The Central Uruguay Railway (CUR) was one of the five original rail systems in

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

. The other four were the

Midland Uruguay Railway The Midland Uruguay Railway was the second most important of five Rail transport, rail lines in Uruguay, Uruguay's early rail history. The other four systems were the Central Uruguay Railway Co., the North Western of Uruguay Railway, North Western ...

Co., the North Western of Uruguay, the Uruguay Northern, and the Uruguay East Coast Railway. CUR, including its leased and worked lines, was considered the most important system. It controlled about of track. The system operated four sections: the Central Uruguay Railway Original Line (including the Northeastern Line), ; the Northern Extension Railway, ; the Eastern Extension Railway, ; and the Western Extension Railway, .

Overview

Central Uruguay Railway Co. of Montevideo, Ltd. was registered In

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in 1876. It was the largest railway company in Uruguay. It operated from 1 January 1878 to 3 January 1949, when railroads were nationalized. It worked, leased and absorbed some smaller rail systems. By the end of the era of British railways in Uruguay, CUR had a network of standard gauge, about half of the total within the country. In 1891, CUR's British and Uruguayan employees founded the

Central Uruguay Railway Cricket Club Central Uruguay Railway Cricket Club (mostly known for its acronym CURCC) was a Uruguayan sports club, originally established by Great Britain, British railway workers for the practise of cricket. Nevertheless, the club would be notable for its as ...

Routes

The Central Co. included the Central Uruguay and the Northeastern lines. It operated the lines of the Western Extension, the Northern Extension, and the Eastern Extension companies. The Central ran from

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

to Santa Isabel, across the Rio Negro, with a branch from Santa Lucia to

San José de Mayo San José de Mayo (; ''Mayo'' ) is the capital city of the San José Department in southern Uruguay. Geography The city is located at the centre of the department, on the intersection of Route 3 with Route 11, from the centre of Montevideo. T ...

; the Northeastern connected Montevideo and

Minas Minas or MINAS may refer to: People with the given name Minas * Menas of Ethiopia (died 1563) * Saint Menas (Minas, 285–309) * Minias of Florence (Minas, Miniato, died 250) * Minas Alozidis (born 1984), Greek hurdler * Minas Avetisyan (192 ...

. The Western Extension ran from San Jose to Mercedes, with a branch to the port of Colonia. The Northern Extension continued the Central from Santa Izabel to

Rivera Rivera () is the capital of Rivera Department of Uruguay. The border with Brazil joins it with the Brazilian city of Santana do Livramento, which is only a block away from it, at the north end of Route 5 (Uruguay), Route 5. Together, they form an ...

on the Brazilian border. The Eastern Extension started from a point on the Northeastern from Montevideo and ran to Melo, with a branch to

Treinta y Tres Treinta y Tres () is the capital city of the Treinta y Tres Department in eastern Uruguay. It is known for its role in the development of folk music. History Its name means "Thirty Three" and refers to the 19th-century national heroes, the Thirty ...

Rolling stock

In 1884 the company owned 18 steam locomotives, 31 coaches and 282 goods wagons. By 1936, the rolling stock had increased to 128 locomotives, 119 coaches and 2302 freight wagons.

References

External links

* * * * {{Authority control Central Railway lines opened in 1878 Defunct railway companies of Uruguay Standard-gauge railways in Uruguay

Overview

Routes

Rolling stock

See also

References

External links