Stresa in the north of Italy is dominated by Mottarone mountain at an altitude of 1490 metres above sea level which gives a great view of Lake Maggiore and Lake Orta to the west and in winter provides skiing slopes. To exploit its potential, the cog railway linking Stresa with the top of Mottarone was built and opened to the public on 12 July 1911. The metre gauge line was about 10 km in length, and started at Stresa with two termini: the dock of the lake navigation company and the FS railway station. The two branches met just outside the city and from there climbed with a Strub type rack and pinion section. The power was 750 V DC. Along the line were three stations and two stops. The climb took an hour and 15 minutes.
The rolling stock fleet comprised 5 yellow Swiss-built railcars and 3 trailers plus four service wagons. The railcars could accommodate up to 110 people, including seating and standing.
In the 1950s complaints were made that the railway was outdated and a bus or a cable car could well replace it. The local powers of the time would have seen many examples from neighbouring Switzerland on how to revive and operate a tourist railway. But the story here went differently and in the autumn of 1962 came the end of Stresa-Mottarone. The railcars were scrapped or sold for different uses.
Today the service is provided by an aerial cable car which is located a little away from the centre. It takes only 18 minutes to climb from the bottom but a bus ride is involved to the departure terminal. Website
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