Buenos Aires Midland Railway
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Buenos Aires Midland Railway | |||
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Overview | |||
Native name | Ferrocarril Midland | ||
Status | Company defunct; Puente Alsina-Marinos del Crucero General Belgrano branch currently operated by Trenes Argentinos. | ||
Locale | Buenos Aires Province | ||
Termini | |||
Service | |||
Type | Regional rail | ||
Services | 1 | ||
History | |||
Opened | 1909 | ||
Closed | 1948 | ||
Technical | |||
Track length | 517 km (321 mi) | ||
Track gauge | 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) | ||
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The Buenos Aires Midland Railway (BAM) was a British-owned railway company which operated in
.In 1948, the railways of Argentina were nationalised, the BAM becoming part of Belgrano Sur Line; the company closed as a result. Today services on the line are operated by the state-owned company Trenes Argentinos, the concessionary of Puente Alsina-Marinos del Crucero General Belgrano branch.[1]
History
Background
In 1904, the
Development
Construction of the line began in 1907, with works carried out by Argentine company Hume Hnos. By November that year the line had extended to Puente de la Noria (now Ingeniero Budge station). The service was operated initially using a Koppel steam locomotive and a unique coach.
The BAM soon entered into conflict with the French-owned company, Compañía General de Ferrocarriles en la Provincia de Buenos Aires (CGBA), which was also building railways in the same part of the Province, a situation with potential to bankrupt both BAM and CGBA. The legal situation was also complicated: while National Law 2.793 gave priority to the company that had been granted concession first, BAM in this case, the concession granted to BAM had been given by a Province; therefore the CGBA also had rights to claim.
Both companies initially continued expanding their lines across the Province, the conflict reaching such a stage that BAM asked CGBA to cease construction work, while CGBA threatened to take the case to the Supreme Court of Justice. Eventually an understanding was reached between the two companies, establishing joint use of Plomer station, among other issues. The BAM lost several
In mid 1908, works had to be suspended as the company was unable to raise capital from Europe. Other companies such as Great Southern and Western Railways took over BAM and committed to finish the line. Some of the changes made by the consortium were the replacement of contractor Hume Hnos by Clarke, Bradbury and Co. (owned by Great Southern's manager's brother). The Puente Alsina - San Sebastián section was finally opened on 15 June 1909, the complete line to Carhué opening on 1 July 1911.
As the BAM line terminated at Puente Alsina, the company could not reach the capital city of Buenos Aires, which was part of its strategy to increase business. Extending the line to the capital was not legally possible, since the concession had been granted by a Provincial body and the capital city was under the jurisdiction of the National Government. In 1912, an agreement was signed with the Western Railway, which opened a station (named Intercambio Midland) that allowed Midland railway passengers to change for Western Railway trains to Sola station in the Parque Patricios district of Buenos Aires. However, this situation did not last long, Puente Alsina becoming the terminus again soon after.
Steam locomotives
The first locomotive was a 21-ton class A built by Vulcan Iron Works. The second one was the Orenstein & Koppel locomotive that made the first trip from Puente Alsina to Puenta La Noria. The latter is now exhibited at the Once railway station in Buenos Aires,[2] while some accounts state that it was sold in 1913 is currently exhibited at a Brazilian museum. Another early locomotive was a Kerr, Stuart and Company, manufactured in 1901 exclusively for the Government of Argentina, and sold in 1935 to another company in Buenos Aires Province. Another Kerr, Stuart machine was used on short trips until the 1930s.
Once the entire line had been inaugurated, the company acquired six Kerr, Stuart class Es that served until 1948 when the railway was nationalised, at which time these locomotives were sold. The company bought 20 class Fs by the same company, which were operated until the 1970s (latterly by Ferrocarriles Argentinos).
The BA Midland also used
Modernisation: railcars
By 1936, railways in Argentina faced increasing competition from
Nationalisation
When the entire Argentine railway network was
Gallery
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BRCWrailcar in the flood, 1939
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Kerr, Stuart and Company Class E, 1930
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Sentinel-Cammell locomotive, 1930
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BRCWrailcar
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Sentinel-Cammell locomotive in Puente Alsina, 1932
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Interior of aBRCWrailcar, 1941
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BRCW railcars in Dock Sud, 1937
See also
- Rail transport in Argentina
- General Belgrano Railway
- Belgrano Sur Line
References
- ^ "Horarios y tarifas Línea Belgrano Sur". SOFSE (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2015-10-01. Retrieved 2015-09-13.
- ^ Murray: O&K nº 4017 of 1910.
- Lewis, Colin M. (1983). British Railways in Argentina 1857-1914: A Case Study of Foreign Investment. Athlone Press (for the Institute of Latin American Studies, University of London.