The Córdoba and Huatusco Railroad (''Ferrocarril de Córdoba a Huatusco'', FCCH) was a

narrow gauge railway 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 structur ...

connecting

Huatusco Huatusco de Chicuellar (commonly known as Huatusco), is a city in the Mexican state of Veracruz, on the Xalapa–Mexico City railroad that was founded by Italian immigrants. It is bordered by Calcahualco, the state of Puebla, Ixhuatlán del C ...

with Córdoba. It was opened in 1902 and closed in 1953.

History

The FCCH built in an effort to provide rail service to the

Veracruz Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...

town of Huatusco from the Ferrocarril Mexicano (FCM) at Córdoba. Julio Limantour was an investment partner in the banking firm of Hugo Scherer Jr. and Company for many years. He was well known in Mexico City’s business circles and abroad. Along with engineer Juan Navarro and Carlos Moricard, Limantour joined in a society to build a railroad line in Veracruz. In 1900 Navarro had acquired the rights to a railroad concession granted in 1898 to build a railroad line to run from Córdoba to Huatusco. The line was surveyed by the son of

Porfirio Díaz José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori ( or ; ; 15 September 1830 – 2 July 1915), known as Porfirio Díaz, was a Mexican general and politician who served seven terms as President of Mexico, a total of 31 years, from 28 November 1876 to 6 Decem ...

, and of

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 ...

rails reached Coscomatepec in 1902. The route across the flanks of

Pico de Orizaba Pico de Orizaba, also known as Citlaltépetl (from Nahuatl = star, and = mountain), is an inactive stratovolcano, the highest mountain in Mexico and the third highest in North America, after Denali of Alaska in the United States and Mount Loga ...

required expensive construction. The bridge at

Tomatlán Tomatlán (meaning "Tomato land" or "place of tomato" from Nahuatl) is a town and municipality, in Jalisco south of Cabo Corrientes in central-western Mexico. The municipality covers an area of 153 km². As of 2015, the municipality ha ...

was above a tributary of the Río Jamapa; and of 3.7%

grade Grade most commonly refers to: * Grade (education), a measurement of a student's performance * Grade, the number of the year a student has reached in a given educational stage * Grade (slope), the steepness of a slope Grade or grading may also ref ...

with 19 degree (

radius In classical geometry, a radius ( : radii) of a circle or sphere is any of the line segments from its center to its perimeter, and in more modern usage, it is also their length. The name comes from the latin ''radius'', meaning ray but also the ...

) curves were required to reach Coscomatepec from Tomatlán. The construction of the railroad as well as the transportation of passengers, products and supplies were affected by the weather, topography, and infectious diseases, which were more prevalent near the coast. Construction was also delayed by the need for specialized equipment, some of which had to be acquired from firms in the United States and overseas. Funds were unavailable to complete the final to Huatusco, and the line was sold to the Ferrocarril Mexicano in 1909 after Limantour's death. FCM purchased three new

passenger A passenger (also abbreviated as pax) is a person who travels in a vehicle, but does not bear any responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination or otherwise operate the vehicle, and is not a steward. The ...

coaches Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

for their narrow gauge line and transferred a

Shay locomotive The Shay locomotive is a geared steam locomotive that originated and was primarily used in North America. The locomotives were built to the patents of Ephraim Shay, who has been credited with the popularization of the concept of a ''geared st ...

from their Zacatlán Branch for use as a helper from Tomatlán to Coscomatepec. The locomotives had been built as coal burners with wooden cabs and

boiler A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, central h ...

s, but were later given steel cabs and converted to burn fuel oil. Mixed trains ran through 1951 with a 2-6-0 pulling the coaches, a 4-door

boxcar A boxcar is the North American ( AAR) term for a railroad car that is enclosed and generally used to carry freight. The boxcar, while not the simplest freight car design, is considered one of the most versatile since it can carry most ...

as a

baggage car A passenger railroad car or passenger car (United States), also called a passenger carriage, passenger coach (United Kingdom and International Union of Railways), or passenger bogie (India) is a railroad car that is designed to carry passen ...

, and a

flatcar A flatcar (US) (also flat car, or flatbed) is a piece of rolling stock that consists of an open, flat deck mounted on a pair of trucks (US) or bogies (UK), one at each end containing four or six wheels. Occasionally, flat cars designed to carry ...

with cloth roof to shade 3rd class seating on a longitudinal bench. Rails were removed in 1953, and ''Luisa'' was placed on display in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

. The other two

2-6-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and no trailing wheels. ...

locomotives were scrapped in 1954.

Locomotives

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cordoba and Huatusco Railroad Defunct railway companies of Mexico 2 ft gauge railways in Mexico History of Veracruz Transportation in Veracruz Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México Railway companies established in 1902 1953 disestablishments in Mexico Railway lines opened in 1902 Railway companies disestablished in 1953 Buildings and structures in Córdoba, Veracruz Mexican companies established in 1902