Biandrate
History
The Novara-Biandrate tramway was inaugurated on February 16, 1884 by the Ferrovie del Ticino company, based in Novara. The service was launched to meet the need for a tramway in the area, which was creating an extensive network of railways and tramways.
On May 6, the line was linked to Biandrate with the new Vercelli-Biandrate-Fara line. The connection was strategic and used for the forwarding of correspondence.
After a period of expansion of traffic, the operating company experienced a crisis due to the economic situation of the 1920s and an unfavorable political climate for the presence of foreign capital in this type of activity. The line was definitively closed on November 30, 1934 because the necessary reconstruction of the facilities was not considered convenient.
Characteristics
The tramway measured a total of 21.70 kilometers and had a track with a standard gauge of 1445 millimeters. The gradient gradually increased up to 20 per thousand, and the minimum curvature radii were equal to 40 meters.
Route
The track followed the provincial road 11. After leaving the center of Novara, the terminus was located at the Rondò di San Martino. The line crossed the Agogna and served the places of San Giuseppe, San Pietro Mosezzo and Zottico, to finally reach the station of Biandrate.
Rolling Stock
For the service on its social lines in the Vercelli and Novara area, SFT had several groups of two-axle steam tramway locomotives. For the Novara-Biandrate line, Charpillon and Provasi, concessionaires of the line, ordered a significant order of locomotives consisting of nineteen units produced by the Belgian Société Energie in 1882 and classified by SFT in the 61-79 group. These were two-axle locomotives weighing 18 tons, approved for a maximum speed of 30 kilometers per hour. They were followed by two St. Léonard units from 1909 numbered 81-82, weighing 22 tons and capable of 50 kilometers per hour.
Bibliography
- Francesco Ogliari, Franco Sapi, Scintille tra i monti - Storia dei trasporti italiani - Piemonte, Valle d'Aosta - Volume 1, Milan, 1968.
- Mario Matto, La tramvia Santhià-Ivrea e la rete tranviaria locale, in Santhià e la ferrovia: una storia che dura 150 anni, GS Editrice, Santhià, 2006, p. 249. ISBN 88-87374-95-3.
