Central Station (Buenos Aires)
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The Central Station (in
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...
: Estación Central) was a
railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
in the city of
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
,
Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
, which operated from 1872 to 1897. The station was a
union station A union station, union terminal, joint station, or joint-use station is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway company, railway companies, allowing passengers to connect conveniently bet ...
of Buenos Aires shared by most of the separate
railway companies This is an incomplete list of the world's railway operating companies listed alphabetically by continent and country. This list includes companies operating both now and in the past. In some countries, the railway operating bodies are not compan ...
existing by then, and functioned as terminus of most of the
railway line Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of land transport, next to road ...
s thus allowing passengers to connect conveniently between them. It was built in 1872 and located by what was then the shores of the
Rio de la Plata Rio or Río is the Portuguese and Spanish word for "river". The word also exists in Italian, but is largely obsolete and used in a poetical or literary context to mean "stream". Rio, RIO or Río may also refer to: Places United States * Rio, Fl ...
next to the current
Casa Rosada The ''Casa Rosada'' (), , is the president of the Argentine Republic's official workplace, located in Buenos Aires. The palatial mansion is known officially as ''Casa de Gobierno'' ("House of Government" or "Government House"). Normally, the pre ...
. The
station building A station building, also known as a head house, is the main building of a passenger railway station. It is typically used principally to provide services to passengers. A station building is a component of a station, which can include tracks, ...
was a wood structure built in
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
, that had a
slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...
mansard roof A mansard or mansard roof (also called French roof or curb roof) is a multi-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterised by two slopes on each of its sides, with the lower slope at a steeper angle than the upper, and often punctured by dormer wi ...
and a little tower with a clock and a
dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...
on the top. When the
Puerto Madero Puerto Madero, also known within the urban planning community as the Puerto Madero Waterfront, is a Barrios and Communes of Buenos Aires, ''barrio'' of Buenos Aires in the Buenos Aires Central Business District, Central Business District. Occup ...
was inaugurated in 1897, the railway tracks of the Central Station blocked the access from the city to the port, and after a fire in 1897 use of the station was abandoned.


History


Background

From the 1850s onwards,
railway line Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of land transport, next to road ...
s began to connect the city of Buenos Aires with the surrounding cities and ports. All the different
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
railway companies This is an incomplete list of the world's railway operating companies listed alphabetically by continent and country. This list includes companies operating both now and in the past. In some countries, the railway operating bodies are not compan ...
then operating in Argentina initially opened each their own
railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
as the
terminal Terminal may refer to: Computing Hardware * Computer terminal, a set of primary input and output devices for a computer * Terminal (electronics), a device for joining electrical circuits together ** Battery terminal, electrical contact used to ...
s of their railway lines originating in Buenos Aires. Eventually, however they managed to reach an agreement to share a joint station, thus allowing passengers to connect conveniently between them. By August 1872 all the railway companies operating in the city signed the agreement for a common use of the Central Station, which until then had been owned by
Buenos Aires and Ensenada Port Railway The Buenos Aires & Ensenada Port Railway (BA&EP) (in Spanish: Ferrocarril Buenos Aires y Puerto de la Ensenada) was a Great Britain, British-owned company that built and operated a broad gauge railway network in Argentina towards the end of the ...
(BA&EP). The new station was inaugurated on 12 August 1872 in a ceremony attended by the
President of Argentina The president of Argentina, officially known as the president of the Argentine Nation, is both head of state and head of government of Argentina. Under Constitution of Argentina, the national constitution, the president is also the Head of go ...
Domingo Faustino Sarmiento Domingo Faustino Sarmiento (15 February 1811 – 11 September 1888) was President of Argentina from 1868 to 1874. He was a member of a group of intellectuals, known as the '' Generation of 1837'', who had a great influence on 19th-century Argent ...
. The use of the station was shared by five railway companies, the
Buenos Aires and Ensenada Port Railway The Buenos Aires & Ensenada Port Railway (BA&EP) (in Spanish: Ferrocarril Buenos Aires y Puerto de la Ensenada) was a Great Britain, British-owned company that built and operated a broad gauge railway network in Argentina towards the end of the ...
(BA&EP), the
Buenos Aires Western Railway The Buenos Aires Western Railway (BAWR; Spanish: Ferrocarril Oeste de Buenos Aires), inaugurated in the city of Buenos Aires on 29 August 1857, was the first railway built in Argentina and the start of the extensive rail network that was devel ...
(BAWR), the
Buenos Aires and Pacific Railway The Buenos Aires and Pacific Railway (BA&P) (in Spanish: Ferrocarril Buenos Aires al Pacífico) was one of the ''Big Four'' Indian gauge, broad gauge, , British-owned companies that built and operated railway networks in Argentina. The original ...
(BA&P), the
Buenos Aires and Rosario Railway The Buenos Aires and Rosario Railway (BA&R) was a Great Britain, British-owned railway company that built and operated a Indian gauge, broad gauge railway network in Argentina, where it was known as the "Ferrocarril Buenos Aires y Rosario". Origi ...
(BA&R), the
Buenos Aires Northern Railway The Buenos Aires Northern Railway (BANR) (in Spanish: Ferrocarril del Norte de Buenos Aires) was a British-owned company that operated a Indian gauge, broad gauge railway line in Argentina, in the second half of the 19th century. The BANR was al ...
(BANR) and the
Central Argentine Railway The Central Argentine Railway, referred to as CA below, (in Spanish: Ferrocarril Central Argentino) was one of the ''Big Four'' Indian gauge, broad gauge, Great Britain, British companies that built and operated railway networks in Argentina. T ...
(CA). The Central Station was located by the
Rio de la Plata Rio or Río is the Portuguese and Spanish word for "river". The word also exists in Italian, but is largely obsolete and used in a poetical or literary context to mean "stream". Rio, RIO or Río may also refer to: Places United States * Rio, Fl ...
, next to the current
Casa Rosada The ''Casa Rosada'' (), , is the president of the Argentine Republic's official workplace, located in Buenos Aires. The palatial mansion is known officially as ''Casa de Gobierno'' ("House of Government" or "Government House"). Normally, the pre ...
on the corner of Paseo de Julio Avenue (currently Avenida Leandro N. Alem) and Piedad street (today Bartolomé Mitre), between Paseo de Julio and the wall that protected the riverbank. Trains arrived from the South by means of an iron
viaduct A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide ...
on tall columns, that extended from
Casa Amarilla Casa Amarilla (in English: "Yellow House") was a railway station in the district of La Boca, Buenos Aires, built and operated by the Buenos Aires and Ensenada Port Railway. Its name was inspired on Irish Admiral William Brown's house, built in ...
station to Victoria street (the current Hipólito Yrigoyen street). The route of the viaduct would later be used to build the Paseo Colón Avenue. To allow for access to the Central Station, on 1 October 1872 the
Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway The Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway (BAGS) () was one of the ''Big Four'' Indian gauge, broad gauge, , British-owned companies that built and operated railway networks in Argentina. The company was founded by Edward Lumb in 1862 and the f ...
(BAGS) also opened a short connecting
branch line A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Branch lines may serve one or more industries, or a city or town not located ...
from Barracas al Norte station (the current Hipólito Yrigoyen railway station) to Tres Esquinas railway station on the
Buenos Aires and Ensenada Port Railway The Buenos Aires & Ensenada Port Railway (BA&EP) (in Spanish: Ferrocarril Buenos Aires y Puerto de la Ensenada) was a Great Britain, British-owned company that built and operated a broad gauge railway network in Argentina towards the end of the ...
(BA&EP).


The station

When the Central Station was opened, the tracks ran from north to south directly alongside what was then the shores of the
Río de la Plata The Río de la Plata (; ), also called the River Plate or La Plata River in English, is the estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River at Punta Gorda, Colonia, Punta Gorda. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean and ...
. The Taylor Customs House with its loading bay was located in the south end of the station, and at the north end was the entrance to the passenger pier. The modern
station building A station building, also known as a head house, is the main building of a passenger railway station. It is typically used principally to provide services to passengers. A station building is a component of a station, which can include tracks, ...
, built in wood, was brought from
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
by entrepreneur
William Wheelwright William Wheelwright (March 18, 1798 – September 26, 1873) was an Anglo-American businessman who played an essential role in the development of steamboat and train transportation in Chile and other parts of South America. In 1838, with help ...
, although it had originally been intended to be used in
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
(then a British colony). It had a
slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...
mansard roof A mansard or mansard roof (also called French roof or curb roof) is a multi-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterised by two slopes on each of its sides, with the lower slope at a steeper angle than the upper, and often punctured by dormer wi ...
and a little tower with a clock and a dome on the top. The station had a platform over the main track and other two. Its structure also included two coffeehouses and two ladies rooms. The Central Station served as terminus not only for BA & Ensenada but for other railways such as BA Western, BA & Rosario and BA & Northern.


Closure

A sudden economic and population boom led the new
President of Argentina The president of Argentina, officially known as the president of the Argentine Nation, is both head of state and head of government of Argentina. Under Constitution of Argentina, the national constitution, the president is also the Head of go ...
,
Julio Roca Alejo Julio Argentino Roca Paz (July 17, 1843 – October 19, 1914) was an Argentine army general and statesman who served as President of Argentina from 1880 to 1886 and from 1898 to 1904. Roca is the most important representative of the ...
, to commission the development in 1881 of an ambitious port to supplement the recently developed facilities at
La Boca La Boca (; "the Mouth", probably of the Matanza River) is a neighborhood (''Barrios of Buenos Aires, barrio'') of Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina. Its location near the Port of Buenos Aires meant the neighbourhood became a melting pot of ...
, in Buenos Aires' southside. The project required the
reclaiming In linguistics, reappropriation, reclamation, or resignification is the cultural process by which a group reclaims words or artifacts that were previously used in a way disparaging of that group. It is a specific form of a semantic change (i. ...
of over 200 hectares (500 acres) of underwater land from the Rio de la Plata off the station.Puerto Madero: history
When the
Puerto Madero Puerto Madero, also known within the urban planning community as the Puerto Madero Waterfront, is a Barrios and Communes of Buenos Aires, ''barrio'' of Buenos Aires in the Buenos Aires Central Business District, Central Business District. Occup ...
was inaugurated in 1897, the railway tracks blocked the lands and the access from the city to the port of Buenos Aires, therefore many people opposed the railway transit across the city of Buenos Aires. During the 1890s the National Government considered moving the Central Station to the Puerto Madero, although it was never carried out. On February 14, 1897, the station was completely destroyed by fire. The next day, the company built some wood shacks to sell tickets as a replacement of the destroyed station, but they were removed by the Government of the city. On March 19 the National Government ordered to remove all tracks from Casa Amarilla to Retiro, also forbidding Central Station was reconstructed. Finally, on July 1, the line was closed. As a result, the railway companies existing by then ( BA & Rosario, Central Argentine and BA & Pacific) had to leave the place, moving to Retiro station, where they have remained until present days.''Historia del Ferrocarril al Norte del Gran Buenos Aires: Ferrocarriles Mitre y Belgrano'', by Ariel Bernasconi - Editorial Dunken, Buenos Aires (2012) - BA&E established Venezuela station as terminus, although shortly after it was moved to
Casa Amarilla Casa Amarilla (in English: "Yellow House") was a railway station in the district of La Boca, Buenos Aires, built and operated by the Buenos Aires and Ensenada Port Railway. Its name was inspired on Irish Admiral William Brown's house, built in ...
.


References


Bibliography

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External links

{{coord, 34.6064, S, 58.3698, W, source:wikidata, display=title Railway stations in Buenos Aires Railway stations in Argentina opened in 1872 Railway stations in Argentina closed in 1897 Defunct railway stations in Argentina