Ferrocarril Provincial de Santa Fe
Encyclopedia
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Metre gauge
Metre gauge refers to narrow gauge railways and tramways with a track gauge of . In some African, American and Asian countries it is the main gauge. In Europe it has been used for local railways in France, Germany, and Belgium, most of which were closed down in mid 20th century. Only in Switzerland...
) railway network built by the provincial government of Santa Fe
Santa Fe Province
The Invincible Province of Santa Fe, in Spanish Provincia Invencible de Santa Fe , is a province of Argentina, located in the center-east of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise Chaco , Corrientes, Entre Ríos, Buenos Aires, Córdoba, and Santiago del Estero...
in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
on 10 April 1900 and later extended it in the provinces of Chaco
Chaco Province
Chaco is an Argentine province located in the north of the country, near the border with Paraguay. Its capital is Resistencia on the Paraná River opposite the city of Corrientes...
and Córdoba
Córdoba Province (Argentina)
Córdoba is a province of Argentina, located in the center of the country. Neighboring provinces are : Santiago del Estero, Santa Fe, Buenos Aires, La Pampa, San Luis, La Rioja and Catamarca...
. After nationalisation in 1948 it became part of the state-owned company Ferrocarril General Manuel Belgrano
Ferrocarril General Manuel Belgrano
Ferrocarril General Manuel Belgrano , named after the Argentine politician and military leader Manuel Belgrano, was one of the six state-owned Argentine railway companies formed after President Juan Perón's nationalisation of the railway network in 1948...
(FCGMB).
The company had its origins in the signing of a contract between the Santa Fe Provincial government and John G. Meiggs Son & Co. for the construction of a 100 km (62 mi) line north from the city of Santa Fe
Santa Fe, Argentina
Santa Fe is the capital city of province of Santa Fe, Argentina. It sits in northeastern Argentina, near the junction of the Paraná and Salado rivers. It lies opposite the city of Paraná, to which it is linked by the Hernandarias Subfluvial Tunnel. The city is also connected by canal with the...
in the direction of the agricultural colonies. The section from Santa Fe to Rafaela
Rafaela
Rafaela is a city in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina, about 96 km from the provincial capital. It is the head town of the Castellanos Department. It has a population of 99,150 per the ....
was opened on 1 July 1885 and from Rafaela to Lehmann on 1 May 1886. Later the same year branch lines were opened from Empalme San Carlos to San Carlos Sur on 1 July and from Santa Fe to Colastiné on 15 October, and the line from Lehman to San Cristóbal
San Cristóbal, Santa Fe
San Cristóbal is a city in the center-north of the , 179 km north-northwest from the provincial capital. It has about 14,000 inhabitants as of the and it is the head town of the San Cristóbal Department....
was opened on 31 December. The line from San Carlos Sur to Gálvez
Gálvez, Santa Fe
Gálvez is a city in the center of the province of Santa Fe, Argentina, south of the provincial capital Santa Fe. It has 18,374 inhabitants per the ....
was completed on 1 July 1887 and the following year the line from Humboldt to Providencia was opened on 1 January and extended to Soledad on 1 June.
On 1 January 1888 the line from Coronda
Coronda
Coronda is a small and beautiful city in the . It is located in the San Jerónimo Department, 43 km south from the provincial capital . It has a population of about 17,000 inhabitants ....
to Hessler and from Pilar to Josefina and San Francisco
San Francisco, Córdoba
San Francisco is a city located at the far east border of the province of Córdoba, Argentina, and parts of the city are beyond the border into the province of Santa Fe. In the city National Routes 19 and 158 intersect...
was opened, and on 1 September later that year the lines from Santa Fe to Rosario and to San Justo
San Justo, Santa Fe
San Justo is a city in the center region of the province of Santa Fe, Argentina, 99 km north from the provincial capital. It has about 22,000 inhabitants as of the and it is the head town of the San Justo Department....
were opened. The later was the first section of a line which reached Chaco Province
Chaco Province
Chaco is an Argentine province located in the north of the country, near the border with Paraguay. Its capital is Resistencia on the Paraná River opposite the city of Corrientes...
in the following stages: Escalada in May 1889, Calchaqui in September 1889, Vera
Vera, Santa Fe
Vera is a city in the north of the province of Santa Fe, Argentina. It is the head town of the Vera Department and lies 256 km from the provincial capital . It has a population of about 20,000 inhabitants ....
in February 1890 and La Sabena on 1 November 1892. The branch line from Colastiné to Rincón was completed in December 1889.
Until then the property of the Province, the company was transferred on 10 April 1900, by provincial decree, to the Compañía Francesa de los Ferrocarriles de la Provincia de Santa Fe, the oldest of the three French–owned railway companies in Argentina, formed by the great banque d'affaires Paribas, the steel company Fives Lille and a group of financiers associated with the latter.
In Córdoba
Córdoba Province (Argentina)
Córdoba is a province of Argentina, located in the center of the country. Neighboring provinces are : Santiago del Estero, Santa Fe, Buenos Aires, La Pampa, San Luis, La Rioja and Catamarca...
the French company now opened a line from San Francisco to Villa María on 30 April 1904 and a branch line from Pozo del Molle to Carrilobo was added on 11 September 1907 and later that month on 20 September the line within Chaco Province was extended from La Sabena to Barranqueras. A branch line from Charaday to Oetling was opened on 10 November 1911, from Horquilla
Horquilla, Chaco
Horquilla is a village and municipality in Chaco Province in northern Argentina.-References:...
to Enrique Urién on 16 August 1912 and on to Villa Ángela on 22 December 1914. Branches were added to the main line from Vera to Reconquista
Reconquista, Santa Fe
Reconquista is a city in the north of the , from the provincial capital. It is the head town of the General Obligado Department, and it has 66,187 inhabitants according to the ....
on 18 November 1913 and from Km 340 to Villa Guillermina the same year.
When the entire Argentine railway network was nationalised
Railway Nationalisation in Argentina
In 1948, during President Juan Perón’s first term of office, the seven British-owned and three French-owned railway companies then operating in Argentina, were purchased by the state...
in 1948, during Juan Perón
Juan Perón
Juan Domingo Perón was an Argentine military officer, and politician. Perón was three times elected as President of Argentina though he only managed to serve one full term, after serving in several government positions, including the Secretary of Labor and the Vice Presidency...
's presidency, the FCPSF became part of the state-owned Ferrocarril General Manuel Belgrano
Ferrocarril General Manuel Belgrano
Ferrocarril General Manuel Belgrano , named after the Argentine politician and military leader Manuel Belgrano, was one of the six state-owned Argentine railway companies formed after President Juan Perón's nationalisation of the railway network in 1948...
(FCGMB).