Buenos Aires Western Railway
Encyclopedia
Indian gauge
Indian gauge is a track gauge commonly used in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Argentina and Chile. It is also the gauge that is used on BART , in northern California.- Scotland :...
British-owned companies that built and operated railway networks in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
. The company operated west of the city of Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, between the zones served by two other British-owned companies, the Buenos Aires Great Southern
Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway
The Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway was one of the Big Four broad gauge, , British-owned companies that built and operated railway networks in Argentina...
and the Buenos Aires and Pacific
Buenos Aires and Pacific Railway
The Buenos Aires and Pacific Railway was one of the Big Four broad gauge, , British-owned companies that built and operated railway networks in Argentina....
railways. The BAW covered the western part of Buenos Aires Province
Buenos Aires Province
The Province of Buenos Aires is the largest and most populous province of Argentina. It takes the name from the city of Buenos Aires, which used to be the provincial capital until it was federalized in 1880...
, part of the La Pampa Province
La Pampa Province
La Pampa is a sparsely populated province of Argentina, located in the Pampas in the center of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise San Luis, Córdoba, Buenos Aires, Río Negro, Neuquén and Mendoza.-History:...
and extended in the direction of the Andes across agricultural and cattle country to the vine and fruit region of Mendoza Province
Mendoza Province
The Province of Mendoza is a province of Argentina, located in the western central part of the country in the Cuyo region. It borders to the north with San Juan, the south with La Pampa and Neuquén, the east with San Luis, and to the west with the republic of Chile; the international limit is...
. It also had an important section serving the suburbs of the city of Buenos Aires.
The story began in 1855 with the Ferrocarril del Oeste company building Argentina’s first railway line between Plaza Parque station in Buenos Aires, opposite the old Teatro Colón opera house, and La Floresta station in Flores
Flores
Flores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, an island arc with an estimated area of 14,300 km² extending east from the Java island of Indonesia. The population was 1.831.000 in the 2010 census and the largest town is Maumere. Flores is Portuguese for "flowers".Flores is located east of Sumbawa...
, a distance of 10 km. British engineer, William Bragge
William Bragge
William Bragge, F.S.A., F.G.S., was a civil engineer, antiquarian, and author. He established a museum and art gallery. He was notable in his day for collecting a library containing the entire literature on tobacco...
built the first line that opened to the public 29 August 1857 and the first train was hauled by a locomotive, named La Porteña, which was built by the Hunslet Engine Company
Hunslet Engine Company
The Hunslet Engine Company is a British locomotive-building company founded in 1864 at Jack Lane, Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England by John Towlerton Leather, a civil engineering contractor, who appointed James Campbell as his Works Manager.In 1871, James Campbell bought the company for...
of Leeds in England, and was a veteran of the Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
. No fewer than 15,000 passengers were carried in the first fortnight. The line was extended to Ramos Mejia
Ramos Mejia
Ramos Mejía is a locality of La Matanza Partido in Greater Buenos Aires. The city has an area of 11.9 km² and a population of 98,457 .It is one of the largest commercial districts in the Western Zone of Greater Buenos Aires.-History:...
in 1859, Moron
Moron
Moron may refer to* Moron , disused term for a person with a mental age between 8 and 12, and a common insult for a person considered stupid * "Moron" * "Moron"...
and in 1860 to Moreno
Moreno
-Places:*Moreno, Pernambuco, city in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco*Perito Moreno Glacier, glacier in Patagonia, Argentina*Perito Moreno National Park, on the northwest of the Santa Cruz Province, Argentina...
giving a total length of 39 km. With government help the line arrived at Chivilcoy
Chivilcoy
Chivilcoy is a city in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, the head town of the Chivilcoy Partido. It has 60,762 inhabitants according to the ....
in 1866, a distance of 159 km from Buenos Aires, and various branch lines were added.
In 1878, the Buenos Aires terminus was moved to Estación Once
Estación Once
Once railway station is a large railway terminus in central Buenos Aires, Argentina.The station, inaugurated on December 20, 1882, is located in the barrio of Balvanera immediately north of Plaza Miserere, a large public square...
and in 1886 Plaza Parque station was demolished and its place taken by a new Teatro Colón opera house.
By the time Ferrocarril Oeste was sold to the British in 1890 it operated its services over 1,014 km of track. Under the new name BAW the railway was extended from the centre of Buenos Aires Province to La Pampa Province and as far as the south of Mendoza Province.
Grain, cattle, wine, and general merchandise formed the bulk of the railway’s goods traffic. Coal suitable for locomotive working was not available locally and therefore a large proportion of locomotives were designed to burn oil.
In 1933, the administration of the company was combined with that of two other British-owned railway companies Buenos Aires Great Southern
Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway
The Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway was one of the Big Four broad gauge, , British-owned companies that built and operated railway networks in Argentina...
, and Buenos Aires Midland
Buenos Aires Midland Railway
The Buenos Aires Midland Railway was a British-owned railway company which operated in Argentina where it was known as Ferrocarril Midland de Buenos Aires. The company built and operated the line between Estación Puente Alsina and Carhué in Buenos Aires Province...
.
When the entire Argentine railway network was nationalised
Railway Nationalisation in Argentina
In 1948, during President Juan Perón’s first term of office, the seven British-owned and three French-owned railway companies then operating in Argentina, were purchased by the state...
in 1948, during Juan Peron
Juan Perón
Juan Domingo Perón was an Argentine military officer, and politician. Perón was three times elected as President of Argentina though he only managed to serve one full term, after serving in several government positions, including the Secretary of Labor and the Vice Presidency...
's presidency the BAW, with 3096 km of track, became part of the state-owned company Ferrocarril Domingo Faustino Sarmiento
Ferrocarril Domingo Faustino Sarmiento
The Ferrocarril Domingo Faustino Sarmiento , named after the former Argentine president, statesman, educator, and author Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, was one of the six state-owned Argentine railway companies formed after President Juan Perón's nationalisation of the Argentine railway network in 1948...
.