Ferrocarril de Antofagasta a Bolivia

Ferrocarril de Antofagasta a Bolivia
Map of the railroad from Antofagasta to Bolivia
Route length:	1152 km
Gauge :	762 mm, from 1928 continuously 1000 mm
Legend 0 Antofagasta 3  msnm Estacion Norte Cerro Moreno 4.14 Playa Blanca 62  msnm Pampas 13.90 Sargento Aldea 296  msnm Mejillones Interacid Terminal Desperado 20.20 La Negra 405  msnm Alto Norte Cumbre vertex 930  msnm 29.39 Portezuelo 553  msnm 35.48 O'Higgins 550  msnm Lata 663  msnm 37.00 Uribe 583  msnm Llanos 687  msnm 58.61 Prat 700  msnm Mantos Blancos copper mine 70.00 Latorre 783  msnm 82.94 Cuevitas 893  msnm Palestine crossing with Ferronor 794  msnm 95.95 Baquedano crossing with Ferronor 1010  msnm Cerro Negro 1007  msnm 108.74 Cerrillos 1164  msnm 97.00 km 97 127.92 Salinas 1341  msnm 115.00 km 115 117.00 km 117 143.31 Union 1411  msnm Augusta Victoria to Salta (Argentina) Chela 1438  msnm 170.38 Sierra Gorda 1623  msnm Arrieros 178.87 Cochrane 1711  msnm 195.75 km 195 + 750 204.87 Cerritos Bayos 2142  msnm 238.24 Calama 2265  msnm Rio Loa Chuquicamata copper mine 252.87 San Salvador 2467  msnm 269.28 Cere 2641  msnm 299.22 Conchi 3015  msnm El Abra copper mine Loa Viaduct , 103 m high, until 1914 312.24 San Pedro 3223  msnm 339.68 Polapi 3372  msnm 366.00 Ascotán vertex 3956  msnm 387.26 Cebollar 3729  msnm 402.44 Carcote 3802  msnm 411.88 San Martin 3688  msnm 440.00 Ollagüe 3696  msnm Amicha's sulfur mining Cosca 3935  msnm Puquios 4180  msnm Yuma 4401  msnm Ujina 4263 m above sea level M. Collahuasi 4815  msnm Chile / Bolivia Avaroa 469.86 Chiguana 3678  msnm 515.80 Julaca 3658  msnm San Cristóbal silver , lead and zinc mine 3872  msnm 545.62 Rio Grande 3658  msnm Junction to Villazón 610.36 Uyuni 3659 m above sea level M. Pulacayo 4125  msnm Colchani 3668  msnm 659.36 Chita 3745  msnm 695.00 Quehua 3829  msnm Rio Mulato 3829  msnm Junction to Potosí and Sucre Río Márquez 3803  msnm Coroma 3783  msnm 760.88 Sevaruyo 3745  msnm 796.00 Condo 3710  msnm Huari 3703  msnm 813.26 Challapata 3706  msnm Huancané 3712  msnm 848.00 Pazña 3710  msnm 876.31 Poopó 3709  msnm 899.00 Machacamarca workshop 3702  msnm Vinto foundry 3747  msnm 924.15 Oruro 3694  msnm Workshop Junction to Cochabamba Soledad 980.00 Eucaliptus 3724  msnm 1040.00 Patacamaya 3785  msnm 1100.00 Ingavi 3869  msnm 1120.00 Viacha 3851  msnm 1152.00 La Paz 3689  msnm Already laid out in meter gauge at the opening

The Ferrocarril de Antofagasta, originally Ferrocarril de Antofagasta a Bolivia, from the Spanish literally "Railway from Antofagasta to Bolivia", English name of the company Antofagasta (Chili) & Bolivia Railway, abbreviated FCAB, is a private railway company that runs the 1152 km long mountain railway from Antofagasta in Chile to La Paz in Bolivia to the Ollagüe border station .

The railway line leading through the Atacama Desert crosses the Andes at 3956 m above sea level and was initially operated as far as Oruro with a gauge of 762 mm. This section was later rebuilt and, like the continuation to La Paz, is now operated as a meter - gauge railway. The entire route was always mainly used for freight traffic and was a model for other mountain railways with 762 mm gauge in South America .

route

Train on the route over the Cumbre Pass.

Loa viaduct near Conchi

The railway line begins in the Chilean port Antofagasta and performs the national road CH-25 along with the Sierra Gorda to Calama . In Prat the branch line to the port of Mejillones is added, which leads over the Cumbres Pass, 931 m above sea level. This route is used by the sulfuric acid trains to avoid the transport of dangerous goods through the densely populated city. In Baquedano, the line crosses the meter-gauge Ferronor line , which, coming from the south, runs parallel to the coast and reaches the Pacific coast in Iquique .

From Calama it follows the national road CH-21 to the apex of the route at the Ascotan Pass at 3956 m above sea level and on to Ollagüe on the border with Bolivia. After the top of the pass, the rest of the way to La Paz never falls below an altitude of 3600 m above sea level. After the border between Chile and Bolivia, the route leads through the Altiplano via Uyuni to Oruro with gradients of a maximum of 10 ‰, where the continuation to La Paz, which was already laid out in meter gauge at the beginning, begins. In the last few kilometers from Viacha to La Paz, this section of the route again climbs up to 24 ‰.

A number of branch lines leading into mining areas have been added to the main line. In Ollagüe, the line, which was operated until 1965, branched off to the Collahuasi copper mine at 4815 m above sea level , which was considered the highest railway line in the world when it opened in 1907. Its end was five meters higher than Mont Blanc . The branch line to the copper mine was the only route on which snow had to be cleared.

The entire 762 mm network had a route length of 1537 km. The steepest part is the first 30 km after the port of Antofagasta, where slopes of 33 ‰ are reached, the narrowest curve radius is 122 meters.

Until 1914, the line ran over the Loa Viaduct , one of the highest railway bridges in Chile. Today, the bridge is only used to transfer water pipes, while the route further up in the valley crosses the river on a dam.

The train operates in an area where there is almost no precipitation . The FCAB therefore had to build an extensive network of reservoirs and pipelines so that the steam locomotives could be supplied with water, which led to FCAB taking over the water supply from Antofagasta, which it still operates today.

history

The story of Ferrocarril de Antofagasta a Bolivia begins in 1872 when the Bolivian government granted Melbourne Clarke & Co a concession to build a railway that would transport the nitrate salt from the hinterland to the port, which was then owned by Bolivia. The railroad was founded as the Antofagasta Nitrate & Railway Company and began building the railway in 1873. The first section opened that same year with trains pulled by mules . Steam locomotives were introduced in 1876 and the railroad reached Calama in 1877. In 1879 the saltpeter war broke out between Chile on the one hand and Peru together with Bolivia on the other. One of the reasons was the attempt by the Bolivian government to retroactively levy taxes on saltpetre mining in order to repair the damage caused by a tsunami in Antofagasta.

In 1887 the railway became the property of the Compañia de Huanchaca de Bolivia and reached the Bolivian border at Ollagüe in the same year. The railway company was listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1888 under the name FCAB, with the parent company retaining the rights to operate the railway for 15 years. In 1889 the FCAB reached Uyuni in Bolivia and Oruro in 1892, the end of the 762 mm line. Branch lines were added in subsequent years.

From 1903 the railway was again under the control of English financiers. The freight traffic had meanwhile increased so much that it could no longer be handled from the port in Antofagasta. In 1906 a new port was therefore built in Mejillones, which was connected to the main line with a railway line over the 930 m high Cumbre Pass.

The Bolivian government financially supported the construction of the railway from Oruro to La Paz. In 1908 the almost 200 km long line to Viacha was completed, the last 35 km to La Paz followed in 1917. The line was built in meter gauge and leased to the FCAB.

In 1909, the FCAB took over Ferrocarril Caleta Coloso a Aguas Blancas , a 762mm railway that operated in the mineral-rich desert region southeast of Antofagasta. The railway was never integrated into the operation of the FCAB and was not re-gauged until it was closed in 1961.

Re-gauging

The FCAB has already exchanged goods with the meter-gauge line of the Red Norte of the Ferrocarriles del Estado, which runs from north to south ; It was also planned to build connections to the railway lines from Argentina . For these reasons, the FCAB Board in 1913 decided the continuous gauging the railway line on meter gauge. The first section in the new gauge was the Uyuni – Oruro route in Bolivia, which was re-tracked in 1916. The First World War delayed further work, so that the re-gauging of the remainder could not be completed until July 1928. The rolling stock was converted in the company's own workshop in Mejillones. There were 61 locomotives, 103 passenger coaches and 2,140 freight wagons. During the transition period, the bogies of the freight wagons that ran continuously were swapped in the stations where the different gauges met . Some branch lines and connecting railways were never re-gauged and continued to be operated with 762 mm gauge until the 1960s.

In 1962, at the urging of the local government, the Ollagüe – La Paz section had to be sold to Bolivia, which integrated it into the network of the state Empresa Nacional de Ferrocarriles del Estado . In the early 1970s, the Chilean government considered nationalizing its section of the FCAB without implementing it. In 1982 the mining company Antofagasta plc took over the railway company.

traffic

The main purpose of the railway line is to transport mining products. Copper and sulfuric acid have the largest share.

Up until the First World War , nitrate salts played an important role, which were necessary for the manufacture of explosives . The traffic from Bolivia to the ports in northern Chile has since lost its importance and only gained in importance again in 2008 with the opening of the lead, zinc and silver mine near San Cristóbal .

Travelers used to be carried by a train with sleeping and dining cars . It was one of the few luxury trains on 762 mm gauge. The train was called International and ran on meter gauge even after the gauge change. The train was later replaced by railcars, then completely discontinued.

Passenger traffic takes place on the Uyuni – Oruro section.

Locomotives

steam

Meyer locomotive from Beyer-Peacock , built in 1912

Remains of a (2'D1 ') (1'D2') Garratt locomotive from 1928 near Uyuni , Bolivia

Locomotive in the museum in Baquedano

The railway started operations with a small fleet of 2'C locomotives built by Robert Stephenson & Co. In 1884 the same manufacturer delivered a composite steam locomotive based on the Webb system with the unusual design 2'AB1't h2n1v. Two external high-pressure cylinders drove the two coupled axles, while the internal low-pressure cylinder drove the individual axle. The two engines were not coupled to each other, so that these locomotives tended to skid.

After the railroad was taken over by the Compañia de Huanchaca de Bolivia , the first locomotive in a series of 1'C machines procured from Baldwin Locomotive Works appeared in 1889 . A 1'B1 'with an outer frame followed in 1890 - the first of this type on the FCAB and the first narrow-gauge locomotive with an outer frame from Baldwin. The use of outer frames allowed the construction of larger locomotives. Type 1'D followed in 1892.

The FCAB began laying heavier rails so that larger locomotives could be used, supplied by both Baldwin and other North American manufacturers. After the railway was brought back from England, locomotives from Great Britain were reintroduced. It quickly became apparent that these locomotives were less robust and more difficult to repair than their American counterparts. However, tests showed that the British locomotives had better steam performance than the American ones. The resulting fuel savings more than made up for the more expensive maintenance.

In 1912 one of the heaviest locomotives ever built for 762 mm gauge followed: a (1'C) (C1 ') t Meyer locomotive . After the decision was made in 1913 to convert the line to meter gauge, no more locomotives for 762 mm gauge were ordered.

The development of the meter-gauge locomotives for the railway followed the 762-mm-gauge locomotives, so that in 1913 six Meyer locomotives were delivered by Beyer-Peacock for meter gauge . By 1928, many locomotives for 762 mm gauge were converted to meter gauge locomotives and other Garratt locomotives of the type (2'D1 ') (1'D2') were delivered. After the Second World War , a series of 2'D1 'locomotives were ordered from the Vulcan Foundry in England, along with other Beyer-Garratts in 1954.

diesel

EMD GR12 2402, EMD / Clyde GL26C-2 in 2010 and EMD / Clyde GL26C-2 2005 crossing the Salt Flat Salar de Ascotán , with the Cerro del Azufre in the background

The railroad began diesel operations in 1958 with the purchase of four second-hand Davenport 44ton diesel locomotives, but steam locomotives were still running 20 years later. Most of the around 60 locomotives were bought second-hand from other meter-gauge railways. Several Queensland Rail locomotives come from Australia and were built by Clyde Engineering , Sydney , under a license from EMD . Other EMD locomotives came from the Newfoundland Railway operated by Canadian National Railway , which ceased operations in 1988. The locomotives were mainly selected according to the criterion of the correct gauge, because the railway does not have a fixed clearance profile .

literature

• JM Turner, RF Ellis: The Antofagasta (Chili) & Bolivia Railway  (= Locomotives International narrow gauge special). Locomotives International, Skipton, North Yorkshire, England 1992, ISBN 978-0-907941-36-1 , OCLC 36761171 .

Web links

Commons : Ferrocarril de Antofagasta a Bolivia  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Company history . In: About us . Antofagasta plc . Retrieved July 5, 2012.
• Official website of the FCAB
• Official website of Antofagasta plc
• Early documents and newspaper articles about Ferrocarril de Antofagasta a Bolivia in the 20th century press kit of the ZBW - Leibniz Information Center for Economics .

Individual evidence

1. ^ Augusto Millán U .: La minería metálica en Chile en el siglo XX . Editorial Universitaria, January 1, 2006, ISBN 978-956-11-1849-2 , pp. 35–.
2. ^ Ian Thomson Newman: Historia del Ferrocarril de Tacora. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on October 13, 2013 ; accessed on January 13, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
3. ↑ ^{a b c} The Magic of the Andes. In: Mike's Railway History. Retrieved February 16, 2012 . 
4. ↑ El Ferrocarril de Antofagasta a Bolivia. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on July 14, 2014 ; Retrieved February 3, 2014 (Spanish). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
5. ^ Markus Fischer: With the FCAB through the Atacama Desert. In: markusworldwide.ch. Retrieved August 15, 2016 . 
6. ↑ Ian Thomson Newman: Bolivia: Still Struggling to Bridge the Gap. In: railjournal.com. December 9, 2013, accessed August 7, 2016 . 
7. ↑ Markus Fischer: FCAB touching the sky: Over the Ascotán Pass to the Bolivian Border. In: markusworldwide.ch. Retrieved August 15, 2016 . 
8. ↑ Homepage of the FCA
9. ↑ FCAB 4-2-4-2T Webb compound. In: UKTrainSim. Retrieved on February 16, 2014 (English, with picture). 
10. ^ The locomotives of the FCAB . In: Latin Tracks , N ° 33
11. ↑ David Gubler: Chile 2012 - Day 6: Antofagasta - Tocopilla. In: bahnbilder.ch . Retrieved February 16, 2014 .