A unique intervention that combines engineering, operational expertise, and history and involves the recovery of a German locomotive that fell into the Oglio River during World War II.

As part of the railway track-doubling works, commissioned by RFI Rete Ferroviaria Italiana with the work direction of Italferr S.p.A. a company of the FS Group, the grouping of companies composed of Impresa Pizzarotti & C. S.p.A., Saipem, ICM Group and Salcef Group, drew up a project, unique in its kind, through an ‘accurate campaign of geophysical surveys, coordinated by the consortium La Bozzoliana, which allowed to locate the most likely position of the locomotive, downstream of the old existing bridge, at the position of the pile 2 of the new bridge over the Oglio River.

Having identified the vehicle, it is therefore necessary to recover the locomotive in order to proceed with the construction of the new railway bridge.
Historical information on the German locomotive was recovered by Italferr from the archives of the FS Foundation and in newspaper articles dating back to the time of the train accident, which occurred on Oct. 11, 1944, when the locomotive plunged, along with four wagons, into the Oglio River during the testing of a span with temporary supports, built by the German army itself, following the bombing of the existing old bridge.

It is a locomotive “Deutsche Reichsbahn – DR 56-20,” 85 tons in weight, 17 meters in length and 4 meters in assumed height.
The recovery of the locomotive will be carried out in steps: first the locomotive will be dug up through dredging operations and then extracted from the riverbed by means of a catamaran equipped with a lifting system. It will then be transported downstream to the bank on the Marcaria side, where it will finally be lifted by a crane of suitable capacity. It will then be transported outside the floodplain embankment and deposited pending its final destination as indicated by RFI.

Prior to salvage, however, some preliminary steps will be required, such as war clearance of explosive ordnance, dredging of the bottom, underwater inspection to locate docking points for raising the wreck, and the laying of mooring bollards to allow maneuvering of the catamaran.

As soon as seasonal conditions allow, preparatory operations and subsequent dredging of areas near the locomotive will be initiated. The raising of the wreck is scheduled for early June.