Last Saturday, September 25th 2016, saw us take our long awaited trip by vintage steam train trip from Siena to Buenconvento and it was truly a delight - my best day out in ages.
I'm standing on the platform of Siena station and its 8am on a beautifully sunny morning, Our friends, Peter and Philip from London are staying with us and they are almost as excited as I am about today's adventure. Platform 1 is deserted and I'm wondering if we've come to the right place - was there another station we should have gone to for this special departure? A few minutes later a coach or two must have pulled up because suddenly the platform was full of jostling people and there was expectation in the air and then I heard it - a distinctive whistle which could only have come from a steam engine.
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The steam engine puffs in to Siena station to join up with the
vintage carriges that would form our train amidst a flurry of
interest from passengers. |
To my left a diesel locomotive was shunting a series of five beautifully polished 1930's railway carriages in to the station platform and on my right I could just see the front of a black steam engine slowly puffing in to the station.to join up with the carriages. A cheer went up from the crowd and suddenly a small band trio appeared from nowhere and the chords of Chatanooga Choo Choo were blasted out on a trumpet with accompanying drums and cymbals. The engine was coupled up to the carriages, the crowd clapped appreciatively and we were ready to board. The floor of the carriages was high above the platform so there were a couple of steep steps to negotiate to get on. Finally we found our allocated carriage and polished bench seats and we were able to sit down and review our route for the day - our main destination the little walled Tuscan town of Buonconvento.
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Our friends Peter and Philip pour over the map of
route for the special steam train trip.. |
La Tren Natura has been running on these Sienese lines since the mid1990's and every year in the Spring and Autumn, on selective Saturdays, this little train provides booked passengers with a sojourn into the Tuscan countryside with a variety of destinations offered. There are no trips in the summer as countryside fires caused by sparks from the steam engine are a real hazard. Occasionally, a vintage diesel car will be provided as an alternative during these months. The black liveried steam engine is a 4-6-0 (this refers to the wheel arrangement) was built in Berlin, probably during the 1920's and the carriages, also date from this period. These were a delight and of the sort where there are multiple doors down the length of each one, with compartmented bench seats arranged round each window. Each had been beautifully restored and the woodwork varnish gleamed in the morning sunlight. There were charming details like the authentic notices warning you not to use the toilets in the station - in four languages and prints of Tuscan artists above the doors. Brocaded brown curtains adorned each set of windows.
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| The restored interiors of the carriages of La Tren Natura |
A final long blast on the guard's whistle at 9am precisely and we were off - the puff puff of the engine hauling its now heavily laden load out of the station and towards the bucolic Tuscan countryside. It was downhill at this point so we picked up speed fairly quickly. Siena is a relatively small walled city on a hill so there are no sprawling modern suburbs or industrial areas and the rolling hills were soon visible from our carriage windows. Soon Enrico, our characterful carriage attendant, came along to introduce himself. He didn't speak English but we managed to determine that he was 83 years old and that for 35 years he'd been the station master at Siena. Retired for the last 20 years Enrico loved his job on the special steam trains taking pride in telling us the service wouldn't be able to run without its volunteer operatives and attendants. First stop was Asciano not far from Siena where we picked up more passengers and then it was off again. The passengers in our full compartment of 16 included Italians and Dutch as well as the four of us from Blighty. Everyone was chatty and friendly and through the open windows of our compartment we could hear the train picking up speed. Suddenly there was noise from the next carriage and the compartment door flew open to admit the band trio who'd come to play for us.
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| Our trio trumpeter plays a solo for us in our carriage compartment |
More "Chatanooga choo choo" was followed by "When the Saints come Marching in" and then they were off to entertain the next group further along. By this time I was back in the 1950's. As the train entered a tunnel I could smell and taste the steam through the open windows and even got a spec of grit under my eyelid - just like the trips I'd taken on steam trains during the 1950's. This really was a trip down memory lane in every sense. The countryside was just lovely by now and over on the right we could see the pretty little hill top town of Montalcino. This is definitely a place to put on the list to come back to. We were travelling down the Asso valley to the point where it joined the valley of the famous Orcia river. Next stop was Monte Antico where the train was scheduled to stay for 20 minutes.
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Our steam engine repositions itself at Monte Antico for the
final part of the journey to Buonconvento |
This provided an opportunity for everyone to get off and enjoy an espresso on stalls that had been set up by the locals. Everyone crowded down the platform to watch and photograph the steam engine detach itself from the carriages and then manouvre back down the line so it could reattach itself to the other end of the train and take it northwards towards our final destination. I have a little bit of video film of this which I'll attach to the posting when I get home.
As we travelled northwards up the Ombrone valley the outside scenery just got more and more beautiful, We were now well within the sculpted, scorched landscape of the crete - the rounded contours of the hills clearly standing out against the brilliant blue skies. What a joy to see the classic Tuscan landscape of the souvenir calenders right before our eyes complete with the white puffs of smoke from our little black work horse up front.
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| The ploughed fields of the Crete in the Ombrone Valley |
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| The glorious Tuscan countryside of the Ombrone Valley |
Buonconvento was the station where our engine would get time to rest and replenish as we had a four hour stop to take a leisurely lunch and look round the town. Surprisingly this place, which is on the flat and not at the top of a rounded hill, appeared a bit industrial when we approached it, but turned out to be an almost perfectly intact walled medieval town with lots of character.
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| The main street of Buonconvento |
We enjoyed a trattoria lunch on an outside table followed by a street eaten gelato and then went off to see the local folk museum. I found myself being quite moved by this. Opened in a spectacularly restored vaulted granary near the town walls - the exhibits told the story of early 20th century community life in the vicinity of the town.
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| The Museum of Tuscan Life in Buonconvento |
With the aid of enlarged black and white photographs and many objects, it was possible to gain an impression of a close to nature farming system which is now long gone. I particularly liked the recreation of the interiors of a Tuscan farmhouse upstairs and one exhibit which just consisted of a line of worn out little children's boots - a symbol of the toil everyone endured in the fields at certain times of year. When I looked at my watch I realised we had 20 minutes to make it back to the train for our 4.50pm departure.
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| If I am re-incarnated I'm coming back as an engine driver |
Within the hour the train was making hard work of chugging up the bank to make it back to Siena railway station. It was the end of a truly memorable day. I'd been back in my childhood again and I'd got to see one of the most beautiful parts of Italy from a unique vantage point. If you are coming to Tuscany and its the right time of year -don't miss this opportunity for a unique day out. At 35 euros per person - its a bargain!! All the details are on La Tren Natura website.
Ciao and KBO
Ian
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