Various industrial lines around Comodoro Rivadavia

Harbour construction

Whilst the 75cm gauge has been dealt with in Chapter 6, the 1928 harbour construction works also used 60cm gauge temporary tracks. Little has been recorded about them, but the photos which follow do show some aspects of the work.

This photo shows the land reclamation works south-west of the new breakwater. Whilst the 75cm gauge brought in the landfill material, it looks as though 60cm gauge was used for more local works such as distributing concrete along the sea wall (2).

Later operations in the harbour
The harbour, although partly constructed with 75cm. gauge equipment, and possessing broad gauge track shunted by ex- Port of Buenos Aires tank engines, retained some 60cm. track for many years. By 1975 this was much reduced but still carried two Planet diesels (including no. 2823) (3).

The broad gauge locos included the following two ex Puerto de Buenos Aires:
8 0-6-0T Manning Wardle 1351 1897
24 0-6-0T Henschel 8064/9 1907/9 (9)
They lay there derelict in 1975 and the Manning Wardle is now preserved at the old main line station in Comodoro Rivadavia.

Steam in the oilfields
The YPF (Argentinean national oil company) appears to have had two railway systems based around workshop complexes in the area;

The northern system
A network (linked in one source to Caleta Cordova) possessed four steam locos - 0-4-0T O&K 11246-7 of 1926 (30hp), and 0-4-0 Fireless Henschels 21144/5 of 1929 (4). Whilst this does not show up on a 1:50,000 topographic map from the 1950s, a 60cm gauge track does does appear to run west from Astra station for 1.5 km.

The southern network
The other network may have been of much greater extent. This had six 60cm. gauge steam engines at one point (4). As the sketch map below shows (5) it ran from the main YPF workshops south to the YPF Muelle. It had 30km of track in total using three 30hp and one 50 hp steam locos, together with three 35hp and one 25hp diesels.

The simplified map shown below covers about two kilometres from top to bottom. 1950s topographic maps discovered more recently show a far greater extent, stretching out north and west for up to five kms. See below for access to these maps.

The more detailed topographic maps dating from the 1950s are available on an appendix page. Click here to visit that page.

Jorge Garreta Mendoza suggests that these depots also used several Ruston diesels, O & K steam, petrol & diesel locos and Schoema diesels. One of the latter is preserved in the oil museum though labelled as a Ruston. Along with it is also an American Brookville diesel.

The postcard below (by courtesy of Jorge Garreta Mendoza) shows the 60cm gauge track running alongside the broad gauge, facing south towards the YPF muelle location.

A number of photos have come to light showing the YPF muelle at Km 3 (7). This one illustrates the seaward end of the muelle and displays a broad gauge crane on an isolated length of track as well as 60cm gauge flat wagons which have arrived via a double track along the length of the muelle.

A second photo, like the first found in the Archivo General de la Nacion in Buenos Aires, shows the double narrow gauge track along the muelle. At this point they are passing a broad gauge steam crane mounted on a higher platform isolated from any great length of rails.

YPF locos
The three photos below show YPF locos and trains, but no further details are known. All three pictures come from the Museo de Petroleo at Km 3, on the site of one of the old depots. Click here to visit their website.

This first YPF picture was almost certainly taken in the southern system loco shed yard. Two 0-4-0T steam engines, almost certainly Orenstein &Koppels, are seen along with three early O&K Montania petrol locos (probably of class S1) (6). These latter locos date from around 1920-25.

A train of materials crosses a road behind one of the little German steam locos.

Another steam loco, this time with a spark-arresting chimney poses with a large number of men.

One of the O&K Montania petrol locos in the snow amongst a group of well heads. The lines of rails in the background are too far apart for 60 cm gauge but it is probable that the picture had been retouched by someone not expert in railways. Photo reproduced by courtesy of Señor Miguel Fiordelli.

This picture is placed here merely by virtue of the oil derrick in the background. It may not have been connected to the oil industry. The loco appears to be a Baldwin 0-4-2T with a train of skip wagons. The photo appeared in a recent book on Comodoro Rivadavia's history, with the date 1928 attributed to it (1). No further details of this or other locos are known. It may well have been owned by a contractor.

Where once was the west end of the Km.3 network is now the Museo Nacional de Petroleo. In their grounds are a number of large oil industry relics. These two diesels - a Brookville and a Schoema despite the sign - are on display, as is a steam crane from the harbour.

There remains scope to find out a lot more about these oil lines.

Finally, to illustrate the sort of competition these oilfield railways were up against, here is a picture of an early Caterpillar Sixty crawler tractor hauling pipes (8).

Unknown locations
A number of photos have come to light showing 60cm gauge track in the vicinity of Comodoro Rivadavia but without clues as to a specific purpose or site. A couple of these are shown below. Any assistance in identifying them would be appreciated.

This picture gives few clues. The broad gauge track is shiny and well used, and the narrow gauge line crossing over it must therefore be removeable. There seem to be wagons on the right where the narrow gauge drops down slightly. The coast is on the left but no buildings are visible. Photo reproduced by courtesy of Señor Miguel Fiordelli.

Another line of 60cm gauge contractor's track, possibly in Barrio Km. 3.

References:
1 Libro de Oro, Aniversario Comodoro Rivadavia 1901-1997. 1997. Ediciones Atlantico.
2 Photos kindly found by C. Rivadavia Department of Historic Archives.
3 Personal observation in 1975.
4 Industrial Railways of Argentina (loco lists). Revised edition 1998. Reg Carter.
5 Map sketched from a Chubut Province cadastral survey map. The track layout is unlikely to be complete.
6 Identification of the early O&K petrol locos was by Arnaud Bongaards of the Decauville Spoorweg Museum in Harscamp, Netherlands.
7 Photo reproduced by courtesy of the Archivo General de la Nación in Buenos Aires.
8 Photo reproduced by courtesy of Señor Miguel Fiordelli.
9 Information from Industrial Railways of Argentina, 199?, Reg Carter. Kingston upon Thames, UK.

Anyone interested in old photos of Comodoro Rivadavia should also visit Miguel Fiordelli's website. A number of his photos are of railway interest and almost all can be viewed in larger sizes by clicking on the thumbnail pictures.

An Arthur Koppel advert from an issue of The Review of the River Plate in 1906.

28-5-08