Menaggio station in the 1920s after the platform was extended
Menaggio station in the 1920s after the platform was extended
The station at Menaggio was 140 metres long and built on a narrow strip of land between the main road (Via Regina) and a wall supporting the garden of the Ospizio degli Olivi (House of the Olive Trees). The limited width only provided space for three tracks and a narrow 80 metre long platform for passengers. Passengers reached the trains directly from the road, up a flight of 10 steps located at the southern end of the platform. A 1.6m high iron railing protected passengers from falling off the narrow platform onto the road below. At the northern end, the three tracks met at a small turntable which enabled the locomotive to run around the train. The centre track provided a loop around the platform track and ended with a short siding and goods dock. The third track ended in a carriage/engine shed.
The approach to Menaggio station in the 1920s
As there was insufficient space on the platform for more than a small ticket booth, the station master's office, ticket office and goods office were initially located in Via Tommaso. A small office was also maintained inside the Menaggio Hotel on the opposite (lake) side of the Via Regina to the platform. In 1903 these facilities were replaced by a new station building built on the southern side of the Menaggio Hotel, across the road from the steps leading up to the platform. The new station building included a restaurant overlooking the lake. The short access road to the wharf, where the steamboats and ferries arrived and departed, ran between the hotel and the new station building.
Menaggio station building (undated photograph but probably between 1903 and 1914)
The SNF obtained government permission to build a new landing stage at the wharf, together with a short line to enable luggage and goods to be transported more easily between the station and wharf. Opposition from a number of local citizens meant the proposal was abandoned in 1905.
Menaggio station layout c1904 showing the proposed line to the wharf
Photographs show that the station was enlarged immediately before, during, or shortly after, the First World War (1915-1918). The platform was extended by about 15 metres at the southern end and a fourth track was laid providing two lines into the carriage/engine shed.
Menaggio Station (southern end) 1920/30s after the addition of a fourth track (right of picture)