Along the route

Tracing the route using Google Earth
Readers who have the Google Earth program can click on the following link:

ChiloeGoogleEarthfiles.zip

Save the zip file to your hard disk. When you decompress it you will find that it contains two Google Earth KMZ data files.

• ChiloerouteAncudtoPuntra.kmz A flight along the trackbed from Ancud to Puntra station. A section of this imaging in the Rio Pudeto area is at low resolution but eventually the route returns to high resolution images.

• ChiloerouteLechaguatoAncud.kmz A flight along the conjectured route of the branch from the site of Lechagua muelle to Ancud. Note that this route has not been identified with any certainty and indeed parts of the trackbed may have destroyed by coastal erosion.

Once the files are decompressed you can click on either of them and they should open in Google Earth and show the appropriate locations or trackbed tour. You may have to click the run button in Google Earth's 'Places' pallete. Generally the route is clearer without the overlying vector path being checked and visible. Flights or 'tours' in this website are best done with the Google Earth touring preferences set to a camera tilt angle of about 60 degrees, and a camera range of about 300m.

As browsers develop we should be able to provide direct links from these webpages to call up Google Earth without the trouble of downloading and decompressing zip files but this is not yet reliable enough in all browsers.

Lechagua
Most of the Lechagua branch from Ancud ran along the shore line or along roads very close to the shore. The rise in sea level after the 1960 earthquake destroyed parts of the route but it is not yet clear which sections. Even where the route survives road improvements are likely to have obliterated most signs. Wilfred Simms in his booklet on the railways of Southern Chile (1), shows a photo of the remains of a concrete culvert on a beach somewhere, with the comment that the rest of that part of the alignment was destroyed in the 1960 earthquake and by coastal erosion since that time. The photo may have been taken along the Lechagua branch.

Ancud
The station site in Ancud is now the bus station for local destinations. The first part of the route was largely along roads and there are therefore few traces visible. A warehouse near the muelle in Ancud is built on reclaimed land surrounded by old rails used as piles.

Along the estuary
The line initially ran around the edge of the estuary of the río Pudeto as far as the San Antonio bridge. It then climbed and crossed to the west of the main Ancud-Castro road at Coquiao. The present condition of the route has not been investigated until Puntra is reached. However it is clear that the earth movements resulting from the Valdivia earthquake in 1960 that contributed to the closure have had far-reaching effects. In particular, northern Chiloe effectively sank by several feet and thus parts of the route close to sea level have been flooded. This is particularly obvious at the site of the San Antonio bridge which was originally perhaps 50 yards/metres long but approached by straight embankments on both sides. The water is now about 1200 yards/meters wide and covers the embankments which, however, are still visible in aerial photos.

This Google Earth photo shows the site of the erstwhile San Antonio bridge. The route arrives from Ancud along the shore from the top right of the map to the top centre. It then ran south on a low embankment to a bridge perhaps 50m long over a sluggish tidal river and continued on a matching embankment to the wodded area at the bottom of the picture, where it turned south west. The whole 1200m of embankment and bridge is now under water and visible as a submerged causeway in the picture.

Puntra
Once across the Puntra river the line runs on the flat flood plain through the village. There is no sign of the station but it is interesting to see that the school is still labelled as 'Escola Puntra Estación'.

Looking south from Puntra along the trackbed.

South of the old station the line continues on a fairly straight course climbing gently. Much of this can be followed by car. Eventually there is a steeper decline down to the Putalcura river, and this might need four wheel drive.

Butalcura
Surprisingly, the big bridge at Butalcura is intact and still used for road vehicles. This is one of the 1925 replacements for the original wooden viaducts.

Photo taken looking west. Butalcura station is behind the trees on the left.

The date of construction is still visible cast into the concrete parapets.

A few yards further on is Butalcura station, renamed from Putalcura because the railway found the implied use of the word 'puta' most improper. The station buildings are intact though somewhat battered. Chickens run around, and there is a derelict coach chassis still on its bogies. On the wall of the station one can still see the sign (illustrated on another page) warning the public not to use the track for driving animals!

The station building is the structure with the (incomplete) corrugated-iron roof and wide overhanging eaves. The station-master's house is behind that. In the foreground is a carriage underframe still on its bogies. The raised ends and lower central well are clearly visible.

From Butalcura station onwards to Mocopulli the trackbed has become an official minor road, and it appears on road maps as such. Initially it climbs steeply up the side of a valley to reach the plateau level. It is here that it becomes apparent that that the earthquake damaged the cutting sides more than the bridges. Much of the line was cut into soft mudstones. These are easy to excavate and normally hold a steep angle, but in an earth tremor they would collapse. It is clear from the irregular gradient that this indeed did happen. The resulting rock falls have been driven over many times and are no obstacle to road traffic, but the old smooth gradient is now more irregular.

Once on the top of the meseta the alignment becomes almost straight for several miles. Further on a group of houses and a school lie at the old Km. 60 halt, and indeed are still known by that name.

Mocopulli
At Mocopulli the alignment joins the main road to Castro for a while. It lay on the west side of the road on a slight embankment. This is clearly visible but is covered in gorse and would not be easy to walk.

When the road begins to bend left the line leaves it and eventually drops down a long straight on the right hand side of the valley, past the site of Piruquina station. This part is shown on some maps as a minor road and can therefore probably by driven over by car.

After crossing the Puchubran road, probably the site of the early Pid Pid station, the course becomes much more sinuous. It has turned south-east but still follows the right side of the valley of the Estero Pid Pid. Eventually it cuts through a deep and steep-sided cutting to reach the main road near Llau Llau. This part is accessible on foot but only with substantial boots as there is mud in the cutting.

Llau-Llau
After crossing the main road the line makes a sharp turn to the south and then becomes the official road through Llau Llau. The gradients are difficult to interpret here as there has been some infilling of a cutting. A motor mechanic in Llau Llau assured me that his workshop was on the site of the old station.

The photo shows the trackbed south of Llau Llau (looking south). There is a small embankment in the background.

By now the line is generally falling towards Castro but there are still short climbs, a sign of the economies made in the construction. The route is still followable by car until one reaches the radio mast at Ten Ten (east of the sawmill on the main road). From then on a footpath follows the track down the east side of a valley, across an embankment to the west side and then falling steeply to cross the main road just on the outskirts of Castro.

Castro
As one enters Castro today on the straight main road one is crossing a causeway with water on both sides. The railway took a more winding course amongst the stilt houses ('palafitos') on the right. At the end of the causeway when the new road starts to climb, the line crossed to the east side and continued around the water's edge to the station at the foot of the town. These sections can be driven easily.

The photo below shows the old station site today. The buildings on the right have changed little, and the space in front of them where the tracks ran is still open. The muelle is on the left behind the bushes. The town centre is uphill to the right.

An aerial view of the same location whilst the railway was running shows a number of covered and open wagons along the line of the street shown above.

More photos
A number of other pictures of the railway are displayed in other websites. Some of the more important are shown in an appendix page accessed from here.

References:
Photographs and details of the trackbed and its condition are from a brief and incomplete personal survey in January 2001.
1 The Railways of Chile, Volume 5 - Southern Chile. 2002. Wilfred Simms.

26-5-08