The Southern Fuegian Railway ( es, Ferrocarril Austral Fueguino (FCAF)) or the Train of the End of the World ( es, El Tren del Fin del Mundo) is a gauge steam railway in Tierra del Fuego Province,

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 ...

. It was originally built as a freight line to serve the prison of

Ushuaia Ushuaia ( , ) is the capital of Tierra del Fuego, Antártida e Islas del Atlántico Sur Province, Argentina. With a population of nearly 75,000 and a location below the 54th parallel south latitude, Ushuaia claims the title of world's souther ...

, specifically to transport timber. It now operates as a heritage railway into the

Tierra del Fuego National Park Tierra del Fuego National Park () is a national park on the Argentine part of the island of Tierra del Fuego, within Tierra del Fuego Province in the ecoregion of Patagonic Forest and Altos Andes, a part of the subantarctic forest. Establis ...

and is considered the southernmost functioning railway in the world.

History

Origins

century, Ushuaia on

Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego (English: ''Big Island of the Land of Fire'') also formerly ''Isla de Xátiva''penal colony A penal colony or exile colony is a settlement used to exile prisoners and separate them from the general population by placing them in a remote location, often an island or distant colonial territory. Although the term can be used to refer to ...

, with the first prisoners arriving in 1884. In 1902, work began on a proper set of buildings for the prison by inmates, and a railway on wooden rails was constructed to assist the transport of materials, mainly local rock, sand and timber. Oxen pulled wagons along the narrow gauge of less than . In 1909, the prison governor informed the government of the need to upgrade the line and

Decauville Decauville () was a manufacturing company which was founded by Paul Decauville (1846–1922), a French pioneer in industrial railways. Decauville's major innovation was the use of ready-made sections of light, narrow gauge track fastened to stee ...

tracks at a

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 ...

were laid in 1909 and 1910 for use with a steam locomotive. They connected the prison camp with the forestry camp and passed along the shoreline in front of the growing town of Ushuaia. It was known as the 'Train of the Prisoners' (''Tren de los Presos'') and brought wood for heating and cooking as well as building. The railway was gradually extended further into the forest into more remote areas as wood was exhausted. It followed the valley of the Pipo River into the higher terrain. Constant building allowed expansion of the prison and of the town, with prisoners providing many services and goods. In 1947 the prison was closed and replaced with a naval base. Two years later the

1949 Tierra del Fuego earthquake The 1949 Tierra del Fuego earthquakes occurred slightly more than eight hours apart on 17 December. Their epicenters were located in the east of the Chilean Tierra del Fuego Province, close to the Argentine border on the island of Tierra del Fueg ...

blocked much of the line. Nevertheless, the government made efforts to clear the line and put the train back in service despite the absence of the prisoners. However the service was not viable and closed in 1952.

Rebirth as a tourist railway

In 1994, the railway was rebuilt in

track gauge In rail transport, track gauge (in American English, alternatively track gage) is the distance between the two rails of a railway track. All vehicles on a rail network must have wheelsets that are compatible with the track gauge. Since many ...

and began services again, although now in luxury relative to its origin as a prison train, with

champagne Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, ...

and dinner services. A new 2-6-2T steam locomotive (''Camila'') was brought from

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 1995 with another made in Argentina and three diesel locomotives also serving on the line. Two garratts, in Porta's improved version, have also been procured. Services leave from the 'End of the World' station (about 10 km west of Ushuaia's Airport and immediately west of the Ushuaia Golf Club). The route takes passengers along the Pico Valley in the Toro gorge and to ''Cascada de la Macarena'' station where visitors are able to learn about the Yámana people and climb to a viewpoint at a 15-minute stop. The train then enters the national park and the forest, travelling through the valley below the mountains, reaching ''El Parque'' station where tourists can return by coach or train. There is a plan to extend the line to a new station closer to Ushuaia and connect the station to the city with 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 ...

In popular culture

The train served as inspiration to singer

Michale Graves Michael Emanuel (born March 21, 1975), better known by his stage name Michale Graves, is an American singer. He is best known as the lead vocalist for the 1990s re-incarnation of the horror punk band Misfits from 1995 to 2000, leaving briefly ...

in the song "Train to the End of the World" of his 2013 album ''

Vagabond Vagrancy is the condition of homelessness without regular employment or income. Vagrants (also known as bums, vagabonds, rogues, tramps or drifters) usually live in poverty and support themselves by begging, scavenging, petty theft, temporar ...

''."Railway Fuegian Southern" on Multescatola.com
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Gallery

Estação do Trem do Fim do Mundo (5466319103).jpg, Fin del Mundo station Cruzada en La Macarena.jpg, Train in Winter scene, 2008 FCAF locomotora 2.jpg, Locomotive, 2010 Garratt L D Porta.jpg, N° 2 locomotive Tren del fin del mundo Estacion Cascada Macarena.jpg, Train at Cascada station Estación Fin del Mundo, Tren del Fin del Mundo.jpg, Train at Fin del Mundo station Southern Fuegian Railway.jpg, Arriving at terminal Vias del Tren del fin del Mundo.jpg, Rail tracks Tren del Fin del Mundo (1).png, Preserved original train FCAF No.2 'Ing L.D.Porta.jpg, Ing. Porta locomotive Museo Marítimo de Ushuaia. Patio interior Vagon y Locomovil.jpg, Train at

Museum Punto de partida del ex Ferrocarril Austral Fueguino 01.JPG, Old station terminus

References

External links

* *Map sources for the station at:
El tren del fin del mundo - trip report from 2010
The Work of Shaun McMahon {{Railway Companies in Argentina Heritage railways in Argentina Railway lines in Argentina Railway companies of Argentina Tourist attractions in Tierra del Fuego Province, Argentina 500 mm gauge railways in Argentina Ushuaia Transport in Tierra del Fuego Province, Argentina