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URQUIZA
General Urquiza was the nationalised name for standard gauge lines in Argentina. On 2 April 1973 we travelled by Urquiza electric suburban train for four miles to the loco depot at Lynch, which housed half a dozen working locos, all interesting: a Neilson 0-6-0; two Hainault 2-6-0s; a Maffei 4-6-2; a Kerr Stuart 4-8-0 and, the real star, a Kerr Stuart 4-4-0, 806. Lynch was the location of the Buenos Aires Central Railway's workshops.
Coal burning class 'A' 0-6-0 23 was one of 26 built by Neilson of Glasgow in 1888/9 for the British owned FC Nord Este Argentino. Quite a number were still at work in 1973. 23, which was in steam, has a four-wheel tender.
Despite having plenty of logs alongside, Mogul 81, a Hainault product, is an oil burner. It was made for the state owned FC Este.
Urquiza 4-4-0 806 in use at Lynch shed and looking very smart.There were eight of this class dating from 1914 and acquired by the Central Buenos Aires Railway. 806 was the last active 4-4-0 and I believe it has been preserved.
Back at the Urquiza's BA station was displayed a preserved loco, not standard gauge, but a 60cm gauge Hunslet 4-6-0T, ex War Department, imported from the UK in the early 1920s for working on newly laid lines around Corrientes, opening up areas for agricultural cultivation. Some were still in use in 1969.
60cm gauge 4-6-0T 658 preserved at Federico Lacroze station in BA has had its side tanks removed.
Our next encounter with the Urquiza was on 12 April, again in BA, when we went – on the broad gauge Mitre line, then taxi - to Zarate, where we saw three 4-8-0s on freight and passenger workings. The small shed had another 4-8-0, plus Maffei Pacific 93 seen at Lynch the previous week and a North British 2-8-0.
With Zarate shed in the background, Maffei Pacific 93, constructed in 1911 for the Central Buenos Aires Railway, poses in the yard. In the shed are class 'P' 2-8-0 521 and 'W' 4-8-0 515. Quite a few Urquiza locos, including 521, could be seen at work in Paraguay in the 1980s and later.
Kerr Stuart built six of these 4-8-0s in 1929 for the FC Central de Buenos Aires, we saw four of them in steam at Zarate on our brief visit. Here is 512 pulling away from the station with a passenger working.
516 was at Zarate on freight duties whilst 514 came light engine off shed, where 515 was also in steam.
Zarate was notable for having a train ferry which travelled up the Rio Parana for 50 miles to Ibicuy, linking two otherwise separate parts of the Urquiza system. Pre nationalisation the two railways were the Buenos Aires Central and the Entre Rios. The train ferry loading system, left, where rolling stock was shunted across the bridge onto the ferry deck. Above, the train ferry in use, from an old postcard.
It was 21 April before we revisited the Urquiza, at Parana, where there was a DMU, carriage and wagon works shunted by an old Hudswell, Clarke 0-6-0ST. An even more ancient Neilson, Reid 0-6-0 was shunting at the station. After photographing here, we boarded the 08.35 DMU for Concordia, a journey of 316 kms. En route, we had a good view of Federal shed, containing ten locos, mostly in steam. There were new types for us: two Baldwin Loco Works 2-8-2s; four modern 2-10-0s built by Henschel; two North British 'O' class 4-6-0s; an 'A' class Neilson, Reid 2-6-0; and another Maffei Pacific.
A typical British industrial loco, No.5 was built by Hudswell Clarke in 1907 for the British owned Entre Rios Railway and was still gainfully employed at the railway workshops in Parana.
Alternative form of transport in the Argentinian countryside, at Nueva Vizcaya, seen as we headed for Concordia on the train.
Another class 'A' 0-6-0 seen was 33 at the neat Federal station on a freight.
Arrival at Concordia was on time. The small shed had two 2-10-0s and two 'N' class 4-6-0s, plus another preserved 2' gauge Hunslet 4-6-0T undergoing a repaint. After staying the night in Concordia, we bade farewell to Argentina - the reason for coming up here was to cross over to Uruguay, just a ten minute ferry ride across the Rio Uruguay bringing us to Salto, the third biggest city in the country.
North British Loco Co made 22 of these 4-6-0s in 1910 -12 for the Entre Rios. This one, 234, is being topped up at Concordia with water and fuel oil. At least seven of them went to Paraguay in latter years to work on the railway there, along with some other Urquiza locos. Notice the grain silos and mill in the background, providing important traffic for the railway.
The most modern steam locos on the Urquiza were fifteen 2-10-0s built by Henschel in 1952. 3011 is seen at Concordia.
This provides a good introduction to Uruguay as five virtually identical locos - fitted with smoke deflectors - were supplied to the railway there in 1950.
URUGUAY
Uruguay was famous for its old motor cars with 1920s models still in everyday use. We wandered around the city and found a few. After taking one photo, we thought we were in bother when a policeman came to have a word. Apparently we took the picture outside a bank and he thought we might be 'casing' the joint! But we explained we were from England and wanted some pictures of old cars. When he found out we were English, he asked if we could send him postcards of The Queen and Buckingham Palace!
Salto was on the railway, standard gauge, so we sought out the station and nearby loco shed. Being a Sunday, nothing was happening, but there were eight locos present and four were warm from recent steaming. We were informed that one of the locos had towed in a failed diesel on a passenger train the previous day. It was very much a clean sweep for Beyer Peacock, with seven 2-6-0s - classes 'N', 'X' and 'Z' - built by that famous firm, as was the sole 'R' class 2-8-0. The oldest 2-6-0, from 1900, 76, was used as a stationary boiler. The other 2-6-0s dated between 1906 and 1929.
Henry Finch said that 20 steam locos were in service in Uruguay in 1973, with at least as many being repairable if required.
Above, both 'N' class 2-6-0s 93 and 105 in Salto shed had been in steam the previous day. 93 has been preserved. Below, out of use were 'Z' class 2-6-0s 222 and 226, from Beyer Peacock in 1929. Sandwiched between the two is 'X' class 2-6-0 179 from Beyers in 1910, rebuilt at Paysandu Works in 1938.
I think this is a Commer bus, on the streets of Salto. The bus we caught next morning was much older.
We did not have much time in Salto, leaving by bus at 18.00 to head towards the border with Brazil, staying overnight at a small town called Bella Union, just over 200kms from Salto.
The following morning, we caught a bus at 07.30 for the half-hour trip to the border at Barra Do Quarai. The single decker was old - a Commer built in England in 1932 with a plate on the bonnet proclaiming 'El Omnibus Ingles'. Apart from us, the other passengers were locals going to their daily work over the border.
The crossing between the countries was a long girder bridge over the Rio Quarai, constructed for both road and railway, but the latter was no more. Presumably because it was over water, the Brazilian Navy ran the border post. It was no doubt unusual to see British passports at this fairly obscure border, so the Officer in charge decided further investigation was needed. We were escorted to the Navy barracks and spent some time sitting on a bench in a highly polished corridor while our passports were checked. All very relaxed and we were offered coffee several times. Having got off the bus at 08.00, the clock ticked to midday before we had our passports returned and were free to continue our journey.
We boarded another - modern - bus to Uruguaiana. From there, we went by train at 17.30, destination Porto Alegre, a mere 691 kms distant. I recall it was a railcar on the metre gauge Rio Grande Do Sul line. The car was very, very crowded, all the seats had been reserved, so we spent most of the long overnight journey in the buffet car, having a great time, talking to our fellow passengers, drinking and singing. But with virtually no sleep. The train was due into Porto Alegre at 08.05, actually getting there at 09.45. A few miles out, we spotted a loco in steam at a railway workshops, looked like an American 2-8-2. Otherwise we noted quite a number of brand new diesels, which was somewhat worrying in regard to our next destination.
Smoke on the water at Porto Alegre.
Porto Alegre was merely a stop on the way to our ultimate target on this trip, the Estrada De Ferro Dona Teresa Cristina, a metre gauge railway whose sole purpose was to haul coal from mines to port and power station. The EFTDC was 100% steam worked, with some powerful 2-10-4s and 2-6-6-2 Mallets. Another long bus journey was necessary from Porto Alegre because the EFTDC was not connected to any other railway. We finally arrived at Criciuma, on the railway, at 20.00, and straightaway saw a 2-10-4 running light – at least there was still steam at work. That's another story.
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