Central Northern Railway
Central Northern Railway | |||
---|---|---|---|
Overview | |||
Native name | Ferrocarril Central Norte | ||
Status | Defunct company; some lines active | ||
Owner | Argentine State Railway (1909-48) | ||
Locale | Argentina | ||
Termini | |||
Stations | Tucumán Formosa Chaco Santiago del Estero Salta | ||
Service | |||
Type | Inter-city | ||
History | |||
Opened | 1876 | ||
Closed | 1948 | ||
Technical | |||
Track length | 7,500 km (4,700 mi) | ||
Track gauge | 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) | ||
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The Central Northern Railway (Spanish: Ferrocarril Central Norte, FCCN) was the first 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) (
and metre gauge was chosen for economic reasons.History
Origins
A Law promulgated in October 1868 destinated money collected from foreign trade and import taxes to the construction of a railway line between the Provinces of
"I left this city sixteen years ago, with some books under my arm, travellin on a ox-drawn carriage. Today I returned for the first time, on a steam locomotive train, being your President (...) The locomotive, after having running hundred of miles, has entered to the promised land at last. (...) This locomotive represents industry, commerce, art, science, poetry, men's driver and city dweller".
Nicolás Avellaneda in the inauguration of the CNR in Tucumán, 30 October 1876
On 28 December 1876 the national government took over the running of the line and appointed Rafaél Aranda as General Manager of the FCCN.[1] The line was the longest in South America with 547 km.
A branch line from
On 28 October 1887 the line from Alta Córdoba to Tucumán, together with the branch lines from Frías to Santiago del Estero, and from Recreo to Chumbicha, 884 km of track in total, were sold to the British-owned Córdoba Central Railway. This left the FCCN with only the 226 km section from Tucumán to Juramento which was then extended to Güemes and from there branch lines were completed to Salta and Jujuy by 1891.[3]
Expansion continues
The Central Northern only owned the Tucumán - Juramento section (226 km length). The line continued expanding to North, first reaching Güemes with branches to
The company opened the Salta - Zuviría branch on October 8, 1898. Two years later Pacará - Finca Elisa branch in
The section from Zubiría to Talapampa on the line from Salta to Alemania was opened on 18 August 1906 and the section from Jujuy to Humahuaca on the line to La Quiaca on the border with Bolivia was opened later that year on 2 September and was extended to La Quiaca on 25 May 1908.
The first section of the line to Chile via Socompa from Empalme Cerrillos to Rosario de Lerma was completed on 27 August 1907. The section from Finca Elisa to El Bracho in Tucumán Province was opened in August 1901. In Santiago del Estero Province branch lines were opened from Empalme Añatuya to Tintina on 11 October 1904, from Clodomira to La Banda on 2 March 1906 and from Puna to Santa Justina on 27 August 1907. On 17 January 1908 the section from Santa Fe to San Cristobal was opened and on 16 September 1909 the section from Las Cejas to Antilla was completed.
The line from Bracho to Palá Palá was opened on 6 December 1909 and extended to Leales on 20 June 1915. In 1911 the service between Bandera and Los Juríes was opened and in 1912 between Quilmili to Gancedo and extended to Puerto Vilelas and to Tintina and Campo Gallo in 1914. The line from Rapelli to Betbeder was opened on 15 April 1915, from Naré a San Javier on 30 June 1915 and from Empalme Añatuya to Los Linares on 28 September 1916. The section from Formosa to Kilometre 100 was opened on 22 September 1910 and extended to Las Lomitas on 20 July 1915. The line from Yuto to Embarcación was opened on 28 November 1911 and Embarcación and Las Lomitas were finally joined in 1931, thereby establishing a rail link across Formosa Province between the city of Formosa and the cities of Salta and Jujuy. The branch line from Pichanal to Orán was opened on 30 June 1915 and another from Empalme Metán to El Tunal was opened on 21 December 1916. The section between Talapampa and Alemania was opened on 7 October 1919.[4]
Final years
On 11 October 1909 the rail network built by the state-owned company
Branch from La Puerta to Alta Córdoba (120 km) was opened in 1931. During those years more than 112 km of tracks were built. The Argentine State Railway opened 1,027 km else, consisting on the following lines: Costado - General Pinedo (Chaco, 214 km), Joaquín V. González - Pichinal (Salta, 219 km), Milagro - Quines (San Luis, 139 km), Roque S. Peña - Campo del Cielo (Chaco, 100 km), Lorenzo Winter - Gral. Conesa (Río Negro, 108 km), Pedro Vargas - Malargüe (Mendoza, 186 km).
After the
When the entire Argentine railway network was
See also
- Argentine State Railway
- General Belgrano Railway
References
- ^ "El primer ferrocarril a Tucumán" by Mabel Manzanal - Población y Sociedad n° 8-9 Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine - ISSN 0328-3445
- ^ "El Ferrocarril Central Norte en Argentina, sección San Miguel de Tucumán–San José de Metán (Salta), 1880–1885" by Cecilia Fandos, América Latina en la historia económica - ISSN 2007-3496
- ^ "Línea Belgrano" on Museo Ferroviario de Campana Archived February 14, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Las Mikado del Central Norte Argentino" on Laguna Paiva website