Central Chubut Railway
| Central Chubut Railway | |||
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.jpg)
Puerto Madryn terminus, c. 1930.
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| Overview | |||
| Native name | Ferrocarril Central del Chubut | ||
| Type | Inter-city | ||
| Status | Defunct | ||
| Locale | Chubut | ||
| Termini |
Puerto Madryn Las Plumas |
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| Ridership | 197,936 (1948) | ||
| Operation | |||
| Opened | 1888 | ||
| Closed | 1958 | ||
| Owner | Government of Argentina | ||
| Operator(s) | Ferrocarriles Argentinos | ||
| Technical | |||
| Track gauge | 750 mm (2 ft 5 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Old gauge | 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) | ||
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The Central Chubut Railway (in Spanish: Ferrocarril Central del Chubut) was a British-owned company that built and operated a 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) metre gauge railway line in the Argentine province of Chubut in the Patagonia region at the end of the 19th. century.
In 1884 the Argentine government granted the Welsh immigrant Lewis Jones a concession to build and operate a railway between the valley of the Chubut River and Porth Madryn on the southern side of the Península Valdés. With the help of Asahel P. Bell, an engineer, Jones set up a company in Liverpool, England to finance the construction.
On October 1884 Law N° 1539 that allowed company to build the line, was promulgated. Works began in 1886, directed by engineer Jones Williams, in both cities simultaneously, Puerto Madryn and Trelew. Apart of the local workers, several groups of immigrant were brought from Italy, Spain, Siria, Wales among other countries on the Vesta ship.
On 11 November 1888, a line 70 km long between Trelew and the quay in Puerto Madryn was opened. It included the first telephone line of the region. Journey time (that were made on horseback) reduced from 20 hours to only 2 hours in train. From Trelew the line was extended 50 km to Gaiman on 31 December 1908 and from there to Dolavon on 12 October 1915. In 1910 a 450-mt. length dock was opened in Puerto Madryn. The railway station would be opened three years after.
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Wikipedia