The Ferrocarril de Junin was 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 ...

railway operating in northern Chile, and was built to serve the

nitrate Nitrate is a polyatomic ion with the chemical formula . Salts containing this ion are called nitrates. Nitrates are common components of fertilizers and explosives. Almost all inorganic nitrates are soluble in water. An example of an insolu ...

workings. The terminal of the railway was located at the port of Junin, and the railway was opened in 1894. The first section of the railway consisted of a 1 km incline plane, rising from the port to 674 metres above sea-level, that is a 67.4% grade. From the top of the incline there was a 51 km main line to Oficina Reducto. Branching off the main line was a 17 km branch to Aragon, and 8 other branches totalling 39 km.Locomotives International No.14, May 1992. The locomotive stock consisted of five 0-6-2

tank locomotive A tank locomotive or tank engine is a steam locomotive that carries its water in one or more on-board water tanks, instead of a more traditional tender. Most tank engines also have bunkers (or fuel tanks) to hold fuel; in a tender-tank loc ...

s by Avonside, as well as two 0-6+6-0

Fairlie locomotive A Fairlie is a type of articulated steam locomotive that has the driving wheels on bogies. The locomotive may be double-ended (a double Fairlie) or single ended (a single Fairlie). Fairlies are most famously associated with the Ffestiniog Rai ...

s manufactured by the

Yorkshire Engine Company The Yorkshire Engine Company (YEC) was a small independent locomotive manufacturer in Sheffield, England. The company was formed in 1865 and produced locomotives and carried out general engineering work until 1965. It mainly built shunting engi ...

and at least one small electric locomotive made by the

Baldwin Locomotive Works The Baldwin Locomotive Works (BLW) was an American manufacturer of railroad locomotives from 1825 to 1951. Originally located in Philadelphia, it moved to nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania, in the early 20th century. The company was for decades ...

. The railway operated in one of the driest areas on earth, and cartage of water for the steam locomotive boilers was a major expense. In 1930 the railway purchased a 2-6-2

diesel locomotive A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving whee ...

constructed by

Hudswell Clarke Hudswell, Clarke and Company Limited was an engineering and locomotive building company in Jack Lane, Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. History The company was founded as Hudswell and Clarke in 1860. In 1870 the name was changed to Hud ...

. This locomotive, named ''Junin'', is believed to be the first to have used the

road switcher A road switcher is a type of railroad locomotive designed to both haul railcars in mainline service and shunt them in railroad yards. Both type and term are North American in origin, although similar types have been used elsewhere. A road ...

layout. Although a success the locomotive failed to avert the closure of the railway in 1931. Although '' Junin'' survived it is in a very bad state, it now lives in the Armley Mills Museum in

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popul ...

.''The Railway Foundry, Leeds - Hudswell Clarke & Co. Ltd. - The Diesel Era.'' The Industrial Railway Society, 2015.

References

{{reflist

External links

* Ian Thomson
La Nitrate Railways Co. Ltd.: La Pérdida de sus derechos exclusivos en el mercado del transporte del salitre y su respuesta a ella
Instituto de Historia, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Historia No 38, Vol. I, enero-junio 2005: 85-112, ISSN 0073-2435 2 ft 6 in gauge railways in Chile Railway lines in Chile Saltpeter works in Chile