hat Q Granada few remember and the cable car's cable Dúrcal to Motril. And how few Granada "young" know even the ephemeral existence of this railroad whose tracks were in the air.
Let some history. Granada was one of the most extensive tram networks in Spain, reaching a length of 134 kilometers. The network was operated by the Company of Electric Trams Granada SA (TEGs). This transportation service was vital to the Grenadian economy during the first half of the twentieth century, and services offered by urban and suburban transport of passengers and freight.
investigates OFECUM enjoy
To achieve these plans, the Company laid eyes on the natural outlet of Granada to the sea: the port of Motril. The extension of the tramway to the sea Granada materialized in a first attempt in the construction of the Granada-Armilla-Padul-Dúrcal, opened in 1924 in its entirety.
map Granada tram network in 1930
The major difficulty for the construction of this line was found at the entrance of Dúrcal, it was necessary to cross the river gorge Dúrcal, the first serious warning of significant orographic there to Motril, and which ultimately led to the replacement of the tram extension to the sea by the cable car. Yes, it sounds like: Granada was the cable car to the port of Motril.
To overcome this ravine, and to save costs, TEGs chose to reuse an online bridge Guadix-Baza, the bridge that spanned the stream of Gor, who had been disabled to be a variant on the occasion of a landslide. This "recycling" of a bridge is another unique feature of the Granada railway connection with the sea.
freight train crossing the bridge of Dúrcal, 1928
Shortly after the bridge is the station of Dúrcal, the trains arrived in 1924, and a year later, the cars begin to leave the cable to the port of Motril.
The goods were mostly carried flour, sugar cane, cement and fertilizer.
In 1929 he inaugurated the branch Rules-Órgiva (completing the path as a huge "Y"), to output the mineral and built new warehouses and sheds in Dúrcal station and the port of Motril.
Arrival of trucks to Puerto
Renewal
During the Civil War, the cable drastically reduced its activity. After the race, the Company undertakes a plan of renewal, beginning with the installation in 1943 of a new motor device Tablate station. During the next two years renewed much of the tractor cable and satellite cable. The situation of budgetary constraints and lack of spare parts with which they undertook this improvement plan is demonstrated by the fact that the cable sections that were removed were repaired and re-installed in other sections.
With these improvements, intended to regularize and enhance TEGs definitely the service. But this time the sugar industry, the main generator of traffic for Cable, was in decline and the tonnage transported never again reached the levels of the years preceding the Civil War.
Cable Sheds in Puerto
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In 1946 the deficit in the operation of the cable is unaffordable for the company: revenues cover only a third of the cost. After a Council meeting, this fact was brought to the attention of the Directorate General of Railways, Trams and Road Transport, to see if we can get some kind of subsidy, but in postwar times this type of aid was very difficult to achieve . In the absence of the necessary aid, the Company requests the file expiration of the concession. To make matters worse, in July 1948 a fault occurs, stopping with her regular service. The lack of material prevents its repair parts.
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In 1950, the strike is total and, granting the termination of the concession in 1952. Soon after was the decommissioning of the line, which today only the foundations of some masts and concrete construction of the intermediate stations. Closed and a very special chapter in the history of transport in Spain.
Before being recycled, the bridge spanned the river Gor
Bibliography:
Francisco J. Calvo and Juan J. Poyo Lopez Oña
NITO
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