Yerba Buena Steam Tram

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Yerba Buena Steam Tram
Municipio de Yerba Buena - El tranvía rural en 1916.jpg
The train photographed in 1916
Overview
Native nameTranvía rural a vapor de Yerba Buena
Technical
Line length12 km (7.5 mi)
Track gauge600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
Route map

Tranvia rural a vapor de Yerba Buena.jpg
Former route superimposed onto a modern map

Legend
 km (mi)
0 (0.0) Plaza Alberdi
at FCCA railway station
Calle Santiago del Estero
Av. Mitre
Av. Manuel Belgrano
Depot
Av. M. Belgrano / Asunción
Av. Ejército del Norte
Calle Córdoba
now Don Bosco
Calle Aconquija
now Luis F. Nougués
12 (7.5) Horco Molle
now El Corte roundabout

The Yerba Buena Steam Tram (Spanish: Tranvía Rural a Vapor de Yerba Buena, nicknamed Trencito or La Chorbita)[1][2] was a 12 km (7.5 mi) long narrow-gauge railway with a gauge of 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in) in the Argentine city of Yerba Buena in Tucumán Province. It was inaugurated on 29 June 1916 during the Centennial of the Argentine Independence and was shut down a decade later in 1926.[1]

Opening[]

On November 15, 1915, it was promulgated a law that allowed the Executive Power of Tucumán (represented by Governor Ernesto Padilla)[3][4] to exploit a freight and passenger rail line that connected San Miguel de Tucumán with the cities of Los Cuarteles, Villa Luján (también llamada Villa del Pueblo Nuevo), Villa Marcos Paz, Yerba Buena, and Parque Aconquija.[5]

The initiative was known as "Tranvía Rural" and the service was opened to public on June 29, 1916.[5]

Route[]

Ready for departure at Plaza Alberdi, terminus

The trains started at Plaza Alberdi (the square at the Central Argentine Railway station) and went west on Calle Santiago del Estero, turned right into Avenida Mitre and followed it until they turned left into Avenida Manuel Belgrano. Here they passed the depot and the workshops. From here they drove west again to the Avenida Ejército del Norte. They then turned south until they continued on Calle Córdoba (now Calle Don Bosco) to the west. On the Calle Aconquija (now Calle Luis Federico Nougués) they drove to the Avenida Mate de Luna, which they followed to the terminus Horco Molle at today's El Corte roundabout at the foot of the San Javier Hill.[1]

Operation[]

Bad weather ride

The railway ran 6 to 8 times a day.[2] It was colloquially called "Trencito" (little train) or "La Chorbita" (choo choo train). A single trip through the then still rural suburbs took between 45 minutes and one hour. The stops were named with numbers, some of which are still used colloquially today.

Trains ran on Decauville tracks, that had been also used in the Ferrocarril Económico Correntino, and nowadays in the Rainforest Ecological Train in Iguazú National Park.[6] Because of the sparks fly (blown by the wind towards the passengers who were in roofless wagons), the Yerba Buena inhabitants preferred not to take the tram to avoid their clothes were damaged.[1]

Rolling stock included four/five steam locomotives and eight wagon (passenger and freight). Workshops were located on Avenida Belgrano and Calle Asunción. Although a total of 135,505 passengers had been carried by 1925, rail operations were discontinued in 1926 due to a lack of profitability.[1]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e El chisporroteo de la chorbita mandó a vía muerta al “Trencito” de Yerba Buena on La Gazeta, 11 Apr 2014 (archived)
  2. ^ a b Historia del Municipio de Yerba Buena, by Marta Barbieri and Matilde Silva. 1 Apr 2017 - Consejo Federal de Inversiones
  3. ^ La elección en Tucumán, Diario Santa Fe, 1 Dec 1912
  4. ^ Gobernadores de Tucumán 1853–actualidad on Registro Oficial de Leyes y Decretos
  5. ^ a b Conocé la historia del Tranvía Rural de Yerba Buena on El Mirador de Tucumán, 7 Jun 2020
  6. ^ "Sistemas Ferroviarios Decauville" by Jorge Rendiche on Revista Boicana (blog), Jul 10, 2021

External links[]

Coordinates: 26°48′55″S 65°13′10″W / 26.81525°S 65.21958°W / -26.81525; -65.21958

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