Decauville Railways in Guatemala City

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Decauville Railways in Guatemala City
Inauguration of the Decauville Railway, 1899
Inauguration of the Decauville Railway, 1899
Route length: 5.6 km
Gauge : 600 mm ( narrow gauge )
Legend
   
 Puente de la Penitencieria
   
 Boulevard del Treinta de Junio
   
   
 0.0 City center
   
 Exposición corner Reforma and 7a Avenida
   
 5.6 Villa de Guadalupe

The Decauville railways in Guatemala City were Decauville railways in Guatemala City pulled by steam locomotives and draft animals . They operated from 1895 until at least 1922.

history

The concession for the first Decauville line in Guatemala City was awarded at the end of 1895 by the government of José María Reina Barrios through the conclusion of a contract to Mauricio Frary Gross. It ran between the bridge of the Penitencieria and the Boulevard del Treinta de Junio.

In 1898 Francisco Aguirre received a government concession to operate another Decauville line in Guatemala City . The 5.6 km stretch between the city center and Villa de Guadalupe was built in 1899. President Estrada Cabrera and some guests inaugurated the first route. In June 1900 Aguirre sold his rights as a concessionaire to Petrona Godoy.

The steam locomotives were heated with oil obtained from the International Railways of Central America (IRCA). In 1901, the Decauville Railway ran between the prison and the North Hippodrome.

Public Works Director General JG López Andrade reported that in 1904 everything was done to keep the Decauville Railway locomotive and wagons in good condition. He confirmed that it was used daily for passenger traffic between the city center and Villa de Guadalupe. In addition, it was occasionally used to transport building materials for government building works such as the Asilo Estrada Cabrera, Avenida del Campo de Marte, and the military hospital. The Decauville Railway also transported students and teachers from the hospice to the Villa de Guadalupe in their free time. In 1908 Ricardo Sánchez signed a new contract in which he undertook to extend the service to the southern part of the city after Pamplona. In 1916, Ricardo Sánchez presented Guatemalan President Manuel José Estrada Cabrera with a note stating that he had ceased operations due to the economic difficulties he had faced due to high fuel costs and low transport volumes.

In the same year Richard Ivey and HR Wheeler proposed to the government a contract to operate a railway between the city center and La Villa de Guadalupe. Ivey and Wheeler claimed an exclusive and free right to operate the Decauville Railway for 25 years and also applied for tax-free imports of machinery and equipment. The Decauville Railway was used in the Guatemalan capital before the earthquake from December 25, 1917 to January 24, 1918, primarily for passenger traffic and occasionally for the transport of building materials for government construction work. After the earthquake, it was used with flying tracks to remove the rubble that was used to fill the gorge between the two halves of Guatemala City.

On January 22, 1919, Lieutenant Colonel Eduardo Anguiano proposed an operational plan for the development of Guatemala City to President Estrada Cabrera on behalf of the Empresa Nacional de Descombración . Anguiano found it useful to move Decauville light rail lines around the center of town. In 1919 two lines were laid for the operation of the light rail on behalf of the Empresa Nacional de Descombración . The first, still incomplete, was on 12 Avenida and the second on 18th Street. Anguiano planned another project for the Decauville railways, which deviated from the original plan. In the meantime, instead of trying to surround the city, he proposed to move the railroad tracks on the Avenidas; the first line on 9a Avenida, the second on 6a Avenida and the last on 3a Avenida.

In February 1922, the Decauville railways were again available for passenger transport. There were three passenger trains on weekdays and as many as five on Sundays. Over the years, the Decauville railways disappeared from the streets. Today some remains of the rails are still preserved in Cerro del Carmen.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ 230th Anniversary of the foundation of Guatemala City. La Exposición District, Zone 4. Location, boundaries and territorial extension.
  2. ↑ Rubén Hernández Elílarios: Arqueología industrial en Guatemala: Una aproximación al estudio de los retentive de la empresa, Ferrocarriles Nacionales de Centroamérica Inter.
  3. ↑ Historia de la Ciudad de Guatemala.
  4. ^ Special Consular Reports, Volumes 54-60. US Government Printing Office, 1912. pp. 123-124.
  5. ↑ Juan Garvaldo: El ferrocarril urbano o Decauville. La Hora, July 5, 2008.
  6. ↑ Oscar Peláez Almengor: El Pequeño París. 2008.
  7. ↑ Claudia Palma: El heroico Decauville. La historia del pequeno tren que ayudo a escombrar and ciudad. Prensa Libre, February 8, 2015.

Coordinates: 14 ° 37 ′ 50.5 ″  N , 90 ° 30 ′ 53.1 ″  W.