Stresa and Lake Maggiore Centovalli Railway to Locarno

9 am. and we gathered in the hotel foyer for a walk up to Stresa Railway Station, The walk is all up hill and took about ten minutes, luckily we could get out of the back service gate from the Hotel grounds which saved a bit of walking. At the station we had to go under the lines to platform 2, the subway reminded me of some English Hospitals with props holding the roof up. They paint the lines white so they reflect the heat of the sun and reduce expansion.

We caught a local train to Domodossola where we had bit of a wait before catching the Centovalli train to Locarno in Switzerland, so we all carried our passports just    in case they were needed. The Centovalli train is only 1 Mt. gauge and leaves from an underground platform, but emerges from the station at street level before it twists and turns up the sides of the mountain giving some splendid views on the way, the journey takes about 2 hours in all with not too many tunnels.

Once in Locarno Bob showed us where he would like us all to meet to catch the ferry home and then we were on our own. We decided to have a light meal in a restaurant on the main street rather than going to the water front, we only had salads and beer, but the service was so slow, the order taken quickly and then nothing. As soon as we finished I went to pay, first problem the till wouldn’t work so she added it up on a piece of paper, then I found they didn’t take card payment, this was quite a large establishment and I didn’t have any Swiss Francs.  Thankfully she accepted Euros but then didn’t have the right change, so I think we may have saved a couple of Euros there. We then headed for the Madonna del Sasso funicular railway to visit Madonna del Sasso at Orselina way above Locarno up the mountain about 1500 feet above sea level. 

On the way up we passed a stop quite close to the top where a wedding party  including bride and groom in all their finery were waiting on the platform, the train stopped and picked them up on his way down. Once at the top we were still some way from the summit but it looked as if there was a cable car to go to the top. We were only going to the Convent and church which involved lots more steps, this time going down, but we still had to come back up.

The station where the bridal party were is about level with the lower convent exit, but by now we were getting short of time and we could see lots of people already on the station, if we missed the train we would miss the ferry home. The train is supposed to run every 15 minutes, what actually happens is when its busy, like today they set off as soon as both cars are loaded. When we reached the top station there were already people waiting and by the time the train arrived there were lots more, I couldn't see the driver stopping on the way down to pick more people up, in the end he left some of the people at the top and crammed in all those waiting at the lower station.

Like all cable operated funicular railways there is a passing point half way up where the up and down trains can pass, on this funicular the track is far from straight  so the pulley wheels that guide the cables are set on an angle to stop them pulling sideways.
We were in nice time to meet the rest of the party at the ferry terminal, our boat was waiting but no way were they going to let us board until about 5 minutes before departure, we just all had to stand out in the sun. The ferry took about two and a half hours to get to Stresa the same as the train journeys, it calls in at many ports on the way, this is from the ferry web site. Tickets and timetables Lake Maggiore - Navigazione LaghiAt one terminal we set off just as a car ferry was arriving, not all terminals have facilities for this, As it was Saturday the local sailing club were out racing on the lake, none of your Mirror dinghies for these boys. Being up on the top deck we had a very good view of things. The last photograph is the ferry after we had left and headed back to the hotel for dinner.