Ruta 7, #28 (Ferrocarril Transandino and Huge Rockfall Area), Mendoza, Argentina, 2019
[NOTE: This is a sort of “bookmark blog” that I will return to and update after each trip to Mendoza (annually, perhaps?) and whenever I come across interesting information to add…so it will be constantly UNDER CONSTRUCTION for several years. Think of it as a very long term documentary project focusing on the current state of the rail line.]
Human Engineers versus Mother Nature: A Railway Across the Andes
Considering the extreme terrain involved (which, given plate tectonics, moves around fairly often!) and the intense weather conditions (scalding hot summers to arctic-cold winters with heavy snows, avalanches, etc.) it is small wonder that the fine and fickle forces of Nature finally won out and the rails across the Andes from Mendoza, Argentina to Santa Rosa de Los Andes, Chile, the Ferrocarril Transandino, no longer sing with the creak and squeak of those narrow gauge iron wagons.
The line operated from 1910 to 1984, the last five years with freight only. (If you can read Spanish, an excellent website for in-depth information on the history of the line, archival photographs, etc., is www.ferrocarril-transandino.com.ar )
Today, in many places, the rails and bridges look like they could simply be polished up and put back into use tomorrow. In others, the human constructions simply do not exist, wiped out by floods, mud/snow avalanches, or simply worn away by the slow and inexorable erosion of the decades.
Interestingly, there appears to be some current interest in reviving this spectacular rail line. IMHO, it would be hugely popular among globe-trotting tourists, low-budget backpackers, and even local Argentines and Chileans out for a weekend–and most certainly it would be a huge boon to efficient trade among the southern cone countries. Unfortunately, talk of a transandine revival is cheap, but the actual doing is not: several billions of dollars and a many-year investment at a minimum, not to mention the cost of yearly maintenance as the Andes mountains and their billions of tons of snow, dirt, and rock shift and move, round, around, and under the iron rails.
So, I’m not holding my breath for the renaissance.
In the meantime, we can wax nostalgic, gaze at photographs, and use our imagination to recreate what once was.
Ferrocarril Transandino Today (2019-Present) – Monochrome Images
Traces of the railway are visible near Blanco Encalada, just outside the city of Mendoza. It is slowly disappearing under vegetation and urbanization. Just across the street from this view is a small railroad museum (add photos later):
Transandino, #1 (Blanco Encalada), Mendoza, Argentina, 2019
Following the rail line, and moving off of the arid plains and into the equally-arid mountains, the first range that will grab your hairy eyeball is the Cordón del Plata. The high point is Cerro El Plata at 5,968 meters (19,580′):
Ruta 7, #36 (Cerro El Plata), Mendoza, Argentina, 2019
Above Potrerillos, the railway continues to follow the Río Mendoza through some exceptionally rugged terrain. Through much of this section, the rails are in great condition (bridges and trestles, though, not always!). The electric lines in the sun follow the highway, Ruta 7:
Transandino, #6, Mendoza, Argentina, 2019
This railroad trestle is not long for this world. Over the past 30+ years, the erosion from above has slowly filled in the space below the bridge and now threatens to engulf it. Maintenance of any future rail line through this canyon would require near-constant and very expensive repair work:
Transandino, #8, Mendoza, Argentina, 2019
A view of Estación Guido, taken from the highway viewpoint on the Curva de Guido (Ruta 7, KM 1115):
Transandino, #10 (Estación Guido), Mendoza, Argentina, 2019
Just down river from Guido, erosion has taken out a bridge, in this case, leaving the rails suspended in the air awaiting some intrepid and daring hiker with poor judgment and good balance:
Transandino, #12 (Near Estación Guido), Mendoza, Argentina, 2019
The Transandino crosses the Río Mendoza several times as it climbs higher toward Uspallata. Here, you see an example of the tunnel and stone work often required to build the line. The stone roofing just beyond the tunnel is there to protect the rails from rock slides and falling debris–here, the surrounding “hills” tower some 4,000 to 6,000′ above this valley:
Transandino, #13, Mendoza, Argentina, 2019
Right beside the highway, near Cerro Negro, is another railroad station:
Transandino, #14, Mendoza, Argentina, 2019
Another angle, looking down-canyon with the highway visible just above the ruin:
Transandino, #15, Mendoza, Argentina, 2019
Looking up-canyon from the same station near Cerro Negro. I’m sure structural geologists lick their lips as they drive through this area:
Transandino, #16 (Cerro Negro area), Mendoza, Argentina, 2019
This is an autumn view of the river. Springtime is a different story as the snows melt and vast quantities of silt-laden water rushes downhill, carving and weaving ribbons through this wide valley. The engineers must have crossed their fingers as they built this double span down in the basin, hoping the next 1,000-year flood would indeed be 1,000 years off. It’s amazing the bridge has lasted this long (Ruta 7, KM 1179.5):
Transandino, #18, Mendoza, Argentina, 2019
The Polvaredas Station, at 2,400 meters above sea level (7,874′) and Kilometer 129.4 of the Transandino rail line, is still in pretty good shape. You can even visit a bit of rolling stock sitting on the rails there. This station was built to replace the Zanjón Amarillo Station which was destroyed on January 10, 1934 by severe flooding. Here, you see the passenger terminal, still looking quite sturdy:
Transandino, #55 (Polvaredas), Mendoza, Argentina, 2019
Care to try your hand at switching rails? Nico did, evidently:
Transandino, #56 (Polvaredas), Mendoza, Argentina, 2019
Across from the main railroad passenger terminal you’ll find the maintenance buildings (left). The smaller and newer building in the middle houses the electricity generating system for the few folks who still live in the settlement. The tank at the right contains diesel fuel for the generator (why not hydro power, with the river just below town?):
Transandino, #51 (Polvaredas), Mendoza, Argentina, 2019
Another, closer, view of the Polvaredas railroad maintenance buildings:
Transandino, #58 (Polvaredas), Mendoza, Argentina, 2019
A look into the maintenance building. A “Lepra” fan (Independiente Rivadavia) has made a visit, with a bucket of paint apparently:
Transandino, #53 (Polvaredas), Mendoza, Argentina, 2019
Some bits of equiment still remain. On the right, that could be part of the apparatus used by a locomotive to plow away the snow from the rails:
Transandino, #54 (Polvaredas), Mendoza, Argentina, 2019
What remains of the rolling stock at Polvaredas:
Transandino, #57 (Polvaredas), Mendoza, Argentina, 2019
Rolling stock in profile:
Transandino, #59 (Polvaredas), Mendoza, Argentina, 2019
Just uphill from the Polvaredas settlement, the rails pass by a cliff that looks like it might be used by the Army or local guides for some rock climbing practice. White diamonds painted on the rock (very far right) lead the way up one of the easier-looking lines. Note the wavy rail lines, distorted by movement of the earth beneath:
Transandino, #60 (Polvaredas), Mendoza, Argentina, 2019
Another marked climbing route up the cliff. The “GNA” surely means Gendarmería Nacional de Argentina, so these climbing routes are almost certainly for their training:
Transandino, #62 (Polvaredas), Mendoza, Argentina, 2019
You will see these historical markers in various places along the Transandino rail line (and Ruta 7 highway), including on this cliff at Polvaredas. They mark and explain key sites that were important during General San Martín’s campaign in the early 1800s to liberate Argentina and Chile from Spain:
Transandino, #61 (Polvaredas), Mendoza, Argentina, 2019
Just above Punta de Vacas, both the highway and the railway turn away from the Río Mendoza and climb up along the Río Las Cuevas basin toward Puente del Inca, the spine of the Andes, and the Chilean border. Here, you get your first views of the 5,332-meter (17,493′) Cerro Tolosa:
Transandino, #19, Mendoza, Argentina, 2019
Above Puente del Inca and before arriving at the settlement of Las Cuevas, you will see many sections of the tracks protected by sheds. Their purpose was to shield the rails from the avalanche threat at these higher altitudes. When the Transandino was active, winter snow accumulations in this area of over 30 feet were not uncommon:
Transandino, #21, Mendoza, Argentina, 2019
A close-up of the wooden layered arch construction, which wasn’t typical of most of the avalanche sheds I observed along the railway:
Transandino, #24, Mendoza, Argentina, 2019
Looking down-valley from just above Puente del Inca and the current Argentina Customs/Aduana site:
Transandino, #26, Mendoza, Argentina, 2019
Smaller avalanche sheds. Could these have been added later, once it was seen that snow debris tended to accumulate here?
Transandino, #28, Mendoza, Argentina, 2019
The peak in the background is [TBD]:
Transandino, #29, Mendoza, Argentina, 2019
Another view down the wide valley toward Puente del Inca. At one point, thousands of years ago, a glacier surely filled this basin:
Transandino, #30, Mendoza, Argentina, 2019
More dilapidated avalanche shed:
Transandino, #31, Mendoza, Argentina, 2019
On the other side, the distant tunnel on the highway opens to the small village of Las Cuevas. Note the massive debris slide coming down the mountain from the right. Some of those boulders are easily the size of a three-story house. According to scientists, this rockfall occurred some 11,000 years ago or so and must have been very noisy and absolutely spectacular (perhaps set off by an earthquake?). Both the highway and the railroad engineers chose to tunnel their way through this field of debris:
Transandino, #32, Mendoza, Argentina, 2019
Here is where the Transandino tunnel started through the rock slide. Note the shelter shed with the wooden roof on the left–it was built around that large boulder:
Transandino, #35, Mendoza, Argentina, 2019
And a closer look at that wooden shelter shed—it looks like the rock is simply growing right out of the roof:
Transandino, #39, Mendoza, Argentina, 2019
Still closer—an interesting use of tin strips to cover and seal the cracks:
Transandino, #43, Mendoza, Argentina, 2019
Still to come…the international tunnel and the Transandino on the Chilean side of the Andes…
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