Pinamar railway station (1949)

Pinamar was a railway station in the homonymous city of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. Operated by recently created Ferrocarriles Argentinos, the station was opened in 1949 as an extension of the General Guido – General Madariaga branch of General Roca Railway, transporting tourist to the city of Pinamar mostly during Summer.[1]

Not to be confused with Divisadero de Pinamar railway station.
Pinamar
Pinamar station with a Drewry railcar stopped at it
General information
LocationAv. Constitución e/ Apolo y Av. Intemedanos, Pinamar
Argentina
Owned byGovernment of Argentina
Operated byFerrocarriles Argentinos
Line(s)Roca
Platforms1
Tracks1
History
Opened1949
ClosedDecember 18, 1967 (1967-12-18)
Location

The station lasted 18 years until it was closed in December 1967. In 1996, a new station (Divisadero de Pinamar) was built more distant from the original station. After the service was interrupted during some periods of time, Divisadero de Pinamar was re-opened in January 2021.[2][3]

History

By 1904 the Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway connected Constitución (Buenos Aires) with Mar del Plata through a line from north to south that has stops in Chascomús, Maipú, among others.[1]

Starting in 1913, the Decauville rairoad of Ostende was a predecessor of the future train to Pinamar

Nevertheless, the agricultural producers that lived next to the Atlantic coast were forced to make long trips driving their cattle to the BAGSR stations so there was not any railway line that ran next to the coast. For that reason they requested the BAGSR to build a branch so they could commercialise their goods avoiding so long trips. Furthermore, one of those producers sold part of his lands to the company could build there the "Divisadero" station (today, General Madariaga), located on the km 71,68 of the branch from General Guido.[1]

That branch built from Gral. Guido reached Juancho on November 7, 1907.[4] By 1912 the tracks were extended to Vivoratá (with three intermediate statons built), where it connected with the main line Constituación – Mar del Plata, making it an alternative way for trains between both points in case there was a problem on the main path.[1]

Map showing the branch from Gral. Madariaga to Pinamar station (in red circle) when it was still active (1949–67)

In 1913 a group of Belgian entrepreneurs inaugurated Ostende, a village in the coast built on a land they had bought to the Guerrero family. To go to Ostende, passengers went by train to Juancho, then being transported by horse-drawn carriages to "Colonia Tokio" where they took a narrow-gauge railway (Decauville) to Ostende.[5] On economic grounds, the coming of the train helped the zone to increase its production. Apart from cattle, producers commercialised apples and firewood, for which some small branches were built. One of those branches reached the point where the intersection of RP 11 and RP 74 is placed today, very close to the entrance to Pinamar. Nevertheless, most of those branches would be lifted in the 1940s.[1]

(Left): first train to arrive in Pinamar in August 1949; (right): A Drewry railcar being struck in the mood due to difficult weather conditions on the tracks

When the entire railway network was nationalised in Argentina in 1948,[6] managers of BAGSR's successor, Ferrocarriles Argentinos, thought about using those old freight branches for a passenger service to Pinamar. After some studies, works began and in August 1949, the first Constitución – Pinamar service was opened to public.[1] The Pinamar station was placed where today stays a park, on Av. Constitución e/ Apolo y Av. Intemedanos.[7][8]

The first services were run by Ganz railcars that had been also used by the Argentine State Railway to run services to Bariloche. However, subsecquent services to Pinamar would be run by Drewry vehicles. The Constitución – Pinamar service was run for 18 years until December 12, 1967, when the service was definitely closed. Tracks were lifted in the 1970s.[1]

New station: 1996
Main article: Divisadero de Pinamar railway station

In 1991 the Governor of Buenos Aires Province, Eduardo Duhalde, expressed his intention to reactivate the Gral. Guido – Gral. Madariaga service (those tracks had not been removed) also stating that the government was studying to extend the line to Pinamar. Services to General Madariaga were reactivated in May 1994, being operated by state-owned Ferrobaires,[1] a company established by the province to operate passenger trains in the territory[9][10] after Carlos Menem's administration closed all the services in March 1993.[11][12][13]

Between 1994 and 1996 rail tracks were put back (as the original had been lifted after the closure of the line) from Gral. Madariaga while a new station started to be built, now distant 1,5 km west of the Route 11, unlike the original Pinamar station, to avoid a level crossing on a highly trafficked road. The new stop, named "Divisadero de Pinamar", was inaugurated on December 7, 1996.[1]

References
  1. "Estación Pinamar" history on Museo Ferroviario Ranchos (blogsite)
  2. El lunes vuelve el tren a Pinamar Government of Argentina, 22 Jan 2021
  3. Vuelve el tren a Pinamar on Infozona
  4. El Ramal 34 del FCGR - La antigua "Mar del Plata vía Juancho" del Ferrocarril Sud (part I) on Plataforma 14, Apr 2009 (archived)
  5. Cien años de historia on Viejo Hotel Ostende
  6. British-Owned Railways in Argentina – Their Effect on Economic Nationalism, 1854-1948 by Winthrop R. Wright - Latin American Monograph No. 34, Institute of Latin American Studies, Univ. of Texas Press, London (1974)
  7. Pinamar Histórico – Plazoleta “Ismael Barabino” Antigua estación de tren on Pinamar Turismo
  8. La estación de tren Ismael Barbino
  9. Decreto n° 99/93: CRÉASE LA UNIDAD EJECUTORA DEL PROGRAMA FERROVIARIO PROVINCIAL on Government of Buenos Aires website
  10. Ferrobaires: La idea que no fue by Andrés Bilstein on Portal de Trenes (archived, 3 Apr 2015)
  11. El servicio ferroviario argentino de las últimas dos décadas, el antes y después de las privatizaciones - Monografias.com
  12. Privatización de los ferrocarriles: “Ramal que para, ramal que cierra” - Contra Molinos de Sortilegios, 24 July 2013
  13. COMO PERDIMOS EL FERROCARRIL ARGENTINO - Ancaloo, 29 September 2008
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