The Sabor line ''(Linha do Sabor)'' was a railway in north-east

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...

. It ran for nearly 106 km between Pocinho and Duas Igrejas, near

Miranda do Douro Miranda do Douro () or Miranda de l Douro in Mirandese () is a city and a municipality in the district of Bragança, northeastern Portugal. The population in 2011 was 7,482, in an area of 487.18 km². The town proper had a population of 1,9 ...

. It closed in 1988.

History

The Sabor line served a very rural part of the country, following the Sabor river for part of its route. Construction of the line was partly intended to promote economic development in one of the most economically disadvantaged parts of Portugal, as well as to serve the

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the ...

mines at Rebordelo. The line was built by CF de Estado (State Railways), but became part of CP in 1947. In common with the other narrow gauge railways leading from the

Douro Valley The Comunidade Intermunicipal do Douro () is an administrative division in Portugal. It replaced the ''Comunidade Urbana do Douro'', created in 2004. It takes its name from the Douro River. The seat of the intermunicipal community is Vila Real. D ...

, the Sabor line was built with

metre gauge Metre-gauge railways are narrow-gauge railways with track gauge of or 1 metre. The metre gauge is used in around of tracks around the world. It was used by European colonial powers, such as the French, British and German Empires. In Europe, ...

tracks. Freight trains were operated by steam for almost the entire history of the line (until the early 1980s), whilst passenger trains were mostly operated by small petrol or diesel railcars. 2-4-6-0T

Mallet A mallet is a tool used for imparting force on another object, often made of rubber or sometimes wood, that is smaller than a maul or beetle, and usually has a relatively large head. The term is descriptive of the overall size and propor ...

steam locomotives were used on the line, especially for the heavy iron ore freight trains. The line ran from Pocinho station, which was a junction with the main

Douro railway line Linha do Douro is a railway in northern Portugal. For much of its route the line runs close to the Douro River, offering very scenic views of the river and valley. Trains on the line are operated by Comboios de Portugal (CP). Constructio ...

through the Douro Valley to

Oporto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropo ...

. The northern terminus of the line was at Duas Igrejas, a tiny settlement several kilometres from the municipal capital of

. The line opened from Pocinho to

Carviçais Carviçais is a parish of the municipality of Torre de Moncorvo in the district of Bragança (Portugal). The population in 2011 was 757, in an area of 63.00 km². The parish is composed of 7 villages: Carviçais, Macieirinha, Martim Tirado, Q ...

in 1917, with extensions to Lagoaça in 1927,

Mogadouro Mogadouro (, ) is a municipality in Portugal. The population in ''2011'' was 9,542, in an area of 760.65 km2. History The history of Mogadouro is evident in the number of castros that dot the landscape of region from the neolithic period. ...

in 1930 and eventually reaching Duas Igrejas in 1938. The line was never completed as far as

. Much of the route was located within a few kilometres of the border with

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

. The major reason for building the line was freight traffic from the iron ore mines at Rebordelo. The iron ore traffic ceased in 1970, effectively making eventual closure inevitable. By the 1970s passenger services were being regularly replaced by buses. Passenger trains ceased in 1981 and the line closed completely in 1988.''Portugal Narrow Gauge'' by J. Organ, Middleton Press, 2010, ''Based on the Portuguese Wikipedia website''

Other metre gauge railways in the Douro Valley

* Corgo line ''- closed 2009'' *

Tâmega line The Tâmega line ''(Linha do Tâmega)'' was a railway line in northern Portugal. It closely followed the course of the Tâmega River. It closed in 2009. History The southern part of the line opened in 1909; it ran between Livração (the junct ...

''- closed 2009'' *

Tua line The Tua line was a metre gauge railway line in northern Portugal, which connected Tua to Bragança. The line was opened in 1887 and closed in 2018. The section from Mirandela to Brunheda is planned to be reopened in 2019. History This hig ...

''- closed 2008''

References

External links

Photographs of the Sabor line on the Flickr website
{{Railway lines in Portugal Metre gauge railways in Portugal Railway lines in Portugal 1988 disestablishments in Portugal Railway lines closed in 1988

History

Other metre gauge railways in the Douro Valley

See also

References

External links