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The railway, designed in 1872 by the French engineer Léon Gouin, started from the Bau station, located in front of the Laveria of the same name, and developed along a route that connected the Naracauli mine, passing through Tinacci, until reaching the Piscinas yard. This complex railway system was designed to transport the enriched mineral from the mining areas to the yard, where a complex infrastructure, composed of warehouses, shunting tracks and a wooden landing stage, allowed the material to be loaded onto the “bilancelle”. These small sailing boats took the mineral to Carloforte, where it was transferred to larger-capacity ships bound for the Pertusola and Crotone factories for metal extraction.

In addition to transporting the mineral, the railway played a crucial role in the supply of coal and wood, essential for the reinforcement of wells and tunnels. At the departure station in Bau there were also hoppers used to load the Decauville wagons, which transported the mineral concentrate along the route to the Piscinas yard.

The route followed the valley floor, remaining on the right bank of the Rio di Bau until Tinacci, where the railway line joined the branch coming from Naracauli. Here, at the confluence of the Rio di Bau with the Rio Naracauli, there was a small station with a yard used for storing materials.

Initially, traction along the railway was entrusted to horses. For this reason, next to the galena warehouse in Piscinas, a stable was built to stabling the animals. The track was narrow gauge, with tracks laid on wooden sleepers and local granite blocks. With the beginning of the twentieth century, animal traction was progressively replaced by steam locomotives. Near the Scioppadroxiu spring, a cistern was installed to supply water to the locomotives, thus ensuring the necessary autonomy along the route.

The railway remained operational until the end of the 1940s, when road transport became predominant and more convenient. Today, the old route between Bau and Tinacci is closed to the public, as it is located within the perimeter of the Bau open-air prison. This area includes both the mining facilities and a large part of the territory of the historic mining concessions, preserving within it the remains of an infrastructure that for decades was at the center of the economic and industrial life of the area.