Península Valdés Railway
Península Valdés Railway | |||
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760 mm (2 ft 5 15⁄16 in) | |||
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The Península Valdés Railway (in
The line (that served from 1901 to 1920) was owned by the
History
Background
Italian settler Anonio Munno was the first one who received a concession to exploit salt. He had arrived to Puerto Madryn in 1885 for the construction of Central Chubut Railway, then going to the National Geology Department in Buenos Aires to request permission for exploiting salt evaporation ponds.[3] After the lands were measured in 1892, Munno started to exploit the ponds. Salt was stored in bags and carried to the port of San José, where it was loaded and transported to Bahía Blanca, Buenos Aires or Montevideo.[2]
In 1898 Munno associated with Ernesto Piaggio and brothers Alejandro and José Ferro for a more effective exploitation of the salt ponds.
Construction
Engineer Mr. Belcridi was hired to a study and project of the railway line.
The line was opened in June 1901, being transferred to salt company Ferro y Piaggio, owned by Piaggio and the Ferro Brothers although Munno was also part of the society.[1] Apart from operating the rail line, Ferro y Piaggio was the concession of 15,000 hectare in Salinas Grandes, where the production reached 12,000 tons.[1] By 1902 the railway carried 2,300 tons of cargo but it still had no passenger services. Piaggio requested a concession for a railway from the ponds to an alternative port, over the edges of San José gulf. The concession was granted but works never started.[1]
Because of the railway line, numerous people came to the region, establishing there to start their shops and commercial activities. The city of Puerto Pirámides would be established later by those settlers, due to all the materials for the construction of the railway were unloaded there.[2] The buildings were described as "fragile", made in sheets of iron and wood.[1]
The railway owned five
Closure
Since World War I the salt production (due in part to the development of chillers as a more modern method for the conservation of food) started decreasing so the company's revenues were not as expected. Many inhabitants of Puerto Pirámides left the village because of the depression.[6]
Creditors took over the Piaggio y Cía's debts, creating "Empresa Salinera Argentina" (Argentine Salt Company)[1] with partners such as Banco de la Nación Argentina, W. Cooper y Cía. and La Italia, an insurance company. Nevertheless, Empresa Salinera Argentina was wind up in 1916.[3]
All the company's assets were acquired by entrepreneur Alejandro Ferro, although the lack of documents or titles that proved his rights over the line made the railway was closed in 1920.[2] The Government of Chubut expropriated the railway line area in 1958.[4] A report by United States Department of Commerce revealed that the railway was deficient since 1916 although financial problems had begun in 1904. The report also said that the harvesting of salt had ceased before Ferro acquired the company. The inhabitants of Puerto Pirámides decreased until the 1970s when tourism industry rejuvenated the city.[7][8]
Several years after the closure of the line, rail tracks were removed,[1] and the rolling stock auctioned or sold as scrap.[3] The few pieces surviving are currently exhibited at the Península Valdés Museum and a park in Puerto Pirámides.[1]
External links
- Martin Coombs: Railways of the Far South
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Llevando la sal al mar 1, el FC de la Península Valdés"
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Ferrocarril de la sal", Río Negro Online, 18 Dec 2004
- ^ a b c d "Pirámides y NO Pirámide" by Lucio Barba Ruiz, Patagonia Database
- ^ ISBN 0-9587498-1-7
- ^ Estadística de los Ferrocarriles en explotación, Tomo XI, 1902 - Buenos Aires
- ^ "Pasado Histórico" on Puerto Pirámides portal (Archive), 7 Aug 2011
- ^ "Puerto Pirámide village" Archived 2009-02-08 at the Wayback Machine, Zonotrikia.com (Archive), 2009
- ^ "Los Industriales de la Vía Neuquén", article by Jorge Waddell on Todo Trenes Nº 32 - Buenos Aires (2004)