Minas de Tharsis, 2016

Thomas Kautzor reports on his February 2016:visit. This is an expanded version of the section in Thomas's report of his visit to Andalusia.

Minas de Tharsis (1219mm/4” gauge):

As an update to James Waite’s 2009 report 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).

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station in Aljaraque (formerly this loco was plinthed on a traffic circle on the A-469 north of Tharsis, where it has been replaced by a bogie tank wagon);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;
	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);
+	0-6-0T 29 “ALJARAQUE” (NBL 16208/1904) at Industrias López Soriano, S.A. , Zaragoza (Aragón);
+	0-6-0T 31 “EL CERRO” (NBL 16734/1905) at Industrias López Soriano, S.A., Zaragoza (Aragón);
+	0-6-0T 35 “ESPERANZA” (NBL 20567/1914) at Industrias López Soriano, S.A., Zaragoza (Aragón).

This is "ODIEL":

This is "Saucita"

This is "CORRALES" and the wooden bodied coaches:

Diesel locomotives:

	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;
	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;
	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);
	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;
	4wDM 61 (RH) is plinthed next to the HV-1472 west of La Zarza (38 km NE of Tharsis);
	4wDM ? (class 61-65, RH) is plinthed in a park next to the A-495 south of Tharsis;
+	4wDM ? (class 61-65, RH) at Industrias López Soriano, S.A. , Zaragoza (Aragón);
	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 October 2011 this locomotive was stored at the mine with the five other Alsthom main line diesels, which have since been scrapped)

The pictures show in order, 56, 57,48, 59, 69, 61, the unknown loco in the park and the brake van..

This is 58's shed and inside it the guard's van:

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.

These are the bogie tank wagon on the roundabout north of Tharsis and the dump wagons.

The following pictures show some of the surviving infrastructure from this operation:

This is the TSCC pier:

A sample of the remaining infrastructure. including the ore loading hopper with the two surviving Gregg ore wagons.