The Córdoba Central Railway (CCR) (in Spanish: Ferrocarril Central Córdoba) was 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, ...

-owned railway company, founded in 1887, that operated a railway network 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 ...

which extended from

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

, north west via Rosario and Córdoba, to Tucumán. Financial problems forced the sale of the company to the Government of Argentina in 1938. When railways were nationalized in 1948 the CC became part of Belgrano Railway.

History

Beginning

The company was founded in 1887 to take over a concession, originally granted to William Temple in 1885, for the construction of a 206 km line, from the Córdoba city suburb of Alta Córdoba to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. The line was completed in 1888 In October 1887 the Government granted the operation of Ferrocarril Central Norte's 884 km line (that included the Alta Córdoba-Tucumán, Frías-Santiago del Estero and Recreo-Chubicha branches) to Hume Hnos. & Cía (owned by The Hume Brothers) for $ 16,000,000. The concessionary would also invest $5,000,000 to bring it up to a satisfactory standard. The Government guaranteed Hume Hnos. a 5% of interest for 15 years. The Ferrocarril Central Norte only kept the Tucumán-Juramento 226 km. section. Hume Hnos. would then transfer their rights of operation to the Córdoba Central Railway in 1889. Between 1889 and 1891 the Córdoba Central network was expanded with the addition of Tucumán-Lamadrid (140 km) and

Argentine North Western Railway The Argentine North Western Railway (ANW) (in Spanish: Ferrocarril Noroeste Argentino) was a British-owned railway company, founded in 1886, that operated a railway network in the Tucumán Province of Argentina. The company was sold to the Britis ...

(284 km.). In 1891 Meiggs & Cía. transferred its assets to newly formed "Ferrocarril Córdoba y Rosario", established in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

with a capital of $ 10,164,646. In 1901 the company took over the operation of the British-owned

Córdoba North Western Railway The Córdoba North Western Railway (CNW) (in Spanish: Ferrocarril Córdoba y Noroeste) was a British-owned railway company, founded in 1889, that operated a railway network in the Córdoba Province of Argentina. Financial problems forced the sal ...

from Córdoba to Cruz del Eje, via La Calera and Cosquín. This railway had been built and operated by Otto Bemberg & Cía following the course of

Río Primero The Primero River ( es, Río Primero, 'First River'), also known as Suquía (the name used by the Comechingones, the indigenous people), runs through the city of Córdoba, Argentina. The tributaries of the Primero (mainly the San Roque and Cos ...

. This branch is currently operated by

Tren de las Sierras Tren de las Sierras (technically known as the "A-1" branch of the General Belgrano Railway) is a regional rail line in Córdoba Province of Argentina. The line runs from Alta Córdoba to Cosquín, being currently operated by state-owned com ...

. The first section was opened in 1891, reaching Cosquín the following year. In 1909 the Government of Argentina acquired the 155 km. line, being added to

Central Northern Railway The Central Northern Railway (Spanish: ''Ferrocarril Central Norte'', FCCN) was the first ( metre gauge) railway built by the Argentine State Railway. Its aim was to extend the existing British-owned Central Argentine broad gauge) railway fro ...

that same year.

Reaching Buenos Aires

In 1912 the Argentine government granted a concession to the CC to build a line connecting Rosario and Buenos Aires which was opened on 1 May 1912 and in October 1914 a new railway terminus was inaugurated at

Retiro, Buenos Aires Retiro is a ''barrio'' or neighborhood in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Located in the northeast end of the city, Retiro is bordered on the south by the Puerto Madero and San Nicolás, and on the west by the Recoleta. History Towards the end of the ...

. In 1912 the CC took over another British-owned company, the Córdoba & Rosario Railway, with whom it had shared mutual interests for a number of years. Severe rail and road competition lead to financial problems which eventually resulted in the sale of the CC to the Argentine government in May 1939 after which operation of its lines was taken over by the

Argentine State Railway Argentine State Railway (in Spanish: Ferrocarriles del Estado) was a State-owned railway company of Argentina, established by Law N° 6.757 in October 1909, when José Figueroa Alcorta was the President of Argentina. The company built and oper ...

. With the railway nationalisation in 1948, the CC became part of Belgrano Railway network.

Bibliography

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cordoba Central Railway Defunct railway companies of Argentina Metre gauge railways in Argentina Railway companies established in 1888 Railway companies disestablished in 1939 c c c