The Sabor line ''(Linha do Sabor)'' was a railway in north-east
Portugal. It ran for nearly 106 km between
Pocinho and Duas Igrejas, near
Miranda do Douro. 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 fo ...
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 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, la ...
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 proport ...
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 through the Douro Valley to
Oporto. The northern terminus of the line was at Duas Igrejas, a tiny settlement several kilometres from the municipal capital of
Miranda do Douro. The line opened from Pocinho to
Carviçais in 1917, with extensions to Lagoaça in 1927,
Mogadouro in 1930 and eventually reaching Duas Igrejas in 1938. The line was never completed as far as
Miranda do Douro. Much of the route was located within a few kilometres of the border with
Spain.
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 ''- closed 2009''
*
Tua line ''- closed 2008''
See also
*
List of railway lines in Portugal
*
List of Portuguese locomotives and railcars
*
History of rail transport in Portugal
*
Comboios de Portugal
*
History of rail transport in Portugal
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