We're off to ...... Patagonia!
The End of the World Train, Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Patagonia, Argentina
by Ken Humphreys
In December 2003 my wife and I took a cruise around South America.
One of the port stops was in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, the southernmost
city in the world. While there, we took the opportunity to make a trip
on the Southern Fueguean Railway (Ferrocarril Austral Fueguino), perhaps
the most unique and narrowest gauge railroad anywhere in the world.
Proudly advertised as "The End of the World Train" (El Tren del Fin del
Mundo), it quite literally is because no train anywhere is closer to one
of the poles. Ushuaia is a jumping off place for Antarctic expeditions
and Tierra del Fuego is the closest land mass to Antarctica.
To
understand why this railroad is where it is, you have to realize that
Tierra del Fuego is completely cut off from the rest of South America by
virtually impassible mountains and is surrounded by water, wide rivers
and lakes to the north and west, and the Beagle channel, the Straits of
Magellan and Atlantic Ocean to the South and East. It is almost
impossible to reach except by ship or air and hence, long ago served as
Argentina's maximum-security prison. In the same way that England once
banished those they considered undesirable to Australia, Argentina sent
its worst criminals to Tierra del Fuego. It was the "Prison for Relapsed
Felons", i.e., multiple offenders. Escape from there was virtually
impossible and the convicts had to survive as best they could.
The
railway was built primarily to transport wood from the forests for
heating and building purposes. The railroad is incredibly narrow, having
a gauge of only 50 centimeters (1.64 feet). It travels from Estación
del Fin del Mundo (End of the World Station), eight km west of Ushuaia,
to the otherwise inaccessible Tierra del Fuego National Park, the forest
where prisoners once harvested timber. It runs alongside the Rio Pipo
crossing the river twice, curves around a large "turbal" or peat bog and
terminates at the Estación Andén Parque Nacional (National Park
Station).
The line owns two steam engines and one diesel
locomotive, 15 small passenger cars, and a few freight and MOW cars. The
photos below show this unique railroad. Two of the photos were shot
through a passenger car window and have some reflection but still give a
good impression of the type of equipment used on the "End of the World
Train"
Click on each image below to see its full sized version. Hit your back button to return and view the next photo. All images, with the exception of the map, are copyrighted by Ken Humphreys, December 2003
Note: Still having little glitches with Blogger - I'm sure if you Goggle or Bing it, the video will pop up!
Now that is narrow gauge!
ReplyDeleteLots of bonus pictures in the links. kept me busy for a long time. Even some pictures of the Tweetsie.
Terry
Fla.
Kept me busy, too - almost didn't the darn thing posted on time!
Delete