European Railroad Discussion > Engine Turning question

Below is a photo of where the engines were turned in San Candido, Italy on the branch line from Fortezza.
This was shot by me in March of 1975.  This is not a wye per se, but has the same function.  I cannot remember what this is called...Someone help me out here.
Trying to figure out the puzzle has me deciphering it this way, assuming the track directly in front of me is a dead-end one like the two in the distance.

Engine has brought a train in from Fortezza and pulls into the far left track and crosses two tracks to the buffer ahead on the right.
Next the engine backs to the camera,
3rd, it pulls forward and to the left to the other end of track buffer.
then it backs across the two tracks and heads out of sight to the right, where it connects to the mainline(not seen), now heading the opposite direction.
Does that sound right?
Greg Scholl

 

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Not the same location, but this was posted on Trainorders some time ago.  Saved if for my screen-saver so I apologize for not being able to give proper credit where credit is due..

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That is correct.

There must have been some really "stiff" locomotives being turned there in order to require turning tracks with that wide a radius.

They only used 2-8-0's on the line when we were there in 1974 and 1975.  I took the shot in the original post in 1975 and had no car, so I must have walked from the station.  Does this type of arrangement have a formal name?
Here is an engine after being turned (741 class).  These were rebuilt 740 class, so essentially the same wheel base.  The second pic is a 740.
Greg Scholl

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As far as I remember, the five point star was used because there was not sufficient level ground for w classic wye.

Thomas Eckhardt
Hurricane Utah

The location shown in the second post is the end of the line to Carbonia, on the island of Sardinia. 

Does the "wye" in San Candido, Italy still exist? I looked on Google maps but could not find it.

Krokodil Wrote:
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> As far as I remember, the five point star was used
> because there was not sufficient level ground for
> w classic wye.
>
> Thomas Eckhardt
> Hurricane Utah

So is that what it is called. "A 5 Point Star"????  I was thinking that looking at it, but didn't know the formal name.
Can anyone else confirm that.

You are correct it is used because there was not enough space to put in a regular wye, supposedly.
Greg

Civil engineer laid out directions for space alien landing, just like in crop designs.

I believe the Italian terminology for these is "Stella di inversione" [ inverted star ] and there is a Wiki page devoted to them.   Yes, they are certainly used where a conventional wye cannot be used due to space constraints, but why ?  One reason given in the Wiki is that a turntable is more maintenance intensive, especially in the winter with heavy snow, which may explain their presence in alpine areas -- although of course the Swiss and Austrians* do not seem to have this concern -- and it would not explain why these track arrangements are / were found in Sardinia and Italy proper*.   I believe there are other reasons:
1)  Cost:  This would be especially of concern where railways were built by build/operate concessions, or contractors on a turnkey basis, as happened frequently in Italy.
2)  Military requirements*:  It would be easier to repair a triangle of any type than a turntable in the event of bombardment, aerial or artillery.

Best, SZ

*Note:  It should be noted that the section of railway from San Candido to Fortezza [ and north to the Brenner ] was of course originally built by the Austrians and was the main line between Vienna and the South Tyrol;  the territory was given by the victors to Italy at the end of the Great War as a reward for their perfidy.  Hence, San Candido and Brenner became border stations requiring more extensive locomotive installations, and that was when the FS would have installed these triangles there.  Up until 1938 another Austro-German vs Italy war was deemed a good possibility.

Where is the funnel on the 741?

If you go to youtube and do a search for Stella di inversione you will find a video of 
an engine being turned.  Here is a dirrect link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBhtgXjzxZo
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/30/19 23:16 by C.P.Huntington.

If I had built something like this on my HO layout all my railfan friends would say I was nuts. Proving once again, there is a prototype for everything.

Arkeytek Wrote:
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> Not the same location, but this was posted on
> Trainorders some time ago.  Saved if for my
> screen-saver so I apologize for not being able to
> give proper credit where credit is due..

Posted from iPhone