Ferrocarril del Deba
| Ferrocarril del Deba | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 The discontinued Ferrocarril del Deba is shown in black
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| Route length: | 26 km | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gauge : | 1000 mm ( meter gauge ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Power system : | 1500 = | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Maximum slope : | 28 ‰ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minimum radius : | 60 m | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Ferrocarril del Deba , roughly German Deba Railway , was a meter-gauge railway line in the Basque province of Gipuzkoa in northeastern Spain . It led from the district of Málzaga in the city of Éibar through the upper part of the Deba valley and over the Descarga pass to Zumárraga .
history
The 22.7 km long line was opened in 1889 by the Compañía del Ferrocarril Durango-Zumárraga as part of the company's main line. When the continuous connection Bilbao - San Sebastián started operating in 1901, the Ferrocarril del Deba was degraded to a branch line. The new main line led from Durango over the connection Málzaga - Elgoibar, which was opened as a branch line in 1887, to San Sebastian.
In 1906, the three railways involved in the operation of Bilbao – San Sebastián merged to form the Ferrocarriles Vascongados .
In 1919 the line was electrified with 1500 V direct current .
Due to a lack of demand, operations were stopped on March 1, 1975 and the superstructure was removed. The substructure of the route was gradually expanded into a Vía Verde- class cycle path in the 2010s . The peak tunnel is not passable.
Route description
The line branched off in Málzaga from the Bilbao – San Sebastián line operated today by EuskoTren . It first followed the right bank of the Deba up the valley and served the settlements of Placencia de las Armas, Vergara and Anzuola before it crossed the Descarga Pass with a crest tunnel at 430 m above sea level and then after a few kilometers reached the Zumárraga terminus. The route was difficult; In order to overcome the Deskarga Pass , large inclines and curves with a 60 m radius were necessary.
In Zumárraga there was a connection to the broad-gauge connection between Madrid and the French border of the former Norte - a predecessor of today's Renfe , and to the meter-gauge Ferrocarril del Urola , which connected Zumárraga with Zumaia on the Bay of Biscay until 1988 . The intermediate station Mecolalde was the northern terminus of the also meter gauge Ferrocarril Vasco-Navarro , which led via Vitoria-Gasteiz to Estella .
business
For electrical operation, the Ferrocarriles Vascongados procured five MACD class railcars from Ganz . The short vehicles were particularly suitable for driving through the tight corners. They offered six places in 1st class, eight places in 3rd class and had a luggage compartment. The railcars were in regular use until 1951 and were then used as shunting vehicles at the larger stations of the Ferrocarriles Vascongados. A railcar has been preserved in the Basque Railway Museum in Azpeitia .
Web links
- Javitxu Tena: Málzaga-Zumárraga. April 27, 2013, accessed June 1, 2017 (video with recordings of the route and buildings).
Individual evidence
- ↑ Ferrocarril Malzaga-Zumarraga (Ferrocarriles Vascongados). Andrés de Urdaneta Geography Institute , accessed June 1, 2017 .