The Nonstalbahn, in the north of Italy in the Trentino region, is a modern metre-gauge regional and suburban railway. In the 1960s, it was transformed from a largely run-down interurban tramway into today’s modern means of local transport and has been connecting the regional capital Trento/Trient via Malè with Mezzana – also known as the Nonstalbahn in German – over a length of 67 km since 2016.
The Austrian publishing house Bahnmedien has produced an attractive book that illustrates the varied history of the railway in numerous full-page, generally high-quality photos from the various eras. The pictures are cleanly printed and mostly in colour.
Interesting photos also cover the rather sparse freight traffic on rolling stock, which has since been abandoned, and the historical photos also include some of the city line in Trento, which was abandoned around 60 years ago. The various generations of vehicles can be seen in different operating conditions and round off the illustrated book. The history of the railway is presented in outline on the first pages of the book.
The nearby Nonsberg interurban, which was closed in 1934 and also had a metre gauge, is also presented – one of its railcars has survived to this day on the Ritten railway in South Tyrol.
Conclusion: A clear recommendation!
Author: Rudolf Koller
Publisher: bahnmedien.at
96 pages in 240 x 205 mm format, numerous colour and b/w photos, 1 map
Price: € 34,90
ISBN: 978-3-903177-54-3
27.02.2025
