Month: October 2023 (Page 1 of 2)

USA – Deep South – 2

31 October 2023 / admin

Martin Luther King Memorial

Monday 30.10.23

Today is spent in Atlanta first with a city tour. Prime destinations are connected to Martin Luther King whose father was a minister at the Ebenezer Baptist Church which remains much as it was, although no longer used as such. A new Church has been built across the road adjacent to the Martin Luther King Centre which opens as we arrive and we can wander around the displays telling his story and view the exhibits on display.

The Church across the road is our next stop and we are able to join a 30 minute discourse on King and his family and the events of the sixties around the development of the civil rights movement before and after Rosa Parks refused to leave her seat on a bus in December 1956 and the consequent steps taken when the buses were boycotted and the actions taken to enable travel to be maintained.

We then decide to visit the World of Coca Cola and I think it is fair to say that we are unimpressed – my advice is do not bother.

We are then on our first road journey – to Chattanooga. Just outside the town is the Incline Railway on Lookout Mountain. This is the first railway related activity of the trip and from the top there is a view over Chattanooga. The weather is not the best today so photos of the view are not impressive. It is approximately a mile from bottom to top and the power is two 100hp winches which take about 15 minutes to lift the car up the Incline. The original line opened in 1887 and closed in 1899 after a new line (and the one still in use) opened in 1895. It has been electrically operated since 1911 and the current cars fate from 2020 with one car of an earlier design being on display near the lower station.

Lookout Mountain Railroad

Whilst on the viewing platform I can hear the horn of a main line train and looking out it is possible to see the locomotives at the head of an absolutely massive freight train which seems to stretch into the far distance. It is impossible to accurately count the number of wagons and almost certainly there are further locomotives in the centre and at the rear of the train. Another similar train is passing in the other direction

Being a Monday the dining options this evening are a little limited. Some investigation had thrown up Bridgeman’s Chophouse inside The Reads Hotel which is a short walk from our hotel. A cold and wet evening mars out walk but the warm welcome we receive in the restaurant allied with the excellent meal immediately puts things to rights. Warmly recommended. And we encounter an amusing quirk of local arrangements. As we are a group of six, not all drinking I should note, it makes sense to order at least one bottle of wine. Other drinks turn up rapidly but we later deduce that to access an entire bottle a manager has to arrange for it to be released from a hidden store where all bottles of wine are held captive deep within some cellar or similar.

The hotel has an interesting history and has been restored in recent years and looks magnificent honouring the Jazz era. In 1932 Winston Churchill stayed whilst on a lecture tour and apparently slammed his suite door in the face of a journalist which made headline news. The following day he gave the interview but announced that “Prohibition is a bad thing” – in hindsight one might wonder if that underpinned his bad humour the previous day!

USA Deep South – 1

30 October 2023 / admin

Coca Cola HQ Atlanta

Sunday 29.10.23

We have only been at home less than two weeks and we are away again. Jackie started looking at this holiday as a trip for the “girls” but I was unhappy at missing out on a trip around the music towns of the south and also convince the participants to adopt the Great Rail Journeys holiday – Tracks of the Deep South – 2023 version. The tour has been running for a number of years and little bits change every so often so the current version for 2024 is already different and no doubt it will change again – indeed one of the highlights for me has now been dropped!

We have been on a number of Great Rail holidays over the years – the itineraries are always strong in hitting the desired highlights and in most cases the tour guide looks after the participants very well and ensures that it all seems to go smoothly – I have no doubt that under the surface the guide is paddling very hard – but our leader on this tour ends up ensuring everything is smooth.

Phil meets us at the bag drop at Heathrow and we and the other travellers all seem to appear at the same time. It is a daytime flight to Atlanta with BA so when we find our departure is from Terminal 3 it is a bit of a surprise. Some time later I remember why. The Coca Cola HQ is based in Atlanta and to enable easy connection for their executives they have agreed with BA that there is a direct connection from T3 for those arriving there and heading to Atlanta – that must be some corporate account!

It is mid afternoon departure and an evening arrival in Atlanta so making for a long day and by the time luggage has been collected and we have reached the hotel I am sure everyone is pretty tired.

Sardinia 18.10.23

19 October 2023 / admin

Swing unit for Golfo Aranci at Olbia

Wednesday 18.10.23

Our journey today is going to be lengthy. In rail terms we are going to go to the north of the island – first on the long journey to Olbia and then on the remaining line to Golfo Aranci on the coast.

Leaving Cagliari the train is well laden for the first half of the journey and the existence of this part of the railway system is very definitely needed unlike the thinner loadings on some of our earlier trips. Our route threads through the island touching the west coast at Oristano before turning east and then north east.

The train then revisits some locations through which we have previously passed – Macomer first. At Macomer the narrow gauge lines from Bosa Nova and to Nuoro meet and terminate in a separate station across the way where we were a week or so ago. Then further north at Ozieri-Chilivani we repass the destination of our ill-fated excursion from Sassari – this time in the same station as that was also a standard gauge train.

The first part of the journey is across the fairly flat plains of southern Sardinia which were no doubt inundated in the tsunami mentioned previously and then after Macomer the unit starts having to apply real power to climb the hills and the speed drops at times. We move into the more elevated areas in the centre of the island, again with some wonderful views, before we drop down again to sea level at the end of the journey.

Olbia is a terminus and the train goes no further. After checking our next train is waiting at another platform and we actually walk across the tracks – just like all the other travellers. The services are much less heavily used and we have a nice run through the countryside to the final destination.

Isola di Figarolo

At Golfo Aranci there is a coach ready and waiting and after a brief photo stop of Isola di Figarolo we are whisked to the airport – and in plenty of time as the check in desks are not yet checking in!

However they do, we eventually board and fly home.

Sardinia 17.10.23

18 October 2023 / admin

Dotto train Cagliari

Tuesday 17.10.23

On the original schedule for this holiday we were due to fly home today. However the relevant flight has been changed (on Tuesdays) to depart much earlier in the day so it would be a very difficult flight to catch. We therefore opted to have an additional night in Cagliari which in retrospect was not the best possible solution as tomorrow turns into a very long day.

We should have requested the original train service to the north today and then a hotel stay somewhere appropriate and that would have split the travelling in two making it easier.

However with this free day we walk down to the station to catch the Dotto train I spotted earlier and use this to take us up to the castello area and then to descend back to the starting point so that Jackie has an opportunity to see some of the sights which she did not see as she did not take part in the guided tour. This one is more colourful than some of the others as can be seen above.

Once she is back at the hotel I decide to go in search of the trams which we saw briefly at San Gottardo when we arrived from the north and the online information implies that they currently run to Republicca which looks like it is walkable and hopefully not too uneven. I head in the right direction noting that it is largely downhill – which is fine now but may not be later on! There is a large construction project in progress to extend the metro system from that current terminus into the town centre adjacent to the main station – it has been ongoing some years and there have been various delays, not least covid and financial aspects.

Cagliari metro line

I reach my destination and there are lots of people around – and even some tracks around the back but no obvious station entrance and some very rusty looking rails. I later discover that the metro is not running here and instead there is a replacement bus service – which I do not fancy – it is very hot again today and I walk back by a marginally different route to the hotel. I am sure the exercise did me good!

Dinner in the marina area again – at what I later find is one of the longer standing restaurants. Initially not particularly welcomed as we are the first and obviously very early diners but as the staff turn up and they get going it is far more friendly.

Sardinia 16.10.23

17 October 2023 / admin

Cagliari Station locomotive

Monday 16.10.23

We head down the hill and along to the main station where we are going to travel on a couple of lines which head westward out of Cagliari. When I say “we” today I am referring to the tour group party as Jackie has decided on a rest day in the hotel.

At Cagliari station there is a steam locomotive 744003 – class 744. Class construction took place in 1927 and part of the class was assigned to Sardinia when the line they were working on the mainland in Italy was electrified. They were mixed traffic locos used until withdrawal in the 1970’s. There is one other similar loco in a museum in Pistoia on the mainland. It seems unlikely that either will return to steam.

As we leave the station there is evidence along the lineside that electrification is coming – although it looks like it will be some time yet. The train is well used and particularly at the airport station there are decent numbers waiting to go into the town centre on the other platform. The line to the northern part of the island is just beyond Deciomomannu station whilst our line branches off to the left and heads westwards.

There is another junction station at Villamassargia-Domusnovas where the line effectively splits into two. Nothing much happens here for most of each hour, but then when the hourly service arrives from Cagliari, two other trains arrive from each terminus – one at Carbonia-Serbariu and the other at Iglesias – which is where we are heading. The hourly service we are using goes to Iglesias, and the train which has arrived from there is going to Cagliari. The third train will return to Carbonia-Serbariu. An hour later the train from Cagliari will go onwards to Carbonia-Serbariu but again there will be a connection to and from Iglesias using the unit on which we are travelling.

Iglesias

Iglesias is a pretty town and I undertake a wander around as they have decorated one of the thoroughfares with umbrellas and there is a small square. I find a small side street for lunch – and it is lunchtime as the entire town, apart from the restaurants, seems to have closed up!

Some of us then take the opportunity of using the interconnection mentioned earlier and visit Carbonia-Serbariu but we merely reach the terminus and then take the return working – which goes through to Cagliari. I can see evidence of mine wheels in the distance as we enter and leave the station and I believe they mark a coal mine museum indicating the economic history of Carbonia – although there may be a clue in the name!

Sardinia 15.10.23

16 October 2023 / admin

Our Green Train at Laconi

Sunday 15.10.23

Today is a little odd as we use the coach for a return to Mandas where yesterday we caught a service train south. Today we head in the opposite direction using one of the Green Train services to see more of the scenic beauty in the centre of the island.

An early arrival enables another quick visit to the same convenient coffee shop as used yesterday. On this journey it is noticeable that just about all of the coach journey travelling times are significantly over-estimated.

Transport today is also a throwback as we have a diesel loco and coaches. We are heading north from Mandas to Laconi. The line originally ran through some very rural areas ending in Sorgono; I have found a review of a trip reaching there in 2012 but there is no indication that any services now cover the line north of Laconi on a regular basis.

Part of the journey is alongside a reservoir and we see some very attractive scenery passing by as the line inevitably twists and turns along the hillsides to find their way between the sparse settlements.

Chiesa San Sebastiano at Isili

Other participants are not just taking the train trip but are going on a further excursion but our tour operator only booked the train – this may vary on future such tours. Looking at the Green Train excursions being outlined for 2024 it seems that they do not normally just offer the train – but it forms part of a larger offering on most of the services.

We return to Cagliari by coach – it is a lot faster by road than it was by rail! Once back in the capital we have a cultural excursion to the archaeological site at Nora which was originally a local settlement and then a Phoenician settlement. Later still Punic and eventually Roman which of course sits on the top of the others. Given its location at the southern end of Sardinia it became a major trading place as it was easily reached from all directions across the Mediterranean.

Roman Mosaics at Nora

As with many Roman sites there mosaics so implying it was a major site in the first century and predates Cagliari by a long time. We can see that it was highly compact settlement and yet there is a small amphitheatre and other communal facilities, so the population must have been in need of such resources. However much of the adjacent land is still used by the army and has yet to be excavated so may extend over a much greater area as well as there being a further extension which has now fallen below sea level as this end of the island is sinking into the sea.

We return to Cagliari for dinner.

Sardinia 14.10.23

15 October 2023 / admin

ARST Railcar @ Mandas

Saturday 14.10.23

Having used the golf buggy to reach the coach at the top of the hill we depart and head initially south and then turn inland through some more wild and rugged countryside winding around and over some magnificent hills on our way to Mandas – which is where the junction of the line to Arbatax branches off from the line which runs south to Cagliari and also runs northwards.

South of Mandas towards Cagliari there is a pretty regular service run by ARST usually using the same units we have already enjoyed on the west of the island and one or two services (I think for school traffic mainly) that run to a couple of stations north of Mandas on weekdays only. We arrive in plenty of time and so go in search of a coffee at a nearby establishment which is also popular with the locals and is soon found by many of our fellow travellers.

There are still one or two services provided by older railcars (one was seen earlier in the holiday on the line from Sorso to Sassari) and today one has been found for our journey to Cagliari. So no air conditioning today! It is pictured above!

Metro at San Gottardo

Our journey terminates at San Gottardo in the north east area of Cagliari. The line continues onwards as part of the metro system but our coach is here to convey us to our hotel in the town centre. The trams use the same gauge and indeed run a little way further out of Cagliari on the line we have used on our inward journey. The depot is here at San Gottardo.

Our hotel is based in the City Centre near to the main run of restaurants and not far from what is known as the Marina area although there is now a main road between the area and the waterfront.

Elephant Gate Cagliari

Our coach takes us first to the far side of the city and we have views both out to sea and then back across the city to the Castello area. Having had a distant view the coach then returns to the city to drop us very close to the top of the city which is the Castello district. This was originally the location of a Pisan castle and it represented a change as the main city had previously been elsewhere.

The Aragonese eventually defeated the Pisans and took control of Sardinia. We walk slowly down the hill from the Castle area past the Royal Palace and the Cathedral – there is a service in progress so we cannot take a look. We wind back and forth – others seem to know where we are, I will admit to being confused. We pass through the Elephant Gate and we eventually emerge adjacent to the Bastion de St Remy having walked all the way down the hill and avoided the large number of steps. I noted a number of restaurants on the way but it is clear that they are uphill! From here it is a further short walk down more of the hill to the hotel.

The adjacent Marina district is just behind the main street of Cagliari and it contains numerous restaurants so we wander down there for our dinner.

Sardinia 13.10.23

14 October 2023 / admin

Orgosolo art

Friday 13.10.23

We are joined by a local tour guide today and there are no railways – well not in the plan but we do visit a station towards the end of the day.

Our prime destination is Orgosolo and the journey there takes us back over the curving roads we used to reach Arbatax yesterday and then goes over the mountain tops so there are excellent views at various times on both sides.

Among other pieces of history our tour guide for the day advises us of the Sardinian aversion to the seas and fish. Around 1200BC there was an undersea volcanic eruption which caused a huge tsunami which engulfed much of the lower lying lands of southern Sardinia – an area which we have not yet seen but will visit as we go to the capital Cagliari. There was inevitably huge loss of life and it led to Sardinians becoming permanently scared of the sea – so they limited their sailing excursions and tended not to eat fish relying on what they could grow. This feeling is deeply embedded into the local psyche. Subsequently Arbatax became a fishing village only because people living on a neighbouring island saw that the fishing grounds were unfished and moved to Arbatax and took on the fishing. But for an island surrounded by fish the locals eat far less fish and it is far less prominent on menus than would normally be the case.

The wander around Orgosolo is fascinating. Wikipedia relates that it was once known as “Bandit Country” which led to a film “Banditi a Orgosolo” in 1961 which is about bandits and sheep stealing. The murals commenced in around 1969 and are now a feature which brings the tourists to the town. An article from The Guardian explains more. Many of the murals are the work of Francesco del Casino as it says although many others have contributed subsequently.

Lunch slowly roasting on an open fire

We move on from Orgosolo to a small farm outside the town for “lunch with the shepherds”. It is not obvious how much shepherding they do these days – we understand that the sheep are kept on a farm elsewhere and this location is merely used to feed and entertain the groups who have visited the town earlier in the day. Obviously fresh food is cooked in front of us and served simply – and one of the best meals of the holiday, out in the fresh air and in the middle of some attractive countryside.

Returning to Arbatax we head into the town itself for a walk around the town and to the edge of the harbour to view the Red Rocks. Adjacent thereto is the station – no trains and a mystery. One source today assures us that there have been no trains this summer but later in the holiday we find that the green train has been operating. For 2024 it is being advertised (but at the time of writing cannot be booked) as a rail and coach excursion from Arbatax to Lanusei and then a couple of options to see the countryside or to eat before returning – all for €69!

Jackie and Red Rocks of Arbatax

The line itself runs to a junction with another line just north of Mandas and is presumably capable of being traversed as the stock for the service obviously is able to come and go for the summer services as they are not obviously anywhere in Arbatax.

We return to the hotel and having had a decent breakfast we are looking forward to dinner but for some reason the food fell short of expectations – sometimes in a buffet one simply chooses the wrong things to eat and perhaps that is what happened here.

Sardinia 12.10.23

13 October 2023 / admin

New and old ARST units at Macomer

Thursday 12.10.23

Activities today re a little mixed as we head off for a drive along a coast hugging road as we head initially southwards with our first target the town of Bosa. Whilst the town, like Alghero was ruled from Spain the fortress is of later origin being built by a Tuscany family in the thirteenth century. We have a walk around the lower town but can see that the route to castle is many steep steps and decide that as it seems to be even warmer than yesterday that the effort is probably not justified.

Bosa – river Temo

When we arrive we spot a horse and trap providing rides around the town – but when we return to the starting point I suspect that the owner has decided it is either too hot or too many people and has replaced it with a Dotto train, so we decide not to take the trip. We have lunch in the square and then return to the coach for our onward journey.

In theory we should be on a train as there is usually a service from here to Macomer – as we progress by road we do cross the railway and the lack of service at present is because significant sums are obviously being spent on track maintenance as we pass a track maintenance team at one point and at another a stack of replacement track panels. We do find both the closed Bosa station and the still “open sometime” Bosa Marina station which is the limit of operation. I rather think that the railway probably lies largely under a newish looking road!

Tinnura art

Having taken a more direct route we cross the railway just before Tinnura where there is an impromptu stop as the town has a large number of paintings all over the walls. We have a planned visit to another location later on the trip but I believe I prefer the paintings here. Our current destination is Macomer where the two stations, one for the main line and one for the little branch lines face each other. We have a lot of time to kill as the service onwards is by train. Macomer is about 1800ft above sea level and as we turn through 180 degrees so that we are heading east we are high above a river valley. The line then follows the contours of the countryside as we head towards Nuoro which is at about the same elevation but we need to climb back into the town from the lower levels. There is a modern station here – again evidence that whilst services might be relatively few there is money available for the infrastructure.

We rejoin our coach for the final stage to Arbatax a fishing village on the east coast – so we have effectively crossed over the centre of the island. Some dozing during the first part of the journey whilst we are on the main roads heading generally in a south easterly direction. The last five or six kilometres are however very much slower and twistier as we descend from the mountain ranges to sea level. The hotel is very well appointed and might make an ideal location well away from it all – there is a buggy to get us to our rooms although it disappears and it turns out our room is walkable. There are extensive grounds, pool and the sea – but we are out all day tomorrow so cannot participate.

Sardinia – 11.10.23

12 October 2023 / admin

Alghero

Wednesday 11.10.23

Today is a railway free day and we stay in Alghero tonight as well. So we do not start that early and then take the long wander along the seafront towards the fort. Unlike the north of the island we are now well down the west coast and this fort is of Aragonese origin – there is a huge influence from Spain with a minority dialect based around Catalan is spoken apparently.

Once we reach the fortress we see a Dotto train and after our walk we are in need of a sit down, so ticket bought and once the train is full (or nearly so) the driver takes us past the adjacent walls and then on wander around the old town. Then out to the far side of the town and some of the more modern development before returning to our starting point. All so much easier than walking and not knowing where we are going.

Each of us had spotted potential lunch spots as we waved our way around the town and so I take the lead heading to the one I had spotted. Mine was a relatively modern looking restaurant just outside the older area – but by the time we arrived it was deemed too early so we wandered back into the town to look at the architecture and amazingly ended up outside the restaurant which Jackie had spotted – which was in small shady in one of the few “open” areas in the town – which had been created during bombing in WWII. Time for lunch we agree.

Pink bicycle Alghero

Adorning the waterfront (with a veritable forest of masts behind in the marina) is this piece of imagery which reflects the involvement of the town in the 100th Giro d’Italia held in 2017 and which started in Alghero on 5 May.

The weather remains much warmer than we had anticipated for this time of year so the walk back to the hotel after lunch not only requires a couple of stops but also a visit to an ice cream shop which I had espied on the outward journey as a potential stopping point on the return.

Also be meandering slightly off route we find a huge supermarket and this provides resources for a modest dinner in our room.