European Railroad Discussion > Trip to Italy, Part 5: Tuscany

The trip from Venice to Florence (Firenza) was on a fast train, and it was well patronized, as were most of the trains we rode.
Between Bologna and Firenza there is a new high speed line that travels through tunnels.

1. A pic from the screen inside the car; 300 km/h is about 186 mph. The ride was reasonably smooth for such speed.
2. A water column at Poggibonsi
3. A rail trail near Poggibonsi, as seen from our tour van

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4. Another view of the rail trail near Poggibonsi, from the former grade crossing
5. Heritage rail cars at Siena, possibly for excursions
6. Empoli station and MoW equipment

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7. A rail train arrives at Empoli
8. Another pic of the rail train
9. A critter and flat cars. Saw many critters on sidings throughout Italy

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casco17 Wrote:
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> 9. A critter and flat cars. Saw many critters on
> sidings throughout Italy

"Critters" are common in Western Europe as they don't require a qualified Driver(Engineer) to operate them. Typically they are operated by Freight Station Agents or equivalent, lowering costs. They do have restrictions limiting how much they can operate on mainline trackage. Some critters belong to MOW crews and operate under different rules, similar to what hyrail vehicles operate under in the USA.

Wow, that first rail trail looks steep. Was that a logging RR?

Looking at it, I think it is more the road on a steep downhill decline.

march_hare Wrote:
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> Wow, that first rail trail looks steep. Was that
> a logging RR?

The paved road is steep; it is the dirt path to the left that is the former rail branch. That was actually level.
There were other locations where it was more obvious that a track once existed (a former siding location) but I could only get pics out the front windshield as our driver hurried past...