The Polvorín Workshop (Spanish: Taller Polvorín) is a
rolling stock
The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, Railroad car#Freight cars, freight and Passenger railroad car, passenger cars (or coaches) ...
storage and maintenance workshop in
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 ...
that primarily serves
Line A of the
Buenos Aires Underground
The Buenos Aires Underground (), locally known as Subte (), is a rapid transit system that serves the area of the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The first section of this network (Plaza de Mayo–Plaza Miserere) opened in 1913, making it the L ...
. It also serves as the main storage and restoration area for the
Association of Friends of the Tramway (AAT), who run a
heritage tramway
A heritage railway or heritage railroad (U.S. usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) ...
in the neighborhood of
Caballito
Caballito (; Spanish for "little horse") is a ''barrio'' (neighborhood) of the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires. It is the only ''barrio'' in the administrative division ''Comuna'' 6.
It is located in the geographical centre of the city, limited ...
, near to where the workshop is located.
History
The workshop was built in 1914 by the
Anglo-Argentine Tramways Company
The Anglo-Argentine Tramways Company (Spanish: ''Compañía de Tranvías Anglo Argentina''), known simply as ''La Anglo'' in Argentina, was a large transportation company which operated the majority of the trams in Buenos Aires, trams in the Bu ...
(AATC) to repair and house its underground tram network, which later became
Line A of the Underground. At the same time, it also served the much of
Buenos Aires' then vast tram network, albeit only the lines operated by AATC.
In 1980, the workshop became the headquarters of the AAT, who house and restore their growing collection of antique trams there. In 2008, the
Buenos Aires City Legislature
The Buenos Aires City Legislature (, commonly known as the ) is the legislative power of the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is housed in the Buenos Aires City Legislature Palace, Legislature Palace (), an archite ...
granted the workshop protection status as part of the city's
national patrimony National patrimony is the store of wealth or accumulated reserves of a national economy. In addition to monetary reserves and other financial holdings, national patrimony also encompasses a nation's non-monetary wealth or reserves, such as its natio ...
, which includes its rails and section of tunnel which join the workshop to
Primera Junta
The Primera Junta ("First Junta") or ''Junta Provisional Gubernativa de las Provincias del Río de la Plata'' ("Provisional Governing Junta of the Provinces of the Río de la Plata"), is the most common name given to the first government of what ...
station.
ANEXO de la LEY Nº 2.796
- CEDOM
In recent years, the workshop - which had once also served - has had a diminishing role in the Underground following the construction of new workshops on Line D and Line E and is increasingly shifting its focus to its function within the AAT and on storing and refurbishing La Brugeoise cars.
Gallery
File:Flota de Brugeoise en Polvorín.jpg, CTAA La Brugeoise cars before underground conversion (1913)
File:Palanganas 122 y 123.jpg, La Brugeoise cars being converted (1928)
File:La Brugeoise 12.jpg, La Brugeoise cars after conversion (1939)
File:Tallerpolverin.jpg, An AAT tram in the workshop
File:Tallerpolverin4.jpg, An AAT UEC Preston
The UEC Preston is a tram/subway car built by the British manufacturer United Electric Car Company for the Anglo-Argentine Tramways Company (AATC) in 1912 for use on its then newly built underground tramway in Buenos Aires, which was later to bec ...
at the workshop
File:Tallerpolverin2.jpg, Current interior of the workshop
File:Tranway5.jpg, Defunct rolling stock next to current Line D Alstom
Alstom SA () is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer which operates worldwide in rail transport markets. It is active in the fields of passenger transportation, signaling, and locomotives, producing high-speed, suburban, regional ...
train
See also
* La Brugeoise cars
*Trams in Buenos Aires
The first trams in Buenos Aires began operating in 1863 in what quickly became a vast network of tramways with the city being known as the "City of Trams" for having the highest tramway-to-population ratio in the world. - Don Ross Group, 7 Nove ...
*Anglo-Argentine Tramways Company
The Anglo-Argentine Tramways Company (Spanish: ''Compañía de Tranvías Anglo Argentina''), known simply as ''La Anglo'' in Argentina, was a large transportation company which operated the majority of the trams in Buenos Aires, trams in the Bu ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Polvorin Workshop
Buenos Aires Underground
Tram transport in Argentina
Transport in Buenos Aires
Railway workshops