Juancho railway station

Juancho
Inter-city
The abandoned station in 1995
General information
Location	Argentina
Owned by	Government of Argentina
Operated by	BA Great Southern (1908–1948) Ferrocarriles Argentinos (1948–1978)
Line(s)	FC Roca
Platforms	1
Tracks	1
Construction
Parking	No
Bicycle facilities	No
Accessible	No
History
Opened	1908 [1]
Closed	1978;47 years ago (1978)
Electrified	No
Location

Juancho is a former railway station and current museum located in the General Madariaga Partido of Buenos Aires Province. ^[2] The station was originally built by British-owned Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway in 1908, helping tourists reach the cities on the Atlantic coast such as Ostende, ^[3] the first town established in region currently known as Pinamar Partido, ^{[4] [5]} and then Villa Gesell. ^[5]

After the nationalization process carried out by the Juan Perón's administration in 1948, ^[6] the station became part of the General Roca Railway, managed by state-owned Ferrocarriles Argentinos.

History

The origins of the station can be traced to 1904 when the BAGSR built the line that connected Buenos Aires with Mar del Plata. Despite the progress of railway in the province of Buenos Aires, livestock producers from regions close to the Atlantic Coast had to travel long distances to Maipú or other stations to transport their goods. One of those farmers, Benjamín Zubiaurre, sold part of his lands to allow BAGSR to build a branch from the line to Mar del Plata in order to make distances shorter. ^[7]

Map of the BAGSR line showing the Gral. Guido–Juancho branch (to the east). The project to extend the section to Cobo is depicted in dotted line. This extension would be carried out but to Vivoratá instead of Cobo

The company responded the demands and constructed a new branch from General Guido (on the main line to Mar del Plata) to the east, and a new station named "Divisadero" (today, General Juan Madariaga). The branch then extended to Juancho station, inaugurated in 1908. ^{[n 1]} The station became terminus of the branch, ^[2] with five intermediate stops (Santo Domingo, Segurola, Monsalvo, Invernadas, and Divisadero). Besides, Juancho was located only 24 km to the beach, being (with the exception of Mar del Plata) the station located closest to a beach in the entire Argentine network, ^[1] which caused most of the passengers travelled to the expanding city of Ostende. Entrepreneurs, workers, and tourists, were frequent users of the line. They were carried from Juancho in horse-drawn carriages to Ostende, where they boarded a Decauville small train that took them to the beach. ^[5]

In 1912 the branch was extended from Juancho to Vivoratá (also on the main line to Mar del Plata), as an alternate path to reach the coast city. Intermediate stops were Macedo, Calfucurá, and Nahuel Rucá. ^[7] In 1931, another entrepreneur, Carlos Gesell, established in the village then known as "Villa Gesell", ^[9] also travelling via Juancho. ^[5]

A Fiat 7131 railcar at Juancho station in 1966

Between 1912 and the 1960s the Guido–Juancho–Vivoratá branch was served by freight trains mainly, although the line included some passenger services. In 1949, a new branch was built by state-owned Ferrocarriles Argentinos from General Madariaga to the city of Pinamar including a new station, ^[10] placed where today stays a park, on Av. Constitución e/ Apolo y Av. Intemedanos. ^{[11] [12]}

that would be the only railway line (besides the Constitución–Mar del Plata) with services to any city on the Atlantic coast. ^[13] The Pinamar railway stat

In 1996, the municipal ordinance no. 857/96 declared Juancho station "historical monument and heritage of Madariaga's culture and history". ^[1] Nowadays the former station building operates as a railway museum, inaugurated in July 2022. ^[2]

Historic operators

Company	Period
Buenos Aires Great Southern	1908–1948
Ferrocarriles Argentinos	1948–1978

Notes

1. The exact date of opening of the station is unclear. Some sources indicate that it was inaugurated on 7 November 1907, ^{[7] [8]} while others state it was opened in 1908. ^{[5] [2] [1]}

References

1. Juancho on Turismo Madariaga
2. La historia de la estación Juancho, el lugar que significó el progreso y hoy funciona como museo on Infocielo – 21 May 2023
3. La historia del Viejo Hotel Ostende on Argentina.gob.ar, 22 Jan 2018
4. El centenario Viejo Hotel Ostende reabrirá sus puertas en el verano de 2022 on Perfil, 2 Aug 2021
5. La historia del primer tren a Ostende y Villa Gesell - Estación Juancho by Juan Ignacio Provéndola on Página/12, 22 Dec 2021
6. British-Owned Railways in Argentina – Their Effect on Economic Nationalism, 1854-1948 by Winthrop R. Wright - Latin American Monograph No. 34, Institute of Latin American Studies, Univ. of Texas Press, London (1974)
7. Estación Juancho at Museo Ferroviario Ranchos
8. El Ramal 34 del FCGR - La antigua "Mar del Plata vía Juancho" del Ferrocarril Sud (part I) on Plataforma 14, Apr 2009 (archived)
9. El homenaje merecido: DON CARLOS SIGUE CUMPLIENDO AÑOS
10. "Estación Pinamar" history on Museo Ferroviario Ranchos (blogsite)
11. Pinamar Histórico – Plazoleta “Ismael Barabino” Antigua estación de tren on Pinamar Turismo
12. La estación de tren Ismael Barbino
13. Cien años de historia on Viejo Hotel Ostende