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Avellaneda Park Historic Train

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Coordinates:34°39′37″S58°30′10″W/ 34.660313°S 58.502884°W/-34.660313; -58.502884
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34°39′37″S58°30′10″W/ 34.660313°S 58.502884°W/-34.660313; -58.502884

Avellaneda Park Historic Train
The train after the reopening, July 2015
Overview
Service typeTourist railway
StatusActive
LocaleAvellaneda Park,Buenos Aires
First service1936;88 years ago(1936)
Route
Distance travelled1,600 m.[1]
Average journey time15'
On-board services
Class(es)Single
Technical
Track owner(s)City ofBuenos Aires

TheAvellaneda Park Historic Train(native name:Tren Histórico del Parque Avellaneda), colloquially known as "Expreso Alegría"[2]( "Joy Express" inEnglish) is anarrow gaugetrain that runs insideAvellaneda ParkofParque Avellanedadistrict, in the southwest ofBuenos Aires,Argentina.

History

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In 1908, the Buenos Aires Legislature carried out a public tender to build a railway that ran through theBuenos Aires Zoo,which was completed and opened one year later.[3]The train was towed byDeutzlocomotives, manufactured inGermany.[2]

The train carrying a group of children in the 1930s

In 1929 the train was moved toAvellaneda Park,alleging that it would be useful to transport people to "polideportivo" (sports center) located in the park. The service was officially opened in 1936, being named"Expreso Alegría"and operated byGenoveseJuan Cugusi who was in charge of the service. The train departed from Clemente Onelli station.[2]It was free for children going to the holiday home of the park, three times a week. Some versions state that the rolling stock was manufactured byFrenchcompanyDecauville.[2][3]

The train ran a short circular track of 1,300 m inside Avellaneda Park, surrounding the "Casona Olivera (Olivera Mansion)", a formerfarmsteadbought by Domingo Olivera in 1868 forcattleand originally named "Estancia Los Remedios".[4]The house also served asmilitary barracksandfield hospitalduring some armed conflicts in Buenos Aires. In 1912 Olivera sold the house to the Government of Buenos Aires with the condition that a park should be built there. In 1912 the "Olivera Park" (then renamed "Avellaneda" ) was opened and the house preserved.[5]Other points approached by the train were the "Garden of Meditation", the carrousel, the former swimming centre, thedairyand several outdoor sculptures.[6]

Thegolden ageof the Park Avellaneda Train was in the 1950s when twoRuston & Hornsbydiesel locomotiveshad to be added due to the increasing number of passengers. Bigger and more comfortablecoacheswere also added to service because the previous ones did not have roof.

Decline and reopening

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Onelli station as seen in 2005
Train running near the Olivera Mansion, July 2015

Due to the lack of maintenance, Park Avellaneda Train ceased operations in 1998. Trains would be put into service again in 2000 but just for a few months before it was closed again. Since then, a group of neighbors worked together to bring the train back. They acquired anArnold Junglocomotive and threeOrenstein & Koppelcoaches. Finally, in May 2006 the reopened line made its inaugural trip inside Avellaneda Park.[7]An opening ceremony was conducted, and it was attended by the Chief of GovernmentJorge Telermanamong other personalities.[2]Nevertheless, and despite the efforts for the reopening, the service would be closed soon after.[2][3]

There were several attempts to reactivate the service but they had not been carried out.[8][9]The last project was sent to the Legislature in 2014.[10]In July 2015, it was announced that the service would be reactivated after a restoration that took 9 years,[11]The train would only run on Saturdays from 9 to 17 h. In August 2015, the locomotive and three coaches were ready to run, with the last coach (of a total of four) still under repair.[12]

The service was reopened on Saturday 29 August 2015. The trains had been repaired and restored and it was also announced that the carriages would cease to be identified by numbers, and instead use the names of well known historical figures from the neighbourhood, chosen by its residents. Similarly, the terminal station was repaired, along with the line's signals and workshop for the train. The City of Buenos Aires also announced that the train would also run on Tuesdays exclusively for school trips.[13][14]

See also

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References

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  1. ^Ya funciona el tren de Parque Avellaneda- Buenos Aires Ciudad, 2 September 2015.
  2. ^abcdef"Chapter II".Parque Avellaneda: Rieles de patrimonio(PDF).Comisión para la Preservación del Patrimonio Histórico, Cultural de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. 2009.ISBN978-987-25112-4-1.{{cite book}}:|website=ignored (help)
  3. ^abc"El trencito de Parque Avellaneda: un poco de historia".Eterna Buenos Aires.
  4. ^"Cronista Mayor de Buenos Aires, n° 14"(PDF).GCBA.10 July 2000.
  5. ^"Historias de mi comuna".
  6. ^"Volverá a funcionar el tren de parque Avellaneda".El Mensajero Diario.3 August 2011. Archived fromthe originalon 2015-05-18.
  7. ^Peralta, Elena (13 May 2006)."Ocho años después vuelve el trencito al Parque Avellaneda".Clarín.
  8. ^"Proyecto para reactivar el trencito".La Alameda Cooperativa.17 September 2014.
  9. ^"Pedido por el trencito del parque".La-Floresta.8 October 2014. Archived fromthe originalon 18 May 2015.Retrieved14 May2015.
  10. ^"Nuevo Proyecto - Legislatura CBA".
  11. ^"Tras nueve años, restauran el" tren de la alegría "del parque Avellaneda".La Nación.6 July 2015.
  12. ^"La vuelta del trencito de Parque Avellaneda".Para Buenos Aires.6 August 2015.
  13. ^"Los vecinos del parque Avellaneda volvieron a disfrutar del histórico" tren de la alegría "".La Nacion.2 September 2015.
  14. ^"Ya funciona el tren de Parque Avellaneda".Buenos Aires Ciudad.2 September 2015.
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