Fábrica Argentina de Locomotoras

Fábrica Argentina de Locomotoras

AJusticialistadiesel locomotive at a level crossing, 1952.
Company type	State-owned company
Industry	Transport
Founded	1 May 1952
Defunct	September 16, 1955(1955-09-16)
Key people	Pedro Sacaggio
Products	Locomotives,Diesel multiple units
Number of employees	100+

Fábrica Argentina de Locomotoras(mostly known for its acronymFAdeL) was an Argentine manufacturer of rail vehicles which came about as a result of PresidentJuan Perón'sfirst five-year plan,which sought to expand national industries to reduce imports from foreign countries.It is best known for producing theJusticialistadiesel-electric locomotive.

History

Workers with the "Presidente Perón" diesel multiple unit outside the FAdeL workshop in Liniers (1954)

The first diesel locomotive had been designed by Argentine engineerPedro Sacaggioin 1933. The company began with buying engines fromFiat FerroviariaandCantieri Riuniti dell'AdriaticoinItalyand aimed to manufacture around 600 locomotives. FAdeL's first and most renowned vehicle was adiesel locomotivefeatured in 1951 by then-presidentJuan Perónand Saccaggio and nicknamedJusticialista.The first model launched was catalogued as "CM1".On May 1, 1952, FAdeL was officially established by Resolution n° 79 from the Ministry of Transport.The company's first factory inLiniersemployed over one hundred people and was located in the workshops of theSarmiento Railway.

TheJusticialista(also the first diesel locomotive produced in Argentina) made its debut on theGeneral Roca Railway,serving on theConstitución–Mar del Plataline towing theMarplatenseexpress during summer holidays of 1952. The journey took 3 hours and 45 minutes. This machine would also run toBariloche(with a journey time of 22 hours 10 minutes) andMendoza(11 hours 40 minutes) at an average speed of 145 km/h and remained active until the mid 1960s.

Although a second model, the CM2, namedArgentinawas launched by FAdeL as a successor of the CM1, theRevolución Libertadorawhich ousted Perón in September 1955 halted any further production. The company then ramped up production under the leadership of the Sacaggio and moved to theGeneral San Martín Railwayworkshops inMendoza Province.

After the coup, the plan to build the locomotives was forgotten and the factory closed. The original plans, preliminary studies and equipment for the locomotives was either lost or destroyed while the contents of the factory was sold for scrap.However, the engines bought for the locomotives were used forMaterfer's GAIA locomotives in the 1960s.