Documentos de Académico
Documentos de Profesional
Documentos de Cultura
Rodante
Año 33, octubre de 2020, Número 261
Sumario
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de dice “Sumario” en la parte inferior de cada página. Los videos, publicidades
e información extra pueden verse haciendo clic sobre ellos.
Foto de tapa
La trochita checa, una contraparte del ferrrocarril turístico en otro lado del mundo.
Información
Los contenidos son de la exclusiva responsa-
TRData bilidad de los autores y la Editorial puede o no
compartir. Está permitido el uso y difusión del
contenido siempre que se mencione la fuente.
Entre los varios temas del mes Among the topics of the month we will
mencionaremos nuestro cumpleaños, mention our birthday, which reaches 33
que alcanza los 33 años de existencia. years of existence. We remember and
Recordamos y agradecemos a todos thank all who made this record possible
los que hicieron posible (colaboradores (contributors and readers) throughout
y lectores) este récord a lo largo de this time.
este período.
¿Qué pasará con las concesiones de What will happen to private cargo
cargas privadas? Parece que el Estado concessions? It seems that the state
se hará cargo. will take over.
La preservación histórica argentina The Argentine historical preservation
en manos privadas, parece que es la in private hands seems to be the only
única forma que funcione. El caso 8D. way that works. The 8D case.
Abordamos un tema que nos hace We address an issue that makes us
reflexionar a los argentinos, y es ver que Argentines reflect, and that is to see
un pequeño ferrocarril turístico europeo that a small European tourist railway
puede sobrevivir saludablemente, tanto can survive healthily, both in the hands
en las manos el Estado como privadas. of the State and private.
Rescatamos del olvido los vagones We rescued from oblivion the “rare”
tanques “raros” de la Patagonia gracias tank cars of Patagonia thanks to a work
a un trabajo de alcance internacional. of international scope.
La última oportunidad de salvar algún The last chance to save a Ganz car
coche Ganz está en nuestras manos. is in our hands.
Por último, la historia del modelista Finally, the story of the artisan
artesanal que hoy es una empresa modeler who is today an international
internacional. company.
Una de las tres triplas que se recuperarán en breve. / One of three DMU to be recovered to service in brief.
Los famosos coches doble piso se resucitarán del olvido. / The double-deck cars will be also recovered.
Rolling stock that had been left aside due to lack of services or
maintenance is being recovered and Trenes Argentinos is recovering them
in the company’s own workshops or through third-party services.
Under the private bidding format, offers were requested for the general review,
technical qualification and commissioning of the triples of Series 593 motor cars
(ex Renfe) that provided services on the Mitte and Sarmiento lines, originally
operated by the TBA concessionaire. The composition of the three DMUs is as
follows: Triple 1: M502-R002-M505; Triple 2: M503-R003-M508 and Triple 3:
M504-R001-M506.
Also the double-decker cars from the same former TBA dealer will receive an
adaptation for their return to service and the tender for the provision of modern
reclining seats with which the units will be equipped is already underway.
The freight wagons abandoned on various shunting yards, some after
derailments that left them inoperable, are also being recovered and last month
twenty units of the cereal hoppers type were reconditioned in Palmira workshops
to return to providing services. ♦
La laguna La Picasa y la vía a Mendoza. / Tracks over a stone wall going thru La Picasa lake.
El viejo puente sobre el Río Salado fue reparado. / The long bridge over El Salado river in Santa Fe.
Perhaps the most important work is the recovery of the La Picasa block of
the San Martín Line, which was interrupted in 2017 due to a flood. After three
years of work, the tracks are being laid between the Diego de Alvear and Aarón
Castellanos stations.
In Branch F1 of the Belgrano Line that joins the cities of Santa Fe and Santo
Tomé, work was completed on the extensive bridge over the Rio Salado.
The Sarmiento Line in its branch to Moreno will put out to tender the repair
of two open-deck metal bridges over streams that are between the Luján and
Olivera stations.
Also by tender, several sections of the Belgrano Line will be improved for an
estimated amount of ARS 66,300,000.
Finally, work is being carried out so that the train from Plaza Constitución to
Divisadero de Pinamar will circulate again. ♦
To this end, they provide a loan for USD 450,000,000 for the purchase of ro-
lling stock for passenger lines that have not yet been modernized and another
for USD 770,000,000 to modernize the cargo lines. And although the Minister
of Transport said “It is not the intention to take the concession out of any com-
pany”, several officials say “the tracks must return to the State.”
It seems the right moment, the concession contract for Ferroexpreso Pam-
peano expires on October 31, 2021, that of Nuevo Central Argentino ends on
December 21, 2022 and that of Ferrosur Roca on March 10, 2023.
Although there is already a Special Contract Renegotiation Commission
(CERC) that is holding meetings for the readjustment of contracts, said read-
justment is made based on the aforementioned Law 27132 that orders the Exe-
cutive to take the necessary measures to resume in the of the rail infrastructure
by the State and gradually qualify new operators.
This commission (CERC) clarified: “This does not necessarily mean canceling
existing operators. The law requires us to set certain conditions for the renego-
tiation of contracts”.
From the Ministry they say “We do not have a position in favor or against the
companies”, but some officials state that “The tracks must be national with the
participation of the provinces and an open system must be implemented by
which companies that want to run trains can do so by paying a toll ”. ♦
The 8D Class worked tirelessly on the main yards of FC Sud and could
go a week without any maintenance, which was an extreme situation. In
just homage, a specimen is preserved by the Ferroclub Argentino.
The former FC Sud’s Class 8D locomotive number 3166 was in the former
steam shed in Tolosa awaiting its scrapping to be turned into scrap metal. She
was rescued from that place in 1996 by members of the Argentine Ferroclub
in the area and, given the impossibility of transferring her to the Escalada
Preservation Center, she was temporarily protected in the garage of the Tolosa
diesel locomotive depot. This would give rise to the Tolosa Preservation Center
of the Ferroclub itself, which was settled in the old blacksmith shed. The machine
was missing all the bronze accessories, the clack valves, the level glasses, the
brake device, the steam injectors, the steam distribution box, its safety valves,
the small dome, the burner with its fuel circuit, regulator arc, press and hearth
door, plus missing drive rods and other minor elements. At first, an aesthetic
restoration was carried out, hoping to be able to carry out a dynamic repair.
Nowadays, work is being done in this regard and for this, a test of the hermeticity
of the boiler began, reaching a pressure of 15 kg / cm2. From that moment on, the
search for the missing elements and the manufacture of those that were difficult
to obtain began. Among the objects found in this way is a motor connecting rod of
a serial locomotive sister that was located on a side wall of the Cañuelas station
as an allegorical object among other railway elements, where it was replaced by
another useless connecting rod.
One element that had to be manufactured was the regulator arch, as it is
difficult to find a spare. Thanks to having as a model the arch of the class 12P
locomotive Number 3212 that had the same dimensions, a new one was cast
and machined in bronze.
Among other tasks that were carried out were the stainless steel cladding
of the regulator rod, the adjustment of the regulator valve, a new fuel circuit to
replace the combined appliance that had many missing, new taps for a steam
distributor and others chores.
The objective in this stage is to finish the completion of the boiler with all the
necessary safety and operation elements, after this they will continue with other
stages that include the mechanical part of the locomotive. ♦
Uruguay comenzó a renovar una de sus principales vías de trocha media, con
lo cual consolida su sistema en esta trocha. Paraguay, que alguna vez tuvo tro-
cha ancha, hoy ostenta la trocha media, y habrá que ver si la mantiene cuando
se encaren nuevas obras de renovación o comiencen a definirse los nuevos
corredores interoceánicos.
Conclusión
Si pudiéramos comenzar desde cero la construcción de los ferrocarriles, se-
guramente la trocha angosta sería la más conveniente. Ésta presentaría un
menor costo inicial y facilitaría la vinculación con Brasil, norte de Chile y Bolivia.
Además, no presentaría ningún tipo de problema para las líneas suburbanas
del AMBA.
La realidad, es que contamos con una importante red de trocha ancha, muy
bien consolidada en el AMBA y por razones de economía, no debemos desper-
diciarla.
En tal sentido, la trocha angosta debería mantenerse, pensando especial-
mente en la conexión con Brasil (avanzando sobre vías del Urquiza), con el
with Brazil.
Uruguay began to renovate one of its main standard-gauge tracks, thereby
consolidating its system on this gauge. Paraguay, which once had a wide gauge,
today boasts the standard gauge, and it will be necessary to see if it maintains
it when new renovation works are undertaken or the new interoceanic corridors
begin to be defined.
Conclusion
If we could start from scratch the construction of the railways, surely the narrow
gauge would be the most convenient. This would present a lower initial cost
and would facilitate the link with Brazil, northern Chile and Bolivia. In addition, it
would not present any type of problem for the suburban lines of the AMBA.
The reality is that we have an important broad gauge network, very well
consolidated in the AMBA and for reasons of economy, we should not waste it.
In this sense, the narrow track should be maintained, especially thinking about
the connection with Brazil (advancing on the Urquiza tracks), with the North of
Chile and eventually with Bolivia.
Also it is reasonable to prioritize the broad gauge in the AMBA, especially for
suburban services and for any other narrow branch that would be renovated, if
its integration into the broad gauge network is justified (Branch P1, Branch G
and M of Belgrano Sur and others).
As can be seen in the illustrations, the precaution to consider, if one day it is
decided to change the narrow gauge for the wide one, is to make the corresponding
adjustment on the platforms, since that is where we find differences. The red
shading in the superimposed figure indicates where the minimum profile of the
wide gauge works invades that of the narrow one. It is an invasion of 3 cm in
width and 23 cm in height.
The minimum profile for works of the wide gauge is 40 cm wider than that the
narrow one, and in the case of tracks electrified by superior contact of practically
comparable height.
In addition to the issue of the track gauge, one day loading gauges will have to
be reviewed, which are quite similar, but still maintain details of the time of steam
traction. The standardization of measurements will make it easier to share rolling
stock or even make gauge changes economically, something very important for
such a large country with three different gauges. ♦
Luis Mardjetko is a Civil Engineer and Specialist in Railway Engineering from UBA.
La U46 101 corre su tren de 7 coches y 2 furgones, contra los dos coches y un furgón del tren regular.
Los ferrocarriles de trocha más angosta que los 900 mm tienen el en-
canto de ser “trencitos mínimos” que heredamos del pasado. República
Checa tiene tres líneas de éstas y operan hoy comercialmente.
Left: The U46 101 runs its train of 7 cars and 2 vans, against the two cars and a van of the regular train.
Railways with a gauge narrower than 900 mm have the charm of being
“toy trains” that we inherited from the past. The Czech Republic has three
of these lines and they operate commercially today.
Today there are three “trochita” lines in the Czech Republic, two private and
one state, and all three have official passenger service. It should be said that
the gauge is 760 millimeters compared to 750 of Patagonian gauge, but its
commercial exploitation is much greater.
Two of them are located in the south of the country, near Austria and start at
Jindrichuv (Jindřichův Hradec, formerly Neuhaus), but one goes to Obratan in
the North and the other to Nova Bystrice (Nová Bystřice, formerly Neubistritz) in
the south , near the Austrian border. This area is known as South Bohemia and
was part of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire. Both lines are now the private
property of JHMD (Jindřichohradecké místní dráhy, a.s.). For more details visit
http://jhmd.cz/.
The third line runs from Tremesna (Třemešná ve Slezsku, formerly Röwersdorf)
to Osoblaha (formerly Hotzenplotz) and is located in the Northeast of the country,
muy cerca de la frontera con Polonia. Hasta 1945 fue territorio alemán y se llamó
“Sudetenland”. La línea circula por vías de unos 20 km y es el único ferrocarril
de vía estrecha operado por el estado checo bajo el nombre CD (České dráhy).
very close to the border with Poland. Until 1945 it was German territory and was
called “Sudetenland”. The line runs on tracks of about 20 km and is the only
narrow-gauge railway operated by the Czech state under the name CD (České
dráhy).
Bystrice is operated by the small T47 class diesel locomotives of the 1950s,
carrying 2 cars and a freight car for transporting bicycles. Both lines are located
in a very touristic area, which leads to planning excursions with steam trains
every day in summer.
These trains go one day to Nova Bystrice and the other day to Kamenice nad
Lipou, which is the largest intermediate station on the way to Obratan. For this
service they have two steam locomotives at Jindrichuv. One is a 0-8-0 numbered
U46 101, built in 1955 by the Chrzanóv Locomotive Company, Poland. The other
is a 0-10-0T of the U37 class.
On August 18 we took a round trip from Jindrichuv to Obratan in the M27 004
motor car. It was 46 km each way and each ticket cost us the equivalent of USD
1.5 per person. The next day, we made the trip to Nova Bystrice with the pink
T47 019, a minor but very nice route.
The next day we returned to Obratan but only to Kamenice, this time by car
and to take pictures of the train with the steamer U46 101, which fought every
ramp that the track presented. The photos that accompany this note give credit
to the beautiful landscape. Shortly before the train reached Kamenice, U46 101
nice, el U46 101 luchó en una fuerte pendiente. Habiendo hecho todo lo que un
ferrófilo puede desear me fui hacia el Norte , a ver la tercera línea, la de Tre-
mesna.
struggled on a steep incline. Having done everything a ferrophile could wish for,
I went north to see the third line, Tremesna line.
The locomotive was built by Skoda, Pilsen, in 1948 and bears the number
1932. It was originally built for industrial lines in the former Yugoslavia and has
Pese al deseo de ver “las trochitas” no pudimos dejar de fotografiar cada tren
de trocha media que se nos cruzó, pero por ahora nos quedamos haciendo foco
en esta trocha. ♦
been in perfect condition for many years in Tremesna. There is also a Faur
diesel but different from the ones that came to Río Turbio.
Despite the desire to see “the narrow gauge” we could not stop photographing
each standard gauge train that crossed us, but for now we are focusing on this
gauge. ♦
At the Buenos Aires transport exhibition in 1910, in the railway pavilion, several
manufacturers exhibited their recent products, among them a tank car from a firm
vagón tanque de una firma de Bohemia (Hoy República Checa) que había en-
trado en el negocio de la exportación. Se trataba de la firma Nesselsdorfer y
el vehículo constaba de un tanque autoportante, montado sobre dos grandes
carretones que oficiaban de chasis y bogies al mismo tiempo.
El “T1”, tal su denominación, ostentaba la inmensa inscripción “Patagónicos”
dando cuenta de su comprador y su destino, los recientemente iniciados ferro-
carriles nacionales patagónicos, un proyecto que uniría varias ciudades patagó-
nicas desde Puerto Deseado al Norte, hasta llegar a la red principal de trocha
ancha. Lamentablemente el proyecto solo cubrió unos cientos de kilómetros y
por 1977 se clausuró definitivamente.
Pero respecto a estos vagones fueron bien usados desde sus inicios y posi-
blemente hasta la construcción de un acueducto en 1945, para la distribución
del agua en las ciudades y pueblos que se obtenía de las pocas vertientes de
la zona.
La cantidad de vagones construidos probablemente fue 30, tal el mayor nú-
mero que se observa en las fotos, pero hay registros que indican 40 unidades.
Las unidades se distribuyeron en las líneas patagónicas de trocha ancha: la de
El mismo vagón T1 aún en Bohemia pero con otra tipografía. / T1 car in Bohemia but with different lettering.
from Bohemia (today the Czech Republic) that had entered the export business.
It was the Nesselsdorfer firm and the vehicle consisted of a self-supporting tank,
mounted on two large trucks that served as chassis and bogies at the same
time.
The “T1”, such its name, bore the immense inscription “Patagónicos” giving an
account of its buyer and its destination, the recently started Patagonian national
railways, a project that would link several Patagonian cities from Puerto Deseado
to the North, until reaching the network main wide gauge. Unfortunately the
project only covered a few hundred kilometers and by 1977 it was definitively
closed.
But with regard to these wagons, they were well used from the beginning
and possibly until the construction of an aqueduct in 1945, for the distribution of
water in the cities and towns that was obtained from the few springs in the area.
The number of wagons built was probably 30, the highest number seen in the
photos, but there are records that indicate 40 units. The units were distributed
along the Patagonian broad gauge lines: the one from Puerto Deseado to
Colonia Las Heras and the one from Comodoro Rivadavia to Colonia Sarmiento.
In this second line, they were then used as oil tanks for the transport of crude oil
from the Astra and Diadema companies to the “km 3” dock where the primary
distillation plant owned by Comodoro Rivadavia was served by the consumption
of the area. of influence and that of the two railway lines.
The original bogies each had their own push and pull system, in addition to
their braking system that was connected to the other bogie by a pipe with flexible
tubes at its ends to allow the articulation of each bogie. In addition, they were
linked to each other by a steel rod.
The wagons were also used as auxiliary water tanks for locomotives, for the
same reason of not having water throughout the line.
Otros vagones
La provisión de Nesselsdorfer no se limitó a estos vagones tanque, sino que
también proveyó para esa misma fecha (1910) varios vagones que fueron ar-
mados en la Argentina, posiblemente en la Patagonia, todos de bogies norma-
les con el sistema convencional.
Posiblemente las líneas patagónicas iniciaron sus servicios con estos vago-
nes comprados a este proveedor, pero los registros de años posteriores diluyen
su presencia o su transformación como playos de la serie 2200, cubiertos de la
serie 600 o frigoríficos K1, quedando registro de éstos y de los tanques modifi-
cados. La serie 600 de cubiertos está indicada en los registros como fabricados
además por Ringhoffer, pero posiblemente se trate de un error.
Other wagons
Nesselsdorfer’s supply was not limited to these tank cars, but also provided
for that same date (1910) several wagons that were assembled in Argentina,
possibly in Patagonia, all of normal bogies with the conventional system.
Possibly the Patagonian lines began their services with these wagons purchased
from this supplier, but the records of later years dilute their presence or their
transformation as 2200 series troughs, 600 series cutlery or K1 refrigerators,
leaving a record of these and of the modified tanks. The 600 series cutlery is
indicated in the records as additionally manufactured by Ringhoffer, but possibly
it was an error.
Tatra (under the name Nesselsdorfer) is also considered the third largest car
manufacturer after Mercedes Benz and Peugeot, since in 1897 it produced the
first car in Central Europe and stopped making cars only in 1999, although it
continues today with a successful line of trucks of all types, generally heavy and
even extremely large.
We believe that the confusion stems from the Buenos Aires exhibition of 1910,
where both companies were presented together in a single catalog, and from
there the name Ringhoffer-Nesselsdorfer was taken for the records, but the
vehicle manufacturer’s plate corresponds exclusively to Nesselsdorfer, which it
is verifies in the photos that accompany this note.
End of services
As we said, the number of these vehicles has decreased over the years. On
the page of the railroads in the Southern Cone, Coombs and Sinclair indicate
that in 1912 there were 18 tanks and in 1924, 15 in 1924, 9 in 1934, 3 in 1952
and in the records of the Ferrocarril Roca from 1967, there are no original tank
car, but of the other types, namely:
4500 Series Tanks (4500 to 4511) made by Nesselsdorfer but mounted on Tafí
Reiteramos que a pesar de que figura en los listados del FC Roca el fabrican-
te Ringhoffer, creemos que todos fueron hechos por Nesselsdorfer.
All the rolling stock of both Patagonian lines was decommissioned in 1977
with their closure and by 1980 it was scrapped, thus losing all these vehicles.
In February 1977 a national fan Marcelo Arcas was able to see and photograph
in Comodoro Rivadavia the Nesselsdorfer tanks in their original form, radiated
but whole, awaiting scrapping and in 2014, David Sinclair from Scotland was
Los tanques originales radiados en 1977 en Comodoro Rivadavia. / Original tanks drawnback in 1977.
cocia pudo retratar solo los tanques Nesselsdorfer, que no fueron sopleteados
porque los residuos de petróleo que tenían dentro hacían peligrosa la tarea.
able to photograph only the Nesselsdorfer tanks, which were not cut because
the oil residues they had inside made the task dangerous.
Above: A train from the Nesselsdorfer plant carries unarmed wagons to Patagonia.
Below: A Patagonian box car set up in Bohemia as a demonstrator. They are then shipped unarmed.
Right: Nesselsdorfer plate and details of its application on tanks and box cars. A Ringhoffer plate.
Restos de tanques Nesselsdorfer en 2013 en Comodoro Rivadavia. / Tanks for scrap in C. Rivadavia.
Estructura autoportante interior de un tanque. / Inside view of the tank self-supporting structure.
Primer abandono de los Ganz en Formosa, c. 1980 / Fist Ganz motor coach whitdrawn in Formosa, c.1980.
Desde hace años, cada día se pierde algo de la historia ferroviaria y hoy
ponemos foco en el olvidado ramal Formosa - Embarcación que se re-
cuerda más a través de los mapas que por su existencia real.
Obras de pavimentacion de la vía del C25. / Making concrete paths over the existing trackwork.
For years, every day something of the railway history has been lost and
today we focus on the forgotten Formosa - Embarcacion branch that is
remembered more through maps than for its actual existence.
This branch identified as C25 belongs to the General Belgrano Railway and
is located in the provinces of Formosa and Salta. Its extension is 702 km and
construction began in 1908, ending in 1931. In 2008, the paving of the parallel
National Route 81 was completed, displacing the poor railway service.
In 2010 the tender for the C25 was launched and in 2015 its reconstruction
was announced but today it is not only abandoned, but its stations are being
landscaped and at this moment the Embarcación locomotive depot, in an
ambitious plan of progress, is becoming a fruit and vegetable fair.
Within that warehouse there are simple Ganz units, perhaps the last that
provided services through the Atahualpa firm and must be rescued for restoration
and tourist use, perhaps in a historical route of the Tren de las Sierras, which
postcards were the stamp of an era of national tourism.
Do we have to forget everything? ♦
Mi primer contacto con los trenes en escala fue a los 7 años de edad, allá por
1967, cuando mis padres me regalaron mi primer tren, compuesto por una loco-
motora, 3 vagones, y un óvalo de vías con su control.
A los 7 años de edad, y considerando los medios disponibles que no eran
muchos, tuve grandes las ambiciones que canalicé con las primeras y rústicas
estructuras que hice de cartón o telgopor.
Luego, al pasar los años, llegaron a mí poder las primeras estructuras de
plástico, y también algún material rodante que se armaba partiendo de kits con
los que fui forjando mi experiencia. Pero a los 20 años de edad cuando comen-
cé a construir lo que se podría considerar mi primer tendido formal (lo anterior
mejor considerarlos experimentos), quería contar con una estructura aceptable
y creible.
Para eso debía comprar algún kit disponible en el mercado, generalmente no
My first contact with model trains was when I was 7 years old, back in 1967,
when my parents gave me my first train, made up of a locomotive, 3 wagons,
and an oval track with its control.
At 7 years of age, and considering the available means that were not many,
I had great ambitions that I channeled with the first and rustic structures that I
made of cardboard or styrofoam.
Then, as the years passed, the first plastic structures came to me, and also
some rolling stock that was assembled starting from kits with which I was forging
my experience. But when I was 20 years old when I began to build what could be
considered my first formal laying (the above is better considered experiments), I
wanted to have an acceptable and credible structure.
For that, I had to buy a kit available on the market, generally not very cheap,
and given the scarcity of resources I had, I channeled them into rolling stock or
tracks. I was not willing to allocate a budget for structures, since I could make
them myself with waste materials, which I later learned was called “scratch”.
After obtaining the material, which was the easy part, I made the openwork for
doors and windows by hand and with basic tools, in addition to cutting out the
shapes of the walls and ceilings.
But that was not the whole problem, if I wanted the structure to simulate a
wood cladding, I would have to do it board by board, also cutting it by hand
beforehand. At that time, the coverings such as bricks or stone walls had been
discarded due to the difficulty of making them or had to agree to paste a hard
copy on paper to simulate them.
Another type of coating that I used frequently, was white glue mixed with some
plaster, which I applied on the base wood as a thick paint and after drying, with
a minimum painting process, obtaining a quite realistic plastered masonry wall.
Although there have been wooden sheets since then that simulate the
appearance of cladding boards, widely used in railway structures such as those
seen in our country, I could not generally be counted whit them since it was an
imported product, which for at least in my case, it was difficult to access, either
due to cost or availability.
Again, I made use of an accessible resource such as the wooden planks that
were used to veneer chipboards, which are 0.8 mm thick sheets that could also
be found in carpentry shops, as excess trim, or could be purchased cheaply.
I cut this material easily with a knife and a metal ruler and once again I was
getting closer to the results I wanted with the resources I had. ♦