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52-545: The railway was considered the southernmost passenger railway in the world, due to other lines of the region focusing on exploitation and transport of natural resources (such as the Comodoro Rivadavia Railway did with petroleum) rather than operating passenger services. The construction of the line was promulgated by Law N° 5559 in 1908, during José Figueroa Alcorta 's presidency. Lines to be built were as follows: The ambitious project planned to build

104-419: A 150-km straight line to connect Comodoro Rivadavia Colonia Sarmiento although it would be extended to 200-km. On March 29, 1912, the line reached Cañadón Lagarto, beginning to operate. The railway line finally reached Colonia Sarmiento on May 25, 1914. Years later the company built a new branch to join local oil company Astra when it established at the north of Comodoro Rivadavia. According to Clement Dumrauf,

156-522: A branch to connect Holdich station with Las Heras, also joining the Comodoro Rivadavia Railway . Nevertheless, the initiative did not come to fruition. Years later, Holldich became a ghost town. The last attempt to extend the line came with the proposal of building a branch to the oil wells in Cañadón Seco , to connect both railways, Puerto Deseado and Comodoro Rivadavia, although the idea would be never carried out. Fourteen stations were built along

208-433: A closer port would be needed, so the city of Comodoro Rivadavia was founded in 1901. On December 13, 1907, a search for potable water ended in a discovery of petroleum in the zone, which changed plans for the development of the region so Comodoro Rivadavia became the most important city of the region. The FCCRCS was created by Law N° 5559 on September 11, 1908, starting works soon after. Original project included to build

260-800: A line when they realised the poor quality of the land, which would be used to finance the construction. Other reasons for the cancellation of the project were the crisis caused by the World War I and some politicians that questioned the National Government's designation of funds for southern enterprises instead of sending them to the Pampa region, as well as the death of Roque Sáenz Peña in 1914. Construction began in Puerto Deseado in May 1909, with works being led by engineer Juan Briano. At

312-576: A locomotive to be restored. The train would run an 8 km path at a very low speed, with 6 intermediate stops and the possibility of visiting some points of interest in the zone. In October, 2015, the Government of Argentina announced the reoponeing of the Puerto Deseado–Colonia Las Heras line. Works will include a widespread renovation of 285-km length rail tracks and sleepers. The station buildings would be also refurbished to put

364-467: A precarious stop near the port. The station became a heritage place. The Sarmiento station building would become the Regional Museum "Desiderio Torres" after the first section was definitely closed in 1977. In the late 1970s the lack of investments in the railway was made felt in the rolling stock, with steam locomotives, Ganz and Drewry railcars that were obsolete by then. Moreover, only one of

416-536: A railway that crossed Patagonia to the northwest, then joining with the San Antonio Oeste - Bariloche line. Nevertheless, the line was not extended. Some versions stated that the railway was not expanded due to British settlers' interests in preserving the Patagonia region only for sheep farming. Other versions stated that livestock company "La Argentina Southern Land Company" refused the construction of

468-496: Is used to refer to the rolling stock in a train. In the United States, the term rolling stock has been expanded from the older broadly defined "trains" to include wheeled vehicles used by businesses on roadways. The word stock in the term is used in a sense of inventory . Rolling stock is considered to be a liquid asset , or close to it, since the value of the vehicle can be readily estimated and then shipped to

520-679: The Patagonia rebelde in 1921. The 502 coach currently operates as a tourism office in Puerto Deseado. Among the material preserved from destruction was a railcar built in Argentina with a 12-seat capacity. Nevertheless, it is currently abandoned. In July 2014, the historic first class P-111 coach was sent to the city of Jaramillo to be restored and preserved. That relic was abandoned in the Rawson regional hospital's backyard, where it had been left in 1986. The Secretary of Culture of Santa Cruz made

572-641: The de facto government led by Jorge Videla closed the Puerto Deseado Railway. The Government alleged economic problems as the main reason for the closure as the deficit was considerably high. The line was also completely dismantled, with the wagons, workshops and locomotives sold to wrecking yards. Nevertheless, some of them were preserved. Unlike the Comodoro Rivadavia Railway, rail tracks remained intact but they would deteriorate as time passed. On December 1, 1996,

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624-417: The rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles , including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives , freight and passenger cars (or coaches), and non-revenue cars . Passenger vehicles can be un-powered, or self-propelled, single or multiple units. In North America, Australia and other countries, the term consist ( / ˈ k ɒ n s ɪ s t / KON -sist )

676-632: The Government of Comodoro Rivadavia announced they were negotiating to transfer the line to the Chubut Province. The project planned to join Comodoro Rivadavia with Chilean city of Puerto Chacabuco . Representatives from the Provincial Government flew over the rail tracks to corroborate how many kilometers had been dismantled, considering that Santa Cruz Province had previously removed several tracks. After studying

728-578: The National Government made a call for tenders and finally concessions for the refurbishment were given to UTE (formed by companies Herso-Sonis). Works began in November 2010. In January 2013, the reopening of the line was officialised but only for the Puerto Deseado-Tellier section (20-km length), which would be completely rebuilt using 40,000 mt. of profiles and 10,000 mt of wooden sleepers . Some works were carried out to reactivate

780-595: The Petroleum Museum of Comodoro Rivadavia. In Rada Tilly , a Ganz Work railcar was preserved for many years, remaining along the station building. In Comodoro Rivadavia, some rolling stock is preserved at the National Petroleum Museum and Railway & Port Museum. In Sarmiento, the railway station was restored after its destruction, reopening as the Regional Museum "Desiderio Torres". Rolling stock The term rolling stock in

832-433: The arrangements to move the wagon to Jaramillo. The P-111 was carried by truck during a four days trip, taking alternative roads to preserve it from damage since its big size didn't make it suitable to cross the narrow bridges of the region. The P-111 has a weight of 26 tons and was built in 1898. Since the closure of the line in 1978, there have been several projects to re-open the line, with unsuccessful results. One of them

884-513: The city of Buenos Aires . The robbery of sleepers and profiles was never cleared. In 2013, an initiative planned to build a railway to the Pacific Ocean , establishing a new port at the south of Rada Tilly to Puerto Aysén in Chile , excluding Comodoro Rivadavia port from the route. Nevertheless, the project was dismissed because of the bad weather in the zone. Other projects included

936-575: The coach N° 502, that had been built by British company Lancaster in 1898, was declared provincial cultural heritage and therefore preserved. This coach had been served in Ferrocarril Andino that connected Cuyo region with the Litoral ports. During its years of service at the PD&;CLH line, the 502 was used as a first class coach and also carried troops that fought workers on strike during

988-480: The company to carry 46,000 ties to El Maitén to refurbish heritage railway La Trochita . Works were made at a cost of AR$ 700,000. Soon after it was revealed that the agreement had been signed without been approved by the Provincial Legislature, therefore it was annulled and the ties were never sent to El Maitén. According to what happened, the agreement infringed a national law that only allows

1040-642: The dismantle of rail tracks if they are destined for other railway line. Natura Ecology was hired directly with no bidding procedures and the company was also accused of having stolen the material. The rail ties were intercepted and seized by the local police in Trelew, totalizing four tracks with 100 tons of material with an estimated value of AR$ 1,000,000. Nevertheless, the rail profiles were never found. Some reports stated that they had been sent to different locations in Chubut, Greater Buenos Aires , Córdoba and even

1092-457: The employees. By 1949 the line had run 430,828 kilometers. At mid-1949 brand new railcars were added to the FCCRCS although they were put on service one year later. By 1973 all the passenger services were operated with railcars. With the improvements in the line, some passengers choose Sarmiento as their destiny for recreational trips, and some of them even for their honey moon. In 1953, there

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1144-415: The employers, the railway continued to decline until carrying only 5 or 6 people per trip. Besides, the freight trains only transported one or two wagons to the port, once a week. In 1977 passenger services were definitely closed. Finally the entire line was closed in 1978. The de facto government led by Jorge Videla also ordered rolling stock was destroyed and sold as scrap. In 1979 the railway station

1196-411: The end of 1911 trains began to run up to Pico Truncado , the first terminus of the line. During its first year of service, the PD&CLHR carried 1,235 people and 1,950 tons of cargo. By 1912 they had increased to 2,370 and 4,208 respectively. In 1912 the railway reached Las Heras, which would be its definitive terminus. Nevertheless, the National Government decided to reduce the amount of money sent to

1248-613: The historic "Km. 200" station in Pico Truncado was destroyed by a fire. In 2009, Correo Argentino , the National post service , released a special edition stamp commemorating the Puerto Deseado Railway's 100th anniversary. The stamp showed a steam locomotive and the Puerto Deseado station building, c. 1930. All the PD&CLH rolling stock was dismantled and auctioned instead of preserving it from deterioration. Only one railcar made of wood would be preserved. In December 1980

1300-533: The lands were the railway line had been built were transferred to the Municipality of Comodoro Rivadavia. The tracks that crossed the downtown were removed and a stop near the port was built. During the 1970s the FCCRCS was restructured because of its deficit, obsolete rolling stock and the growth of population in the city. In 1971 the Comodoro station was closed to expedite the urban traffic, being replaced by

1352-474: The lands where Astra had operated. When the Government of Chubut Province decided to refurbish some railway branches by decree N° 2642, the FCCRCS was not included. By December 1992 the branch to Muelle YPF had been eroded by the sea. In 1991 a group of neighbours proposed to establish a heritage railway that would run from Sarmiento to the Bosque Petrificado (Petrified Forest, 38 km. to

1404-467: The last years of operation, lead -which was obtained from Lago Carreras in Chile- was the most carried merchandise. The Argentine Government did not make any investment in the railway, so the rolling stock became obsolete. In the 1970s passenger services were served by two old Drewry railcars at 30 km/h (19 mph). Freight transport had decreased to one or two services in a month. Finally in 1978,

1456-484: The line into operative conditions in an estimated time of 90 days, according to what the Ministry of Interior and Transport stated. Nevertheless, works were never carried out. Comodoro Rivadavia Railway The Comodoro Rivadavia and Colonia Sarmiento Railway ( Ferrocarril de Comodoro Rivadavia a Colonia Sarmiento ) was an Argentine railway company that built and operated a broad gauge line that connected

1508-431: The line, such as rail tracks weeding, with the collaboration of 20 engineering students from Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina ("Universidad Católica Argentina" - UCA) and the acquisition of a draisine in 2013. By August 2014, tracks had been weeded until Pico Truncado. The UCA students also work on a tourist train project, named "Tren Deseado". State-owned company Ferrobaires donated them two post wagons and

1560-517: The line, what contributed to increase the number of passengers. The State also built houses for employees of the railway. Trains departed from Puerto Deseado three times a week. The railcars had a capacity of 42 passengers. During the 1950s trains transported oil for private companies (therefore YPF was not included). During the 1960s both passengers and freight services decreased resoundingly. From 1961-67 trains carried less than 10,000 people and 10 tons, with few exceptions such as 1962-63 (25 tons). In

1612-662: The line, with a distance of 20 km (12 mi) between them. Only a few stations became villages while most of them remained as simple stops along the way. After the nationalisation of the whole Argentine railway network in 1948, the Puerto Deseado Railway became part of State-owned Ferrocarril General Roca . During the 1940s, freight transport had decreased considerably. The most loaded merchandise were sheep , wool , agricultural products, limestone and lead . Trains also carried zinc , iron and copper that came from Chile by Buenos Aires Lake and then carried in trucks to Las Heras. In 1949 brand-new railcars were added to

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1664-450: The line. In spite of the requests by regional neighborhoods demanding a longer railway line, it never happened. Besides, the route chosen for the railway was criticised due to it ran parallel to the sea, adversely competing against the ports of Caleta Olivia , Cabo Blanco and Mazaredo because of the lower costs to transport wool by sea. One of the last proposals to extend the line came in 1927 when deputy Guillermo Fonrouge suggested to build

1716-480: The port of Comodoro Rivadavia with Colonia Sarmiento in Chubut Province . The FCCRCS -belonging to Argentine State Railway - also connected to Central Chubut Railway . This railway, also known by local inhabitants as "Autovía", was the transport that joined oil wells of the region, where local companies Astra and YPF extracted petroleum that had been discovered in Comodoro Rivadavia in 1907. At

1768-413: The port of km. 3. Comodoro Rivadavia had an oil refinery that worked at a capacity of 340 m (12,007 cu ft) per day, serving both lines of the railway in Chubut Province. During the 1920s the branch to Astra refinery was completed, that was financed by the company due to their interests in the transport of passengers, goods, crude oil and bricks. In August 1923 the port of Antonio Morán

1820-483: The project were the crisis caused by World War I , some politicians that considered that the Government had to devote its funds to the Pampa region, and the death of Roque Sáenz Peña in 1914. During the first years of existence, the FCCRCS trains fueled with crude oil with no refination, being considered the most expensive trains for that reason. This railway was also used to carry wood and livestock . Besides, local companies Astra and Diadema carried crude oil to

1872-459: The railway had carried 434,052 passengers and 45,969 tons of freight. However the volume of passengers and cargo carried decreased one year later, mainly due to the increasing road traffic. In spite of this, the Argentine state made significant investments for the FCCRCS, acquiring railcars (even a refrigerating coach), 13 wagons for livestock, as well as remodeling stations and building houses for

1924-400: The railway was not expanded due to British settlers that were interested in preserving the Patagonia region only for sheep farming. Other version stated that livestock company "La Argentina Southern Land Company" refused to the construction of a line when they realised about the poor quality of the soil, which would be used to finance the construction. Other reasons for the cancellation of

1976-510: The region, they concluded that a 75% of the tracks still existed, most of them in good conditions. Nevertheless, the expectations for the reopening of the line ceased in 2004 when the Provincial Government requested to the Central Government all the line was dismantled. The permission was granted one year later. The FCCRCS tracks were removed between 2005 and 2006 by company Natura Ecology, after signing an agreement which committed

2028-525: The reopening of Ferrocarril Puerto Deseado-Colonia Las Heras and Central Chubut Railway . Other project was sent to the Congress of Argentina for approval in 2006. This proposed to create a railway museum and heritage railway in Km. 5 of Comodoro Rivadavia. The train would depart from that city, crossing Don Bosco and Astra, with an additional branch to Caleta Córdoba and San Jorge lighthouse. In August 1995,

2080-597: The reopening of the Ferrocarril Puerto Deseado in the Puerto Deseado -Tellier section, with the purpose of connecting Puerto Deseado with Puerto Chacabuco in Chile. A second stage considers the possibility of a future connection with Comodoro Rivadavia. In March 2014, a group of representatives of Chinese company China State Construction Engineering Corporation stated that Chubut Province

2132-704: The south of that city). The project was revived in early 2000s with no successful results. Another ambitious project was introduced in 1996 by congress members of Chubut for the construction of the Ferrocarril Transpatagónico . The railway line would join San Antonio Oeste in Río Negro with Río Gallegos in Santa Cruz , including the construction off a bridge between Punta Loyola and La Misión in Tierra del Fuego . The project also included

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2184-405: The three Ganz Works was operating. The employees of the FCCRCS made their best to keep the line active, sometimes collecting missing spares from Temperley , Tolosa and Haedo workshops, after driving from the Patagonia to Greater Buenos Aires . In other cases, the employees themselves manufactured the spare parts to keep Drewry railcars running on the tracks. In spite of the efforts made by

2236-559: The very beginning, goods and passengers were carried by steam locomotive trains and then by railcars , nicknamed "chanchitas" due to their lack of comfort. The FCCRCS' remnants are considered as cultural heritage in Comodoro Rivadavia and Sarmiento, where they are kept and exhibited at Railway & Port Museum and National Petroleum Museum (in Comodoro) and Regional Museum Desiderio Torres (in Sarmiento). n 1897 Colonia Sarmiento

2288-476: Was a terrible accident on the narrow-gauge railway that joined Comodoro Rivadavia with Rada Tilly , with 36 people died. When Arturo Frondizi became President of Argentina in 1958 the Government carried out a plan to reduce costs, including the railway lines among them. On August 20, 1958 the branch to Rada Tilly was definitely closed, among with the Central Chubut Railway . The decision

2340-787: Was built. This port had an own railway line that carried soil and rubber used for construction from a quarry in Punta Piedras This line would be later named as Rada Tilly. When works were interrupted, the port was set as terminus of the line until its closure in the 1970s. In 1924 the FCCRCS was used to transport materials for the construction of the San Jorge lighthouse from Colonia Sarmiento to Astra station in Comodoro Rivadavia. Other companies that made their contributions were YPF (donating AR$ 25,000), Astra (bricks and lime), Compañía Forrairrilera de Petróleo (trucks). In 1927 another project (written by deputy Guillermo Fonrouge)

2392-486: Was declared as National heritage. Years later the Port & Railway Museum ("Museo Ferroportuario") was established there, including other adjacent buildings and objects as a locomotive, a wagon, the tower, the water tank, the warehouses (currently a cultural centre), workshops (today a school), the port and Scalabrini Ortiz and San Martín parks, the last being inaugurated in 2012. In 1991 the Municipality of Comodoro acquired

2444-590: Was enabled to build a railway line. They studied the ports of Comodoro Rivadavia and Madryn , searching for a route that allowed trains to join Aysén Region in Chile . On May 25, 2014, a ceremony to commemorate the 100th. anniversary of the FCCRCS was held in Colonia Sarmiento. Fortunately, many rolling stocks and other objects, as well as station buildings could be preserved from deterioration and vandalism. Some pieces are currently exhibited at

2496-510: Was eventually dismissed. While the railway privatisation in Argentina of 1992 was being carried out, the Argentine Railway Institute, a non-profit organisation, offered to reactivate lines in the country. Santa Cruz Province accepted the invitation, proposing to create a railway between Puerto Deseado and Puerto Chacabuco. Nevertheless, negotiations did not prosper and the railway would not be put into service. In 2007

2548-448: Was founded by National decree N° 12161, by request of Welsh settlers that had the intention of establishing in the valley located between Musters and Colhue Huapi lakes, which they considered fertile lands for livestock . During the first years, the transport of merchandise that the intense commercial activity of Sarmiento generated, was made with carriages to the port of Camarones, with high costs and risks. The merchants realised that

2600-436: Was introduced in 1996 by Chubut congressmen for the construction of the "Ferrocarril Transpatagónico". The railway line would join San Antonio Oeste in Río Negro with Río Gallegos in Santa Cruz , including the construction of a bridge between Punta Loyola and La Misión in Tierra del Fuego . The project also included the reopening of Ferrocarril Puerto Deseado-Colonia Las Heras and the Central Chubut Railway . The project

2652-409: Was largely based on the 1953 tragedy and the tracks were removed from the line. On August 12, 1960, another accident occurred when a Ganz Works unit returning from Colonia Sarmiento lost brakes at El Sindicato, crashing a Drewry railcar that was leaving Comodoro Rivadavia at that time. Both railcars were destroyed with a result of 100 passengers injured and some killed by the impact. In 1969

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2704-718: Was proposed to extend the rail line. This project proposed to join Holdich and Las Heras stations in Santa Cruz Province through a branch that also connected with the Patagonian Railway. Nevertheless, the project would never carried out. When the Juan Perón 's administration nationalised all the Argentine railway network in 1948, the FCCRCS became part of Ferrocarriles Patagónicos , finally being added to Railway in 1957. Prior to nationalisation

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