Chascomús Railway Station (1865)
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Chascomús is a former
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 homonymous city of
Buenos Aires Province Buenos Aires, officially the Buenos Aires Province, is the largest and most populous Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of the province an ...
,
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 ...
. The station, built and opened in 1865 by 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 ...
, fell into disuse in December 2014 when new
Chascomús railway and bus station Chascomús is a railway station and bus terminus in the Chascomús, homonymous city of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. Construction began on his station in 1983 when Raúl Alfonsín was President of Argentina but works were interrupted and final ...
was opened. Nowadays the station building is seat of "Centro Cultural Vieja Estación", a
cultural center A cultural center or cultural centre is an organization, building or complex that promotes culture and arts. Cultural centers can be neighborhood community arts organizations, private facilities, government-sponsored, or activist-run. Africa * ...
owned by the Municipality of ChascomúsCentro Cultural
on Chascomus.gob.ar
after it was transferred by the
Government of Argentina The government of Argentina, within the framework of a federal system, is a presidential system, presidential Representative democracy, representative democratic republic. The president of Argentina is both head of state and head of government. ...
.


History

In August 1861, Edward Lumb, a
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 ...
entrepreneur, requested the concession of a railway line that would run from Constitución to the city of
Chascomús Chascomús is the principal city in Chascomús Partido in eastern Buenos Aires Province of Argentina, located south of the capital Buenos Aires. In 2001, the city had a population of 30,670. History The city was founded as a fort (the ''Fortí ...
, 120 km from
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 ...
. Lumb offered $1,000,000 as guarantee to the Government of Buenos Aires. The initiative of Mr. Lumb was debated in the
Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...
, where it was concluded that railroad was necessary for the development of the Argentina nation. Juan B. Alberdi stated "The railroad will join the Argentine Republic better than all the congresses... without the 'iron road' that connects their extremes, the country will be always divisible and divided against all the Legislative decrees".''Historia del Ferrocarril Sud, 1861–1936''
by William Rögind - Establecimiento Gráfico Argentino, Buenos Aires, 1937
Finally, on May 27, 1862, the Buenos Aires Legislature promulgated the Law that authorized President of Argentina,
Bartolomé Mitre Bartolomé Mitre (26 June 1821 – 19 January 1906) was an Argentine statesman, soldier and author. He was President of Argentina from 1862 to 1868 and the first president of Argentine Civil Wars#National unification, unified Argentina. Mitre i ...
, to deal a contract with Edward Lumb. The Government demanded an interest rate of 7% on the costs of construction, during 40 years. On the other hand, the company was exempt of paying contributions, taxes and custom fees. The railway company had also to carry the post for free. The Government could expropriate the railway and its assets if the company did not plus a 20% as compensation. The
track gauge In rail transport, track gauge is the distance between the two rails of a railway track. All vehicles on a rail network must have Wheelset (rail transport), wheelsets that are compatible with the track gauge. Since many different track gauges ...
should be the same than
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 ...
's and the company was able to build a
tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...
line to Monserrat or any other strategic point of the city of Buenos Aires. The contract was officialized by the Government of Argentina on June 12, 1862. On November 12 the railroad route was approved, according to the maps proposed by the concessionary. The Government wanted the railway to cross San Vicente but the land was not in condition to build a line so the route was moved to La Paz (current Lomas de Zamora), where the field was more solid to extend the tracks. The route would extend from La Paz to Samborombón. On March 7, 1864, works began where the
Constitución railway station Constitución railway station () is a large railway station in Constitución, Buenos Aires, Constitución, a in central Buenos Aires, Argentina. The full official name of the station is (in English: Constitution Square Station) reflecting the fa ...
is placed nowadays. By December 1865 the railway had reached Chascomús (113 km). Chascomús was one of the main stations of the Constitución -
Mar del Plata Mar del Plata is a city on the coast of the Argentine Sea, Atlantic Ocean, in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the seat of General Pueyrredón Partido, General Pueyrredón district. Mar del Plata is the second largest city in Buenos Aires ...
railway service. The BAGSR (then "Ferrocarril del Sud") operated the line until the Railway nationalization of 1948 when the Argentine state purchased all the British and French-owned railway companies. Since then,
Ferrocarriles Argentinos Ferrocarriles Argentinos (abbreviated as FA; ) was a government-owned corporation, state-owned company that managed the entire Rail transport in Argentina, Argentine railway system for nearly 45 years. It was formed in 1948 when all the private r ...
ran all the services to Mar del Plata until 1993 when the Province of Buenos Aires took over the services through its company
Ferrobaires The Unidad Ejecutora del Plan Ferroviario Provincial (UEPFP) (in English: "Executive Unit of the Provincial Railway Plan"), mostly known under its trade name Ferrobaires, was a public railway company which operated extensive long-distance passenge ...
and has been running services to date. Nevertheless, the original route to Mar del Plata crossed downtown Chascomús, with more than 17
level crossing A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, Trail, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line or the road etc. crossing over or under using an Overpass#Railway, o ...
s. That meant trains had to run at very low speed when crossing Chascomús in order to prevent accidents, generating significant delays. To end this, the local Government projected a new route for the tracks, moving them to a suburban area of the city, with only two level crossings projected. Finally, four level crossings were allowed to be opened. Works to move tracks were committed to
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 ...
company
COMSA EMTE COMSA EMTE was a Spanish construction Construction are processes involved in delivering buildings, infrastructure, industrial facilities, and associated activities through to the end of their life. It typically starts with planning, financi ...
in 2013. When the
Chascomús railway and bus station Chascomús is a railway station and bus terminus in the Chascomús, homonymous city of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. Construction began on his station in 1983 when Raúl Alfonsín was President of Argentina but works were interrupted and final ...
was concluded at the end of 2014, the old station was closed. In August 2016, it was announced that the historic station, considered one of the city landmarks, would be transfer to the Municipality of Chascomús."Chascomús: La histórica estación pasará a manos del municipio"
InfoZona, 23 Aug 2016
MINISTERIO DE TRANSPORTE - Resolución 366/2021
on Argentina.gob.ar
The local municipality established a
cultural center A cultural center or cultural centre is an organization, building or complex that promotes culture and arts. Cultural centers can be neighborhood community arts organizations, private facilities, government-sponsored, or activist-run. Africa * ...
in the old station building.


Operators

Chascomús was an intermediate stop of the Buenos Aires to Mar del Plata railroad service. The companies that operated the line and station were:


See also

*
Chascomús railway and bus station Chascomús is a railway station and bus terminus in the Chascomús, homonymous city of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. Construction began on his station in 1983 when Raúl Alfonsín was President of Argentina but works were interrupted and final ...


Bibliography

*


References


External links


CENTRO CULTURAL MUNICIPAL “VIEJA ESTACIÓN”
at Chascomus.gob.ar {{DEFAULTSORT:Chascomus railway station (1865) Railway stations in Buenos Aires Province Railway stations in Argentina opened in 1865 Railway stations in Argentina closed in 2014 Defunct railway stations in Argentina