Algeciras-Bobadilla railway

Algeicras-Bobadilla railway
Steam Engine in Los Barrios made by Beyer, Peacock and Company
Overview
System	ADIF
Status	Operational
Locale	Algeciras, Spain
Termini	Algeciras Bobadilla
Operation
Opened	1888-1892
Owner	ADIF
Operator(s)	ADIF
Technical
Line length	188 km (117 mi)

The Algeicras-Bobadilla railway was built by the Algeciras Gibraltar Railway Company, the first section of track was laid on 1 September 1888. The first train was purchased from Beyer, Peacock and Company in Manchester. A 1st class return ticket from Gibraltar to Ronda was set at 17.10 Pesetas.

It was built for the benefit of British officers stationed in Gibraltar wanting to travel to Spain and the rest of Europe. To avoid offending Spanish sensitivities, the line was built concluding in Algeciras, a town in Spain on the opposite side of the Bay of Gibraltar, rather than at the Gibraltar border. Despite it having no direct connection to the European railway network at the time, a chapter was devoted to Gibraltar in the 1913 guidebook.

So impressed were the inhabitants of Algeciras that they named two streets after John Morrison (Scottish Engineer who worked on the project), "Juan Morrison" as he was known locally in Algeciras and "Alexander Henderson who funded the project."