www.iberianrailwayssociety.org

Issue No. 25 Summer 2012 he inaugural IRS meeting took place at the Model Railway T Club in London on 22nd February 2006, and was attended by about 20 prospective members from all around the UK. A general discussion took place and introductions, suggestions and proposals were made. At this meeting a small committee was voted on and tasked with setting up the Society on a formal basis.

The Committee members are: Chairman David Stevenson Secretary Charles Phillips Journal Editor Michael Guerra Treasurer & Membership Secretary Tony Bowles (post available) Publicity & Exhibitions Myles Munsey (post available)

THE BASICS The remit of the Society is to stimulate interest in and disseminate information about railways on the Iberian Peninsular and the Balearic Islands. It was felt at this time that extending this remit to Spanish and Portuguese speaking areas of the world would be too ambitious. It was proposed that a Society Journal be published four times a year and that this would be the main conduit between members.

MEMBERSHIP Membership was to be open to all and would entitle the member to receipt of the magazine, use of the Societies’ facilities and attendance and voting rights at an Annual General Meeting.

MEMBERSHIP RATES FOR ONE YEAR – APRIL 2012-MARCH 2013 Web Download £5.00 Payment CHEQUE (Payable to: Iberian Railways Society) or Paypal (from website) Send to: Tony Bowles 1 Station Cottages Stow Road Toddington Cheltenham GL54 5DT Those joining during the year pay the Annual Rate and will receive all copies of the journal for that year. Membership of the IRS is subject to the rules and constitution of the IRS. Membership records are held on a computer database in accordance with the requirements of the Data Protection Act. IRS SALES Correo on CD. All previous issues up to the preceding year in PDF format. £5.50 inc P&P. DVDS -The Society now sells the Ticket to Ride DVDs Out & About Barcelona. £25 inc P&P Out & About . £25 inc P&P Cabride - to £20 inc P&P TALGO Cabride - Girona to Barcelona £20 inc P&P TALGO Cabride - Barcelona to Reus £20 inc P&P Algarve Cabride - Lagos to Tunes (with a Class 1800) £20 inc P&P Algarve Cabride - Tunes. Faro to Vila Real (with a Class 1800) £20 inc P&P COASTERS - 4 scenes from FGV, RENFE & FEVE £6.50 inc P&P For all items please send a cheque to: IRS Sales, 3 Aldersey Road, Worcester, WR5 3BG. Overseas members should enquire first about postage costs, send an email to [email protected]. Payment can be made via Paypal for overseas members only.

2 Title Page The Society 2 The Chairman’s Page 4 The Editor’s Page 5 A Trip To Can Tunis 6 Portuguese Urban Tramways & Metros 16 RENFE’s Black Fives 27

Contributions for publication should be, if possible, by email or computer disk (to avoid time spent transcribing text). Photos should be of good quality, sharp, well composed or of significant historical interest. Prints, slides, digital photos or good scans can be accommodated. All prints and slides should be sent by recorded delivery, they will be scanned as quickly as possible and returned by recorded delivery. Scans of 6”x4” prints should be scanned at 300dpi, 35mm slides should be scanned at 1600dpi, digital photographs should be 1920x1200 minimum. Articles can be of any length, though generally of between 500 to 800 words for a book review, and up to 4,000 words for a main article. Maps should be of a good clear line, and legible at quarter page size.

Submissions should be to: Michael Guerra, 6 Nash Close, Welham Green Hatfield, HERTS AL9 7NN Email (pref): [email protected] Front Cover: Barcelona Francia 20/04/2012. 10 mins before the departure of the Trenhotel back to Paris with Renfe Class 252-065. Michael Guerra 3

HOLÀ !

reetings from a wet and dismal Worcester. Hopefully the weather will be better G next weekend when Deb and I depart for Costa de la Luz, a part of where the nearest railway is over 40 miles away. Not good planning on my part. Recently I have been suffering from high blood pressure and so was unable to make Michael's afternoon on the 26th May which was very disappointing. The rest of the committee were there though and obviously the day turned out to be fun and very productive. We are still a very small band although still enthusiastic. The change to PDF- only production has gone well and this new edition of Correo will, I am sure, prove that we have taken the correct decision. One or two other societies are thinking about this method for the future and at least two have already moved over. The problem for some of the bigger groups and societies is scale, once you go over a certain number then all sorts of economies of scale come into play on production and postage in particular, and a move towards PDF will mean a print subscription increasing exponentially. This is difficult, if not impossible, to resolve but has to be faced as technology moves on. I have no doubt that younger potential members can be encouraged if the magazine, our life blood, is available on an iPad, iPhone or other portable device. Thank goodness we did faced this early, so our decision was easier. All over Iberia the economy has taken a huge backward step and this will impact on the rail network. Already FEVE is to be disbanded and incorporated within RENFE, the economics of some the newer high speed lines are being questioned, particularly those just opened towards . I cannot help thinking that if RENFE bit the bullet, ran more to a clock-face timetable then more passengers would be likely to use them. This applies to other lines though, not just the high speed ones. Huelva for example, its station and railway attracts just three trains a day to and from Sevilla; while coach companies operate over fifteen services a day. The infrastructure is there, why not use it? As for the Huelva-Zafra line the timetable is a complete mystery to me, one a day from Zafra to Huelva and none back. Work that one out because I can't; it is no wonder that RENFE is in trouble. Perhaps there are good reasons for these weird timetables, if there are, and you know why, let me know; I'll be fascinated to find out. Enough of the whingeing. Here's to good summer and another year of the Iberian Railways Society. - Adios,

David Stevenson, Chairman – Iberian Railways Society 3, Aldersey Road, Worcester, WR5 3BG Tel: 01905 358440 Email: [email protected]

4 elcome to the 7th year of he Iberian Railways Society. Boy, hasn’t it gone in a W flash! As I sit writing this I am also planning a business trip to Madrid, visiting the Talgo factory at Las Matas, which is the logical next step from the trip to Barcelona described in this issue of Correo. I’ll be taking the sleeper from Paris again, though hopefully having a little more time for breakfast. This is the first issue to be published solely as a PDF. While it is disappointing that not everyone has decided to continue with their subscription, it is now possible for the Society to continue on a firmer financial footing. Given the dramatic increase in postage, even a UK subscription would have exceeded £15 for 4 small journals. I think it is for the best, and I for one is a lot less stressed over the production of each issue. After the desperate cry for articles in Correo 24, a number of you stepped up to the mark and sent in a little something. Thanks must go particularly to our Treasurer Tony Bowles, for finding photographs to illustrate Charles’ Portuguese tram article, something I have been meaning to run for a while. It is such cooperation that makes this journal possible, and makes me a little tearful. On May 26th four of the committee came together at my house to mostly watch Iberian Railway DVDs and enjoy a small luncheon. It was good fun, and while there was very little official business the issue of what to do at model shows was raised. At the moment, Myles goes to a number of shows and takes with him a number of items for sale, including back issues of Correo (which are actually sold at less than cost). Now that Correo is in an electronic format only, the question of what to display was raised by Myles. Given that we are now an electronically connected Society it was suggested that the Society purchase (when it has the funds) some kind of tablet computer and projector for shows. It would then be possible to display Correo as a slideshow, interspersed with video footage of Iberian railways as a promotion for the Society. Of course, if any member has somehow found themselves with a spare and unwanted tablet computer and/or compact projector, and wishes it to be used for the promotion of Iberian railways, then you know where to send it (to Myles of course!). Michael Guerra

5 A Trip to Can Tunis By Michael Guerra

here are times when business can be a pleasure, and this was one of those times. T Regular readers may know that your editor has been running something called ‘The Sleeper Project’ for a number of years; something most people have said is quite possibly insane, but have also said they would really like to try. However, things have got a bit busy recently with lots of meetings in a number of countries with everyone necessary to meet if you want to run a direct train from St Pancras to . Many of you, indeed most, will tend to use an aeroplane to take you abroad. The reasons you will often give are that it is cheaper and faster. However, the elephant in the room is oil, and planes need lots of it to stay in the air, and as such it will not spurt from the ground forever. It is this obvious fact that led me to try and discover why it was that the was not being used for long-distance overnight trains to the continent. Ten years later I am still finding out why, though most of it has to do with the political stance taken by a certain Iron Lady, way back when. It is the result of that stance that will condemn the Channel Tunnel to another 80+ years of under-use. I have been often asked (surprisingly sometimes by those who know a good deal about railways), why it is that a plane ticket can be so much cheaper than a train ticket. The simple answer I usually give is infrastructure. You will often find that people who ask that question rarely look at the total cost and timings of a door to door foreign journey by plane. However, most of the cost of rail transport is in infrastructure. Railways allow the picking up and setting down of people along a route, in the way that a plane never could; also, if one were to look at the sustainability of the railways against flying, then it is easy to see that a plane will typically use between five and ten times of the energy used by a train (per passenger-km), the physics of that equation simply defined as the energy required to keep several hundred tonnes of plane floating above the ground. I could continue to moralise about the necessity to reduce the consumptive habits of air transport so my children and grandchildren can enjoy a more sustainable future, but that will be for another time. It is enough to say that I take this issue very seriously, and it is the main reason why I embarked on this insane quest. In the last 10 years or so I have met every kind of opposition, from other railway companies (no names, no pack drill), government departments, businesses, and cynical friends. The reasons they give vary: e.g. it’s cheaper to fly; see what happened to Nightstar; and if it were possible one of the big boys would have done it by now. However, the really big reasons are only now being clearly defined. The key challenges are: high access charges (see ‘Iron Lady’ above), security, signalling and routes. The House of Lords recently published a report called ‘Tunnel Vision’ where they outline the reasons for the under-use of the Channel Tunnel and High-Speed 1, and it is to do with the high access charges imposed by the private companies that built the Channel Tunnel and High-Speed 1, as well as the particular security and technical regulations required for passage through the Chunnel. Instead of building them as part of the national infrastructure, and so amortising the costs over generations, providing a vital continuous land access to the Continent, the 159km from St Pancras to Calais was built like a toll 6 19/04/2012, Paris Austerlitz: SNCF BB7302 departing with the Elipsos train to Madrid from Voie 15.

19/04/2012 Paris Austerlitz: After the departure of the Madrd train SNCF BB8513, now relegated to carriage shunter, draws in the Barcelona Elipsos rake into Voie 15. A BB26000 ‘Sybic’ will take the train as far as Port Bou (though the first driver only goes as fars as Les Aubrais-Orleans). 7 road, with a limited payback period that is forcing very high charges on the early adopters. It is clear that these charges have scared off many potential users, and so the only people making any money out of those infrastructures are the lawyers who represent the investors. This is something many supporters of HS2 are perhaps not aware of, and the promoters are careful not divulge. If the same model of construction investment is used on HS2 as was used on HS1, then similar access charges will be imposed, resulting in a steep hike in ticket prices between London and Birmingham, for the sake of saving 25mins or so travelling time. Already Southern, who run the Hitachi service from St Pancras into Kent, are finding that the high ticket prices are not finding much of a market, and the service is not well patronised. With regards to running a night train, for London – Barcelona the total access charge for the 1634km route is around £25k, of which St Pancras – Calais (<10% of the route) accounts for £9k, or over a third. While access charges are not all the costs we need to cover, they are even more than what it costs to lease the trains, pay the staff and resupply the train put together. We are not planning to run high-density packed day trains in airline (dis)comfort, but comfortable low-density sleeper trains, so the access charge per passenger is commensurately much higher. In addition, we have to comply with the security arrangements, which for stations not equipped with a Restricted Zone (Barcelona has one, fortunately) it is a completely tedious process to impose airline-security on a train. Signalling systems have fortunately simplified over the last 10 years, and most train makers can supply you with the necessary multiple systems, in the same way that 4-voltage traction is now off-the-shelf. Anyway, back to the trip. I have been corresponding with a number of train makers over the years, each one with different specialities and products, and had meetings with them to discuss the project. Each one asked after my sanity, but after some discussion, thought the project had potential, providing that all the other political issues could be addressed. One of those companies was of course Talgo. One of our key commercial routes will be London – Barcelona, and at the end of April we managed to arrange an inspection of the new Series 7 Trenhotels that run on the Barcelona – A Coruña/Vigo overnight service (Galicia). This is the only route currently using the Series 7 cars (7 sets were bought by Renfe, but only 2 are currently being used). The same day we were to meet Adif about using the Sants station. It is the nature of modern foreign business trips that most people would book a flight and arrive late in the day to find a hotel before their meeting the following morning. For us (me and my commercial director), we had arranged to have a meeting with Eurotunnel in Folkestone just before getting the Elipsos Trenhotel from Paris to Barcelona. The cost of a T4 berth from Paris to Barcelona was only £68, however, we slummed it in a 1st Class T2 for the way there (which includes a decent breakfast), though I was to travel in a T4 on the return as my commercial director had a meeting in Lyon the following day and would be travelling back on day trains. My children have become well accustomed to the night train culture. In fact my youngest will often complain if we have to take a long high-speed day journey as he can’t get comfortable; he loves to watch the world from the darkened compartment. For those readers who have yet to sample the delight of the Elipsos service, it really is a treat. The Series 6 cars are not that much different from the Series 4 and 5 Trenhotels, except in small details, based as they are on the Talgo 200 Pendular design 8 Girona 20/04/2012: Dual gauge tracks in Girona’s high-level station. It is not clear when work on the low level station will be completed. So dual-gauge tracks will allow to extend to Barcelona, before that happens.

Can Tunis Depot 20/04/2012: Renfe Class 112 Pato (Talgo 350) next to Class 103 Velaro (ICE 3).

9 of the early 1980s. They are well used, and the on the night we travelled in mid April, almost full. As is my habit, I tend to arrive in Austerlitz well before the departure of my train to watch the preparation of the night trains. There are far fewer than there used to be, and Austerlitz itself seems to be going through the longest station refurbishment in history. The early part of the refurbishment began with the Rive Gauche development, where the road that ran down towards Bibliotheque François Mitterand (and the RFF offices there) was widened and slewed across to give more room for the new office buildings. This required the demolishment and rebuilding of platforms 1-4, which are now effectively under the new road. Currently, the project is clearing away the remains of the north-side brasserie and taxi rank. Also, platforms 5-8 are still out of use, and have been for over a year. I worked on St Pancras for nearly 5 years (out of the 7 it took from start to finish), a much larger project, so I am perplexed as to why it is taking so long. It may be 2020 before they finish, which frankly smacks of incompetence. I watched the Madrid train come and go, and watched as the type of passenger changed, from the commuters travelling to and from Orleans, to the night train passenger, patiently watching the departure boards from the cafés next to their rolling luggage, or the school parties huddled around a pile of backpacks. Everywhere people were finding a last minute supper or a spartan breakfast to carry onboard. When travelling as a family we generally walk out of the station and go to one of the small grocers and get a supply of Madeleines, soft rolls, fruit, biscuits, water and dried ham to have for an early breakfast, but as I was going to have breakfast on the train I didn’t need to. I met my commercial director only 10 minutes before departure (he had the tickets!). His girlfriend lives in Paris, and so was understandably reluctant to leave too early. We had a Sybic on the front (in contrast to the BB 7300 on the front of the Madrid train). We boarded and settled into the journey. I slept pretty well, but at Girona our conductor knocked on the door to wake us for breakfast. We sat next to a retired couple from Carlisle who were travelling to see friends in Alicante. They don’t like flying, and so had travelled all the way by train (with enormous luggage!), staying overnight in London before boarding a late-morning Eurostar for Paris. It occurred to us, that while we were concentrating on the ~20 million people that live within an hour or so from London, that we could also attract those from further afield (Carlisle perhaps) whose aversion to flying would make a direct London – Barcelona train attractive. Breakfast on the Barcelona Trenhotel is a rushed affair as the journey is much shorter than the Madrid service, so as we were sitting down we were given plates of fruit and toast with croissant, and coffee was offered even before we had been able to sip our fruit juice. Twenty minutes later we were back in our compartment watching the arrival of Barcelona on the Iberian gauge run-in around San Andreu Comtal and the great earth works that will form the new Sagrera station. We arrived at the França station on time, and we helped the Carlisle couple (with their enormous luggage!) get on a Cercania to Sants. At Sants we met the Talgo sales director who had arrived from Las Matas (Madrid) and we shared a taxi to the Renfe workshops at Can Tunis. Can Tunis is a large sprawling industrial zone between the main freight port and Sants. The Renfe Talleres are just a small part of the complex, and from the Talleres we 10 Top Left: Talgo Series 6 Wheelset. Bottom Laft: Talgo Series 7 Wheekset (identical to Talgo 250 variable gauge) Rght: Talgo 350 Wheelset, note the twin primary suspension springs - this wheelset is Standard Gauge only!)

Can Tunis, Barcelona 20/04/2012: Cab of Renfe Class 112 (Talgo 350), with ECTS displays. 11 could see huge numbers of containers being transhipped onto broad gauge trains for all parts of Spain. The Renfe depot is also a Talgo technical centre and where we were met by the day works manager (they also work at night). From his offices we were outfitted in hi-vis vests and taken out to see the Talgo 350 (Renfe Class 112 Pato) and Series 7 Trenhotels. We were there nearly two hours and had a detailed look at both trains. I must say that they are very comfortable; however, my commercial director was not very impressed by the Renfe-specified interior decoration! The Series 7 beds are far more comfortable than the Elipsos trains we had arrived on, and actually fit almost flush at each end, meaning that you don’t lose your pillow (old-hands roll-up a piece of clothing and jamb it in the gap). They are also wider in the first class (the Renfe sets don’t have any T4s. We also sampled the recliners, which were also very comfortable, and a huge improvement over slightly-reclining 1st class seats they currently use. Of particular interest to me was the difference in wheelsets. The Talgo 350 is the first Talgo to have primary suspension (see pictures), while the Talgo 250 does not (the only suspension being the secondary gas-assisted ‘secondary’ springs at the top of the pendular frame (see picture). In order for the Talgo to maintain wheel contact at high- speed it was necessary to decouple the stub-axle/wheel assembly from the car suspension (as happens on a normal bogie). The lower un-sprung mass can therefore respond more quickly to track undulations, ensuring a more sure-footed ride. Of course, the extra decoupling may also provide a quieter ride for night passengers, as the old Trenhotels do tend to rumble a bit, especially on poor track.

Can Tunis, Barcelona 20/04/2012. Inside the 3-road Renfe/Talgo maintenance shed. The Class 252 (standard gauge) is used to shunt the Trenhotels, while the Pato is on the wheel-lathe road.

12 Talgo Series 7 Recliners (Butacas). Quite comfortable, but lots of motors and slow to adjust.

Talgo Series 7 Grand Class T2 with beds stowed. Note the chamfer to the corner of the bed to allow the wider door to open. These beds are 10cm wider than Series 6 Elipsos Grand Class, and are really comfortable. 13 Just before we returned to the offices for our meeting, we were able to ‘cab’ a Talgo 350 as it was shunted from the outside sidings into the workshops. It was fascinating to see how a train is ‘booted-up’, how the dead-man works, and how the ECTS signalling interface works during a shunt. There is a good deal of talking to the signal box as the driver pulled the set forward out of the storage road, and then had to walk to the other end of the train (200m) to the No.2 cab to reverse into the shed. Having been in a number of Southern Class 375s as they re-booted (due to drawing too- much current) the Talgo was ready to move in less than a minute. Fascinating. We left the Can Tunis depot much the wiser. Can Tunis is where Renfe service the standard-gauge stock; the broad-gauge trains go to San Andreu Comtal on the other side of the city. This is curious, as the Trenhotel runs almost the whole way on the broad-gauge in service, only changing to International gauge on the approach to Zaragoza-Delicias (see timetable below).

Trenhotel 00921 (Galicia) 14h 44m Station Arr. Dep. A Coruña 18.00 Betanzos-Infesta 18.20 18.22 Curtis 18.44 18.45 Lugo 19.24 19.26 Sarria 19.53 19.54 Monforte De Lemos 20.20 20.41 loco change? San Clodio-Quiroga 21.06 21.08 A Rua-Petin 21.29 21.31 O Barco De Valdeorras 21.41 21.43 Ponferrada 22.19 22.22 Astorga 23.22 23.24 Leon 23.57 00.12 loco change? Palencia 01.19 01.22 Burgos Rosa De Lima 02.12 02.15 Logrono 04.00 04.03 Castejon De Ebro 04.54 04.56 Tudela De Navarra 05.07 05.09 Zaragoza-Delicias 06.29 06.32 loco & gauge change? Lleida 07.28 07.30 Camp Tarragona 08.02 08.04 Barcelona-Sants 08.44

We left Can-Tunis in a taxi and returned to Sants where we had our meeting with Adif. We finished at (Spanish) lunchtime, whereupon we went to La Rambla for lunch. I then took the Elipsos train back to Paris. If nothing else, this trip served to demonstrate the usefulness of night trains for business. Cost wise, if I was to travel in a T4 both ways, and including the Eurostars and the ticket to my local station at Welham Green the total return cost was £204, and I got a full-days-work in Barcelona. Makes you think, doesn’t it?

14 Talgo 350 Kitchen. Notice the refrigerated food display used in day trains.

Talgo Series 7 Trenhotel Kitchen. This is larger (longer) than the day train, and used for preparing meals for the restaurant car.

15 Portuguese Urban Tramways & Metros Charles Phillips

lthough this subject is covered in the main body of the history I am including a A little bit more on the subject. By tramways I also include as they are regarded as trackless tramway vehicles and in Great Britain were covered by light railway legislation. The first inter-urban tramway was in Oporto. To meet the need for transport between Leixões and Matosinhos, Foz and a concession was granted on 15th August 1870 to the Baron Trovisqueira to build a tramway line from Matosinhos to the Rua do Infante Dom Henrique in Oporto. The first section of line was opened on 9th March 1872 from Infante to Foz (Passeio Alegre). The official opening date was 15th May. 1872 also saw the opening of a branch from Massarelos to Cordoaria. In 1873 the main line was extended from Foz to Matosinhos. On 14th August 1874 the main line was extended across an iron bridge from Matosinhos to Leça da Palmeira. The name of the company operating the trams was the Companhia Carril Americano do Porto a Foz e Matosinhos. The company was not an American company as the name might imply a Carro Americano or Carriage American was the Portuguese name for a horse or mule tram. The vehicles used were four wheeled single deck tramcars hauled by mules. This brought the total length of lines to 12 kilometres. In 1873 a second company, the Companhia de Ferro do Porto, was set up in 1873 with a concession to run five urban routes in Oporto and one from Boavista to Foz via Fonte da Moura. This was the first urban tramway in Oporto. The first line was opened on 14th August 1874 from Boavista - Campanhã and Bolhão - Aguardente (Marquês de Pombal). The rolling stock used was four wheeled single deck horse cars hauled by mules. Subsequent extensions brought the total length of the system to 35 kilometres. One extension that was opened in 1882 that ran from Foz to Matosinhos and ran parallel to the older company’s line. Authorisation was granted to both companies on 27th June 1878 to employ steam traction outside of the city limits and the first steam trams ran from Boavista - Foz in that year. The tram engines used were of the standard type of steam tram engine. In 1882 steam tram operation was extended from Foz to Matosinhos. Whilst mules were only able to haul one car the steam engines were able to haul up to three cars. On 18th January 1893 the two companies merged to form the Companhia de Ferro do Porto. As the branch tramway from Massarelos to Cordoaria was too steep to be worked economically by mules applications were invited by the company to work it electrically as a demonstration. Electric operation began on 12th September 1895 and was the first electric tramway in . In 1896 electric working was extended to Infante. The first electric cars were single deck four wheeled vehicles drawing power from an overhead power line. Following the success of the first electrified line electrification was extended. The first urban electrified line was from Praça Dom Pedro to Praça Marquês de Pombal, which commenced operation on 19th May 1899. Mule haulage came to an end on 22nd September 1904 when the line from Carmo to Paranhos was electrified. In 1906 the concession for the tramway company to Mathieu Lugan e 16 Former CFde Guimarraes 2-6-0T number E102 stands to the right in the yard at Povoa de Varzim as 2-8-2T no. E144 prepares to depart with a train for Porto Trindade in October 1973. Photo by Blake Paterson.

A general view of the former CP station at Povoa de Varzim, now the northern terminus of the Metro do Porto on 18/3/2007 Photo by Tony Bowles. 17 Paiva Irmãos for 75 years with option of municipal purchase after 35 years. In 1906 a rival company Companhia de Viação Eléctrica do Porto was launched which absorbed the other company but kept its name. As part of the award of the concession the company was required to build some urban routes to serve the surrounding area including two to the north to Ponte de Pedra and Ermesinde and two across the upper deck of the Dom Luiz I bridge to Vila Nova de Gaia. In 1912 to 1914 a new electric tramway was built along the central reservation of the Avenida da Boavista to the coast at Castelo do Queijo. With the opening of this line on 9th 1914 November the steam tramway from Boavista to Matosinhos was abandoned and steam traction came to an end. Apart from the first three electric tramcars all electric tramcars until 1904 had mule tram bodies fitted on new electric trucks. In 1904 the first eight-wheeled bogie electric tramcar appeared. In 1905 new four wheeled tramcars appeared. As well a motorised trams there were also unmotorised trailer cars, some of which were ex mule cars. 1912 saw the introduction of route numbers. Until 1915 electricity had been supplied by a separate generating company, but in 1912 the tramway company having got fed with paying too much for the electricity decided to build its own generating plant at Matosinhos. This opened in 1915. As well as conveying passengers, a goods was also conveyed from the very earliest days. The Companhia Carris de Ferro do Porto had both open four wheeled wagons and closed four wheeled vans and were used for the transport of sardines from the sardine fisheries siding at Godinho to the market at Anjo. This traffic lasted until 1946 when motor lorries took over. Wagons were also used to carry wine in casks to and from the bottling and blending plant of the Companhia Vinícola Portuguesa at Matosinhos Sul. For the power generating plant there were some coal trams built to carry coal from the mines at São Pedro da Cova to the plant and ash from it. There were also a number of works cars. From the mid 1900s the trams developed in design. Some were bogie cars and some were four wheeled cars. Some were also semi-convertible cars – the windows could be removed in the summer. There was also a single ended car built in 1952, which was the last tram to be built for Oporto. Trams cars built until 1945 had a fairly traditional design so that a car from early 1940s could be mistaken for one built in the late 1900s. Those built after 1945 were somewhat angular. The system reached its peak in 1950 when it had 82 kilometres of route miles. The first motorbuses had appeared on 1st April 1948 with the opening of the route from Avenida dos Aliados to Carvalhido. On 1st July 1946 the city of Oporto had taken over the system. The new name of the company was Serviço de Transportes Colectivos do Porto. 1957 saw the closure of the Massarelos generating station. In 1957 it was decided to replace some of the tram routes with trolleybuses. The first conversions took place on 3rd May 1959. Trolleybuses expanded reaching their peak in 1988 when the route mileages was 44 kilometres. However it was not only trolleybuses that replaced the trams but also the motor buses. Trolleybuses were of two sorts – single deckers and double deckers. By the middle of September 1994 there was only one tram route left - route 18 - Carmo - Massarelos - Foz (Castelo) - Castelo do Queijo - Fonte da Moura – Boavista. However it was not only trams that were in decline but also trolleybuses. The last ran on 27th December 1997. However a minor revival in the tram network occurred. Besides some changes over recent years to tram route 18, parts of which have become 18 A 6 car unit of the Metro do Porto crosses the Pont do Dom Luis bridge over the into Vila Nova de Gaia on 22/10/2007. Photo by Tony Bowles. 19 1E, 1 and 1/ on 21st September 2007 a new tram line was introduced in the centre of Oporto. The current position is Route 1 - Infante - Alfândega - Massarelos - Foz (Passeio Alegre / A Cantareira), Route 18 - Carmo - Viriato – Massarelos and Route 22 - Batalha – Carmo. Whilst to some extent the tram routes cater for tourist they are also used by the local inhabitants. Routes 1 and 18 serve the excellent urban transport museum at Massarelos. One of the best in Europe. Lisbon despite being the capital of Portugal was the second city to see trams. In 1870 the Cordeiro brothers applied for a concession to build and operate tramways. They transferred this to the newly formed Companhia Carris de Ferro de Lisboa. The first tramlines on 17th November 1870 ran from Santa Apolónia station to Santos. Extensions were built to Belém in 1874, Algés in 1878, Rossio and Rato in 1879, the Zoo in 1884, Poço do Bispo in 1888, Lumiar in 1890 and Benfica and Areeiro in 1891 when the system had 38.6 kilometres of track. The vehicles used were mule hauled single deck four wheeled cars. Some cars had closed in sides and some open sided cross benches. Smoking was only allowed in the latter. In 1887-8 trials were conducted between Santo Amaro and Algés with battery tram, which was not successful. In 1889 steam haulage was introduced between Cais do Sodré and Belém with tram engines hauling three cars. The engines were of the standard tramway type. Steam operation ceased in 1892. In 1888 the Companhia Carris de Ferro de Lisboa was granted an exclusive 99 year concession to run the trams in Lisbon. The company however faced competition from volantes, which were a primitive form of wagonette whose vehicles had been built to run along the rails of the tramway. The company took legal proceedings against them and bought them out, but this only caused more volante operators to start up. There were also cable trams rather like San Francisco. In 1882 the Companhia dos Elevadores was authorised to construct a cable operated tramway from Praça de Camões to Largo da Estrela. Operation commenced on 14th August 1890 and ceased on 3rd July 1913. A second cable tramway was opened from Rua da Palma to Largo da Graça on 27th February 1893. Operation was suspended in 1909. There were and are the street which are like trams. The first was the up the Calçada de Lavra opened on 19th April 1884 by the Companhia dos Ascensores Mecânicos de Lisboa. Next was the Elevador da Glória up the Calçada da Glória which was opened on 24th October 1885 by the same company. The last one was the Elevador da Bica up the Rua da Bica which was constructed by the Nova Companhia dos Ascensores Mecânicos de Lisboa and which opened on 28th June 1892. In 1894 following a visit by the chairman of the tramway company to other cities with electric trams the company decided to electrify its system. The first electric tram service started from Cais do Sodré to Algés on 31st August 1901 and the last mule tram ran on 10th August 1902 Electric trams in the early days were of four sorts. Closed and opened sided cross bench four wheeled cars and closed and open sided cross bench eight wheeled bogie cars. There were also four wheeled trailer cars of the closed and the open side cross bench types. Lisbon did modernise its trams building new ones into the 1990 with long articulated cars, whose appearance it must be said does nothing for ascetics. The system unlike Oporto has not conveyed goods. The system had reached its peak in 1958 to 1960 when it had a route distance of 76 kilometres. Since then there has been a contraction.

20 Twin axle tramcar number 10, built by J G Brill in 1927, operates near the university on route 1 in on 26/5/1955 Photo by D. Trevor Rowe

One of 3 MAN trolley buses acquired second hand from Heilbronn in 1961, along with 6 Henschel built vehicles, is operating the cross city service from Maximinos to Gualtar in August 1972. These replaced the former tram system here in 1963. Photo by Mike Squire. 21 The first motorbuses had appeared in 1912. The first modern ones arrived in 1940 and were used first for special events and from 1944 to serve the airport. Buses really started appearing after 1946. The first section of the Metro or underground opened in 1959. Gradually there was a contraction of tram routes and has contracted to five routes – 12 Praça da Figueira via Martim Moniz, 15 Praça da Figueira to Algés (Jardim), 18 Rua da Alfândega, just east of the Praça do Comércio in central Lisbon, to the Ajuda 25 Rua da Alfândega, via Estrela basilica, to the Prazeres and 28 Martim Moniz to Prazeres Near to Lisbon was the Sintra-Atlantic tramway. In 1899 a company (the Companhia do Caminho à Praia das Maçãs) was formed to build a steam tramway from Sintra to the Atlantic coast. Following the appearance of electric trams in Lisbon in 1901 it was decided to change to electric traction. Work commenced on building the line on 12th August 1901. Progress was slow and although some test running took place in 1903 the first section from Sintra Vila to Colares did not open until 31st March 1904. On 10th July 1904 the tramway was extended to Praia das Maçãs and on 31st January 1930 to Azenhas do Mar. This later section closed on 31st October 1954. The section in Sintra from Estação Sintra (Sintra station) to Sintra Vila closed 31st October 1955. From 1953 to 1974 the tramway operated only in the summer and from 1975 to 1979 there was no service for reasons not clear. In 1980 the tramway reopened from Banzão to Praia das Maçãs. Since the summer of 2004 the tramway has been restored through to Sintra. Rolling stock for the line consists of closed and open cross bench four wheeled tramcars and closed and open cross bench four wheeled trailer cars. Coimbra’s first tramway ran 18th September 1874 to 1885 and was a mule tramway operated by the Rail-Road Conimbricense. The line originally ran between Coimbra-B railway station and Rua Ferreira Borges but was soon extended to Largo da Portagem. The vehicles were single deck four wheeled tramcars. The line closed on the opening of the branch line from Coimbra B to Coimbra A station. Following the granting of a provisional concession on 13th August 1903 to the Companhia Carris de Ferro de Coimbra mule trams started on 1st January 1904. The first route was from Coimbra B to Largo da Portagem. The second route opened on 4th February 1904 was from Praça 8 de Maio to University. This latter route was up hill and was rather too steep for the mules. The cars by the way being closed four wheeled cars. In 1908 the town council revoked the concession and announced its intention to install municipally owned electric tramways. The electric system was inaugurated on 1st January 1911. The trams were single deck closed four wheeled electric cars. The system was extended and by the end of 1929 consisted of six lines. Coimbra had an interest in trolleybuses since 1938 and on 16th February 1947 introduced the first trolleybus route in Portugal from Largo da Portagem to Santa Clara Monastery. On 10th March 1951 came the first replacement of a tram route by trolleybuses. Trams were gradually replaced by trolley buses and motorbuses and the last tram ran 9th February 1980. Trolleybuses which are still in use are single deckers. Braga saw its first tram in 1877. In 1876 a company was formed to build a tramway from the station to the pilgrimage church of Bom Jesus do Monte 5 kilometres distant. The tramway opened on 20th May 1877 and was a mule tramway. Rolling stock was four-wheeled closed tramcars and open sided cross bench cars. At Bom Jesus do Monte a company was formed to build a from the terminus of the tramway up to the church, which opened on 25th March 1882. Meanwhile the track of the tramway 22 Twin axle 'Fumista' tramcar number 309 built by the CCFP in 1929/30 stands at the terminus of routes 1, 5, 16 & 19 at Matosinhos in August 1972. Photo by Mike Squire.

Companhia Sintra-Atlantico open car number 1 & an open trailer both built by Brill in 1903 head out of Sintra bound for Praia das Macas during the summer of 1963. Photo by Fred Matthews. 23 had been relayed to permit the use of steam locomotives, the use of which commenced of 25th March 1882. The engines were normal tank locomotives. The tramway and the funicular company meanwhile joined forces as the Companhia Carris e Ascensor do Bom Jesus. In 1913 the municipality favouring electrification of the tramway bought out the company and electrified the system. Electric operation starting on 19th October 1914 with four wheeled semi convertible closed cars plus some of the old cars as trailers. Some expansion of the system took place and the system reached its peak in 1923. By the beginning of the 1950s the system was starting to get worn out and the municipality favoured replacing the trams with motorbuses, but the government favoured trolley buses. Trolley buses commenced operation in 1962 and trams finished on 20th May 1963. In 1967 the municipality handed over its transport operations to a private company. Trolleybuses were phased out between 1969 and 1979. The last one running on 10th September 1979. The only underground railway in Portugal is the . The idea for this originated in 1953 when it was decided to build an underground railway funded largely by the state and operated by a concessionary company – the Metropolitano de Lisboa SARL. The first lines were opened on 30th December 1959 forming a Y shaped system from Restauradores to Sete Rios and Entre Campos. The system is of the 1435 mm gauge unlike the CP. Current collection was via an electrified third rail. In 1972 the line from Restauradores was extended to Alvalade. In 1975 the operating company was nationalised becoming Metropolitano de Lisboa EP. In 1988 it opened the extensions from Sete Rios to Colégio Militar-Luz and from Entre Campos to Cidade Universitária. In 1993 the terminus of Alvalade and Cidade Universitária were linked via Campo Grande, the first station above ground. This link implied a new exploration scheme put in service two years later. In the following years several small extensions were made, with some reconfiguration of the services. Thus, in 1998, the system comprised 4 lines: Pontinha to Baixa-Chiado (blue or Gaivota line), Campo Grande to Rato (yellow or Girassol line), Campo Grande to Cais do Sodré (green or Caravela line) and the brand new Alameda to Oriente line (red or Oriente line). This last line was built in time for the World Expo of 1998, with an interface to now main transport hub (heavy rail, underground, bus and taxis) of Lisboa Oriente station, at the gates of the World Expo. At Cais do Sodré the underground also reached the heavily used suburban railway line to Estoril and Cascais and the ferries to Cacilhas. Further expansion ensued, this time to the outer limits of Lisbon. In 2004 the yellow line from Rato reached Odivelas and the from Baixa-Chiado reached Amadora-Este. A very troublesome period ensued with the digging of the tunnels to Terreiro do Paço and Santa Apolónia, with floods from the nearby Tagus waters. Thus it was not until the end of 2007 that the main railway terminus station in Lisbon Santa Apolónia was connected to the underground railway system, via the blue line at Baixa-Chiado. At Terreiro do Paço the line interfaces with the river ferries to Barreiro and Cacilhas. Under construction are the extensions from Santa Apolónia to the Airport from Alameda to São Sebastião on the . The system will then have 40 km and 52 stations. Rolling stock was originally two car sets running singly, in pairs or in triples. New trains were acquired in 1979. These were all gradually replaced by three car sets, built by Sorefame/Bombardier that can run in pairs, bought in 1990, 1995, 1997 and 1999.

24 Lisbon tramcar number 775 operating on route 25 to Estrela is just about to pass under the Aqueduto das Aguas Livres on the Rua das Amoreiras as car no. 784 approaches on route 25 to P P Real in October 1994. Photo by Blake Paterson

Lisbon tramcar number 713 operating on route 28 to Prazeres comes off the Graca loop at Sao Tome in October 1994. Photo by Blake Paterson 25 In Oporto the idea for a Metro went back to 1989, and the Metro company was founded in 1992. Construction of the Metro started in 1999 and the first section was opened on 17th December 2002 between Câmara de Matosinhos and Viso. Whilst there is some new construction including underground sections some use has also been made of former metric gauge lines. There are now five lines totalling 60km serving 70 stations. Lines A, B, C and E all start at Estádio do Dragão, ending respectively at Senhor de Matosinhos, Póvoa do Varzim, ISMAI and Airport. Line D goes from Hospital São João, crosses the Douro River on the D. Luiz I bridge and finishes at D. João II (Gaia). All five lines intersect at Trindade station. Due to the huge success of this system, studies are being carried on for further expansion. The system uses 72 seven section articulated vehicles, from Bombardier collecting current from overhead wires and 30 more vehicles are on order from Siemens. The company also reopened the , an extremely steep that climbs from the river bank at Ribeira uphill to Batalha, providing a privileged viewpoint to the steel D. Luiz I bridge. It was built in 1891 but was closed for more than a century. In September 1999 an international invitation to bid was launched fro the project, building, operating and maintaining of a light metro system on the densely populated south bank of the Tagus river, across from Lisbon. The concession was granted for 30 years to in December 2002. The first of the 24 Siemens vehicles was delivered in May 2005. The system now comprises three lines in a sort of Y shape: Corroios to Pragal, Cacilhas to Universidade and Cacilhas to Cova da Piedade. It interfaces with the heavy suburban train lines to Lisbon at Corroios and Pragal, and with the ferries to Lisbon at Cacilhas, plus various bus lines at other stations. The last line was opened in November 2008, thus completing the first phase of the project. Phases 2 and 3 foresee further line expansions and interfaces. In Coimbra the idea for a Metro – the goes back to the mid 1990s. In 1996 the Sociedade Metro Mondego was set up to build and run a Metro system in Coimbra to Miranda do Corvo and Lousã – the Metro Mondego. This will mostly replace the existing broad gauge railway with standard 1435mm gauge tracks. It is to be electrified at 750Vdc. The invitations to bid for the first 20 vehicles were launched in July 2008. Works on the line are expected to start in April 2009 and services to begin in February 2011.

Carris tram 554 Praca do Commercio Lisboa 01/06/2002. Photo by Ian Buck 26 RENFE’S Black Fives – But not quite the same By Rarfe Chambers

was thinking about the British Black Fives, which are pretty much everybody’s idea I of the perfect steam locomotive for general purpose work. That is, unless you were an afficionado of God’s Wonderful Railway, in which case it might be the Hall class. Of course, there were plenty of bigger types, mainly Pacifics of one kind or another, and God’s Wonderful Railway was again different, except for a handful of Pacifics a long time ago. Perhaps Gresley, if he had lived, would have persevered with eight coupled engines and eventually have got them right. In Spain, both the Norte and the MZA had quite a few 4-6-0 types, all of earlier dates than the Black Fives, and also had begun to move into 8-coupled types by about 1912. The Black Five was a Stanier product from 1934 which continued in production on and off until 1951 for the London Midland and Scottish Railway, with very little in the way of changes in its design, and was a great success amounting to 842 examples in all. I am a Midland man at heart, from the London extension; and in know that Black Fives could and did take all the best trains right up to the Thames-Clyde express when necessary, keeping hard timings with up to “13-on” as they say. I suppose the Great Western Railway Hall’s from 1928 were a similar engine, and even then in effect a rebuilt Saint class from 1907, therefore first in the field, and certainly capable of the same kind of work. There were eventually 257 of them, plus 71 modified Hall’s by Hawksworth from 1944. Another medium powered 4-6-0 was the Thompson B1 class of 1942 for the London and North Eastern Railway. There were eventually 409 of these, and on most lines of the LNER they were very much secondary locomotives; because the railway had such a great stud of Pacifics. In the end, the prize must go to the Black Fives, I believe; but I know many would have other views. What about Spain. Conditions were so different in Spain that it almost impossible to make comparisons, but here goes. Conditions of track repair, coal supplies, bad water and locomotive maintenance were so different to the United Kingdom; and of course the civil war from 1936 to 1939 certainly did not help. From the mid-Fifties onwards in the U.K. in was common to have speeds in the eighties or nineties, but will find that in Spain in steam days there was a general line limit of speed of around 105 km per hour (say about 65 miles per hour) and the 141-2101 series was only authorized for 90 km per hour and a maximum speed of 115 km per hour. There were some Spanish classes which could and would do better than this, but very few places where is was possible to do this. Passenger train schedules did not require any greater speed anyway. Many Spanish expresses were hauled by 4-8-0’s or 4-8-2’s, but others were hauled by 2-8-2’s, and in particular the series 141-2101 to 2125 and 2201 to 2417. These Renfe ordered locomotives are my choice for the title of Renfe’s Black Fives. They lasted until the end of steam on the Renfe, and beyond, like some Black Fives. If you are lucky enough to see or ride on a steam special on the Renfe it will very likely be hauled by a “Mikado”. Also, there are more “Mikado’s” on plinths than any other class of locomotive in Spain. I believe the first batch of 2-8-2’s, built by North British, were virtually the same as a standard locomotive built for the Indian peninsular, and were very successful right 27 When I was nine years old and my brother was about fourteen we got a camera. An old second-hand bellows type of machine, and we begun our railway collection. This was right at the time of railway Nationalisation, and the forty third successful picture was taken on the afternoon of 26/06/1948 by Richard. It shows class 5 no. 4943 (not yet renumbered) on the down milk tank empties going Down the bank past Chalton Bridge and Sundon on the , four miles north of Luton. This was a daily train from the big dairy at Cricklewood. There was not an Up train which corresponded. The full tanks used to come up in ones or twos at the head of night or early morning expresses, from places like the vale of Eden. I don't known where they were added into the consist of the train, Appleby or Lazonby perhaps. You might notice the old lower quadrant distant signal for the Down fast line.

This picture is another class 5, this time from a colour slide by me. The picture is taken at Basingstoke on the 28/05/1966, and shows 45493 (Banbury shed) on the afternoon Newcastle-Poole express at 16.36 dep. The driver has lost his feet rather badly. This used to happen quite a lot. I suspect the they were not used to class 5's, and he was starting about thirteen carriages. Steam was nearly done at this time. The Southern main line was half dieselised with Warships, and your can just see a Western Region railcar in the adjacent platform ready to return to Reading.

28 from the start. Subsequent batches were built by the Spanish makers, Maquinista, Euskalduna, Babcock & Wilcox and Macosa, and had various changes such as double chimneys, feed water heaters, and oil burning. Obviously, they were somewhat larger than the Stanier engines, but it is not easy in my opinion to make comparisons based on things like tractive effort. Both types of engine were similar in driving wheel size, about 6’2” for the 2-8-2’s and 6’0” for the Black Fives, and both had two cylinders. The 2-8-2’s had cylinders 22.5” diameter by 27” stroke, and the 4-6-0’s had 18.5” diameter x 28” stroke. The Spanish engines had a lesser boiler pressure at 212 lb/sq. in., compared with 225 lb/sq. in for the British engines. The slightly less pressure of the Spanish engines was easily compensated for by the considerably larger cylinder diameter. The tractive effort of the 2-8-2’s was just over 32,000 lbs. compared with 24,455 lbs. for the 4-6-0’s. I find it difficult to make sense of the heating surfaces of the boilers, superheaters and fireboxes of the two types of locomotive, but these have a very great effect on performance on the road. The largest 4-8-2’s on the Renfe had a tractive effort of 36,685 lbs. and the A1 Pacifics on the LNER had 37,500 lbs, so just by tractive effort there wasn’t much in it. The broad gauge on the Renfe gave a little more room for bigger cylinder diameter, and firebox and boiler. The British Black Fives were in service right up to the end of steam in 1968, particularly in the North West and the Southern. The Renfe did away with steam in June 1975. and Mikados found themselves in use on expresses between Lerida, and Zaragoza and Barcelona and also found themselves in great use in the season on the orange trade between Valencia and Zaragoza on the way to Irun. Photographers such as Manolo Maristany sought them out and recorded their demise for posterity. The orange trains (the Naranjeros) were very important, and were run at express speeds, to provide oranges for all over Northern Europe. I believe, and I think you might agree that the Mikados in Spain were the equivalent of the Black Fives in the United Kingdom. Or, if you will, the Swindon Hall class.

Here is 141F2311 on the 17/05/70 at San Vicente de Castillet, The locomotive was one of he last of the class built by Euskalduna in 1960. The train is the 16.06 omnibus from Lerida to Barcelona, but the loco is detached from the train. The 29 photo is by Richard Chambers. 141F3259 on the 02/11/58 on a Zaragoza-Madrid Correo, This is a Babcock & Wilcox product, 658/1956.

Calatayud, 141F3259 on the 02/11/58 on a Zaragoza-Madrid Correo, This is a Babcock & Wilcox product, 658/1956. Photo by Richard. Chambers 30 A special at Vilanova i la Geltru: It is 141F2413 on a special for the centenary of the line between those places. It is another Euskalduna machine, from 1960, and still at work on the 31/12/81. Colour picture by Richard Chambers

Finally, an example of a 'plinthed' machine. This one photographed by me in Feb. 2010 was at Albacete, number 141F2415 by Euskalduna 1960 31 Can Tunis, Barcelona 20/04/2012: The articulated end of a short rake of Talgo S7 Trenhotel cars, showing the coupling arrangemen t. These cars were removed from the 20 -car Galicia sets (to make them only 16 cars long). Apparently it takes around 3hrs to split a Talgo car from a set, considerably longer for a TGV. Ph oto Michael Guerra