The Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway (BAGS) ( es, Ferrocarril del Sud) was one of the ''Big Four''
broad gauge
A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways.
Broad gauge of , commonly known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union (CIS ...
, , British-owned companies that built and operated railway networks in
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
. The company was founded by Edward Lumb in 1862 and the first general manager was
Edward Banfield Edward Banfield may refer to:
* Edward Banfield (railroad engineer) (1837–1872), British railroad engineer in Argentina
* Edward C. Banfield
Edward Christie Banfield (November 19, 1916 – September 30, 1999) was an American political scientist, ...
after whom the Buenos Aires suburban station of
Banfield was named, when it opened in 1873. After president
Juan Perón
Juan Domingo Perón (, , ; 8 October 1895 – 1 July 1974) was an Argentine Army general and politician. After serving in several government positions, including Minister of Labour and Vice President of a military dictatorship, he was elected P ...
nationalised
Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...
the Argentine railway network in 1948 it became part of the state-owned company
Ferrocarril General Roca
The General Roca Railway (FCGR) (native name: Ferrocarril General Roca) is a broad gauge railway in Argentina which runs from Constitución station in Buenos Aires to the south of the country through the provinces of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, ...
.
History
Preliminary studies
The market of
Plaza Constitución in Buenos Aires was served by
cart
A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by one or a pair of draught animals. A handcart is pulled or pushed by one or more people.
It is different from the flatbed tr ...
s coming from the South of the province that crossed the
Riachuelo through the "Puente de Gálvez". As this transport was too costly, the products could not be carried on very long distances. In 1860, 7,416 carts with wool and leather had arrived to Constitución (each vehicle had a capacity of 25 100 kg packages).
The state of passenger transport was similar. The carriages made three trips per month to
Lobos
Lobos is the headquarters city of the Lobos Partido in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It was founded on 2 June 1802 by José Salgado.
Background
Located 100 km from Buenos Aires, Lobos is currently a fertile agricultural area known ma ...
,
Cañuelas,
25 de Mayo, Saladillo and
Dolores Dolores, Spanish for "pain; grief", most commonly refers to:
* Our Lady of Sorrows or La Virgen María de los Dolores
* Dolores (given name)
Dolores may also refer to:
Film
* ''Dolores'' (2017 film), an American documentary by Peter Bratt
* ' ...
, two trips per month to
Tandil
Tandil is the main city of the homonymous Partidos of Buenos Aires, partido (department), located in Argentina, in the southeast of Buenos Aires Province, just north-northwest of Tandilia hills. The city was founded in 1823 and its name originate ...
and Lobería and just one to
Bahía Blanca
Bahía Blanca (; English: White Bay) is a city in the southwest of the provinces of Argentina, province of Buenos Aires Province, Buenos Aires, Argentina, by the Atlantic Ocean, and is the seat of government of the Bahía Blanca Partido. It had 3 ...
. The carriages were accompanied by "cuarteadores" that helped them to cross rivers and streams. There also were intermediate stops such as "La Botica", a pulpería in
Lomas de Zamora
Lomas de Zamora is a city in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, located south of the City of Buenos Aires and within the metropolitan area of Greater Buenos Aires. It is the capital of Lomas de Zamora Partido and has a population of 111,897.
...
of
Greater Buenos Aires
Greater Buenos Aires ( es, Gran Buenos Aires, GBA), also known as the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area ( es, Área Metropolitana de Buenos Aires, AMBA), refers to the urban agglomeration comprising the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires and the adjac ...
.
This form of transport had several disadvantages. The roads were not in good condition and the rivers obligated to passengers to stray dozens of kilometers from the path. The carriages covered an average of 80 km per day.
Because of this, Plaza Constitución was the first option to build a terminus station of a great railway that connected the city of Buenos Aires with the south of the province.
First steps of the railway
In August 1861, Edward Lumb, a
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
entrepreneur, requested the concession of a railway line that would run from Constitución to the city of
Chascomús
Chascomús is the principal city in Chascomús Partido in eastern Buenos Aires Province of Argentina, located south of the capital Buenos Aires. In 2001, the city had a population of 30,670.
History
The city was founded as a fort (the ''Fortí ...
, 120 km from Buenos Aires. Lumb offered
$ 1,000,000 as guarantee to the Government of Buenos Aires. Lumb's initiative was debated in the
Chamber of Deputies
The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures.
Description
Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...
, where it was concluded that the railroad was necessary for the development of the Argentinian nation.
Juan B. Alberdi stated "The railroad will join the Argentine Republic better than all the congresses... without the 'iron road' that connects their extremes, the country will be always divisible and divided against all the Legislative decrees".
Finally, on May 27, 1862, the Buenos Aires Legislature promulgated the Law that authorized President of Argentina,
Bartolomé Mitre
Bartolomé Mitre Martínez (26 June 1821 – 19 January 1906) was an Argentine statesman, soldier and author. He was President of Argentina from 1862 to 1868 and the first president of unified Argentina.
Mitre is known as the most versatile ...
, to enter into a contract with Edward Lumb. The Government demanded an interest rate of 7% on the costs of construction over 40 years. On the other hand, the company was exempt from paying contributions, taxes and custom fees. The railway company had also to carry the post for free. The Government could expropriate the railway and its assets if the company did not offer an additional 20% of the construction costs as compensation. The rail gauge should be the same as that of the
Buenos Aires Western Railway
The Buenos Aires Western Railway (BAWR) (in Spanish: Ferrocarril Oeste de Buenos Aires), inaugurated in the city of Buenos Aires on 29 August 1857, was the first railway built in Argentina and the start of the extensive rail network which was ...
and the company was able to build a
tram
A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
line to
Monserrat and other strategic points in the city of Buenos Aires. The contract was officialized by the Government of Argentina on June 12, 1862.
On November 12 the railroad route was approved, according to the maps proposed by the concession. The Government wanted the railway to cross
San Vicente but the landscape was unsuitable. Consequently, the line's route was moved to La Paz (current Lomas de Zamora), where the field was more solid to extend the tracks. The route would extend from La Paz to Samborombón.
Lumb tried to get money in Buenos Aires to finance the construction of the railroad, but his attempts were not successful. As a result, he traveled to London, where bankers Baring and David Robertson agreed to give the company credit to finance the construction of the railroad. The limited liability company ''Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway'' was established, whose statutes were approved in 1863. The company requested Samuel Petro & E. Ladd to take over the construction of the whole railroad, including lands, stations, workshops and rolling stock at a cost of
GBP
Sterling (abbreviation: stg; Other spelling styles, such as STG and Stg, are also seen. ISO code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound ( sign: £) is the main unit of sterling, and t ...
651,000. For GBP 14,000 the company hired the engineer Thomas Rumball to supervise the works.
When the works were about to begin,
William Wheelwright (owner of
Central Argentine Railway
The Central Argentine Railway, referred to as CA below, (in Spanish: Ferrocarril Central Argentino) was one of the ''Big Four'' broad gauge, British companies that built and operated railway networks in Argentina. The company had been establis ...
) tried to boycott the works of BAGSR and refused to cooperate with the other British companies that built competitive railways. He also stated that the BAGSR had obtained more benefits than his own company (CAR) to build the line. The Governor of Buenos Aires refused to sign a contract until the issue was solved. Finally Robertson paid a bribe of GBP 22,000. The terms of the new contract determined that the line would be extended to
Dolores Dolores, Spanish for "pain; grief", most commonly refers to:
* Our Lady of Sorrows or La Virgen María de los Dolores
* Dolores (given name)
Dolores may also refer to:
Film
* ''Dolores'' (2017 film), an American documentary by Peter Bratt
* ' ...
and
Azul
Azul, meaning "blue" in Spanish and Portuguese, may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Azul'' (Los Piojos album), 1998
* ''Azul'' (Cristian Castro album), 2001
* Azul Azul, a Bolivian pop-dance music group
** "Azul" (song), the title song
* " ...
.
Construction
On March 7, 1864, works began where the
Constitución railway station
Constitución railway station () is a large railway station in Constitución, a in central Buenos Aires, Argentina. The full official name of the station is (in English: Constitution Square Station) reflecting the fact that the station is loca ...
is placed nowadays. Previously, a big celebration had been held, with a ceremony attended by President of Argentina Bartolomé Mitre and Governor of Buenos Aires Province, Mariano Saavedra.
The first section of the railroad (77 km from Buenos Aires to
Jeppener) was inaugurated on August 14, 1865. By December it had been extended to
Chascomús
Chascomús is the principal city in Chascomús Partido in eastern Buenos Aires Province of Argentina, located south of the capital Buenos Aires. In 2001, the city had a population of 30,670.
History
The city was founded as a fort (the ''Fortí ...
(113 km). A total of 11 estaciones were built on this path: Plaza Constitución, Barracas al Sud (current
Avellaneda
Avellaneda (, ) is a port city in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and the seat of the Avellaneda Partido, whose population was 342,677 as per the . Avellaneda is located within the Greater Buenos Aires metropolitan area, and is connected ...
),
Lomas de Zamora
Lomas de Zamora is a city in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, located south of the City of Buenos Aires and within the metropolitan area of Greater Buenos Aires. It is the capital of Lomas de Zamora Partido and has a population of 111,897.
...
,
Glew, San Vicente (current
Alejandro Korn
Alejandro Korn (3 May 1860 – 9 October 1936) was an Argentine psychiatrist, philosopher, reformist and politician. For eighteen years, he was the director of the psychiatry hospital in Melchor Romero (a locality of La Plata in Buenos Aires) ...
),
Domselaar, Ferrari (then
Coronel Brandsen), Jeppener, Facio (then
Altamirano), Gándara and
Chascomús
Chascomús is the principal city in Chascomús Partido in eastern Buenos Aires Province of Argentina, located south of the capital Buenos Aires. In 2001, the city had a population of 30,670.
History
The city was founded as a fort (the ''Fortí ...
.
The rolling stock was composed by 8 locomotives (manufactured by
Robert Stephenson and Company
Robert Stephenson and Company was a locomotive manufacturing company founded in 1823 in Forth Street, Newcastle upon Tyne in England. It was the first company in the world created specifically to build railway engines.
Famous early locomotiv ...
), 38 first and second class wagons, by
Brown, Marshalls and Co. Ltd. and 184 wagons for freight transport.
The line was
single track
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
with the exception of the path between Constitución and Barracas, where a
double track
A double-track railway usually involves running one track in each direction, compared to a single-track railway where trains in both directions share the same track.
Overview
In the earliest days of railways in the United Kingdom, most lin ...
was built to facilitate the transit of the trains due to the workshops and rolling stock depots operated in Barracas.
As time passed, some station were added, such as Barracas al Norte (current Hipólito Yrigoyen, 1866),
Burzaco
Burzaco is a city in Almirante Brown Partido, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It has an area of 22.77 km2, holds a population of 98,859 (). It is 27 kilometres from Buenos Aires city, to which it is linked by the Ferrocarril General Roca Sou ...
(1867) and
Lanús
Lanús () is the capital of Lanús Partido, Buenos Aires Province in Argentina. It lies just south of the capital city Buenos Aires, in the Greater Buenos Aires metropolitan area. The city has a population of 212,152 (), and the Partido de Lan ...
(1868). The Great Southern Railway did not extend their tracks until 1870 but the profits increased year after year. In 1870 the line carried 516,993 passenger and 54,116 tonnes of freight.
The bridge over the Riachuelo
The first serious obstacle that the engineers found was the
Riachuelo, a stream that defines the southern boundary of the Buenos Aires federal district. It was necessary to build a double bridge (because of the double track that ran between Constitución to Barracas) to cross the stream. For that purpose, three iron cylinders were placed in both sides of the stream, filling them with concrete. The bridges were placed on those cylinders.
The first bridge built by the BAGSR over the Riachuelo lasted 44 years, so in 1909 it was replaced by a
moveable bridge
A moveable bridge, or movable bridge, is a bridge that moves to allow passage for boats or barges. In American English, the term is synonymous with , and the latter is the common term, but drawbridge can be limited to the narrower, historical d ...
that operated until 1982, when the line was electrified and a new bridge (built in concrete) replaced the old iron structure.
[
]
Expansion to Dolores and Azul
By 1880 the GSR line reached 562 km built. The contract of concession ruled that the line should be extended to Dolores or any city determined by the National Government. The company built a branch from Altamirano to Río Salado (current General Belgrano Partido
General Belgrano Partido is a Partidos of Buenos Aires, partido east of Buenos Aires Province in Argentina.
The provincial subdivision has a population of about 16,000 inhabitants in an area of , and its capital city is General Belgrano, Buenos A ...
) in 1871. One year later the line extended to Las Flores and finally reached the city of Azul in 1876.
Some of the stations built were Ranchos, Villanueva, Bonnement, Salado, Chas, San Pedro (then Newton), Rosas, Las Flores, Colorado (then Dr. D. Harosteguy), Pardo, Cacharí, Parish, Pinedo and Azul.
The branch to Chascomús
Chascomús is the principal city in Chascomús Partido in eastern Buenos Aires Province of Argentina, located south of the capital Buenos Aires. In 2001, the city had a population of 30,670.
History
The city was founded as a fort (the ''Fortí ...
was extended to Dolores (opening this new section in 1874). The new stations built were Monasterio, Lezama, Guerrero, Taillade (current Castelli), Sevigné and Dolores (km 203).
The urban section of Buenos Aires
The original Lomas de Zamora station building was demolished at the beginning of the 1870s to build a more modern structure there. The new stations built were: Temperley
Temperley is a district in Greater Buenos Aires, Argentina, located in the south of Lomas de Zamora Partido.
History
In 1854 the industrial and textile merchant George Temperley (born in 1823 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England) bought from the ...
(1871), Adrogué
Adrogué () is a city in Greater Buenos Aires, Argentina, located 23 km south of Buenos Aires. It is the administrative headquarters for Almirante Brown Partido (county).
At slightly more than 30,000 inhabitants, it is a prominent residenti ...
(1872) and Banfield (1873). Temperley was then a small town with small farms extended from Lanús to Burzaco. The nearest station was Lomas de Zamora where some houses stood alongside the main road (today Pavón Avenue).
Jorge Temperley, who owned many lands in that place, showed his interest to build a train stop for which he donated the field where the station would be built. Therefore, in 1871 the primitive Temperley station was inaugurated. The station would be moved some years later to its current location.
In 1877 the BAGSR built new warehouses for the freight trains in Constitución station, also acquiring lands to build the freight station (Solá, in Buenos Aires). The company also increased the capacity of the Barracas al Sud station's warehouses. The same year all the tracks were removed and replaced. The double track also extended from Barracas to Altamirano.
The train reaches Tandil
In 1871 the company began to expand their net, through two main branches. The first extended from Altamirano to Azul (connecting cities as Ranchos and Las Flores) and the other branch from Chascomús
Chascomús is the principal city in Chascomús Partido in eastern Buenos Aires Province of Argentina, located south of the capital Buenos Aires. In 2001, the city had a population of 30,670.
History
The city was founded as a fort (the ''Fortí ...
to Dolores and Ayacucho (inaugurated in 1880).
Some rumours referred to a possible expropriation of the company by the Government of Buenos Aires. Because of that, the company directory sent Frank Parish and C.O. Barker (President and Secretary of the company, respectively) to Buenos Aires with the purpose to deal with the Government to avoid cancellation of the concession. The parties finally make an agreement that established BAGSR compromise to build two extensions of the line: one from Azul to Bahía Blanca
Bahía Blanca (; English: White Bay) is a city in the southwest of the provinces of Argentina, province of Buenos Aires Province, Buenos Aires, Argentina, by the Atlantic Ocean, and is the seat of government of the Bahía Blanca Partido. It had 3 ...
and the second from Ayacucho to Tandil
Tandil is the main city of the homonymous Partidos of Buenos Aires, partido (department), located in Argentina, in the southeast of Buenos Aires Province, just north-northwest of Tandilia hills. The city was founded in 1823 and its name originate ...
. The contract signed on October 1881 ruled that the train would reach the city of Tandil within the three subsequent years.
The prolongation of the line from Ayacucho began in 1882. The station was built on a land that had belonged to Mari Blas Dhers, acquired by the company for $200,000.
On May 6, 1883, the first train arrived to Tandil. On September 1 the definitive opening of the line was promulgated.
Branches to Bahía Blanca
By 1884, many towns had been founded in Buenos Aires Province. Some of them were Azul
Azul, meaning "blue" in Spanish and Portuguese, may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Azul'' (Los Piojos album), 1998
* ''Azul'' (Cristian Castro album), 2001
* Azul Azul, a Bolivian pop-dance music group
** "Azul" (song), the title song
* " ...
(established 1832), Esperanza (now General Alvear, 1854), Las Flores and 25 de Mayo (both 1856), Tapalqué (1863), Saladillo (1864), Arenales (then Ayacucho
Ayacucho (, qu, Ayak'uchu) is the capital city of Ayacucho Region and of Huamanga Province, Ayacucho Region, Peru.
During the Inca Empire and Viceroyalty of Peru periods the city was known by the name of Huamanga (Quechua: Wamanga), and it c ...
, 1866), Olavarría (1867) and Benito Juárez
Benito Pablo Juárez García (; 21 March 1806 – 18 July 1872) was a Liberalism in Mexico, Mexican liberal politician and lawyer who served as the 26th president of Mexico from 1858 until his death in office in 1872. As a Zapotec peoples, Zapo ...
(1874).
Moving among those cities was a real odyssey. In most of cases the vehicle used was the "galera", a big carriage with capacity for many passengers. Those vehicles transport guns to repel malones and assaults, and could cover 80 km in a day.
In 1866 the Government of Argentina and the shipping company ''Aguirre y Murga'' signed a deal to establish a passenger and freight service between Buenos Aires, Bahía Blanca and Carmen de Patagones
Carmen de Patagones is the southernmost city in the .
Geography
It is located 937 km southwest from the city of Buenos Aires, on the north bank of the Río Negro ("Black River"), near the Atlantic Ocean, and opposite Viedma, capital of ...
. The contract ruled that the company should make a monthly trip, being granted for its services.
The BAGSR extended the line to Olavarría, opening the service in March, 1883. The tracks continued their expansion, reaching General Lamadrid
General Lamadrid is a town in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the administrative seat of General Lamadrid Partido
General La Madrid is a partido in the central region of Buenos Aires Province in Argentina.
The provincial subdivision ha ...
on October. Finally the line reached the city of Bahía Blanca
Bahía Blanca (; English: White Bay) is a city in the southwest of the provinces of Argentina, province of Buenos Aires Province, Buenos Aires, Argentina, by the Atlantic Ocean, and is the seat of government of the Bahía Blanca Partido. It had 3 ...
in April 1884, opening the service to passengers on July 7. The travel from Buenos Aires to Bahía Blanca took 24 hours. By 1884 the BAGSR was the largest railroad of Argentina, with 1,025 km operating.
At the same time the line to Bahía Blanca was being built, the company made the arrangements to build a port in that city. The dock was made of steel and finished in 1885. It has 8 cranes, 5 tracks, a length of 300 meters and 200 meters width.
The other branch, extended to Benito Juárez in 1885, reaching the city of Tres Arroyos
Tres Arroyos is a city in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the administrative seat of Tres Arroyos Partido.
The city has a sizable population of Danish and Dutch descent.
Tres Arroyos is served by Tres Arroyos Airport.
Climate
Tres Ar ...
in April 1886. The company was given approval to extend its tracks from Tres Arroyos to Bahía Blanca. The works were concluded in December 1891.
The Ensenada & Port railway
In 1866 the Buenos Aires and Ensenada Port Railway
The Buenos Aires & Ensenada Port Railway (BA&EP) (in Spanish: Ferrocarril Buenos Aires y Puerto de la Ensenada) was a British-owned company that built and operated a broad gauge railway network in Argentina towards the end of the nineteenth cen ...
opened its services to public. The project was to build a new port to replace the Port of Buenos Aires
The Port of Buenos Aires ( es, Puerto de Buenos Aires) is the principal maritime port in Argentina. Operated by the ''Administración General de Puertos'' (General Ports Administration), a state enterprise, it is the leading transshipment point fo ...
but this project was cancelled and the port never built. The foundation of the city of La Plata
La Plata () is the capital city of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. According to the , it has a population of 654,324 and its metropolitan area, the Greater La Plata, has 787,294 inhabitants. It is located 9 kilometers (6 miles) inland from th ...
in 1882 brought with it the construction of a new railroad with the terminus station in that city. The works were carried out by the Buenos Aires Western Railway
The Buenos Aires Western Railway (BAWR) (in Spanish: Ferrocarril Oeste de Buenos Aires), inaugurated in the city of Buenos Aires on 29 August 1857, was the first railway built in Argentina and the start of the extensive rail network which was ...
, then owned by the Government of Buenos Aires. The construction of a new railroad limited the possibility of expansion of the BAEPR.
One of the branches built by the BAWR extended from Tolosa to Magdalena, acquired by the BAEPR in 1888. The company also tried to expand its business acquiring the Brandsen-Ringuelet branch. The BAEPR also built a line from Bartolomé Bavio (a small town near to Magdalena, at the South of Buenos Aires Province) to Álvarez Jonte, opened in 1892. The following year the branch extended to Atalaya, Magdalena Partido
Magdalena Partido () is a partido in the northeastern part of Buenos Aires Province in Argentina.
The provincial subdivision has a population of about 16,000 inhabitants in an area of , and its capital city is Magdalena, which is from Buenos A ...
.
The fire that destroyed the Estación Central of Buenos Aires in 1897, obligated the BAEPR to move the terminus station to Casa Amarilla in La Boca
La Boca (; "the Mouth", probably of the Matanza River) is a neighborhood (''barrio'') of Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina. It retains a strong Italian flavour, many of its early settlers having originated in the city of Genoa.
Geography
L ...
district. As a result, the viaduct used by the BAEPR trains to run over Paseo Colón Avenue was no longer in use (being later dismantled). Therefore, the number of passengers carried by the company (and the profits) decreased considerably.
On July 1, 1898, the Buenos Aires and Ensenada Port Railway was acquired by the Great Southern Railway.
Workshops
The railway's repair shops were originally located in Barracas al Sud station and then moved to Sola, where they operated for more than 15 years. The capacity of the workshops was surpassed due to the growth of the line. There was not enough place to enhance the workshop so the company managers considered the possibility of installing new facilities on some point of the line.
Therefore, the new workshops were built in 1901 at Remedios de Escalada
Remedios de Escalada is a city located in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, within Lanús Partido, Gran Buenos Aires. It covers an area of 9.95 km² and the population was 81,465 in 2001; the demonym for its inhabitants is "escaladense."
...
, 11 km from the Plaza Constitución, were the largest in South America, and employed nearly 2,700 men. Although primarily for repair work, the shops were equipped to make every part of a locomotive or a railway carriage. When the company took over the working of the Bahía Blanca and North Western Railway from the Buenos Aires and Pacific Railway
The Buenos Aires and Pacific Railway (BA&P) (in Spanish: Ferrocarril Buenos Aires al Pacífico) was one of the ''Big Four'' broad gauge, , British-owned companies that built and operated railway networks in Argentina.
The original concession wa ...
company in 1925 it acquired the latter's workshops in Bahia Blanca.
At the same time the workshops began their activities in Remedios de Escalada, the company draft a project to build houses for the employees of the workshops. This housing complex was named "Colonia Ferroviaria"
By the end of the 1940s, the workshops of Escalada had become a sort of factories, where all type of components and spare parts for the locomotives and coaches were manufactured.
The train arrives to the Atlantic
On 26 September 1886, the first train arrived to Mar del Plata station, in the homonymous city, which was the main tourist destination during summer seasons.
The BAGSR expanded its business on the Atlantic coast, building lines to other cities. In February 1892 the branch from Ayacucho to Balcarce was opened. On August the line extended to Quequén, a small town next to Necochea
Necochea is a port and beach city in the southwest of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. The city is located on the Atlantic coast, along the mouth of the Quequén Grande River, from Buenos Aires and southwest of Mar del Plata. The city proper ...
. Quequén had one of the main ports of the province.
In 1910 Mar del Plata
Mar del Plata is a city on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the seat of General Pueyrredón district. Mar del Plata is the second largest city in Buenos Aires Province. The name "Mar del Plata" is a s ...
was the main beach city of Argentina, receiving a huge number of tourists (most of them members of the aristocracy) during the summer. Due to the intense traffic of passengers, the railway station exceeded its capacity and the Municipality demanded the company to increase the facilities. The company had always denied to this request alleging that the station was only overcrowded during two months per year (the period of summer season in Argentina).
During the first decade of the 20th century, the urban development of Mar del Plata moved from the downtown to the South West (nearest to the coast) so the train station was far from the residences and hotels where the tourist were hosted. In June 1908, the Congress promulgated Law 5.535, authorizing the BAGSR to build a new station in Mar del Plata.
Although the construction of a new station had been approved, a neighbours committee (led by Mar del Plata pioneer Pedro Luro) opposed to the old station was demolished, requesting its preservation. Percy Clarke, manager of the company had to accept the neighbours' claim. The other point of conflict with the inhabitants of the city was the path of the new line. While the company wanted to build the new station near to the coast (to reduce costs), the neighbours demanded the station should be located far from the most populated areas of the city. Finally, the BAGSR agreed to build the new station where the neighbours demanded.
The works began in 1909 and were finished one year later, when the station building began to be constructed. The project of the company also included extension of the tracks to the city of Miramar. The new station in Mar del Plata (named " Mar del Plata Sud") was opened On December 1, 1910, although the main building was not still finished so a provisional wooden-structure was opened to the public for the 1910–11 summer season.
As the old station (renamed "Mar del Plata Norte") remained active, the new station would be only used during the summer seasons. It had two large platforms, the main building, a post warehouse, and a signal cabin
On a rail transport system, signalling control is the process by which control is exercised over train movements by way of railway signals and block systems to ensure that trains operate safely, over the correct route and to the proper timetabl ...
. When the new station opened, all the trains that arrived to the old station were reprogrammed to make their arrival to the South station. It totalized four services per day, including the two express
Express or EXPRESS may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* '' Express: Aisle to Glory'', a 1998 comedy short film featuring Kal Penn
* '' The Express: The Ernie Davis Story'', a 2008 film starring Dennis Quaid
Music
* ''Express'' ...
services. Nevertheless, a few days before the inauguration, the BAGSR requested the Government that only the express services arrived to the new station, due to the other three trains programmed had to end their routes in Miramar and could not change their path to the south station.
The request was approved and therefore only the express services stopped at the new station.
Expansion (1865–1899)
The expansion of the BAGSR since its inauguration until the 1890s was considerably high. Below are detailed some of the main cities reached by the railroad during this period.
Since 1884 the BAGSR presented drafts to extend the tracks from Dolores to Mar de Ajó (atlantic coast of Buenos Aires Province) but this project would not be carried out.
In 1885 the Government granted Dávila y Compañía the construction of a tram
A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
line that departing from Olavarría station, ended in the San Jacinto quarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their envi ...
(operated by the same company). This line would be transferred by Dávila to the BAGSR in 1889 and opened to public in 1893.
In 1908 the branch from General Guido
General Guido is a town in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the Administrative centre, administrative headquarters for General Guido Partido.
External links
Populated places in Buenos Aires Province
{{BuenosAiresAR-geo-stub ...
to Juancho (with a stop in General Madariaga) that finally reached Vivoratá in 1912. Other lines opened were Bosques- Berazategui, Neuquén
Neuquén (; arn, Nehuenken) is the capital city of the Argentine province of Neuquén and of the Confluencia Department, located in the east of the province. It occupies a strip of land west of the confluence of the Limay and Neuquén rivers w ...
-Zapala
Zapala is a city and touristic destination in the Patagonian province of Neuquén, Argentina with about 32,000 inhabitants according to the .
The city is located at the geographic center of the province at the confluence of national and provincia ...
and Álvarez Jonte-Las Pipinas among others, totalizing 6,082 km until then.
Temperley station
The foundation of the city of La Plata
La Plata () is the capital city of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. According to the , it has a population of 654,324 and its metropolitan area, the Greater La Plata, has 787,294 inhabitants. It is located 9 kilometers (6 miles) inland from th ...
contributed to the development of the railroad system. The Buenos Aires Western Railway
The Buenos Aires Western Railway (BAWR) (in Spanish: Ferrocarril Oeste de Buenos Aires), inaugurated in the city of Buenos Aires on 29 August 1857, was the first railway built in Argentina and the start of the extensive rail network which was ...
built a line from that city to Haedo, crossing the Province from South to West.
The managers of the BAGSR saw the opportunity to make a combination between both railways to connect the Constitución and La Plata stations and enter into competition with the Buenos Aires and Ensenada Port Railway
The Buenos Aires & Ensenada Port Railway (BA&EP) (in Spanish: Ferrocarril Buenos Aires y Puerto de la Ensenada) was a British-owned company that built and operated a broad gauge railway network in Argentina towards the end of the nineteenth cen ...
that had a service to La Plata. The managers of Western Railway also showed their interest to connect both lines.
Therefore, in February 1884 a junction
Junction may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Junction'' (film), a 2012 American film
* Jjunction, a 2002 Indian film
* Junction (album), a 1976 album by Andrew Cyrille
* Junction (EP), by Basement Jaxx, 2002
* Junction (manga), or ''Hot ...
between José Mármol and Temperley station was opened. This junction allowed passengers and freight services to run between Constitución and La Plata. A new Temperley building station would be inaugurated in 1888.
Extensions
In 1906 the BAGS proposed an extension of the line from Zapala
Zapala is a city and touristic destination in the Patagonian province of Neuquén, Argentina with about 32,000 inhabitants according to the .
The city is located at the geographic center of the province at the confluence of national and provincia ...
, 115 km from the Chilean border, across the Andes
The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...
to the town of Lonquimay
Lonquimay is a town and commune in the Malleco Province of southern Chile's Araucanía Region.
Transport
It is the terminus of an abandoned broad gauge railway project which supporters cited as the most practical railway route through the An ...
in Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
. Due to lack of funds the line was never built. This would have provided a rail link between the two countries in addition to the Transandine Railway
The Transandine Railway ( es, Ferrocarril Trasandino) was a combined rack ( Abt system) and adhesion railway which operated from Mendoza in Argentina, across the Andes mountain range via the Uspallata Pass, to Santa Rosa de Los Andes in Chi ...
, connecting Mendoza in Argentina with Los Andes in Chile, which was opened in 1910.
Other mainline services included those from Buenos Aires via Bolivar to Carhué
Carhué is an Argentine town in the Province of Buenos Aires, head of the Municipality (Partido) of Adolfo Alsina. Carhué is to the west of the city of La Plata and from Buenos Aires. The city is a tourist destination famous for the thermal ...
, via Maipú to Tandil
Tandil is the main city of the homonymous Partidos of Buenos Aires, partido (department), located in Argentina, in the southeast of Buenos Aires Province, just north-northwest of Tandilia hills. The city was founded in 1823 and its name originate ...
, via Chas
Chas is a Municipal Corporation in the Chas subdivision of the Bokaro district in the state of Jharkhand, India. It is often referred to as a suburb of Bokaro Steel City, though it predates the steel plant. Chas is one of the fastest-growing ur ...
and Ayacucho
Ayacucho (, qu, Ayak'uchu) is the capital city of Ayacucho Region and of Huamanga Province, Ayacucho Region, Peru.
During the Inca Empire and Viceroyalty of Peru periods the city was known by the name of Huamanga (Quechua: Wamanga), and it c ...
to Necochea
Necochea is a port and beach city in the southwest of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. The city is located on the Atlantic coast, along the mouth of the Quequén Grande River, from Buenos Aires and southwest of Mar del Plata. The city proper ...
, and services from Bahía Blanca to Toay in La Pampa Province
La Pampa () is a sparsely populated province of Argentina, located in the Pampas in the center of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise San Luis, Córdoba, Buenos Aires, Río Negro, Neuquén and Mendoza.
History
In ...
and to Huinca Renanco in Córdoba Province.
Partido del Tuyú
Although the BAGSR connected connected Constitución to Mar del Plata, the agricultural
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...
producers that lived next to the Atlantic coast were forced to make long trips driving their cattle to the BAGSR stations so there was not any railway line that ran next to the coast. For that reason they requested the BAGSR to build a branch so they could commercialise their goods avoiding so long trips. Furthermore, one of those producers sold part of his lands to the company could build there the "Divisadero" station (today, General Madariaga), located on the km 71,68 of the branch from General Guido.["Estación Pinamar" history on Museo Ferroviario Ranchos (blogsite)]
That branch built from Gral. Guido reached Juancho on November 7, 1907. By 1912 the tracks were extended to Vivoratá (with three intermediate statons built), where it connected with the main line Constituación – Mar del Plata, making it an alternative way for trains between both points in case there was a problem on the main path.[
On economic grounds, the coming of the train helped the zone to increase its production. Apart from cattle, producers commercialised apples and firewood, for which some small branches were built. One of those branches reached the point where the intersection of RP 11 and RP 74 is placed today, very close to the entrance to ]Pinamar
Pinamar is an Argentine coastal resort city located on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean in Buenos Aires Province. It has about 45,000 inhabitants (2020).
Located less than south of Buenos Aires, it is one of several small seaside communities that ...
. Nevertheless, most of those branches would be lifted in the 1940s.[
]
Growth
By 1930 the company had become a great corporation, probably the largest in the region. Its assets included 8,000 km of tracks, 504 stations, 857 steam locomotives, 955 carriages, 16,602 coaches and more than 30,000 employees. The Ferrocarril del Sud also contributed to the development of several cities of Buenos Aires Province
Buenos Aires (), officially the Buenos Aires Province (''Provincia de Buenos Aires'' ), is the largest and most populous Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of th ...
. The railway communicated the suburban areas with the Capital city, carrying agricultural products to the ports of Buenos Aires, Necochea
Necochea is a port and beach city in the southwest of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. The city is located on the Atlantic coast, along the mouth of the Quequén Grande River, from Buenos Aires and southwest of Mar del Plata. The city proper ...
and Bahía Blanca
Bahía Blanca (; English: White Bay) is a city in the southwest of the provinces of Argentina, province of Buenos Aires Province, Buenos Aires, Argentina, by the Atlantic Ocean, and is the seat of government of the Bahía Blanca Partido. It had 3 ...
. The company and its subsidiaries also operated a fruit farm in Río Negro Province
Río Negro (, ''Black River'') is a province of Argentina, located in northern Patagonia. Neighboring provinces are from the south clockwise Chubut, Neuquén, Mendoza, La Pampa and Buenos Aires. To the east lies the Atlantic Ocean.
Its capit ...
, an energy station in Bahía Blanca, the Club Hotel of La Ventana and another hotel in Miramar.
The company also built the Ingeniero White port and a dock with capacity for four steamships. Along with other British-owned railroad companies, BAGSR took part in the "Compañía Ferrocarriles de Petróleo" in Comodoro Rivadavia
Comodoro Rivadavia () is a city in the Patagonian province of Chubut in southern Argentina, located on the San Jorge Gulf, an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, at the foot of the Chenque Hill. Comodoro Rivadavia is the most important city of the San ...
, where the companies were supplied fuel oil for their locomotives.
The BAGSR reached its peak during the last years of the 1920s. Nevertheless, the increase of costs, the devaluation of the Argentine Peso
The peso (established as the ''peso convertible'') is the currency of Argentina, identified by the symbol $ preceding the amount in the same way as many countries using peso or dollar currencies. It is subdivided into 100 '' centavos''. Its ISO 4 ...
and the increasing in the road traffic, resulted in declining profits for the company.
After then president of Argentina Juan Domingo Perón
''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, t ...
signed the nationalization of the Argentine railways, the Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway was renamed "Ferrocarril General Roca
The General Roca Railway (FCGR) (native name: Ferrocarril General Roca) is a broad gauge railway in Argentina which runs from Constitución station in Buenos Aires to the south of the country through the provinces of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, ...
".
Ports
Puerto Ingeniero White, one of ports of Bahía Blanca, was built by the company who installed two grain elevators there in 1908 to cope with the increasing grain traffic, and constructed a jetty to provide berthing for four steamships. Together with the other British-owned railways, the company had a financial interest in the ''Compañía Ferrocarriles de Petróleo'' in Comodoro Rivadavia
Comodoro Rivadavia () is a city in the Patagonian province of Chubut in southern Argentina, located on the San Jorge Gulf, an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, at the foot of the Chenque Hill. Comodoro Rivadavia is the most important city of the San ...
whose wells supplied a large proportion of the fuel oil used by these railways. The railway controlled and operated the South Dock in Buenos Aires, at the mouth of the Riachuelo River
The River
The Matanza River is known by several names, including, in Spanish, Río de la Matanza ("the slaughter river" in English), Río Matanza ("slaughter river"), Río Mataderos ("slaughterhouses river"), Río de la Manzana ("the apple rive ...
.
Traffic
Much of the goods traffic, including the movement of grain, livestock, fruit from the valley of the Rio Negro, was seasonal, as was the summer tourist traffic to Mar del Plata
Mar del Plata is a city on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the seat of General Pueyrredón district. Mar del Plata is the second largest city in Buenos Aires Province. The name "Mar del Plata" is a s ...
, Miramar and Necochea
Necochea is a port and beach city in the southwest of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. The city is located on the Atlantic coast, along the mouth of the Quequén Grande River, from Buenos Aires and southwest of Mar del Plata. The city proper ...
. Apart from the suburban services around Buenos Aires and Bahía Blanca, the main traffic flow was between these two cities and beyond by three routes: the direct line via Las Flores, Olavarría and Coronel Pringles
Coronel Pringles () is a city in the south of the Buenos Aires Province in Argentina, situated near the mountains of Pillahuincó. It is the government seat of the Coronel Pringles Partido.
In 1882, the provincial government of Buenos Aires Pro ...
; a variant of this from Olavarría through General La Madrid and Saavedra; or finally via Las Flores and Tres Arroyos
Tres Arroyos is a city in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the administrative seat of Tres Arroyos Partido.
The city has a sizable population of Danish and Dutch descent.
Tres Arroyos is served by Tres Arroyos Airport.
Climate
Tres Ar ...
. Services beyond Bahia Blanca through the Plaza Huincul
Plaza Huincul is a small city in Neuquen province, with a population of around 13,000 people, located in southwestern Argentina. It is approximately south-west from the capital, Buenos Aires. Plaza Huincul is located in the middle of the desert ...
oilfield to Zapala
Zapala is a city and touristic destination in the Patagonian province of Neuquén, Argentina with about 32,000 inhabitants according to the .
The city is located at the geographic center of the province at the confluence of national and provincia ...
in Neuquén Province
Neuquén () is a province of Argentina, located in the west of the country, at the northern end of Patagonia. It borders Mendoza Province to the north, Rio Negro Province to the southeast, and Chile to the west. It also meets La Pampa Province a ...
, at first provided by through coaches on trains to Bahía Blanca, soon developed to the point where it became necessary to run separate complete trains from Buenos Aires.
Decline
Between 1907 and 1914 the railroad companies in Argentina had extended their lines an average of 1,800 km per year (more than any European country in the same period), with a total extension of 33,000 km. When the World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
began, the "Golden Age" of Argentine railways ended. Between 1917 and 1922 only 100 km were built.
The British companies also had to deal with the increasing costs, the decrease of the international commerce and the workers syndicates. Marcelo T. de Alvear
Máximo Marcelo Torcuato de Alvear Pacheco (4 October 1868 – 23 March 1942), was an Argentine lawyer and politician, who served as president of Argentina between from 1922 to 1928.
His period of government coincided precisely with the en ...
(elected President of Argentina in 1922) encouraged cooperation with the British companies, which recovered from the great post-war depression and increased their profits 5% per year since 1921 (and 9% since 1924).
Nevertheless, the great depression of the 1930s and a plan to build an extensive number of roads for automobile transport (for which the Government created the "Dirección Nacional de Vialidad", an office in charge of the development, planning and conservation of national routes) created an extremely difficult climate for the British railway companies in Argentina.
The increase of the automobile transport caused the investments for the railroad companies decreased considerably. Cars competed with trains when many routes began to be built, some of them with pathways parallel to the railway tracks. The British companies were also facing increasing competition from transport on the expanding road network, with the plan carried out by the national Government to avoid the monopoly for transport on the railway companies.
Except during the 1939–45 war in Europe, most of the steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...
s, almost all of which were manufactured in Britain, burned oil, a fuel in which Argentina was almost self-sufficient. Coal suitable for locomotive working was not available locally and had to be imported. The heaviest goods trains, reaching over 2000 tons during the harvest season, were often hauled by three-part articulated Garratt
A Garratt (often referred to as a Beyer Garratt) is a type of steam locomotive invented by British engineer Herbert William Garratt that is articulated into three parts. Its boiler, firebox, and cab are mounted on a centre frame or "bridge ...
locomotives.
Nationalization
When the entire Argentine railway network was nationalised in 1948, during Juan Peron's presidency, the BAGS became part of the General Roca Railway
The General Roca Railway (FCGR) (native name: Ferrocarril General Roca) is a broad gauge railway in Argentina which runs from Constitución station in Buenos Aires to the south of the country through the provinces of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, ...
, one of the six divisions of State-owned Ferrocarriles Argentinos
Ferrocarriles Argentinos (abbreviated as FA; ) was a state-owned company that managed the entire Argentine railway system for nearly 45 years. It was formed in 1948 when all the private railway companies were nationalised during Juan Perón's fir ...
. At the same time the Roca Railway absorbed the former state-owned Ferrocarriles Patagónicos that included line from Carmen de Patagones
Carmen de Patagones is the southernmost city in the .
Geography
It is located 937 km southwest from the city of Buenos Aires, on the north bank of the Río Negro ("Black River"), near the Atlantic Ocean, and opposite Viedma, capital of ...
to Bariloche
San Carlos de Bariloche, usually known as Bariloche (), is a city in the province of Río Negro Province, Río Negro, Argentina, situated in the foothills of the Andes on the southern shores of Nahuel Huapi Lake. It is located within the Nahuel ...
, the narrow gauge
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and .
Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...
line from Ingeniero Jacobacci
Ingeniero Jacobacci is a city in Río Negro Province, Argentina. It has a population of 12,000 inhabitants and was named in honor of Guido Jacobacci (es), the director of the railway opened in 1916 between San Antonio Oeste, on the Atlantic Oc ...
to Esquel
Esquel is a town in the northwest of Chubut Province in Argentine Patagonia. It is located in Futaleufú Department, of which it is the government seat. The town's name derives from one of two Tehuelche words: one meaning "marsh" and the other ...
, affectionately known as ''La Trochita
La Trochita (official name: ''Viejo Expreso Patagónico''), in English known as the Old Patagonian Express, is a narrow gauge railway in Patagonia, Argentina using steam locomotives. The nickname ''La Trochita'' means literally "The little gauge" ...
'', and the southern half of the French-owned Rosario and Puerto Belgrano Railway
The Rosario and Puerto Belgrano Railway (Spanish: Ferrocarril Rosario y Puerto Belgrano, and in French: Compagnie de Chemins de Fer Rosario-Puerto Belgrano) was a French-owned railway company which operated a broad gauge, , single track lin ...
.
See also
*General Roca Railway
The General Roca Railway (FCGR) (native name: Ferrocarril General Roca) is a broad gauge railway in Argentina which runs from Constitución station in Buenos Aires to the south of the country through the provinces of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, ...
*Rail transport in Argentina
The Argentine railway network consisted of a network at the end of the Second World War and was, in its time, one of the most extensive and prosperous in the world. However, with the increase in highway construction, there followed a sharp decl ...
References
Bibliography
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External links
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1862 establishments in Argentina
1948 disestablishments in Argentina
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