La Trochita (official name: ''Viejo Expreso Patagónico''), in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

known as the Old Patagonian Express, is a narrow gauge railway in

Patagonia Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and g ...

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 ...

using steam locomotives. The nickname ''La Trochita'' means literally "The little gauge" though it is sometimes translated as "The Little Narrow Gauge" 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 ...

while "trocha estrecha", "trocha angosta" in Argentina, is often used for a generic description of "narrow gauge." The Trochita railway is 402 km in length and runs through the foothills of the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

between

Esquel Esquel is a town in the northwest of Chubut Province in Argentine Patagonia. It is located in Futaleufú Department, of which it is the government seat. The town's name derives from one of two Tehuelche words: one meaning "marsh" and the other ...

and El Maitén in

Chubut Province Chubut ( es, Provincia del Chubut, ; cy, Talaith Chubut) is a province in southern Argentina, situated between the 42nd parallel south (the border with Río Negro Province), the 46th parallel south (bordering Santa Cruz Province), the Andes rang ...

and Ingeniero Jacobacci in

Río Negro Province Río Negro (, ''Black River'') is a province of Argentina, located in northern Patagonia. Neighboring provinces are from the south clockwise Chubut, Neuquén, Mendoza, La Pampa and Buenos Aires. To the east lies the Atlantic Ocean. Its capi ...

, originally it was part of Ferrocarriles Patagónicos, a network of railways in southern Argentina. Nowadays, with its original character largely unchanged, it operates as a heritage railway and was made internationally famous by the 1978 Paul Theroux book '' The Old Patagonian Express'', which described it as the railway almost at the end of the world. Theroux had sought to ride trains as far as possible into southern Argentina but did not include in his adventures the several railroads which were further south than Esquel, presumably because they were not considered operational or with sufficient connection to larger lines.

History

Plans

In 1908, the Government of Argentina planned a network of railways across

. Two main lines would join San Carlos de Bariloche in the central

with the sea ports of San Antonio Oeste on the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

coast to the east, and

Puerto Deseado Puerto Deseado, originally called Port Desire, is a city of about 15,000 inhabitants and a fishing port in Patagonia in Santa Cruz Province of Argentina, on the estuary of the Deseado River. It was named ''Port Desire'' by the privateer Thomas ...

on the coast to the south east. Branches were to be built to connect the mainline with Buenos Aires Lake (connecting at Las Heras) and Comodoro Rivadavia (connecting at Sarmiento). Colonia 16 de Octubre – the Esquel and

Trevelin Trevelin (; cy, Trefelin) is a town in the western part of the Patagonian Argentine province of Chubut. The town lies on the eastern banks of the ( es, Río Percey). It is located in the department of Futaleufú, south of Esquel, and had 6,3 ...

area – would be connected via a branch line to Ingeniero Jacobacci. The whole network would connect to Buenos Aires via San Antonio Oeste. The project ran out of steam following ministerial changes and the start of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

which affected the

economy of Argentina The economy of Argentina is the second-largest national economy in South America, behind Brazil. Argentina is a developing country with a highly literate population, an export-oriented agricultural sector, and a diversified industrial base. ...

and the input of technology and investment required from

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

. The northern main line from the coast reached Ingeniero Jacobacci in 1916. 282 km of the southern main line from Deseado to Las Heras, and the 197 km branch line from Comodoro Rivadavia to Sarmiento were laid, but never connected with each other or the northern network. After 1916, the only further work was the completion of the link from Jacobacci to Bariloche, finished in 1934.

Esquel line

The exception was the Esquel line. After the end of the First World War, narrow gauge track and facilities were plentiful and cheaper, given their extensive use at the front for supplies and troop movement.

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 ...

railroads were used extensively in Buenos Aires Province in rural areas and to carry freight. For passenger services, locomotives for track were readily available and it was decided to pursue this cheaper option. In 1921 it was agreed to lay down the Jacobacci-Esquel line, and also to connect it with the existing private gauge railway in the Chubut Valley from Dolavon to

Puerto Madryn Puerto Madryn (; cy, Porth Madryn), also known as ''Madryn'', is a city in the province of Chubut in Argentine Patagonia. It is the capital of the Viedma Department, and has about 93,995 inhabitants according to the last census in 2010. Puer ...

. This would be the ''Patagonian Light Railways Network''.

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

coaches and freight wagons were ordered in 1922, plus fifty locomotives from

Henschel & Sohn Henschel & Son (german: Henschel und Sohn) was a German company, located in Kassel, best known during the 20th century as a maker of transportation equipment, including locomotives, trucks, buses and trolleybuses, and armoured fighting vehicle ...

, a German company in Cassel (today spelt Kassel). Later 25 more locomotives were bought from the Baldwin Locomotive Works in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, U.S.A. The first part of the project was to lay a third rail inside the existing tracks at Jacobacci and the Chubut Valley so that they could be used by the narrow gauge vehicles. New tracks were laid to extend the Chubut Valley line from

Trelew Trelew (, from cy, tref "town" and the name of the founder, Lewis Jones) is a city in the eastern part of the Chubut Province of Argentina. Located in Patagonia, the city is the largest and most populous in the low valley of the Chubut River, wi ...

to Rawson at the coast and westwards to Las Plumas. After floods destroyed much of the line in 1931–1932, work began again in 1934 with new plans, with a 105 m-long bridge and a 110 m-long tunnel to be built. 1,000 labourers worked in the harsh Patagonian environment, many later settling. Trains began to run on the completed parts of the line in 1935. In 1941 the line reached El Maitén, where maintenance facilities were built. The first train to Esquel entered the city on May 25, 1945. After President Juan Perón's nationalisation of the railway network in 1948, the ''Trochita'' became part of General Roca Railway. Until 1950 the line was a freight-only service. The first passenger service launched in 1950 and connected Esquel with Buenos Aires (arriving at Constitución station), changing trains at Jacobacci. Passengers would occupy loose wooden benches around a stove which could be used for light cooking and above all to prepare mate and keep warm. The bends of the line in the Andean foothills and the slow speed of the network allowed passengers to walk alongside the train on certain sections along the 14-hour journey. The service was much used for freight through the 1960s and 1970s, contributing to the development of the area, especially the construction of the dam on the

Futaleufú River The Futaleufú River, located in northern Patagonia, is one of the premier whitewater rivers in the world. One of only two rivers to cross the 5,308 kilometer Chile-Argentina border, the Futaleufú headwaters can be found in the glacial snow mel ...

and the growth of El Maitén thanks to the locomotive maintenance operation.

Decline

In 1961, the line in the lower Chubut valley between Puerto Madryn and Las Plumas was closed, never having been connected with the Esquel or Bariloche lines. In the 1970s the two isolated lines to the south also shut down. La Trochita also began to decline, due to the improvement of the road network and of trucks and buses, and the difficulties of maintaining a railway so far from the country's capital and the global rail industry. However over the same period, Patagonia had been 'discovered' by tourists and La Trochita was something of a backpacker highlight. Theroux's book brought it to wider attention and gave the railway a name – ''The Old Patagonian Express'' – which highlighted its timeless appeal both to Argentine nostalgics and tourists. In 1991, the railway was filmed for an episode of ''Nick Lera's World Steam Classics.'' Nevertheless, the line was not profitable. Given the communities it served, private investors were not interested in making necessary investment. In 1992, under the liberal economic practices of the central government, it was decided to close the line. However, there was a national and even an international outcry at the decision to close a line which had become emblematic of a bygone age and of that region. The two provincial governments came together to keep the line open.

The Trochita today

The line is in possession of 22

steam locomotives A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

, 11

Henschel Henschel & Son (german: Henschel und Sohn) was a German company, located in Kassel, best known during the 20th century as a maker of transportation equipment, including locomotives, trucks, buses and trolleybuses, and armoured fighting v ...

and 11 Baldwin Mikado type locomotives, seven of which are currently operable, two Baldwin and three Henschel in the El Maitén –

section, and 2 Baldwin locomotives in the Ingeniero Jacobacci section. The locomotives are oil fired and have been in continuous service since its introduction. There are no diesel engines in use anywhere on the line. The present rolling stock as the locomotives date from 1922, with the exception of the dining car and some first class carriages that were constructed in 1955. The train no longer runs between Esquel and El Maitén; instead two special tourist services run (i) between Esquel and the settlement of Nahuel Pan and (ii) between El Maitén and Desvío Thomae. The journey from Esquel to El Maitén took almost seven hours'. There is a regular tourist service which offers a return trip to the first station and back which takes about an hour. As of 2010, tickets for the tourist services are $ 150, round-trip, and a discount to $80 for residents of Argentina. The maintenance of the original 1922 locomotives is increasingly difficult, due to the lack of parts and expertise, and the remoteness of his base in El Maitén. This can cause frequent delays or service shut-downs. The Government of Argentina declared La Trochita as a National Historic Monument in 1999."El Kavanagh, entre los protegidos"
''Clarín'', 1999-04-23 In 2003, "Friends of La Trochita Association” was created by members mainly from Esquel, El Maitén and Bariloche. In May 2011, high winds ripped the roof off one car. The roof fell down in between two cars, derailed one which then caused the entire train to derail and roll over. No one was seriously injured and the locomotive and cars were all recovered by June 1, 2011.

Gallery

File:LaTrochita12EnNahuelPanFormacionEstacionada.jpg, La Trochita in Argentina's wild west File:LaTrochitaDeFrenteEnEstacionNahuelPan.jpg, La Trochita in Nahuel Pan, Chubut File:Formaciones del Viejo Expreso Patagónico - Esquel.jpg, Formations stationed in

station File:Provincia del Chubut - Esquel - Trochita.jpg, Wooden coach interior File:LaTrochita07HaciaNahuelPanGirando04HumoNegroDSC01310.JPG, In a curve to Nahuel Pan File:LaTrochita16EnNahuelPanLocomotoraAdentro2.jpg, View inside the cab of a Henschel used for parts File:Trochita puente sobre Río Chico.JPG, Crossing bridge over Río Chico File:LaTrochita21EnEstacionEsquel2.jpg, Train at Esquel station File:LaTrochita Locomotora B.jpg, A locomotive at workshop File:LaTrochita14EnNahuelPanDosLocomotorasEstacionadas.jpg, Two dumped Henschel Mikados at Nahuel Pan File:La Trochita Vagones Interiores 1.jpg, Standard coach interior File:LaTrochita Locomotora A.jpg, Locomotive at El Maitén

Bibliography

* D.S. Purdom, ''British Steam on the Pampas'' – Text: English, Mechanical Engineering Publications Ltd, London (1977) *Theroux Paul, ''Old Patagonian Express'' – Text: English, Houghton Mifflin (1979) - - * Sepiurka Sergio Miglioli, ''La Trochita'' – (Bilingual Edition; English/Spanish), Grupo Abierto Communicaciones (2001) - - * Taylorson Keith, ''Narrow Gauge Rails to Esquel'' – Text: English, Plateway Press, 23 Hanover St., Brighton, BN2 2ST, UK (1999)