Cathedrals of transportation (2) ..... Retiro station(s) in Buenos Aires

At its height at the end of the second world war, the rail network in Argentina extended to 47000 km and was one of the largest and most prosperous in the world. Even now, with 39.966 km left, it is the eigth longest in the world.This is a train of the San Martin line.

In the ninetinth century, during the development of the network, parts were sold of to mostly British investors. The result was that lines were constructed in mainly three different gages, today 26475 in 1676 mm, 2870 km in the european standard gage of 1435 mm and 7711 in a gage of 1000 mm. When the network was nationalised again in 1948, it was owned by 10 Argentine, 7 British and 3 French Companies. The different lines ended in several termini in Buenos Aires, of which after a chaotic succesion of privatisation and nationalisation Constitucion, Once, Lacroce, and Retiro are still used.  

Retiro station in fact is three stations in one. Retiro mitre with a gage of 1676 mm serves the west and north of the country as far as Cordoba and Tucuman via Rosario

For the Mitre station a plan was presented in 1890 by architects Eustace L. Conder, Roger Conder y Sydney G. Follett, and engineer Reginald Reynolds, all British living in Argentina

When it was opened in 1915 it was one of the world's biggest stations

The station was renovated recently.

To take photos on the platform in Mitre and Belgrano station i had to get a permit. This worked well in Belgrano, where I went upstairs alongside an antique elevator and filled a form. In Mitre i only got 5 minutes by the masculine guardess.

Retiro Belgrano with 1000 mm the north and west to Cordoba, Mendoza, Tucuman and the Bolivian border, and

The Belgrano station (former estación Retiro del Ferrocarril Central Córdoba) is a building in French style built by architects Louis Faure Dujarric (french) and Robert Prentice (english) in 1912.

Note the ventilators, which spray cooling water on the platform.

Retiro San Martin the west as far as Mendoza in 1676 mm. Retiro San Martin was started in 1912 but never finished and stayed more looking like a shed.

The station Once (1676 mm) served the west as far as Mendoza Province.

 A serious accident due to neglect happened here in 2012.

 A train crashed into Once station, 51 people were killed and 700 injured. The accident in fact caused the last privatisation of the Argentine rail network.    

Outside Once station there are still a couple of old trains from the great time of Argentine railways awaiting restauration or the scrapyard

 

 For once this part of the station was not heavily guarded.