimens: 15, mainly assigned to the Siena depot but also to the Florence one Livery: FS Navetta (shuttle), Crude white-MD orange-purple Please put your LIKE here first, thank you! Continue Below...
The following carriages were in service with the D.445: - MDVC (medium distance coaches) + “Mazinga” cabcar, For FS shuttle services. The convoy was made up of: 1x D.445 locomotive, 4x MDVC coaches, 1x MDVC cabcar. 2nd class coaches only. The livery was usual FS Navetta (shuttle). FREIGHT - D.345 1st and 2nd Series, Diesel-electric locomotive. For freight services. Type: Diesel locomotive with electric traction Year: 1971-2013 (mainline service) Manufacturer: Fiat Ferroviaria, Ansaldo, TIBB Gauge: 1435 mm/4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (standard) Wheel arrangement: Bo'Bo' Power supply: 1x 993kW FIAT V8 63,8 litres, turbo-intercooler Transmission: Alternator+2x electric drive motors Traction motors: 2x 375kW DC = 750kW Max speed: 130km/h (81mph) Specimens: 6 (Siena depot) + 8 (Livorno depot) Livery: Isabel-brown-Magnolia green Local freight services saw only one D.345 towing them. While those passing by this route had double-traction at their head. FREIGHT WAGONS From top left, clockwise: - Type "Gs" wagon, with wooden and steel box variants. - UIC "Gabs" wagon. - UIC "Tds" Hopper wagon. - UIC "Rmms" flatbed wagon. - UIC "Kgps" Flatbed wagon. - Type "E" Medium-Sided wagon. The boxcars were those used for local freight services. INTERIORS AND CABINS Notice: The yellow and red dots indicates the SCMT interface and digital speedometer, NOT presents at the time! 1) D.445 driver's cab 2) MDVC "Mazinga" cabcar " 3) ALn668 " 4) ALn663 " STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES STRONG POINTS - Licensing shouldn't be a problem (like BR), as the operator (at the time) was public. - The route is long and non-linear. - The line allows regular services of approximately 1 hour (regional/commuter) - Good number of services during day. - Good mix of shuttle, commuter and regional services. - Good variety of rolling stock used. - Some rolling stock are easy to make (ALn668/663 are practically identical, both in driving and performances. They have simple interiors and they not require much effort to make). - Interesting and strange combined shifter-power lever system, used on Alns. So fun to use! - Both the ALn663, D.445 and MDVC carriages can be reused on more modern routes. They're still in use today! They would only require a change of interior (MDVCs) and upgrading of security systems. - Interiors of the Aln 663s and MDVCs are almost identical (seats and accessories). - Presence of freight trafic (day and night). - Amazing landscapes, trust me! - Good level of challenge for the player, with climbs, curves etc... - Good mix between the straight section and the hilly (curved) one. WEAK POINTS - The route has a complex landscape to create, with numerous towns/villages crossed. - The route includes an OHLE electrification in the Empoli station area, which wouldn't be used by our rolling stock (diesel traction). - Backdating the route to the 90s requires some minor changes to the map. IMAGES AND KEY POINTS Below here, I put some images of stations and interest points along the route: Empoli Station, as it appeared at the time. Before works on the square in front of the structure. Continue Below...
Clockwise: Ponte a Elsa, Granaiolo and Castelfiorentino stations. Clockwise: Certaldo and Poggibonsi-San Gimignano FS stations. Clockwise: Siena FS, Staggia Senese and Castellina in Chianti stations. Views of: Castellina in Chianti, Poggibonsi, Barberino Val d'Elsa and Siena (FS station). Some images of the route. Note the double track section. I say thank you to Franco Pepe and his site, Littorina.net, for the beautiful and precious vintage photos! Here you'll find more images of the route: https://littorina.net/category/2-linea-fs-rfi/empoli-siena/ ROUTE VIDEOS Original POV videos, from November 1993! Regional service Florence-Siena, Aln668. CONCLUSIONS If you like this beautiful country, this is the route for you! An exciting and peaceful journey through the Tuscan hills. From the town of Empoli (near Florence), to the city of Siena. Passing through splendid landscapes and picturesque villages that this beautiful Italian region can offer to you. Embark yourself on an interesting challenge, which combines high speeds of the first section, then takes you to test your skills as driver in the hilly section. With curves and a notable climbs. The best that this wonderful country can offer you, I assure you! This is Tuscany. This is the Central Tuscany Railway: Empoli-Siena! Caravatt.
Looks very interesting! The scenery in this area really is beautiful. I've travelled the route only twice a couple of years ago, really enjoyed it for its variety. An Italian route would make a great addition to TSW's route roster in any case! With the influx of 3rd party developer studios lately, perhaps some Italian developer(s) could do this route justice? I also quite like the idea of it being set in the early 90's. Call me nostalgic, but this time period had a certain flair to it which appeals to me. And the Italian rolling stock of the time was quite diverse and interesting, as Caravatt has depicted above. Which on the other hand would mean that in addition to building a whole new route with tons of new assets, all the rolling stock would have to be built from scratch too... I'd definitely check it out if someone would decide to shoulder all the work and build it
Well, definitely everything from scratch. But you have to start somewhere! For example, MDVCs are present in almost all of my previous proposals. They're widespread and still used today. It would just be enough to redo the interiors and skin. and they would be ready for another route! D.445s were also present in active service in Puglia, Veneto, Friuli-Venezia-Giulia, Piedmont, Umbria and obviously Tuscany. Until 2018-20. In Tuscany and Umbria they're still in use today. So they would be a great addition too. ALn 663 are also still in use. They have different interiors and skins today, obviously!
Perhaps a compromise could be to concentrate on just a small amount of rolling stock, not the whole bandwith, but enough to properly populate the route. And as you mentioned, if those chosen vehicles are some that are still in use, they could be repainted and re-used for possible upcoming, more modern routes. Pretty much like TSG did with Niddertalbahn.
Yes a D.445+MDVC would be fine. Maybe with an ALn668, since it was the main commuter until 2022. MDVC cabcar, as with your Karlsruher, have two dfferent drive desks. one for electric locomotives and one for diesel ones. See icons below on the "Mazinga" side: TE= electric train; TD= diesel train.
