Live Steam by Father Finelli

This is an unbelievable story.  Two men were caught pull up track on the Ace Tomato private railroad line.  They managed to rip out 100 yards of rail before they were caught. Read the whole story and check out some video here.

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UPDATE: Here is a video that I can embed on the site.  Thanks to Rome Reports!

There is a nice little video of the steam locomotive at the Vatican Train Station as it departs for a 60th anniversary of the founding of Caritas.  Unfortunately, I cannot embed it into the site.  Check it out over at BBC Europe.

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You may or may not know that the Vatican has it’s own train station. There was also the “Vatican City State Railway“.  On the south side of Vatican city, there is an elevated rail line that crosses Via Aurelia.   Just after it crosses the Via Aurelia, it reaches the Vatican walls, where there is a large steel door.  Here is a nice satelite view in Google, with a view of the track leading into the Vatican Station, and here is a view in Google Maps.

For years, the line has had very little use.  ”Pope Pius XI never traveled on the line himself and his planned papal train was never built. It was Pope John XXII who became the first pontiff to travel on line, using the Italian presidential train, in 1962. He made the trip between the Vatican City Station and Assisi. Pope John Paul II also traveled on the line in 1979 and 2002.”

However, on May 21, 2011, a 1930′s steam engine with five passenger cars will leave the Vatican City Station “for a trip to the Italian countryside.”  The name of the train will be called “Caritas Express” and will be used as a fundraiser for the Holy See’s official charity called Caritas.

I sure wish that I was going to be in Rome for this awesome event.  Tickets are still available.  If you are interested in making a donation and requesting a seat, just eMail express@caritas.va

You can read the whole story here.  And if by chance you are in the area, or plan to ride the train, PLEASE, PLEASE PLEASE, send me lots of good pictures!

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Major updates still under way!  I’m doing a complete re-organization, updates and additions.  If you find some errors, outdated links, etc… please let me know!

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I have finally begun  updating the Live Steam Suppliers.  They are now listed under pages and taken out of posts.  This change makes it much easier to find and update suppliers.  If you know of a new supplier or one that needs updating, please let me know.

The next update will be Live Steam Clubs.  You can assist me with this if you know of any changes or new clubs.

Don’t forget to send me your 2011 Live Steam Events for our calendar!

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I have done a major update to the suppliers list.  It became unmanageable the other way.  If you know of any update, new suppliers, etc… please let me know!

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As you can see, I made some changes to the look of the site.  Updates and more changes are in the process.  If something goes wrong, please let me know!

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