THE STORY OF THE RAILWAYS
I think I have made it clear that, accepting Argentina as an amazingly
fertile country, it is the railways that have chiefly been instrumental
in making it one of the most prosperous lands, with a big part to play
in providing food for the world. To-day 95 per cent. of its stock and
produce is carried over some part of the 20,000 miles of line
representing nearly £200,000,000 of British capital.
I remember riding in a coach attached to a freight train across some
hundreds of miles of sand and sage bush, an impossible region from an
agriculturist's point of view.
"This is an unprofitable stretch," I remarked to the railway official
who was my companion.
"Not at all," was the reply; "you see, we have a full load, and we get
paid mileage, whether we run through good or bad land."
That is one of the causes of railway profits in Argentina: the enormous
distances freight often has to be carried.
[Illustration: INTERIOR OF DINING CAR, CENTRAL ARGENTINE RAILWAY.]
It was not my lot to travel over all the railway systems in the
Argentine, but I travelled over the most important of them, and from
first to last I was enthusiastic. The rolling stock is excellent; the
permanent way is better than over similar country elsewhere, and as for
the comfort of the passengers it is certainly unsurpassed. Frankly, I
often felt like rubbing my eyes in order to make sure I was "roughing
it" in Southern America.
Nowhere, out of Russia, have I seen the coaches so admirably adapted for
small or large parties. You can have a section of a coach
self-contained, dining-room, bedrooms and bathroom, suitable for
families; and meals can be supplied from the buffet. If you travel over
a certain distance you cannot miss having a buffet car; the law insists.
Also the law insists on dormitory coaches on the all-night journeys.
They are more commodious, because on most of the lines the gauge is
wider than in England. There is none of the uncomfortable sleeping
behind curtains, with, maybe, a stranger in the bunk overhead, and then
having to wash in the smoking-room, which the long-suffering men of the
United States put up with under the notion they possess the most
luxurious travelling in the world. When you come to "special cars," a
thing we know nothing about in England except for royalty, the United
States comes first, but I would say Argentina is a close second.
Nothing could be jollier--when a sand storm is not on the wing--than
travelling with pleasant friends in a reserved coach. It is like a flat.
There is a sitting-room, and on a chill evening the fire burns brightly
in an open grate. On a hot afternoon you have your easy chairs out on
the platform at the rear and, with legs cocked up on the rail, you can
smoke your cigar. You press a button, and when the attendant has brought
you an iced cocktail you agree that "roughing it" in Argentina is a
delightful experience. If your car is properly equipped with a good
kitchen and a good cook, and there is a decent "cellar"--hospitality is
one of the legitimate boasts of the people--you fare as well as you
would do in a first-class hotel. Were it not that I might be thought a
sybarite, I could write like a chef about the menus I experienced and
enjoyed in my long excursions throughout the land.
"This is a nice chicken," I said to my host one night. "Yes, we have a
chicken run under the car," he answered. I laughed, for I imagined the
innocent stranger was having his leg pulled; but the next morning
personal inspection assured me there was a "run," in the shape of a long
galvanised screened box beneath the car.
It was pleasant to have a bedroom four times the size of a crib on an
English "sleeper," to have a writing-table with electric light, and a
bathroom adjoining. But the chief joy of a special car was that there
was no changing to catch trains. Instructions were given that we would
stop at a certain place at nine o'clock in the morning. The car was
detached and shunted into a siding. We lived on the car and slept on it.
Orders were given that we were to be picked up by the 3.15 local train
in the morning, taken down a branch line forty miles, attached to the
express which would be coming along at seven o'clock, and were to be
released somewhere else at 10.15 and put into a siding. I lived this
sort of life for nearly a month. It was the best possible way of seeing
the country.
Sometimes we travelled from point to point during the night; sometimes
we camped, as it were, at a little wayside station, with the silence of
the plains around us except when a great goods train went roaring by. We
kept up the joke about "roughing it." After a dinner party, when the
coffee and liqueurs were on the table, and the sitting-room was pouring
billows of cigar smoke from the wide-open windows, we leaned back in our
big chairs and hoped that other poor devils who were "roughing it" in
the wilds were having no worse a time than we were.
Of course, the passenger traffic--except around Buenos Aires--is a
secondary consideration compared with agricultural produce. It is
estimated that the area of land suitable for agriculture but not yet
cultivated is 290,000,000 acres, really all beyond the zone of railway
influence. At a greater distance than fifteen miles from a railway
station the cartage of the produce becomes so expensive and difficult
that the profit disappears. Information supplied me by the Argentine
Agricultural Society shows that the average cost of cartage is 0.70d.
per mile per cwt. Therefore, whoever has his farm farther than fifteen
miles from a station has to pay 10d. per cwt. for cartage. Lands lying
within the agricultural zone, but distant more than fifteen miles from a
railway station, lose enormously in value, as they cannot be utilised
except for live stock. To find a means of facilitating and cheapening
the transport of cereals would be to double the production and value of
the lands. The Agricultural Society thinks the solution may lie in the
construction of cheap auxiliary lines of the simplest kind, which, laid
down parallel to the principal lines at a distance of nineteen to
twenty-two miles, or at right angles to them, would hand over to
cultivation considerable zones of valuable fertile lands, and
concentrate the produce in the loading stations at a fair cost to the
farmers.
The question is well asked, if the 20,000 miles of rails are only
sufficient to permit the cultivation of 70,000,000 acres, how many will
be necessary when nearly 300,000,000 more acres are being worked? At
present about 1,000 miles of fresh railroad are being laid down each
year. £20,000,000 a year is being put into new railroad construction.
Yet thirty years ago (1884) the total amount invested in Argentine
railways--now running into hundreds of millions--was only £18,600,000.
In 1885 all the railways in the Republic transported cargo amounting to
a little over 3,000,000 tons. In 1905 it was over 12,500,000 tons. In
1913 it was moving toward 40,000,000 tons.
One harks back to the time of William Wheelwright, who may be called the
father of railways in Argentina. It is three-quarters of a century since
he was shipwrecked at the mouth of the River Plate. It was as a
starveling that he got his first knowledge of Argentina. He had come
from the United States, knew what railways were beginning to do for the
North, and dreamed what they ought to do for the South. When he got back
to the United States he tried to interest his countrymen. But the North
Americans turned a deaf ear. There they missed one of the greatest
chances in their commercial history. Had they seized their
opportunities, and come to South America with their adaptive enterprise,
the story of the relationship between the United States and the Latin
republics below them would have been very different from what it is
to-day. Finding he could raise no capital in his own country for railway
enterprise in Argentina, William Wheelwright came to England and
interested Thomas Brassey, one of our railway pioneers. Brassey,
Wheelwright, and others got capital, and a little line out of "B.A." was
built. Other little lines were built. Bigger lines were built. There
were set-backs; occasionally the investing public was shy. But, all
told, for forty years a mile a day of railroad was laid down in
Argentina, and during the last few years the rate has been three miles a
day. And it is all done by British capital.
Before I went out to this country I was conscious of a certain
apprehension in England that we had rather too much money in Argentina,
and that it was about time we called a halt. The general average of
dividend during recent years has been a fraction over 5 per cent., not
much return for adventure in a new country; but the fact is not to be
lost sight of that enormous extensions have been provided out of
revenue, as well as out of fresh capital. That there is jealousy
amongst considerable sections of the young Argentines at the financial
interests which a foreign country like England has in the Republic is
undoubted. But it may be said that the mass of the people recognise what
they owe to foreign capital, and although the Government is inclined to
increase the tightness of its grip on railway administration, making
bargains for lines through uneconomic country in return for a concession
through fertile land--so that occasionally a company will throw up a
scheme rather than pay the price by building in a region the Government
wants to be developed--I do not think it can fairly be said that the
Government is antagonistic to foreign capital. The danger of foreign
capital getting a hold on Argentina in the way of extensive concessions
is sometimes preached; but the pouring of foreign gold into the country
brings too precious a return to the Argentines themselves for any check
to be put upon it.
Besides, in strict fact, very little money is taken out of the country
in the way of dividend; the profits are mostly thrown back to provide
new works. I have lying before me the returns of the four principal
railways for the year ending June 13th, 1913 (the Central Argentine, the
Great Southern, the Buenos Aires and Pacific, and the Western of Buenos
Aires). During the year the four companies expended in additional
capital £8,870,639, and the earnings were £9,017,944, so that the
investing public extracted only £147,305, which is not a large draft in
return for the hundreds of millions invested. The manner in which the
earnings are thrown back into the country for further development shows
that, despite the vague apprehensions in certain quarters, the public
confidence is still firm.
The Central Argentine Railway may first be described, because not only
does it date its origin from the earliest times of railway enterprise in
the Republic, but it is one of the most up-to-date lines in the world.
At the head of it as general manager is Mr. C. H. Pearson, young,
shrewd, and, like most strong men, a quiet man. When in England I hear
of lack of capability in railway management I think of such a man as Mr.
Pearson, who has won his spurs at home, and by clear vision and steady,
determined action is successfully directing a company which has 3,000
miles of railroad, most of it through rich country. The line to-day is
the offspring of amalgamations. In the early 'seventies the Central
Argentine opened a line from the river port of Rosario to Cordoba, two
hundred and forty-six miles. Later on Buenos Aires and Rosario were
joined by another railway company. Subsequently the two lines were
linked. Always, without halt, the line has pushed its head into fresh
country, until now its arms stretch like a fan with Buenos Aires as the
base.
I have heard Buenos Aires and Rosario described as the London and
Liverpool of Argentina--and the illustration is apt. Rosario, to be
pictured in a later chapter, is a business and shipping centre, and
between the two towns there is a constant rush by commercial men. It is
inspiriting to see the rush at the Retiro station in the early morning,
when men are busy getting their newspapers at the stalls and hastening
to the breakfast car and the roomy coaches. To the eye of the newly
arrived stranger there are innumerable little differences from things he
is accustomed to at home. But they are matters of detail to which you
speedily get used, so that after a week or two, or even a few days, you
have a little start in the realisation that you are not travelling in a
London and North-Western express, but amongst a similar crowd of
business men, in a far part of the world, who are intent on their own
affairs.
Twelve passenger trains journey daily between Buenos Aires and Rosario.
Until Mr. Pearson came along with fresh ideas most of the passenger
traffic was by night. Trains left both places at ten o'clock; the
passengers went to bed, and early next morning the destination was
reached. Now there are two day express trains completing the journey in
just under five hours. Only first-class passengers travel by these
trains, as excellent as the expresses between New York and Philadelphia.
There is nothing in the way of scenery to move one to rapture; but there
is good agricultural progress on either side. The line is being double
tracked and stone ballasted, and the running is comfortable. And sitting
in this train, thronged with business men, whilst the great engine tears
along to keep to scheduled time, you understand something of the spirit
of modern Argentina.
Amongst the cities of the world Buenos Aires takes thirteenth place in
size. With its population of a million and a half, long-distance
electric tramcars and the institution of an "underground" system are
not enough. High rents are driving many thousands to the suburbs, and
when, in the morning, the rush of trains begins to deliver throngs of
men and women into the heart of "B.A.," the scene is animated. All the
big companies running out of "B.A." are nursing their valuable suburban
traffic. The Central Argentine is electrifying over forty-four miles of
double track in the neighbourhood of the city. This company, in the
suburban section of its system, now carries 15,000,000 passengers a
year. All the trains of the company run 889,000 miles a month. A
handsome new station is being erected on the site of the old Retiro. I
was able to inspect the latest pneumatic system of signalling. When at
Rosario I went over the extensive workshops, and although it would be
idle even to suggest they compared with Crewe, Swindon, or Doncaster,
considering most of the parts are imported, they are comprehensive
works, and the machinery of the best.
Since Mr. Pearson has been in charge the Central Argentine has taken to
running excursions, and encouraging the holiday makers in the flat lands
to go and seek bracing air in the Cordoba mountains. Alta Gracia--of
which more anon--an old Spanish town which has been drowsing in the sun
for several centuries, is now one of the most popular of holiday
haunts.
But, though naturally enough the average passenger considers a railway
line from the way it ministers to his needs, it is the goods traffic
which is of first importance to railways in a country like Argentina. I
went on the Central Argentine line as far north as Tucuman, and as far
west as Cordoba and Rio Cuarto, and beheld the richness of the plains.
There were endless miles of wheat and maize and linseed; there were the
great herds of cattle and sheep. I witnessed the sugar cane harvest in
the north in full swing.
All the goods are not brought into "B.A." The line runs to three
up-river ports, Rosario, Villa Constitucion and Campana, where there are
wide wharves and grain elevators. A goods tonnage of nearly 7,000,000 a
year and receipts of nearly £3,500,000 a year spell big business. Yet
one found this was only the beginning of things. Already there are
gigantic schemes in project for irrigation works in those stretches
which are incapable of use because of the insufficient rainfall. The
Argentine Government is giving serious attention to this matter. But the
railway companies in the Republic are not content to twiddle their
thumbs and keep asking, "Why does not the Government do something?" All
of them are attending to irrigation themselves, or are doing the work
for the Government. The Central Argentine, on behalf of the Government,
have an irrigation scheme on hand which will cost close upon £600,000.
New lines and extensions up to a further 1,600 miles are projected to
cost £8,000,000. Over 35,000 employees are on this line. The length of
rolling stock is 143 miles, including 600 passenger coaches and 2,200
beds. Twenty million passengers are carried a year, and the total
receipts work out at £40 a week per mile.
The second big railway which attracted my admiration was the Buenos
Aires and Pacific, which strikes westward across the continent. The
company was formed as recently as 1882, but it has a present capital of
over £50,500,000. It owns 1,406 miles, it leases 2,011 miles, and so
operates 3,417 miles. Some 150 miles are under construction. It has over
16,000,000 passengers annually, and over 6,000,000 tons of freight; and
its gross earnings in the last financial year (July 1912 to June 1913)
were £5,590,613. During the last ten years it has absorbed a number of
lesser lines--the Villa Maria Rufino, the Bahia Blanca and
North-Western, the Great Western, and, lastly, the Argentine
Transandine. It has also bought a length of over 200 miles of Government
line out in the west. The "B.A. and Pacific" has several subsidiary
undertakings. In conjunction with the Great Southern Railway it has a
well-equipped light and power company. In my chapter on Bahia Blanca I
shall deal with the port accommodation provided by the Pacific Company
to dispatch the grain produced within its area to Europe. Perhaps the
most important improvement made by the company has been the high level
independent access to the city of Buenos Aires. This line, which is five
miles in length, consists of two viaducts of brickwork, containing 116
arches of 42.3 feet span each, and 19 steel bridges, the largest being
178.8 feet. From the River Plate an area of 366 acres is being reclaimed
to be used for goods sidings and access to the docks. For the conveyance
of coal, and materials for use on the line, the company owns its own
fleet of steamers. It would be easy enough to give a bunch of figures to
show how the passenger traffic has grown; anyway, its suburban service
bears comparison with that of any other line entering the capital.
The Buenos Aires and Pacific Railway is becoming increasingly popular,
for people desiring to see the world now travel from "B.A." across the
pampas, over the Andes, and so down to Valparaiso in Chili, where
steamers can be obtained to take them up to Peru, Panama, and San
Francisco. Leaving "B.A.," the train runs for some twelve hours across
an extensive plain which is far from indicating to the traveller the
great mountain ranges which will surprise him later on. Across this
plain the lines of the railway extend in an absolutely straight line
from Vedia to Makenna, a distance of 175 miles, which is the world's
record. Near the first-mentioned station the railway curves in the form
of an S; without this, the stretch on the straight would have been 206
miles long.
Although the pampas are occasionally marked by undulations and small
green-covered slopes, the first notable elevations are not encountered
until Mercedes is reached. These are the San Luis hills, the outposts
of the Cordillera. Passing on the western side of this chain the
picturesque city of San Luis is reached. As the traveller approaches the
Cordillera of the Andes he finds himself in a district topographically
distinct but always fertile, and watered by canals fed by the Tunuyan
and Mendoza rivers. The view of the Cordillera in the early morning is a
spectacle worthy of admiration. At a distance of one hundred miles
before arrival at Mendoza the interminable chain of the Andes, with its
snow-capped peaks mingling with the clouds, is distinguishable. As the
train approaches their imposing grandeur becomes more and more evident.
Another of the views which delights the tourist, and makes the business
man think, is that of the smiling vineyards extending on both sides of
the line in a delightful prospect until lost on the horizon.[B]
[B] Subsequent chapters describe Mendoza and the author's
personal experience during a trip into the Andes.
From Mendoza the line runs across the Andes by the Uspallata Valley
route, the only transcontinental line in South America. What the Suez
Canal and the Trans-Siberian Railway have done for the Far Eastern
trade, the Transandine Railway is achieving for transcontinental traffic
in South America by giving rapid communication between the two South
American Republics--reducing the journey between Buenos Aires and
Valparaiso from thirteen and a half days to thirty-eight hours--and
thereby cementing closer commercial relations and developing trade with
the Far East.
This has only been made possible by the summit tunnel of the Transandine
Railway, which was opened for public traffic in May, 1910, so that the
distance between Buenos Aires and Valparaiso has been reduced to 888
miles. It is probably of interest to state that this tunnel is one of
the longest of its kind in the world, being 10,384 feet long, including
two artificial ends 442 feet in length altogether, and it lies at an
elevation of 10,778 feet above the sea-level. It is nearly 1,500 feet
higher than the highest carriage road in Europe, that over the Stelvio
Pass, and more than 3,500 feet higher than the Mont Cenis, St. Gothard,
and Simplon tunnels. So well were the levels and lines kept that the
difference at the junction was only 3/4 inch, and of the line 2-3/4
inches, while the chainage was only 2.14 inches less than calculated. At
one period 1,700 men were engaged on the works.
Unfortunately, the beautiful and impressive bronze statue of the Christ
is not visible to passengers in the train, but it can easily be reached
by coach or mule from Inca. It stands some 3,000 feet higher than Las
Cuevas, and is situated on the dividing line between Argentina and
Chili. It was the gift of a pious Buenos Aires lady, Señora César de
Costa, and was erected as a monument to the signing of the peace treaty
between the two countries.
The Pacific Railway has expended over £80,000 in snow protection for
their line during the past two years, with the result that through
traffic can be maintained throughout the severest winter
with perfect safety.
[Illustration: THE STATUE OF CHRIST ON THE ARGENTINA-CHILI FRONTIER.]
The line brings Chili at least a fortnight nearer London, a great
consideration in these days of commercial enterprise. British
manufacturers are taking advantage of the fact, and that there is a
growing demand in Chili for British goods is shown by the increasing
number of representatives who favour this route. Previous to the opening
of the railway passengers and goods had to travel by boat through the
treacherous Straits of Magellan, a long and tedious journey. Now a
well-appointed and comfortable train is entered at Buenos Aires, and
thirty-eight hours later the traveller finds himself in Valparaiso or
Santiago.
But the fortune of the Buenos Aires and Pacific Railway really lies in
the V-shaped territory from Mendoza to Bahia Blanca and Buenos Aires.
There is a great country still to be awakened in the foothills of the
Andes. There are millions of acres on the pampas awaiting the plough and
the coming of the cattle breeder. The Pacific Company cannot but go on
and prosper. It is a matter of regret, however, that it has lost as
general manager Mr. Guy Calthrop. In the handling of a complex railway
system he has no superior. A strong man, physically and mentally, he has
had rough hours during labour trouble. But he kept a steady nerve. He
went out to Argentina with high reputation of his work on the Caledonian
line; he has shown the capacity of a general in the development of
traffic during the few years he has been in Argentina. But England
called him to take the most responsible post in the railway world, the
general managership of the London and North Western Company.
Now I come to the Great Southern Company, one of the oldest and one of
the most famous lines on the South American continent. From "B.A." it
extends southwards for 500 miles to Bahia Blanca. From there it shoots
westwards for 348 miles to Neuquén, and an extension to the Chilian
frontier is on its way. On behalf of the Government the company is
carrying forward extensive irrigation works in the Neuquén territory
which, when completed, will convert the valleys of the upper Rio Negro
and Rio Neuquén, hitherto one of the least productive, into one of the
most fertile regions of the country. The growth of the company, since it
started in 1865 with a length of 71 miles, is worth noting. After 1865
the mileage grew progressively as follows: 1873, 145 miles; 1883, 472
miles; 1893, 1,406 miles; 1903, 2,404 miles; 1913, 3,641 miles. The
lines actually in course of construction, or about to be commenced,
represent some 670 miles. Thus it can be safely calculated that the
mileage of the Great Southern Railway will, before long, exceed 4,300
miles. You get an appreciation of the zone served by the Southern by the
comparative figures of the increase in its passenger traffic during the
last five years: 1909, 16,865,200; 1910, 18,906,505; 1911, 22,231,112;
1912, 24,069,974; 1913, 27,454,719. Of these last figures, for
1913, it is significant that the suburban traffic is represented by
19,841,156, which shows the population that lives within reach of Buenos
Aires.
[Illustration: PLAZA CONSTITUCION STATION AT BUENOS AIRES.]
Passenger traffic is, in fact, a main feature of the Buenos Aires Great
Southern Railway. On the Monday following the Easter holidays in 1913
trains with no fewer than 102 sleeping coaches arrived at the company's
termini in Buenos Aires. Of these, fifty were from the fashionable
bathing resort at Mar del Plata. The special feature of this Mar del
Plata service is, that during the season as many as three heavy trains,
composed of sleeping cars, are run nightly, in addition to afternoon
expresses, formed of luxurious parlour cars, which run three days a
week. In 1913 35,964 return tickets were sold to this watering place 250
miles from Buenos Aires. In the same year parcels and excess baggage
represented 291,608 tons, though it should be stated more than half this
amount was for milk, butter, and cream. The number of tons of goods
carried in 1909 was 4,852,379; in 1913 the tonnage was 7,977,663. Live
stock carried in 1909 were 5,576,983, whilst in 1913 the number was
6,562,951. Fully 50 per cent. of the live stock received at the
slaughter-houses for consumption in Buenos Aires, and by the freezing
establishments for export to England in the form of frozen or chilled
meat, is dispatched from southern stations. The bull that obtained the
championship in 1913 at Palermo, and fetched the world-record price of
£7,000, was born on Señor Pereyra Iraola's estate at Pereyra station on
the Great Southern Railway.
Practically the whole of the zone served by the Great Southern Railway
in the Province of Buenos Aires is adaptable to the growing of cereals
generally, with the exception of maize, which is limited to the
districts nearest Buenos Aires. The authorised capital of the Southern
is £53,525,530, and that issued amounts to £48,981,530. The net receipts
for 1913 (June 30th) amounted to £2,870,349, and the dividend for the
year was 7 per cent., which has been maintained for the last fifteen
years, being, indeed, as high as the law will permit. The company's
rolling stock, comprising some 15,000 vehicles, was recently valued at
£7,437,654. The general manager of the company is Mr. Percy Clarke, the
doyen amongst English railway officials in Argentina, and a man of
charming personality.
It is unnecessary for me to go through a catalogue of all that is being
done by the various railroads in the Republic. But I must refer to the
work being done by what is known as the "Farquhar group," an
amalgamation of railways under the spirited enterprise of Mr. Percival
Farquhar, a go-ahead North American who is chiefly responsible for the
creation of the Argentine Railway Company, which is incorporated under
the laws of the State of Maine, U.S.A. This company was formed a couple
of years ago (July 12th, 1912) to group together various railways in
order to obtain benefits of unified management, and provide increased
railroad facilities in the northern districts of the Republic. Two of
the principal railways which this company now control are the Central
Cordoba and the Entre Rios lines. Also it has a controlling interest in
a number of smaller companies. The biggest amalgamation effected by this
company has been the purchase by the Cordoba Central Railway of the
undertakings of the Cordoba and Rosario and Cordoba Central Buenos Aires
Extension Lines; and the proposal at the time of writing is to create
£23,000,000 worth of new stock, whilst £18,000,000 worth is to be issued
to the holders of existing stock in the three companies. A good deal of
reorganisation is in progress.
Although competition between the big lines is as severe as anywhere in
the world, except within the United States, this movement in Argentina
for amalgamation and agreement in regard to spheres of interest shows a
disposition to put an end to fierce rivalry. Indeed, it is more than
likely that within the next few years there will be more amalgamation
and working agreements between the big companies.