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Thomas Kautzor reports on his visit from 4th to 9th February 2016::
Preserved RENFE locos:
RENFE 141-2001 (Alco 56671/1917, 85.3t, 1941 ex NORTE 4501) as “141-0220” at the old station, now ‘La Estación del Centro de Interpretación Tren del Aceite’ (an olive-oil interpretative center) in Cabra (Córdoba) was the first of 55 2-8-2s built for the Norte in 1917/18. Two locos were destroyed during the Spanish Civil War, while No. 4509 was scrapped following a damage to its boiler prior to the class being taken over by RENFE in 1941 as 141-2001 to 2052. In 1942, 41 units were in service in northern Spain, and in 1954 there 51 units assigned to Vigo (18), Valencia-Término (17), Tarragona (11) and Oviedo (5). In 1962 locos of the class were assigned to Valencia-Término, Sevilla, Vigo and Zaragoza-Arrabal sheds. Scrapping started in 1964 and only 141-2001 survived, until 1991
stored inside Sevila-San Jerónimo depot. After its demolition as a result of the Expo ’92 site, it was dumped in Sevilla-Majarabique freight yard prior to coming to
Cabra.
RENFE 301-003-0 (0-4-0DM, MTM 1960, 160kW 6-cylinder Pegaso COMET diesel engine, ex No. 10103) is preserved at the same location with covered goods van Jchv 305311.
RENFE 020-0212 (0-4-0T, Anjubault 105/1864, ex MZA 612) is on display outside the old station on Avenida Libertad in Cordoba. The station is now home to the RTVA television channel and to a restaurant. The loco was built for the FC de Zaragoza a Escatrón together with sister Anjubault N°. 104, first for the construction of the line and later for service between Zaragoza and La Puebla de Hijar. Later the railway and the locos were integrated first into TBF and then into MZA with N°. 611-612 and used as shunters at Minas de la Reunión. In 1941 they were incorporated into RENFE as 020-0211/0212. The first one was scrapped in 1967, while 020-0212 was sold to SECEM in Córdoba in 1963. It used to be on display with a four-wheel wooden passenger coach, but that was removed/scrapped after having deteriorated.
RENFE 240-2081 (Henschel 11526/1912, 1941 ex MZA 1101) derelict at Villanueva del Rio y Minas (Sevilla) station was the first of a large class of 120 2-8-0 built by Henschel for the Cia. de los FC de Madrid a Zaragoza y Alicante between 1912 and 1921. In 1942 94 locos of the class remained in service with RENFE at Alcázar de San Juan, Alicante, Ciudad Real, Córdoba, Mérida, Murcia, Sevilla and Madrid-Delicias. At the end of the 1940 some were transferred to Valencia. The last eight units of the class were withdrawn in 1968. Preserved 240-2081 also spent its time between its withdrawal and 1991 inside Sevilla-San Jerónimo depot and was then dumped at Sevilla-Majarabique freight yard until it was brought to Villanueva del Rio y Minas, an old mining town 42 km NE of Sevilla on the line from Los Rosales to Mérida.
RENFE 040-2169 (Hartmann 1360/1884, 1941 ex NORTE 2708, 1891 ex Almansa-Valencia-Tarragona 108) is on display at the public park along the main road
through Los Barrios (Cádiz) near Algeciras. If it is indeed that loco it would be one of a class of seven (1358-64) delivered to FC Almansa-Valencia-Tarragona as No. 106-112 in 1884. The same loco has however also been reported (LCGB) as 040-2342 (Hartmann 2613/1900, 1941 ex NORTE 2613), one of 10 locos (1912-21) built for the FC NORTE in 1892 as their No. 2612-2621.
Not visited:
RENFE 020-0241 (Tubize 1316/1902, 1941 ex FC Andaluces 05, new to Cia. Vecinal de Andalucia) on plinthed at the RENFE loco depot in Granada;
RENFE 040-2273 (MTM 20/1900, 1941 ex MZA 549) on display (without its tender) at the Parque Aurelio Teno in Pozoblanco (Cordóba);
RENFE 140-2054 (BW 234/1928, 1941 ex FC Andaluces 4106, new to Sur de España) stored in the shed at Guadix (Granada);
RENFE 0-4-0DM 301-023-8 (Macosa 176/1962) stored in Almeria.
Preserved industrial broad gauge locos:
In Huelva, the port authority (Junta de Obras del Puerto – JOP) made use of seven
OK 125hp 0-4-0Ts (919/1902, 2352-3/1907, 3012-5/1908 + replacement boiler 11219/1928), three of which are preserved:
JOP Huelva N°. 1 (OK 3014/1908, 1963 ex N°. 9) on display on Plaza Isabel La Católica near Huelva’s RENFE station;
JOP Huelva N°. 2 (OK 3015/1908, 1963 ex N°. 10) on display at the former 1067mm gauge FC del Buitrón manager’s mansion in Valverde del Camino (Huelva);
JOP Huelva N°. 4 (OK 2353/1907, 1967 ex N°. 6) on display next to the Torre Arenilla loading point, in Huelva’s exterior port. It carries both
OK 2353 and 3012 number plates.
FC Santander-Mediterraneo (SM) 0-6-0ST 27 (MW 1822/1913) is on display on Paseo General Lobo at San Fernando de Cádiz (Cádiz), near San Fernando-Centro RENFE station. It was donated to the municipality by ‘Azucarera Española S.A.’ in
July 1992 and is thought to have been the factory shunter at the ‘Azucarera del Guadalete’ sugar factory in Jerez de la Frontera (Cádiz).
FEFASA/ENC 0-4-0T (BW 728/1958) is on display at the ‘Empresa Nacional Celulosa’ (ENC) cellulose factory in San Juan del Puerto
(Huelva).
Not visited:
ENCAR 0-4-0T 1 “MARTA” (SACM 3699/1884) in storage in Peñarroya-Pueblonuevo (Cordóba);
ENCAR 0-6-0T 5 “BELMEZ” (Baldwin 19358/1901) in storage in Peñarroya-Pueblonuevo (Cordóba);
SMMP 0-6-0T 1 (Couillet 1214/1898) plinthed in a park in Peñarroya-Pueblonuevo (Cordóba) ?;
SMMP 0-6-0T 4 (Couillet 1793/1924, ex SICOP, Valencia) in storage in Peñarroya-Pueblonuevo (Cordóba);
JOP Almería 0-4-0DM 2 (Deutz PMV230R 9528/1929) on display at the port in Almería;
The ex-Astilleros de Cádiz/Factoria de San Carlos diesel (Jenbacher Werke 1955) last reported under
restoration at the ‘Escuela de Formación Professional “Sancti Petri” in San Fernando de Cádiz (Cádiz).
Minas de Rio Tinto:
As an update to James Waite’s 2009 report
there have not been many changes at Rio Tinto with its 1067mm (3'6")
gauge railway. The steam trains still operates on the first Sunday of each month from November to April at 13.30 (only between Talleres Mina and Las Zarandas, 8 km), for information on the timing of the diesel trains see
http://parquemineroderiotinto.es/?lang=en. Positioning moves from the shed/workshops at Las Zarandas to the boarding point at Talleres Mina and back are done with the steam locomotive pushing the train. Both 0-6-0Ts 14 and 51 were said to be operational (on February 7, 2016, N°. 14 was in use).
One of the larger 2-6-0s has been cosmetically restored and put on display at a traffic circle.
The following is an overview of what FC de Rio Tinto (FRT) locomotives and railcars still exist (+: locos preserved outside of the area).
Steam locomotives:
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0-6-0T 14 (class C, BP 1439/1875, 26.0t) operational (plinthed outside Museo Minero until 2001); |
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0-6-0T 15 (class C, BP 1440/1875, 26.0t) stored at Industrias López Soriano, Zaragoza (Aragón); |
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0-6-0T 18 (class C, BP 3085/1890, 26.0t) 1978 to Industrias López Soriano , S.A., Zaragoza (Aragón), now plinthed in Ejea de los Caballeros (Aragón); |
| + |
0-6-0T 49 (class I, Dübs 1514/1881, 25.0t) 1978 to Industrias López Soriano, S.A., Zaragoza (Aragón), then to private owner in Ponferrada, now in Almázcara (Castilla y León); |
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0-6-0T 50 (class I, Dübs 1515/1881, 25.0t) abandoned in the Corta Atalya open cast mine; |
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0-6-0T 51 (class I, Dübs 1890/1883, 25.0t) operational (since 02/1997); |
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0-6-0T 52 (class I, Dübs 1891/1883, 25.0t) 1978 to Industrias López Soriano, S.A., Zaragoza (Aragón); |
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0-6-0T 55 (class I, Dübs 1894/1883, 25.0t) 1978 to Industrias López Soriano, S.A., Zaragoza (Aragón); |
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0-6-0T 61 (class I, Dübs 2173/1885, 25.0t) 1978 to Industrias López Soriano, S.A., Zaragoza (Aragón), now plinthed at Puente de la Almoraza, Zaragoza (Aragón); |
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0-6-0T 75 (class I, Dübs 4065/1900, 25.0t) 1978 to Industrias López Soriano, S.A., Zaragoza (Aragón); |
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0-6-0T 77 (class I, Dübs 4067/1900, 25.0t) 1978 to Industrias López Soriano, S.A., Zaragoza (Aragón); |
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0-6-0T 78 (class I, Dübs 4068/1900, 25.0t) 1978 to Industrias López Soriano, S.A., Zaragoza (Aragón); |
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0-6-0T 82 (class I, NBL 16592/1906, 25.0t) 1978 to Industrias López Soriano, S.A., Zaragoza (Aragón); |
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0-6-0T 85 (class I, NBL 17075/1906, 25.0t) 1978 to Industrias López Soriano, S.A., Zaragoza (Aragón); |
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0-6-0T 93 (class I, NBL 18320/1908, 25.0t) 1978 to Industrias López Soriano, S.A., Zaragoza (Aragón); |
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0-6-0T 106 (class K, NBL 18028/1907, 40.0t) on display Museo Minero (last used on an ASAF special in 1975); |
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0-6-0T 110 (class K, NBL 18032/1907, 40.0t) plinthed in Parque Los Cipreses in El Campillo (3.5 km west of Rio Tinto); |
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2-6-2+2-6-2 146 (class Garratt, BP 6561/1929, 101.0t) stored at Las Zarandas; |
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0-4-0CT 150 (class N, HL 3785/1930, 25.0t) on display Museo Minero (crane loco, last used in 1975); |
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2-6-0 201 (class 200, RSH 7700/1953, 61.75t) plinthed in the middle of ‘Glorieta Polígono Industrial Los Caleros’ traffic circle in Rio Tinto (formerly stored/dumped in the yard at Las Zarandas); |
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2-6-0 203 (class 200, RSH 7702/1953, 61.75t) stored/dumped in the yard at Las Zarandas; |
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2-6-0 204 (class 200, RSH 7703/1954, 61.75t) stored in the shed at Las Zarandas; |
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2-6-0 205 (class 200, RSH 7704/1954, 61.75t) stored/dumped behind the shed at Las
Zarandas |
The pictures show 2-6-2 + 2-6-2 Garratt 146 and 2-6-0 205.
Electric locomotives:
Bo E 1 (class P, GE 1915, 20.0t, 60 hp, ex N°. 141) on display Museo Minero (since 2002, in use until 1981);
Bo E 3 (class P, GE 1915, 20.0t, 60 hp, ex N°. 143) stored/dumped in the yard at Las
Zarandas.
Diesel locomotives:
Bo-Bo DE 922 (class 200, CENEMESA Bilbao 1965, under Le Creusot licence, 50.0 t, 850 hp, ex N°. 402) stored/dumped in yard at Las
Zarandas;
0-6-0 DH 931 (class 500, B&W 1164/1975, built under Hunslet licence, 36.0 t, 375 hp, ex N°. 500) operational;
0-6-0 DH 932 (class 500, B&W 1975, built under Hunslet licence, 36.0 t, 375 hp, ex N°. 501) operational;
0-6-0 DH 933 (class 300, Krupp 4120/1960, 32.0 t, 375 hp, ex N°. 300) operational (restored with new 375hp engine in 2007/8).
Railcars:
941 works railcar (SMMP 1957, built under Billard licence, 16.0 t, 200 hp, 1973 ex FEVE Cartagena – Los Blancos) under restoration at Las
Zarandas;
942 inspection railcar (Talleres Huelva 1960, 1.6 t, 50 hp, ex N°. 4) operational (restored in 1991).
Rail cranes: -see also the European
steam crane page on this site.
6-wheel steam crane N°. 2 (John H. Wilson 1905, 25.0 t, 5-ton cap.) stored at Las
Zarandas;
6-wheel hand crane N°. 52 ? (R&R 1910, 15.1 t, 10-ton capacity) stored/dumped in yard at Las
Zarandas;
6-wheel hand crane N°. 55 (R&R B7609/1914, 29.2 t, 15-ton cap.) stored/dumped in yard at Las
Zarandas.
Passenger coaches:
Coche Salón N°. 2 (type B, Birmingham Ry. Carriage & Wagon Co. Ltd., Smethwick, England, 1892, 12.192 m, 12.319 kg) on display at Museo Minero (since 1991)
N°. 1 short frame / open-top coach (“Jardinera”)
N°. 2 long frame / open platforms (type J, 13.208m, 64 seats)
N°. 3 long frame / enclosed platforms
N°. 4 long frame / open platforms
N°. 5 short frame / enclosed platforms (built on extended freight car frame)
N°. 6 short frame / centeral doors
N°. – short frame / open coach (wagon frame)
In Huelva, a replica of an FRT 0-6-0T is on display in Parque de Zafra.
Some 80km away the Rio Tinto ore pier has been preserved:
Minas de Tharsis (1219mm/4” gauge):
As an update to James Waite’s 2009 report
pictures of two of the preserved steam locomotives - marked @ - are included) most of the locomotives and rolling then stored at the mine has been removed for scrap, while some of the preserved locomotives have switched locations. The following is an overview of the ‘Tharsis Sulphur & Copper Co. Ltd.’ (TSCC) locomotives which still exist (+: locos preserved outside of the area).
There is a separate page on this site repeating the data here and also showing
surviving infrastructure and many of the diesel locomotives.
Steam locomotives:
| @ |
0-4-0T 1 “ODIEL” (Dübs 231/1867) on display in front of the restored Corrales station in Aljaraque (formerly this loco was plinthed on a traffic circle on the A-469 north of
Tharsis, where it has been replaced by a bogie tank wagon); |
| @ |
0-4-0T 5 “SAUCITA” (Dübs 309/1869) is still plinthed on Calle Ciudad de Huelva in
Tharsis; |
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0-4-0T 7 “CORRALES” (Dübs 332/1869) is on display at the ‘Colecciones de Tharsis’
(CCT) museum in Tharsis together with a 4-wheel tender and three 4-wheel passenger coaches (a saloon coach, a mixed 1st/2nd class and a 3rd class); |
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0-6-0T 29 “ALJARAQUE” (NBL 16208/1904) at Industrias López
Soriano, S.A. , Zaragoza (Aragón); |
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0-6-0T 31 “EL CERRO” (NBL 16734/1905) at Industrias López
Soriano, S.A., Zaragoza (Aragón); |
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0-6-0T 35 “ESPERANZA” (NBL 20567/1914) at Industrias López Soriano, S.A., Zaragoza
(Aragón). |
This is "CORRALES" and the wooden bodied coaches:
Diesel locomotives:
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0-4-0DE 56 (RH 260752/195x) is plinthed in the middle of a traffic circle on the A-492 in Bellavista (west of Corrales) together with N°. 57; |
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0-4-0DE 57 (RH 260753/195x) is plinthed in the middle of a traffic circle on the A-492 in Bellavista (west of Corrales) together with N°. 56; |
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0-6-0DE 58 (RH 323601/1956) is stored in a shed at the mine in Tharsis for a projected tourist railway project together with a flat wagon with passenger or guards compartment (formerly this loco was on display at the old Aljaraque station); |
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0-6-0DE 59 (RH 323604/1956) is plinthed in the middle of a traffic circle
(Glorieta Isla Bacuta) on the A-492 in Corrales together with a brake van; |
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4wDM 61 (RH) is plinthed next to the HV-1472 west of La Zarza (38 km NE of
Tharsis); |
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4wDM ? (class 61-65, RH) is plinthed in a park next to the A-495 south of
Tharsis; |
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+ |
4wDM ? (class 61-65, RH) at Industrias López
Soriano, S.A. , Zaragoza (Aragón); |
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Bo-Bo DE 69 (Alsthom/SACM 1966) is plinthed in the middle of a traffic circle on the A-469 north of Tharsis with Gregg ore wagons 20 & 11 (until 10/2011 this loco was stored at the mine with the five other Alsthom main line diesels, which have since been
scrapped) |
Motor trolleys:
Motor trolley 2 (Wickham) plinthed in front of the ‘Colecciones de Tharsis’ (CCT) museum in
Tharsis.
The ‘Colecciones de Tharsis’ (CCT) museum in Tharsis, located in the old company hospital, is open on Saturdays and Sundays from 10-14h
(http://coleccionesdetharsis.es.mialias.net/ (link broken by December 2021) and https://www.facebook.com/coleccionesdetharsis/timeline) and aside from the locomotive and three coaches it contains many documents, paintings, photographs, models and other small exhibits related to the railway.
Tharsis municipality had plans to open a tourist railway between the mine and the junction with the line to La Zarza. The track has been left in place on that section. For this they traded 0-4-0T 1 “ODIEL” to the municipality of Aljaraque for diesel N°. 58, which is thought to be serviceable. However, according to more recent information the project appears to have been abandoned and N°. 58 moved to an unknown location.
The other five Alsthom main line diesels stored in the workshops at the mine have been removed and reportedly scrapped, as have most of the ore wagons, all that is left at the mine aside from N°. 58 and the flat wagon are two Gregg ore wagons N°. 20 and 53 under the ore loading hoppers and three older side-dump wagons N°. 1-3.
FC del Buitrón (FCB):
This 1067mm (3’6”) gauge railway was opened from San Juan del Puerto (Huelva) to Eligio (km 27), Valverde del Camino (km 36) and Buitrón (km 49) between 1868 and 1870. In 1875 a branch was opened from a junction north of Valverde del Camino to Zalamea la Real (15 km) and this was extended a further 14 km to Mina La Concepción in 1906. At La Concepción, the mine was reached through a cable-worked incline. The FCB connected with the Rio Tinto railway at Zalamea la Real.
In 1906 ownership of the railway passed to United Alkali Co. Ltd. and in 1926 to ICI Ltd. While it was essentially a mining railway, its concession imposed the operation of a passenger service, which ended with the withdrawal of the concession in 1934. In 1941 the mines were sold and the operation of the railway was taken over by the Estado in 1942, who re-introduced an improved passenger service with three daily trains between San Juan del Puerto and Valverde, one of them through to Zalamea la Real. In 1959 Billard railcars 2101 and 2102 were even assigned to the line, which closed in 1968.
Valverde del Camino was the location of the FCB’s shed and workshops and these still stand today, together with the station buildings and water tank. The manager’s house, overlooking all of it from a nearby hillside, is now owned by the municipality and its garden contains various mining displays as well as JOP Huelva 0-4-0T No. 2 (see above).
Over its existence the FCB owned 21 steam locos (0-4-0T, 0-6-0T and 4-6-0T) built mainly by Kitson and Andrew Barclay, but also one each by Borsig and Maffei, as well as an home-built rail lorry with a Chevrolet petrol engine. In 1959, the Estado brought Batignolles/CAF 0-6-0DHs No. 2 and 5 to the line.
Of the FCB’s steam locos, only 0-4-0T No. 1 “VICTORIA” is thought to have survived to this day, although there are some inconsistencies as to which loco it really is:
“Locomotives & Railcars of the Spanish Narrow Gauge Public Railways”, compiled by J. Morley and P.G. Spencer for the IRS in 1995, shows two locos as preserved after closure:
0-4-0T 1 VICTORIA (Kitson 1512/1868, originally named “DOWCRA”, rebuilt in 1902, 1939 and 1957) as having been preserved at Valverde del Camino with a saloon car but not present anymore in 05/1993;
0-4-0T 2 MARIA TERESA (Kitson 1513/1868) as having been sold to a scrap merchant in Sila near Valencia after closure and then resold to the municipality of Murcia, where it was put on display at the Jardin del Desertio del
Espinardo.
The loco now on display at the crossroads of Calle Morera and Calle Huerto, in the southern outskirts of Murcia does however carries replica “VICTORIA” nameplates and replica “1867 HAWTHORSNS &C°-.” builders plates (including typos) and is identified in both the 2005 LCGB booklet and on
http://www.locomotoravapor.com/murcia.htm
as having been built by Hawthorns of Leith in 1868 (photo from 05th February
2017).
Preserved narrow gauge industrial locos:
750mm gauge S.A. Minas de Cartes 0-4-0WT (OK 15 PS N°. 5894/1912) is preserved at ‘Hierros Cenarro e Hijos S.L.’ scrap dealer at Km 6.8 on Carretera de Málaga (A-329/A-92G) between Granada and Armilla. It was obtained from the Sierra Elvira cement factory in Granada. Access was not granted at the office on the basis that “too many people stopped to ask to take pictures of the loco”, so I had to photograph it through the fence. Later in 2016 this locomotive went to a company named “Restaura GMR Siglo XXI SL” in Granada for restoration to working order.
An unusual-looking 1000mm gauge diesel shunter (Ruhrthaler D 80/90 N°. 3130/1954, new to Ferrovias y Siderurgia S.A., Madrid) obtained from the Cia. Minero-Metalurgica ‘Los Guindos’ in Malaga is also preserved here. It is equipped with asymmetric buffers and couplings to allow it to also shunt 1668mm gauge wagons on the factory’s private sidings.
600mm gauge 0-4-0DM “1930” (Deutz C XIV F N°. 4121/1921, new to Cia. General de Asfaltos & Portland Asland, Barcelona) is on display in front of the Cementos Cosmos, S.A. cement factory (formerly Asland Cement) on Avenida Agrupacion Cordóba 15 in 14014 Cordóba.
Not visited:
Minas de Cala Coto Teuler 700mm gauge 0-4-0WT “EL TEULER” (OK 4211/1911) in storage at Peñarroya-Pueblonuevo (Cordóba).
Miniature steam locos:
In 1929 Krauss (München) supplied four 381mm gauge 4-6-2s to AEG for use at the Ibero-American Exposition, which took place from
9th May 1929 to 21st June 1930. These were part of a class of 15 4-6-2s known as “Martens’sche Einheitsliliputloks” built by Krauss (Krauss-Maffei from 1931) between 1925 and 1950 for park railways in Germany, Austria, Spain and India. Krupp also produced three very similar locos for British railways in 1937. The four locomotives that went to Sevilla (Kr.Mü. N°. 8455-8457 and 8473 of 1929) were named “PINTA”, “NIÑA”, “SANTA MARIA” and “SEVILLA” and operated over a loop of track through the exhibition grounds. After the end of the exposition and the closure of the railway in 1933, all four were at first put into storage. 8455 “PINTA”, 8457 “SANTA MARIA” and 8473 “SEVILLA” were sold to to the ‘Parque de Atracciones’ near Madrid in 1966, where “PINTA” operated from 1970 to 1985 after which it was plinthed, and where “SEVILLA” was converted into a diesel in 1995/96. In 2001 the three locos were sold to the ‘FC del Maresme S.L.’ in Barcelona, where “PINTA” was put back into service in 2004 and
where “SEVILLA” was dismantled to rebuild it into a steam loco. “PINTA” and “SANTA MARIA” recently made headlines when they were sold, “PINTA” in 10/2014 to the Killesbergbahn in Suttgart (Germany), where it was renamed “SANTA MARIA”, and “SANTA MARIA” in 2016 to the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway (England), where it was renamed “WHILLAN BECK”.
N°. 8456 “NIÑA” however stayed in Sevilla. In 1963 it was put on display on a children’s playground. In 1983 it was restored in the RENFE San Jerónimo workshops in Sevilla and put on display at the Plaza de Armas RENFE station in Sevilla. In 1990 it went into storage at Sevilla San Pablo depot. In 2000 it was handed over to the ‘Asociación Sevillana de Amigos del Ferrocarril’ (ASAF) and put on display at the society’s home at the end of tracks 8/9 in the underground part of Sevilla-Santa Justa station. Inside, ASAF has a large HO layout and library (open Fridays 19-22h,
http://www.asaf.es/). ASAF also operates a miniature railway, the ‘FC de Alamillo’ (FCA), at ‘Parque del Alamillo’ on Sundays from 11-14h
(http://www.asaf.es/indexalamillo.html).
For a complete overview of all of the German 381mm gauge Pacifics see http://www.parkeisenbahn-dresden.de/index.php?snav52&liliputlokomotiven
Málaga was the origin of three metre gauge lines:
- Tthe longest line ran eastwards along the coast to Torre del Mar (km 30), where it turned inland to Vélez-Málaga (km 35, now the bus station, see IMG_5442), La Viñuela (km 43), Periana (km 56) and Ventas de Zafarraya (km 66). It was opened in stages between 1908 and 1922 and the section between Vélez-Málaga and Ventas de Zafarraya included an Abt rack worked section through the mountains. It was operated by ‘Ferrocarriles Suburbaños de Málaga’ (FSM). The mountain section beyond Vélez-Málaga was closed between 1958 and 1960 and all track lifted by 1962. By 1964 there were no more trains between Málaga and Vélez-Málaga;
- Tthe second line line operated by FSM ran westwards through Casa Misericordia (site of the shed and works) and San Julian to Alhaurin el Grande (km 32), Valle-Hermoso (km 34) and Coin (km 39) and was opened 1912/13. The line closed in
1968
- The third line along the coast southwestwards of Málaga was the only completed section of the proposed meter gauge line to Algeciras and Cádiz. It was opened from San Julian (junction with the FSM) to Torremolinos (km 6) and Fuengirola (km 21) in 1916 and owned by the ‘FC de Málaga a Fuengirola’. It was operated by FSM until 1934, when it was taken over by the Estado and later FEVE. It was closed in 1971 and converted to broad gauge and is now worked by RENFE as Cercanías line C-1, which serves Málaga’s international airport.
At Ventas de Zafarraya (alt. 920m), the 254mm (10”) gauge ‘Tren del Llano’
(http://eltrendelllano.com/index.html (link broken by
November 2020) was built on the right-of-way of the old FSM line between the old station in the center of the village and Mirador El Boquete, a viewpoint overlooking the Mediterranean coast. The line includes a section of street-running through the village. The train consists of 0-6-0T N°. 030-0201 “SOL Y NIEVE” (MARE/CFC 2011), built as a replica of an FSM Tubize (FSM 21-28 = Tubize 1454-61/1906), and three 10-seat passenger coaches.
Electric tramways and light rail:
The Tranvia Granada a Sierra Nevada (TGSN) was a 750mm gauge electric (1200 V DC) railway that operated between Granada and La Estrella, in the Sierra Nevada mountain range, over a distance of 21.7 km. The original 18 km section from Granada through Pinos Gentil to Maitena was opened in 1925, followed by an extension to San Juan in 1956 and later to La Estrella.From Granada to Pinos Gentil the line ran alongside the road, but from there onwards it was on its own right-of-way, giving spectacular views of the Sierra Nevada mountains. In the original section to Maitena there were 18 tunnels and 21 bridges.
Rolling stock consisted of four electric railcars No. 1-4 (bogies from Germany and motors by AEG), 6 trailers No. 10-15 (Lladró y Cuñat Cia., Almacera, Valencia c1925) and 14 freight cars. Operation was taken over by the Estado in 1931 and passed to FEVE in 1965. The railway was closed in 1974.
Aside from many remains along the line (stations, track remains, bridges and tunnels), three of the railcars and one of the trailers have survived to this day:
TGSN No. 2 is preserved at the Parque de las Ciencias (Av. de la Ciencia) in Granada, where it is generally kept covered under a tarp for protection from the elements;
TGSN No. 3 and trailer 15 used to be on display at Paseo de la Bomba in Granada, but were torched in 1993 and subsequently removed. They are currently in the care of the ‘Associación Granadina de Amigos del Ferrocarril y del Tranvía’ (AGRAFT), which is restoring them
(http://agraft.es/);
TGSN No. 4, formerly preserved at the Facultad de Ciencias de Granada, is on display under cover on the line’s old trackbed just below the El Dornajo visitor’s center (22 km east of Granada) in the Sierra Nevada National Park. Inside the visitor’s center is an HO model of the line, along with other displays.
The metre gauge tramway network in Sevilla closed in 1965. Two trams are preserved in the city:
Tranvías de Sevilla 177 is on display inside the Plaza de Armas bus station hall.
Tranvías de Sevilla 314 was the last of the 302-314 class built in the Puerta Osario workshops between 1942 and 1945. Its three-axle (A1A) frame, supplied by SLM in Winterthur (Switzerland) in 1943, allowed it to operate over the very narrowly curved lines in the center of the city. As a result it saw service on lines 3 (Eritaña), 18 (Guadaira), 24 (Heliópolis), 6 (Barrio León) and B (Camas), and because it was the only car of its class equipped with a pantograph, it also saw service to San Juan de Aznalfarache, Coria and Puebla del Rio. It ended its service on Line C in 1965 and was then stored inside the old Triana depot until 1989, when it was handed over to the ‘Asociación Sevillana de Amigos del Ferrocarril’ and restored at Talleres Icas and Tussam before being put on display in front of Tussam on 09/03/2005. In October it took part in the 125th Anniversary celebrations of ‘Transporte Público en Sevilla’ at Plaza de San Francisco, before being put on display at its present location on Plaza San Martin de Porres de Triana, next to old piece of track, in front of the old location where the Triana Depot once was.
Not visited, Linares 1000mm gauge tram No. 10 is on display in front of the old RENFE station at Paseo de Linarejos in Linares
(Jaen).
In the past few decades, modern standard gauge electric tramways and light rail systems have made a come-back into Andalusia, although some lines have since again closed:
In Cádiz, ‘Tranvía Metropolitano de la Bahía de Cádiz’ is due to open in 03/2017 (1668mm gauge tram-train, 2 lines, partly over existing RENFE lines);
In Granada, ‘Metropolitano Granada’ is due to open its first line (15.9 km) in 03/2017;
In Jaén, ‘Tranvía de Jaén’ (1 line, 4.7 km, 5x Alstom Citadis 302) only operated for 2 weeks in May 2011 before it was closed again. There are plans to reopen in 2017;
In Málaga, ‘Metro de Málaga’ operates a two-line network (11.3 km) which runs mainly underground since 07/2014, using 14 CAF Urbos 3 trams. Another four lines are planned;
In Sevilla there are two systems:
‘Metro de Sevilla’ operates the mainly-underground cross-town 18 km line from Ciudad Expo to Olivar de Quintos since 04/2009, using 17 CAF Urbos 2 trams. Another three lines are under construction or planned;
MetroCentro’ operates a 1.4 km surface line in the historical city center since 10/2007. In 2011 the catenary was removed and since then line is operated with four CAF Urbos 3 battery trams (which replaced earlier Urbos 2s) which are recharged at the stops;
In Velez Málaga, a 6 km line linking the city with the coastal town of Torre del Mar was opened in 10/2006, using three CAF Urbos 2. Because of a dispute between the municipality and the operator, the line closed in 06/2012. The three trams were leased to Sydney (Australia) in 03/2014 (together with a tram from Sevilla), but returned to Velez after 07/2014 when Sydney acquired new Urbos 3-type trams (two are stored inside the depot at Torre del Mar, with a third on the siding outside). The municipality plans to reopen the line in 2017 (if it can find a new operator), but would like to buy a smaller tram model.
Non-rail steam items:
In 1845 the first cane sugar factory in Spain, Ingenio Azucarero Nostra Señora del Carmen, was built at Torre del Mar (Málaga) by Ramón de la Sagra and later operated by ‘Sociedad Azucarera Larios’. Some buildings from the factory still stand, including the office building (1888), the chimney and a large factory building. A 1900 Fives-Lille stationary steam engine
(a vacuum pump) was restored and put on display by the municipality in 1998 in front of the office building (“Casa Larios”) which is now used by the municipality and by an arts and musical school.
At the nearby restored factory building (“Edificio Azucarera Virgen del Carmen”) two cut-out cylinders from steam gear are lying around, while the building (open to the public on Fr/Sa 20-22h) is said to contain another large stationary steam engine.
Away from the coast, in the middle of what were once sugarcane fields, the shopping center “El Ingenio” was built around the theme of the sugar mill and contains a moving replica of a stationary steam engine in the central hall.
A portable steam engine is on display outside the ‘Empresa Nacional de Cellulosa’ (ENC) cellulose factory in San Juan del Puerto
(Huelva). (According to the European Traction Engine Register, it is a
Ruston Proctor product.)
Gibraltar:
A covered van from the metre gauge H.M Dockyard Railway was retrieved from a shed in the former Grand Explosive Store and
restored by the Gibraltar Heritage
Trust. It was put on display in
September 2015 together with a flat trolley on a piece of track just south of Ragged Staff Gates. There are still track remains in the Naval Docks.
At least three more items from the railway are preserved in the U.K.:
0-4-0DMF No. 9 “THE ROCK” (HE 2419 of 01/1942, 50hp Gardner 4L2 engine) is operational at the Irchester N.G. Railway Museum in
Wellingborough, Northamptonshire. It was obtained from Cotswold Water Park Ry. in South Cerney via Alan Keef, who had obtained it in c08/1973 from W.R. Nicholls & Sons (dealer). Prior to that it was Royal Navy, Gibraltar “Yard No. 2” (ex-Singapore);
Two RNAD (Royal Navy Armanents Depot) covered vans at the West Lancashire Light Railway in Hesketh Bank, Preston, Lancashire (ex
RNAD, Milford Haven; originally RNAD, Gibraltar).
Main sources:
http://www.locomotoravapor.com/
“Industrial Locomotives and Railways of Spain and Portugal”, Industrial Railway Society, 1968;
“Locomotives & Railcars of the Spanish Narrow Gauge Public Railways”,
compiled by J. Morley & P.G. Spencer, Industrial Railway Society, 1995;
“Ferrocarril Minero de Riotinto – Material Movil” by José Luis García Mateo, Monografia Garratt, Nerva (Huelva), 1999;
“Iberia – Preserved Locomotives, Railcars and Trams of Portugal & Spain”, Locomotive Club of Great Britain, 2004.
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