Rosario and Puerto Belgrano Railway
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The Rosario and Puerto Belgrano Railway (Spanish: Ferrocarril Rosario y Puerto Belgrano, and in French: Compagnie de Chemins de Fer Rosario-Puerto Belgrano) was a French-owned railway company which operated a
broad gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , commonly known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union (CIS ...
, ,
single track Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...
line between the cities of
Rosario Rosario () is the largest city in the central provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Santa Fe Province, Santa Fe. The city is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the west bank of the Paraná River. Rosario is the third-most populous ci ...
and
Puerto Belgrano Port Belgrano Naval Base ( es, Base Naval Puerto Belgrano - BNPB) is the largest naval base of the Argentine Navy, situated next to Punta Alta, near Bahía Blanca, about south of Buenos Aires. It is named after the brigantine ''General Be ...
in
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 ...
. Puerto Belgrano, near the city of
Bahía Blanca Bahía Blanca (; English: White Bay) is a city in the southwest of the provinces of Argentina, province of Buenos Aires Province, Buenos Aires, Argentina, by the Atlantic Ocean, and is the seat of government of the Bahía Blanca Partido. It had 3 ...
in
Buenos Aires Province Buenos Aires (), officially the Buenos Aires Province (''Provincia de Buenos Aires'' ), is the largest and most populous Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of th ...
, is the main naval base in Argentina. The original idea behind the building of the railway was to link points that were closer to either Rosario or Bahía Blanca than they were to
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
, thereby taking traffic from the British-owned companies BA Great Southern and BA Western railways.


History


Background

Since the line was constructed after many other east to west lines had already been laid these were crossed by constructing a large number of bridges. The otherwise near level course of the line was broken, at intervals, by short sharp gradients and this had an effect on the type of locomotives that could be used. In spite of this a considerable volume of goods and livestock traffic was carried by the line. The original concession for the construction of the railway was granted to
Diego de Alvear Diego is a Spanish masculine given name. The Portuguese equivalent is Diogo. The name also has several patronymic derivations, listed below. The etymology of Diego is disputed, with two major origin hypotheses: ''Tiago'' and ''Didacus''. E ...
with the promulgation of Law N° 4.279 of 1903. That concession was then transferred to French-owned company "Sociedad Anónima Compañía del Ferrocarril Rosario a Puerto Belgrano" in December 1906. The concessionary was committed to build a dock in Puerto Belgrano, terminus of the line.


Project

The
Indian gauge , a broad gauge, is the track gauge used in India, Pakistan, western Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Argentina, Chile, and on BART in San Francisco, United States. In North America, it is called Indian Gauge, Provincial, Portland, or Texas gauge. In Ar ...
800-km. length railway ran from north to south, joining the cities of
Rosario, Santa Fe Rosario () is the largest city in the central Argentine province of Santa Fe. The city is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the west bank of the Paraná River. Rosario is the third-most populous city in the country, and is also the most p ...
and
Punta Alta Punta Alta is a city in Argentina, about 20 kilometers southeast of Bahía Blanca. It has a population of 57,293. It is the capital ("cabecera") of the Coronel Rosales Partido. It was founded on 2 July 1898. The city is located near the Atlanti ...
, crossing most of the main
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 railway tracks. The railway had also a particular path with no stops in
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
but other cities of the
Province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...
such as
Coronel Pringles Coronel Pringles () is a city in the south of the Buenos Aires Province in Argentina, situated near the mountains of Pillahuincó. It is the government seat of the Coronel Pringles Partido. In 1882, the provincial government of Buenos Aires Pro ...
and
Coronel Suárez Coronel Suárez is a city in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the administrative centre for Coronel Suárez Partido. Its population is largely made up of Argentines of Volga German descent. In its surroundings, within Coronel Suárez Parti ...
. The costs of construction were high so the railway required several engineering, for example the seven iron bridges that cross the Sauce Grande River, near
Bahía Blanca Bahía Blanca (; English: White Bay) is a city in the southwest of the provinces of Argentina, province of Buenos Aires Province, Buenos Aires, Argentina, by the Atlantic Ocean, and is the seat of government of the Bahía Blanca Partido. It had 3 ...
. The north–south orientation of the railway path revealed the purpose of competing against British companies for the traffic of merchandises in Buenos Aires. Nevertheless, the railway did not earn the expected profits due to better prices established by British railways. Besides, the RPBR crossed low developed agricultural areas instead of more fertile areas covered by British companies. For those reasons, the RPBR suffered a chronic deficit.


Construction and development

The line was built between 1906 and 1910 quickly, being definitely inaugurated for
passenger A passenger (also abbreviated as pax) is a person who travels in a vehicle, but does not bear any responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination or otherwise operate the vehicle, and is not a steward. The ...
and
freight Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including transp ...
services in 1912. The military port of Bahía Blanca received all the goods necessary for the construction of the railway, including rail tracks and even
prefabricated home Prefabricated homes, often referred to as prefab homes or simply prefabs, are specialist dwelling types of prefabricated building, which are manufactured off-site in advance, usually in standard sections that can be easily shipped and assembled. ...
for employees, steam locomotives and coaches. The line started in Rosario, reaching
Punta Alta Punta Alta is a city in Argentina, about 20 kilometers southeast of Bahía Blanca. It has a population of 57,293. It is the capital ("cabecera") of the Coronel Rosales Partido. It was founded on 2 July 1898. The city is located near the Atlanti ...
station and then Puerto Belgrano dock that was being built by then. A branch from Punta Alta to Bahía Blanca was built later. The construction also included a total of 36 bridges, totalling 857 mt. The dock made for Puerto Belgrano was a 250-metre length structure where four 125-metre length ships could enter at a same time to unload their cargo. There also were 12 cranes, 12 electric and 4 hydraulic. Once the dock was finished, it was acquired by the
Government of Argentina The government of Argentina, within the framework of a federal system, is a presidential representative democratic republic. The President of Argentina is both head of state and head of government. Executive power is exercised by the President. ...
and added to the
Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...
in 1914. The company made the arrangements to get a concession to build an extension branch to
Bahía Blanca Bahía Blanca (; English: White Bay) is a city in the southwest of the provinces of Argentina, province of Buenos Aires Province, Buenos Aires, Argentina, by the Atlantic Ocean, and is the seat of government of the Bahía Blanca Partido. It had 3 ...
and an access to Port of ingeniero White through a junction with
Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway The Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway (BAGS) ( es, Ferrocarril del Sud) was one of the ''Big Four'' Indian gauge, broad gauge, , British-owned companies that built and operated railway networks in Argentina. The company was founded by Edward ...
to freight services exclusively. Concession was granted so therefore the RPBR started to work. The line connected with Central Argentine and
Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
railways in Rosario and Timote respectively. The company set headquarters in Villa Diego (Rosario) in 1909, where a passenger and freight station (named "Coronel Aguirre") was built. The building also included a locomotive warehouse, workshops and a switchyard. The buildings are currently part of Ciudad Universitaria de Rosario. The construction of a 27-km length branch from Punta Alta to Bahía Blanca allowed the company to stimulate passenger and freight traffic. Works were directed by
Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...
Engineer Armin Reimman who died short after the line was inaugurated, being replaced by his colleague Lucien Capelle. In 1921 the new terminus was inaugurated, it was placed on Colón Avenue between B. de Irigoyen and Rivadavia streets. The station remained active until 1949 when it was closed, serving as
bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...
terminus since then. After some testings, on March 2, 1922, the inaugural trip from Rosario to Bahía Blanca was carried out, arriving to the Southern city at 15:30.


Final

When the whole Argentine railway network was
nationalised Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...
by the Juan Peron's administration in 1948, the BA&PBR line was divided into two sections, the north (from Rosario to Ingeniero Beaugey - Km. 347) became part of Mitre Railway while the south section (from Beaugey to Puerto Belgrano) was added to Roca Railway. In August 1977, as part of Martínez de Hoz's railway cuts,
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 ...
closed the section between Bajo Hondo and Coronel Pringles (effectively isolating the Puerto Belgrano-Bahía Blanca branch line), as well as Rosario station, moving passenger services to
Rosario Central Club Atlético Rosario Central () is a sports club based in Rosario, Argentina, that plays in the Argentine Primera División. The club was officially founded on December 24, 1889, by a group of railway workers, taking its name from the Englis ...
, which would also be closed that same year. With the railway privatisation led by President
Carlos Menem Carlos Saúl Menem (2 July 1930 – 14 February 2021) was an Argentine lawyer and politician who served as the President of Argentina from 1989 to 1999. Ideologically, he identified as a Peronist and supported economically liberal policies. H ...
in early 1990s, the R&PB line was granted in concession to
freight rail transport Rail freight transport is the use of rail transport, railroads and trains to transport cargo as opposed to human passengers. A freight train, cargo train, or goods train is a group of Railroad car#Freight cars, freight cars (US) or goods wagon ...
company
Ferroexpreso Pampeano Ferroexpreso Pampeano S.A. (abbreviated FEPSA) is an Argentine private railway company that operates freight services over a network that comprises broad gauge Sarmiento Railway and the Rosario and Puerto Belgrano section of Roca Railway. ...
. The last passenger service of the line, which ran from Bahía Blanca to Punta Alta, was discontinued in February 1990.


Bibliography

* “Capitaux françaises dans la Pampa: le chemin de fer de Rosario à Puerto Belgrano”, by Gustavo Chalier- Revue d’histoire des chemins de fer, Nº 45, “Regards sur le XXe siècle”, publicación de la Association pour l’histoire des chemins de fer, París, (2014), pp. 35–56 () * “À la recherche du port perdu: el ferrocarril Rosario Puerto Belgrano y la búsqueda de una salida al mar en la Bahía Blanca”, by Gustavo Chalier- Miguel Ángel De Marco (h),compilador;   María Beatriz Girardi y Juan Pablo Robledo, editores:  Acta de las 6tas. Jornadas Internacionales e Interdisciplinarias de Estudios Portuarios, NODO IH - IDEHESI/CONICET, Rosario. (2015), pp. 177–194 () * ''British Steam on the Pampas'' by D.S. Purdom - Mechanical Engineering Publications Ltd, London (1977) - * ''Foreign Capital, Local Interests and Railway Development in Argentina: French Investments in Railways 1900-1914'' by Andrés Regalsky - Journal of Latin American studies - Cambridge Univ. Press (1989)
EL ENCUENTRO DE DOS PUERTOS: ROSARIO Y PUERTO BELGRANO UNIDOS POR RIELES FRANCESES
by Sebastián Morán on Boletín del Centro Naval n° 849, Sep–Dec 2018


References

{{Railway Companies in Argentina R R R 5 ft 6 in gauge railways in Argentina