Pinamar Railway Station (1949)

Pinamar was a railway station in the homonymous city of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. Operated by recently created Ferrocarriles Argentinos, the station was opened in 1949 as an extension of the General Guido – General Madariaga branch of General Roca Railway, transporting tourist to the city of Pinamar mostly during Summer.

The station lasted 18 years until it was closed in December 1967. In 1996, a new station ( Divisadero de Pinamar) was built more distant from the original station. After the service was interrupted during some periods of time, Divisadero de Pinamar was re-opened in January 2021.

History

By 1904 the Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway connected Constitución (Buenos Aires) with Mar del Plata through a line from north to south that has stops in Chascomús, Maipú, among others."Estación Pinamar" history on Museo Ferroviario Ranchos (blogsite)

Nevertheless, the agricultural 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.

That branch built from Gral. Guido reached Juancho on November 7, 1907.El Ramal 34 del FCGR - La antigua "Mar del Plata vía Juancho" del Ferrocarril Sud
(part I) on Plataforma 14, Apr 2009 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.

In 1913 a group of Belgian entrepreneurs inaugurated Ostende, a village in the coast built on a land they had bought to the Guerrero family. To go to Ostende, passengers went by train to Juancho, then being transported by horse-drawn carriages to "Colonia Tokio" where they took a narrow-gauge railway (Decauville) to Ostende.Cien años de historia
on Viejo Hotel Ostende 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. Nevertheless, most of those branches would be lifted in the 1940s.

When the entire railway network was nationalised in Argentina in 1948,''British-Owned Railways in Argentina – Their Effect on Economic Nationalism, 1854-1948'' by Winthrop R. Wright - Latin American Monograph No. 34, Institute of Latin American Studies, Univ. of Texas Press, London (1974) managers of BAGSR's successor, Ferrocarriles Argentinos, thought about using those old freight branches for a passenger service to Pinamar. After some studies, works began and in August 1949, the first Constitución – Pinamar service was opened to public. The Pinamar station was placed where today stays a park, on Av. Constitución e/ Apolo y Av. Intemedanos.Pinamar Histórico – Plazoleta “Ismael Barabino” Antigua estación de tren
on Pinamar Turismo
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The first services were run by Ganz railcars that had been also used by the Argentine State Railway to run services to Bariloche. However, subsecquent services to Pinamar would be run by Drewry vehicles. The Constitución – Pinamar service was run for 18 years until December 12, 1967, when the service was definitely closed. Tracks were lifted in the 1970s.

New station: 1996

In 1991 the Governor of Buenos Aires Province, Eduardo Duhalde, expressed his intention to reactivate the Gral. Guido – Gral. Madariaga service (those tracks had not been removed) also stating that the government was studying to extend the line to Pinamar. Services to General Madariaga were reactivated in May 1994, being operated by state-owned Ferrobaires, a company established by the province to operated passenger trains in the territoryDecreto n° 99/93
CRÉASE LA UNIDAD EJECUTORA DEL PROGRAMA FERROVIARIO PROVINCIAL on Government of Buenos Aires websiteFerrobaires: La idea que no fue
by Andrés Bilstein on Portal de Trenes (archived, 3 Apr 2015) after Carlos Menem's administration closed all the services in March 1993.El servicio ferroviario argentino de las últimas dos décadas, el antes y después de las privatizaciones
- Monografias.comPrivatización de los ferrocarriles: “Ramal que para, ramal que cierra”
- Contra Molinos de Sortilegios, 24 July 2013COMO PERDIMOS EL FERROCARRIL ARGENTINO
- Ancaloo, 29 September 2008

Between 1994 and 1996 new tracks were added from Gral. Madariaga and a new station named "Divisadero de Pinamar". The new station was built1,5 km from the Route 11 (west direction) and more distant than the original Pinamar station closed in 1967 to avoid a level crossing on a highly trafficked route. Divisadero de Pinamar was inaugurated on December 7, 1996.

References

{{coord missing, Argentina

Railway stations in Buenos Aires Province
Railway stations opened in 1949
Railway stations closed in 1967
Defunct railway stations in Argentina