The Bahía Blanca and North Western Railway () was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

-owned railway company that operated in

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. The original project was the rail line to run through the provinces of

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

Córdoba Córdoba most commonly refers to: * Córdoba, Spain, a major city in southern Spain and formerly the imperial capital of Islamic Spain * Córdoba, Argentina, the second largest city in Argentina and the capital of Córdoba Province Córdoba or Cord ...

and San Luis, tracks were only extended to

Toay Toay is a town in La Pampa Province in Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-large ...

La Pampa La Pampa () is a sparsely populated province of Argentina, located in the Pampas in the center of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise San Luis, Córdoba, Buenos Aires, Río Negro, Neuquén and Mendoza. History In ...

and

Huinca Renancó Huinca Renancó is a city in the province of Córdoba, Argentina. Huinca Renanco is almost equidistant between Rio Cuarto, to the city's north, and Santa Rosa, to the city's south, via Argentina Highway 35. Famous Residents *Santos Laciar ...

. The BB&NWR was also the first railway line to reach La Pampa.

History

Portuguese trader Luis D'Abreu had made successive arrangements to build a railway. After many of his requests were repeatedly rejected by the Engineers Office of Argentina (then directed by Guillermo White), finally the Government granted D'Abreu's company, "Abreu, Torres y Cía", a concession to build and operate a railway by Law N° 2097 on September 29, 1887."Fundamentos de la Ley 13422"
Cámara de Diputados de Argentina Once the concession was given, Abreu transferred it to British company John Meiggs & Co., which finally transferred the permission to "Bahía Blanca & North Western Railway Corporation".
/ref> The company was registered in May 1889 and assumed concessions for lines from the port of

Bahía Blanca Bahía Blanca (; English: ''White Bay''), colloquially referred to by its own local inhabitants as simply Bahía, is a city in the Buenos Aires Province, Buenos Aires province of Argentina, centered on the northwestern end of the eponymous Blanc ...

in the south of

Buenos Aires Province Buenos Aires, officially the Buenos Aires Province, is the largest and most populous Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of the province an ...

to Río Cuarto in the joint with Andean Railway and

Villa Mercedes Villa Mercedes is a city in the province of San Luis, Argentina. It lies on the center-east of the province, on the left-hand banks of the Quinto River, 32 km from the border with Córdoba, on National Route 148, and near the intersection ...

in the joint with BA & Pacific, via cities of

General Acha General Acha is a town in La Pampa Province in Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, seco ...

, La Verde,

and Victorica, all of them in

La Pampa Province La Pampa () is a sparsely populated province of Argentina, located in the Pampas in the center of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise San Luis, Córdoba, Buenos Aires, Río Negro, Neuquén and Mendoza. History In ...

. The plan was for this route to form the basis of a regional

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 , more known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union countries ...

, , network complete with

branch line A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Branch lines may serve one or more industries, or a city or town not located ...

s eastwards towards the radial trunk routes spreading out from the federal capital, and feeder lines westwards. Architects Alejandro Christophersen and Carl August Kihlberg were hired by the Hume Brothers (that worked as contractors for several railway companies including the BB&NWR) to design the Bahía Blanca terminus station, which was opened in 1891. On 29 January 1891, then president of Argentina

Carlos Pellegrini Carlos Enrique José Pellegrini Bevans (October 11, 1846 – July 17, 1906) was Vice President of Argentina and became President of Argentina from August 6, 1890 to October 12, 1892, upon Miguel Ángel Juárez Celman's resignation (see R ...

promulgated a decree that allowed the company to build the Bahía Blanca-Bernasconi section. The BB&NWR was the first railway to reach La Pampa. That same year, construction of the Bernasconi-Hucal section was also officialized."(1887 - 1914): El tren configura la pampa" by Armando Aguirre
/ref> The railway finally reached

in 1897. The Nueva Roma-Puán line was allowed to build in 1904 by Law N° 4300. On June 23, president

Julio Roca Alejo Julio Argentino Roca Paz (July 17, 1843 – October 19, 1914) was an Argentine army general and statesman who served as President of Argentina from 1880 to 1886 and from 1898 to 1904. Roca is the most important representative of the ...

allowed

Buenos Aires and Pacific Railway The Buenos Aires and Pacific Railway (BA&P) (in Spanish: Ferrocarril Buenos Aires al Pacífico) was one of the ''Big Four'' Indian gauge, broad gauge, , British-owned companies that built and operated railway networks in Argentina. The original ...

to rent BB&NWR. Therefore, lines to Villa Mercedes and Río Cuarto would be later completed by the BA & Pacific. That same year the

National Congress National Congress is a term used in the names of various political parties and legislatures. Political parties *Ethiopia: Oromo National Congress, original name of the Oromo People's Congress *Guyana: People's National Congress Reform *India: **In ...

promulgated Law N° 4481 that committed BB&NWR to build new branches to Nueva Roma and Catriló. In 1904 the BB&NWR was acquired by the BA & Pacific. After the acquisition, the railway extended its tracks to Huinca Renancó in

(1908), joining BA Western R. tracks there. Finally in 1924, the BA&PR sold the BB&NWR to the BA Great Southern."Noroeste: Una historia de trabajo" by Mabel Cernadas & Jose Marcilese
Universidad Nacional del Sur - Bahía Blanca, Apr 2009

Aftermath

The well preserved Bahía Blanca (named "Noroeste") station building was destroyed by fire in April 2022. The experts determined it was caused by short-circuit voltage. The building, which at the moment of the accident was seat of the municipal library and also used by local ''

murga Murga is a form of popular musical theatre performed in Argentina, Panama, Spain and Uruguay during the Carnival season. Murga groups also operate in the Buenos Aires Carnival, though to a lesser extent than in Montevideo; the Argentinian murga ...

s'', was demolished.Tras un incendio, el municipio demolió la histórica Estación Noroeste
La Izquierda Diario, 19 Apr 2022

Bibliography

* ''British Steam on the Pampas'' by D.S. Purdom - Mechanical Engineering Publications Ltd (London, 1977) * ''British Railways in Argentina: 1857-1914 - A Case Study of Foreign Investment'' by Colin M. Lewis - Athlone Press (for the Institute of Latin American Studies, University of London, 1983)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bahia Blanca and North Western Railway Defunct railway companies of Argentina 5 ft 6 in gauge railways in Argentina Rail transport in Buenos Aires Province Rail transport in Córdoba Province, Argentina Transport in La Pampa Province