The Villa Elisa Historic Train (in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

: Tren Histórico de Villa Elisa) is a heritage railway of

Entre Ríos Province Entre Ríos (, "Between Rivers") is a central province of Argentina, located in the Mesopotamia region. It borders the provinces of Buenos Aires (south), Corrientes (north) and Santa Fe (west), and Uruguay in the east. Its capital is Paraná ...

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 ...

. The service runs trains pulled by steam locomotives between the cities of Villa Elisa, covering a distance of .Tren turístico de Villa Elisa
on Girasol Hostería Trains run on

gauge Gauge ( or ) may refer to: Measurement * Gauge (instrument), any of a variety of measuring instruments * Gauge (firearms) * Wire gauge, a measure of the size of a wire ** American wire gauge, a common measure of nonferrous wire diameter, ...

tracks originally built by

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

Entre Ríos Railway The Entre Ríos Railway (ERR) (in Spanish: Ferrocarril Entre Ríos) was a British-owned railway company that built and operated a railway network in Entre Ríos Province, between the rivers Uruguay and Paraná, in Argentina. History The compa ...

and currently part of

General Urquiza Railway The General Urquiza Railway (FCGU) (in Spanish: Ferrocarril General Urquiza), named after the Argentine general and politician Justo José de Urquiza, is a standard gauge railway of Argentina which runs approximately northwards from Buenos Aire ...

since the nationalisation of the network in 1948. The service operates on weekends only to Primero de Mayo (4 km length), extending its route during the winter holidays to Caseros and San José palace.

History

On July 21, 1907, the Entre Ríos Railway opened the 36-km line between Villa Elisa and Caseros. After the entire railway network was nationalised in 1948,

Ferrocarriles Argentinos Ferrocarriles Argentinos (abbreviated as FA; ) was a state-owned company that managed the entire Argentine railway system for nearly 45 years. It was formed in 1948 when all the private railway companies were nationalised during Juan Perón's fir ...

took over the line but the lack of maintenance and a decreasing number of passengers carried resulted in the closure of the line in July 1980. In the 1990s and after the Carlos Menem's administration ended all the long-distance services in Argentina (with a few exceptions), a group of enthusiasts decided to reopen the line, bringing an old 1928 Scottish steam locomotive that had been abandoned in

Concepción del Uruguay Concepción del Uruguay is a city in Argentina. It is located in the Entre Ríos province, on the western shore of the Uruguay River, some 320 kilometers north from Buenos Aires. Its population is about 80,000 inhabitants (). History The city ...

. After the machine was restored, two coaches originally used by the ERR were added to the train. The service was inaugurated and operated since then by "Ferroclub Central Entrerriano", a local non-profit association formed by railway enthusiasts. During its first years of existence, the service ran trains pulled by steam locomotives between the cities of Entre Ríos and Villa Elisa, covering a distance of . The service was later extended to Caseros, with a total journey time of 120 minutes. The service has been interrupted and restarted several times, the last in 2013. It crosses several tourist points of the province such as 1 de Mayo, Pronuciamiento and Caseros. From then on, the route is completed by bus to San José palace, the former personal residence of

Justo José de Urquiza Justo José de Urquiza y García (; October 18, 1801 – April 11, 1870) was an Argentine general and politician who served as president of the Argentine Confederation from 1854 to 1860. Life Justo José de Urquiza y García was bo ...

, Argentine caudillo, general, politician and President of the Argentine Confederation from 1854 to 1860."Tren histórico Villa Elisa, Colón - Microregión"
on Entre Ríos/Colón website

References

External links

Tren histórico
on Turismo Entre Ríos
Salidas del tren histórico
on Municipalidad de Villa Elisa
Tren Histórico
on Villa Elisa Turismo (archived, 2 Jan 2017) {{DEFAULTSORT:Villa Elisa Historic Train Railway lines in Argentina Tourist attractions in Argentina Heritage railways in Argentina Transport in Entre Ríos Province

History

See also

References

External links