britishrailway

Discovering Cartagena

More Articles By Phillip Bruce www.raxomnium.com

The Great British Southern Spain Railway

The coastal town of Águilas, south of Cartagena, is home to the region’s only railway museum.

Much of the railway heritage of Águilas as the mineral wealth in the hills behind the town was largely worked with British capital and the ores were transported to loading facilities in the town by a British-financed railway.

Today, the railway line is still in use and modern trains run several times a day between the station in Murcia city and Águilas, stopping at several places along the way, such as Totana and Lorca. Railway buffs can have lots of fun spotting old sidings, switch gear, water tanks and so on. People looking simply for a good day out at the seaside can also enjoy the ride, which takes about two hours at a sedate pace. Near to Águilas the line reaches its highest point and goes through a tunnel. The guard on one train didn’t know the height of this highest point and complained that people were always asking him that question.

The railway museum is actually in the basement beneath the station at Águilas. Come out of the station and walk around and down and you will find it. A leaflet explains that The Railway Museum of Águilas was created in 1985 by the Association of Railway Friends of Águilas “El Labradoricico”.

The building once belonged to the British company “The Great Southern of Spain Railway, which held the concession for the lines from Lorca to Baza and to Águilas. The rooms where the museum is now housed were the archives and strong room of the company. The reinforced steel door of the strong room can still be seen.

In the main room of the museum, which has thick brick walls and a vaulted ceiling there are “very interesting and nostalgic” photographs of the great days of the railway, some dating back to the 19^th century. There is a large collection of equipment and instruments. These include flame headlamps, clocks, uniforms, caps, working and line tools. There is also a great model railway which runs busily throughout the day.

Some of the items that are on display are:

· Uniform caps of the various ranks of railway men.

· A pressure cooker made in the railway workshops. It was connected to the steam of the locomotive boiler and the operators could cook their food while traveling.

· A cabin steam train clock, type L.B.A.

· A railway thermometer used to check the resistance of the rails to temperature changes.

· A perspective of the museum scale model

· A Vacuometro, a piece of equipment used to check the brakes by vacuum.

· A boiler pressure checker.

· Rear coach flame headlamps, in use until the end of the 1960s.

· An instrument used in the ticket office until the end of the 1960s to engrave the die, the date and the train number on Edmondson cardboard tickets.

· A telegraphic-optic piece of equipment used during the construction of the railway.

· The clock from the station master’s office of the Great Southern of Spain Railway.

After a good look around the museum, it’s time to walk to the seafront promenade. Turn right and walk into the town, which will take about 20 minutes. As you come to the port, you will see a steam engine mounted for display in 1969. Presumably it was in use until that year or shortly before.

We would welcome comment from railway enthusiasts as to the technical details of this engine. There is a circular plaque which says: “Great Southern of Spain Railway. North British Locomotive Co Ltd. Hyde Park Works, Glasgow. 1905. 16726.” Another plaque reads: “130-2124.”

The trip to Águilas by rail is very enjoyable but, given the need to get back to the station to catch the return train to Murcia it can be a bit rushed. So check timings carefully. Sadly, a visit by car may be the most practical solution for many people.

The train stations are as follows: Murcia del Carmen; Alcantarilla-Los Romanos; Librilla; Alhama de Murcia; Totana; La Hoya; Lorca San Diego; Lorca Sutulena; Puerto Lumbreras; Almendricos; Pulpi; Jaravia; Águilas-El Labradorico; Águilas. The trains are run by Renfe, and their website is www.renfe.es/empresa/cercanias. Telephone 968 975 299. Trains run from Alicante to Murcia del Carmen.

It would be best to check opening times before making the trip to the museum. Details of railway museum: Estación de Ferrocarril de Águilas, Planta sótano, 30880, Águilas, Murcia. Telephone 968 411 068. There doesn’t appear to be a website but you can try checking for Águilas information on the www.murciaturistica.es website.

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