RR OCA THE FAITH IN THE BIDASOA RR (1916 - 1956)
Kostorbe Station (Irun)
Introduction
Railways, this innovative system of transportation of both people and goods was born in S. United nineteenth Kingdom. After several trials was achieved in 1930 to unite the cities of Liverpool and Manchester via the railway.
The first body was interested peninsular medium was so new provincial council, that the August 12, 1831 at a general meeting held in Gernika, presented the project of joining Madrid, Bilbao and Irun. Has been undertaken this initiative would of course be the fourth country after UK, U.S. and France in developing the new technology of transportation, putting the country at the forefront of European development. But the First Carlist War did away with the project. The first line opened on peninsular October 28, 1848, joined the cities Barcelona and Mataro, and October 22, 1863 the railroad arrived at Irun in the hands of the Society of the Northern Railway, who joined Madrid to Irun and the French border.
speed, security, heavy load and could cover long distances were the letter of the revolutionary genius, European fever aroused by the railways, while pushing aside the traditional means of transport , consisting of care for people and the car for materials, both based on animal traction. Legislation
S. In Spain XIX, which predominated involutions wars and policies, are coming to demand the enactment of new legislation consistent with the time industrial, economic and development that existed in Europe. Since the end of the unfortunate reign of Fernando VII, a period of government with a progressive and liberal legislation that were established according to the times we are living, layes that stood out for their status as liberal and openings through which invited capital to invest abroad, providing security, legal and bank guarantees covering the establishment of new businesses and development of major projects.
Thus was born a wide rules among which worth noting, by have a direct bearing on the design and development of Bidasoa Railway, the Railways Act, 1855, the Law on Banks and Credit Societies, 1856 and the Mining Law of 1849 and 1869. This legislation, free money changer rate was very favorable to private enterprise, which inspired the confidence of companies and foreign capital, thus boosting the implementation of national and foreign entities that promoted industrial development in our region.
Some of these industries were: Bidassoa Mines, France and The Bidasoa Railway & Mines Limited, England, which dealt with mining in the Lower Bidasoa, and that given the growing demand gives the mineral iron and steel companies, mainly Forges d'Adour in Bayonne, were in need of upgrading their delivery systems by acquiring small narrow gauge railway to transport miners.
The upgrades in production and transportation systems, new companies, were made under the new legislation, which for example the banking law stated in its second article, [... create all sorts of ways companies iron, canals, factories, mines, docks, and what you want other industrial or public utility.
The Lower Bidasoa mining concessions, set up different lines railway to transport their goods. The most significant of them was the one who was traveling Endarlaza - Irun, known as the Train Txikito and later, by granting ownership of passenger service, became the Ferrocarril del Bidasoa.
The "Train Txikito" Endarlaza - Irun
At the meeting of Irun Town Council May 8, 1872, read a statement by Mr. Earl John de Kranchy, manager British company mines, in which he stated the project construction of [... a tram or railroad branch trying to build from the bridge Endarlaza Station Road North of this town. After several disputes with the owners of the land and the cessation of the works for several years by the war, the railway with a gauge of 0.914 m an English yard, and a length of 10,500 meters, opened the company's director D, Eduardo Clemente Hamelin, 1 July 1890.
Through the achievement of a royal orders were obtained the required authorizations. Thus, through the RO granted on December 24, 1888 was achieved by the granting of building and operation of a railroad economic, direct service and public use for the transport of minerals and commodities, while authorizing the occupation of public lands. This concession was granted for 99 years then going to be State property and may not require the concessionaire for the use of this railway higher prices than those established in the previously approved rate. The least mobile material had to arrange for the holding was three locomotives, forty cars adequate open transport and loading and unloading items.
also authorized the "Company the roads of Northern Railway of Spain "for as provided in Article 2 of the RO on 9 August of that year, build, and explode, tracks, needles, and crosses needed to link the new rail line Irun to Burgos, the height at which this is linked with the French way "Midi Railway." With what had got the train Endarlaza - Irun, the precursor of FC. Bidasoa was international, with direct link to both the port of Pasajes and the Bayonne.
Arrival at the station Irun City
were established at the moment and mineral loading stations, both at origin and destination, so we proceeded to build Endarlaza station, near Boga bridge, where the descending mineral mines Eskolamendi (Lesaka), and the landing of San Miguel on the banks of the Bidasoa, arriving preserve minerals extracted from San Fernando, in the foothills of the Peña de Aya, by a little train called "The Tres Coronas "starting from the premises of the English castle, followed a horizontal path 5 miles long, carried to an altitude of 500m, reaching the eastern slope Mount Pagogaña from there through two powerful plans totaling 1800m existing bridge the gap until you reach the stop of San Miguel where through hoppers gravity discharging wagons on the main road.
After several years of construction disputes and wars, finally D. Clement Hamelin, saw completion of the work, carrying out its inauguration on 1 July 1890. Estimating the company would start the ore trade, with the contribution of three hundred tons per day, given that not all mining galleries were open and fully operational.
's payroll employees who depended on the Bidasoa Railway and Mines Limited, the concessionaire of the railway "Endarlaza-Irun, amounted in 1889 to the not inconsiderable figure of 445 workers. In the years that lasted the works, the investments made by the company amounted to 4,000,000 French francs, the currency in which the company performed their balance sheets. Amount that should be added the wages paid to employees.
In the second half of the nineteenth century, the town of Irun rose above the provincial average, standing at the head of Guipúzcoa after the capital, it motivated by industrial development and other socio-political events. Looking at the census of population during this period of time, we found the following population movements:
In 1800, Irun only reached the 1,180 inhabitants.
In 1860, the implementation of the Customs, made up to 5487.
the end of the century, in 1900, at the height railway arrived in 9912, a development that grew steadily throughout the new century.
Automotive (Bera Station)
The Railway Bidasoa
From the moment you opened Txikito Rail, the company was very clear that the future of the railway was extended through the basin of the river Bidasoa, even in a second project to take it to Pamplona. There were many proposals and projects championed by individual companies and engineers. In Spain they were building the main radial routes such as Madrid-Irun-Madrid or Zaragoza and none passed through the Navarre capital, so that the draft Railway Bidasoa earned capital importance because through it some saw the possibility of Pamplona join with the border and at the same time with the Madrid-Irun.
Meanwhile it happened that the French and British mining companies were dissolved to facilitate its purchase in 1901 by the company and Lesaca Irun Mines and Railroad Bidasoa, capital Bilbao, who then in 1912 transferred all rights and obligations inherent in railway concession, for the newly created (1911), Railway Company Bidasoa, being in front of it as administrator - Delegate D. Mourgue lion. So that the first company to capitalize on the mining complex while the second would deal exclusively with rail project.
This dynamic new company and its administrator proposed from the outset to achieve Elizondo Irun railway, for which initiated a round of negotiations with the mayors of the affected people, which I present the new project involving the construction of 51.499 km of railways, to Throughout the course of the river Bidasoa, which would have to practice eight tunnels between one hundred and two hundred meters, five bridges and two stone metal with a gauge of one meter, as well as stations and halts. Expropriated land were valued at 310,000 pesetas, which were provided by the 33 villages Bidasoa basin, and the total budget amounted to 8. 000,000 pesetas.
In October 1912, Official Gazette of the Province of Navarre issued a provision authorizing Leon Mourgue the construction and operation, over ninety-nine years of a railroad that would link Irun to Elizondo, public passenger service and freight without State subsidy.
The works were started in late 1912, with the firm intention by the company we finished in just over a year, but the added difficulties for some owners of land, forced the company to eminent domain what took so long to work that were involved in the terrible consequences of European war of 1914 that paralyzed the works for a long time, so could not proceed with its opening until February 1916, has been put on the stretch Santesteban Irun, and some months later proceeded to the opening of the full line up Elizondo.
The material of which the Company had was of good quality and in number of units, locomotion consisted of four powerful steam engines, built by the house COPPEL Berlin. Weighing 68 tons and a power delivery of 300 bhp., Available in three shafts connected to a radial, with the distribution system and boilers of the most advanced of the time.
The baptized with the names: Guipúzcoa, Navarra, Vizcaya and Alava. The company got imported from Germany just before the outbreak of war in Europe, managed to bring the peninsula to the north of Africa.
passenger cars measured forty feet long and were mounted on rotating cars were equipped with steam heating, electric lights, automatic brake, toilet and sink. Available, at least the first class of large armchairs with folding tables and differentiated space for nonsmokers, providing high comfort improper narrow gauge railways.
The vans were prepared for transport and delivery of parcels, and therefore available to the postal service. Wagons were capable and solid, and each had up to 20,000 kilos, with some closed and others open with upper and lower edges, having been built by the Company Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles, in modern workshops that this company had in Beasaín.
Subsequently, in December 1930 with the aim of modernizing the service has contemplated the possibility of incorporating three motor vehicle fleet, equipped with the new technology of the time, namely the replacement of gasoline vapor. For three cars were imported this model "Verney" were provided by the Societe Centrale de Chemins de Fer, Paris. These modern vehicles were equipped with two axles, equipped with a gasoline engine and transmission car type, were manufactured by the firm "Panhard. These new trains went to cover the remaining passenger service locomotives for the conveyance of goods.
Automotive Panhard (Station Elizondo) Bidasoa
The railroad was equipped with infrastructure to match any of the railroads of the time. The central station of Irun, (Kostorbe), located at the foot of the northern slope of high Mendibil, was a complex occupying an area of \u200b\u200b20,000 m2 with several buildings on those who settled the workshops, warehousing and other dependencies between highlighting the main building which had 1018 m2, with a length of fifty feet and two stories, on which stood a slender square tower with a pointed top, surrounded by a balcony that looked slim watches. The ground floor housed the offices season and leaving the first floor rooms of engineers and managers, general director of housing and meeting rooms. This was surrounded by a beautiful and well kept garden in the that looked extremely varied plants and flowers.
Another element to note was the loading of ore, was located between the station and Irun Kostorbe city on the west side of Mendibil and international routes parallel to train French and English. This unique landing of 135 meters long stood 7.35 m above the general. Consisted of two parts, the first one was the base formed by two walls on which they settled the hoppers of the deposit was made in brick masonry arches thirty available by the natural light entering.
The second, mounted three feet above the base, composed crosslinked structure of iron metal, forming a bridge to that accessed the mining and railroad tracks from where it is discharged by gravity minerals on the hoppers. The lower part, below the hopper was a long tunnel that accessed the trains to carry the load, which was done in a mechanized, either admitting both English and French cars, it was equipped with three-lane roads that provided simultaneously the two gauges.
mineral loading
The Sunset Train
A Throughout its forty years of existence the train never fulfilled their potential targets, either in number of passengers or tons of goods to transport, consequently their financial status were never satisfactory, despite potential studies were carried out based the carriage of ore, quarry products, forestry, livestock, coal supply, etc., to which we should add a population density along the basin bidasotarra not very high but really rooted in its environment and very little travel.
Only thirteen years of his forty of existence, gives a positive economic balance by Usually the company always endured excessive expenditure side, which would add the cycles of scarcity and rising cost of fuel, both coal and gas, leading to the end of the fuel shortage forced the transformation of gasoline engines of vehicles in gas generators, by forcing drastic cuts in personnel costs, both administrative and ways and works. Another fundamental and crucial element was the unstoppable development of public services by road, both trucks and buses, competition from companies like The Bidasotarra, (1925) based in Bera de Bidasoa, La Aurrera of Elizondo and The Baztanesa, (1929) also Elizondo.
cycles of instability and hardship he had endured in European wars like the English Civil War or the decade of the 30 troubled by the continuing strikes and job insecurity brought in check the Government of the Republic, was significant three-month strike led by the workers Funbera (Bera), one of the most important companies in the area, with direct access to train in the cast or the Mines of Irun and Lesaca that kept more than two months mine closed.
were many railway companies in those years was going through economic difficulties so the state issued a set of rules to help ease the crisis, the company always tried to qualify for many state provisions were of interest, such as revision of rates, capital investment, state intervention in corporate control the growing debt, etc. In other society did not fail to advertise their services and other organized ordinary, holidays, train trips in tourism with the Baztan, also offered the possibility of renting special units to go to see sporting events, parties in some towns or provide assistance to political rallies, it was also Typically, the school rented out Lekaroz trains to transport their students.
Even with all it was not enough, in October 1953, an impressive waterspout starting infrastructure has seriously affected more than 400m of track, prompting the company to ask, given the financial situation, the resignation of concession granted by the State through the RD. on September 14, 1956.
As a cold afternoon, the 31 December 1956, Elizabeth left the train bound for Irun from which came back from his neck. This paper is a summary of the study published in the newsletter, LUIS DE URANZU KULTUR Taldea, n º 25, 2007.
