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Issue No. 40 Spring 2016 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 (post available) Journal Editor Michael Guerra Treasurer & Membership Secretary Tony Bowles (post available) Publicity & Exhibitions (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 Web Download Free/Voluntary Contribution 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 . £25 inc P&P Out & About Lisbon. £25 inc P&P Cabride - Portbou to Girona £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.

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Title Page The Society 2 The Editor’s Page 4 RENFE 75th Anniversary 5 Escaping Watney’s Red Barrel 14 The Ferrocarril de a Denia 19 Expensive Ticket to Segovia 28

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: RENFE 7500 in sidings at Principe Pío Foto Trevor Rowe Archivo Euskotren-Museo Vasco del Ferrocarril

3 should apologise for the late arrival of Correo 40 (and which marks a full 10 years of its existence!), even though I did not promise its arrival! But here we are again I with another edition thanks in large part to the usual suspects as well as new contributor Malcolm; thank you. Regular readers of this column will know that your editor has been developing a high-speed overnight service. Well, unfortunately due to circumstances beyond my control the investors have decided to enforce a 2 year hiatus. The reasons are many, but the headlines are the terrorist attacks in Paris and Bruxelles, the immigration crisis and the potentially fundamental UK referendum on EU membership. This last issue, if the UK votes to leave EU, would fundamentally skew all the work on borders, security and immigration interfaces that I’ve spent the last 10 years or so bringing to some kind of understanding. To get where we are today has required the juggling of nearly 100 different interfaces across Europe: with the hiatus it will be necessary to rebuild these, many of which will be under new management. We live in frustrating times. And so, I’ve needed to find alternate paid employment. Fortunately for me, one of the main investors wishes to develop a new music venue in East London and has hired me to design and engineer it (I have form in these things). So the main reason for the late delivery of this issue is more due to the pressures of producing many drawings in readiness for planning applications and contractor negotiations. Working 10-14hrs a day, 7 days a week has made it impossible to find time for other things during recent months, like a family life and external interests. This Correo has become a necessary break for me, though only a brief one. Reading through this issue’s contributions has reminded me that railways are ultimately a human story, and our interest should appreciate that. As enthusiasts we need to be aware of the reasons for their existence, and so when we visit them on market day and sit amongst the chatter, the screaming children and (in older times) the tinny distorted noise from transistor radios we should perhaps be grateful that the railway has a purpose. It was my intention to write a piece for this issue on the subject of timetables, unfortunately it wasn’t to be (see above), but in the lead up to that Rarfe sent me a scanned Horario Guia from 1962. For most railway enthusiasts timetables are a practical necessity, and of little use once out of date. For me they are a priceless historical document, allowing one to, for instance, dream of through-coaches from Calais Maritime to San Remo, or discover that in 1962 there was an overnight train between Barcelona and ! Service 703 would depart Barcelona Termino at 23:15 and make 20+ stops (including a reversal at Tortosa at 03:01!) before arriving in Valencia at 08:00. One wonders about the various traction changes, crew changes and early morning patronage. The earlier TAF (B. Termino 15:50 V. Termino 21:30) would do the same trip in only 5h40 (the sleeper is 8h45) and make the same number of stops. Today, the does the direct (omitting Tortosa etc.) in 3h09. We take all kinds of things for granted (internet, mobile telephones, private cars etc.) and so forget that the humble timetable provides as much insight into the culture of travel as a photograph. So if anyone knows anyone with a 1950’s Cook Continental Timetable that would let me borrow it for a week to scan it, please do not hesitate to let me know! Michael Guerra 4 R.E.N.F.E 75 Aniversario, 1941- 1949 by Juan Delgado Luna (translated by Chris Elliott)

his time, we will focus on this event and there is no better way to start than to start at the beginning, marked by difficulties and hardships that the workers and T their families experienced when moving to this great company called RENFE. It's been a few years since my grandfather told me about endless trips leaning out of the window of an old wooden carriage accompanied by priests, farm workers, ladies and demure ladies with their "water wave hairstyles” and "lords in their three cornered hats ". Traditional images of memories of another , very different from today. RENFE, began to take shape in the historical and social context in which the recent civil war and World War II (with Spanish contribution by the Blue Division), did not make life easy in the Spanish society of the early 1940s.Those achievements to cite one example of a good quality rail service such as that provided by rapid -Irun, Nos 13 and 14 (truncated by the Civil War), along the Imperial line, hauled by a Norte Mountain 241-4600, their medium speeds would not be exceeded until well into the decade of the 1980s and the new Renfe trains, which did not compare with these prestigious prewar fast services. Unfortunately , rolling stock and facilities were affected during the three years of civil war, which added to the economic weaknesses that the railways had been suffering previously resulted in a "mortally wounded" railway, there was only one solution to rise from the ashes, we are talking about nationalisation the Law promulgated on the 8th May 1939 was not long in coming. On the 1st February 1941, with the approval of the Head of State Francisco Franco the Railway Act and Road Transport Management, the National Network of Spanish Railways was created. This new company brought together the entire network of Iberian gauge (1674mm), rescued from bankruptcy railway concessions that were granted to the former companies, highlighting NORTE, MZA, OESTE or Andalusians, a total of 12,401 kms, rising to form part of a single network under an autonomous management, with few resources but a lot of will power which were essential to move forward with this great project of a unified network in those turbulent times. The Minister of Public Works, Alfonso Peña Boeuf, was designated as first president of the RENFE Gregorio Perez Conesa, was given the "portfolio" of Chief Executive Officer and the post of Civil Engineer was awarded to Javier Marquina Borra from the now extinct Norte Company of the North Spain. (1) By a decree dated 23rd February, the Board of Directors was made up of José Nicolás de Salas and Salas, Horacio Monasterio Azqueta, representing the Ministry of Public Works, Pedro Gonzalez Bueno and Eduardo Quintanilla were appointed advisers. Included in this select group was José María for Infrastructure, Calabia Enrique Lopez, both the Ministry of Finance. In addition. Coronel José María Rivero de Aguilar, a confidant of the Caudillo Franco and later director of the RENFE, Justiniano Casado (agriculture). Industry was represented by Ignacio Muñoz Rojas, leaving union representation under the responsibility of José María Areilza. It was hard work establishing the guidelines of the new company in the first few

5 Loco 241-4600 leaving Burgos. Phot Lugue, Archivo Fernando Fernández Sanz

View of Miranda depot. Foto Trevor Rowe/Euskotren-Museo Vasco del Ferrocarril 6 Urban level crossing in Miranda de Ebro. Archivo Museo FFCC Vilanova y la Geltrú

A 7500 Crocodile in the station of Alsasua. Archivo Juan Delgado Luna

7 months and it was put in the hands of the directors of the old companies (boards) composed of staff of the leading private companies such as NORTE, MZA, and West- Andalusian, although with limited power and always under the supervision and orders of the directors of the RENFE. Meanwhile, on the 14th March the department of railway equipment, which is responsible for carrying out the this "transition" ended on the 1st August, at which time the new directors of the RENFE took over permanently, taking on full responsibility for their positions. Their work was grouped into three areas (seven since 1947) organizing and managing divisions formed by Exploitation, Material and Traction, Ways and Works, Electrical, Commercial, in turn aided by various services that all structures covered management and operation, including legal, accounting, company stores, warehouses and stockpiles. reconstruction and repair of railway discussed in these lines was approved. The first problems were immediate, lines and stations of different companies, together with the locomotives and rolling stock had to live and be integrated in the same company, having to redistribute services and facilities to deal with everyday needs. Standardization and unification created a lot headaches and a lot of work. The problem and difficulties of rebuilding stations, lines, bridges etc. was further compounded by the impediments of purchasing materials, locomotives, wagons and equipment essential for the smooth development of operating a company of this kind in the European market plunged into World War II Locomotives; one of the first locomotives built after the creation of the RENFE was the 2400 series (September 1941). Rolling stock had to wait a few more years, so the decision was taken to reconstruct and repair existing vehicles. On the 3rd September 1941 there was a major trial in the Madrid Leganés station. D. Alejandro Goicoechea introduced a new system of light combined articulated tread which caused astonishment amongst the audience as tests were commenced. That "shell" after many trials and modifications years later would become the TALGO, with its successive improved versions resulted in its greatest exponent, today’s ‘ Avril’ The famous Santa Fe locomotive was unveiled on 8th October, 1942 in Barcelona; 22 units were built by MTM between 1942 and 1946, and commenced their first services in the 7th District. This works was a very important stage in Torre del Bierzo-Brañuelas, until the arrival of electric locomotives 7400 1500v including 24 units between 1944 and 1950 and with them the electrification of this stretch were built in 1949, displacing these steam locos on their commercial coal transport service to Castilla. As mentioned previously, Europe was immersed in a great war, yet Renfe still managed to put into service Soria-Castejón (1943) and Santiago La Coruna (1944) sections, to finish electrification referred to as MAS (Madrid-Avila-Segovia) in 1946. In the latter electrification, the services were provided by the 7500 locomotives built between 1944 and 1945 a total of 12 units to 300 units, Nos 349 were added to 373 between 1943 and 1945 and built in 1945 was invaluable formed by the subsection 374 to 378. Unfortunately, on the 3rd January 1944 there was a triple shock in the Brañuelas, tunnel ramp involving a train, shunting locomotive and goods, it will be remembered as one of the most serious accidents with a large number of victims. One of the locomotive in this accident was 151-3101, RENFE 5001. During 1944, a Plan of Automotive Diesel 8 Around the station at Leganés. Archivo Municipal de Leganés Fotos de Antaño

241-4600 on the ’Imperial Line’. Alvaro Faus Archivo Juan Delgado Luna 9 Typical RENFE logo of the time. Archivo Juan Delgado Luna

241-4698 in Miranda. Foto Alvaro Faus Archivo Juan Delgado Luna

10 241-4080 entering the depot at Miranda. Foto Alvaro Faus Archivo Juan Delgado Luna ‘Needle’ guardhouse for use by the Guardia de Miranda Depot: Fernado Ortega & friends in front of a Santa Fe Civil (and used by fashion photographers it seems!) Archivo Juan Delgado Luna Archivo Municipal de Leganés

Children posing at Leganés military station. Foto Juan Alfonso Moreno Archivo Municipal de Leganés

11 locomotives was adopted The result of the first plan subsequently required a total of between 10,100 and 10,300 locomotives, which will be discussed in later chapters. As far as diesel motor units were concerned the studies opted for the famous German "Flying Hamburgers", but these had to wait for the arrival of future TER and TAF, before this idea became a reality. Several Littorinas and Renaults came from previous orders placed by the MZA and Norte, whose series WE 201-204 or 401- 404 were delivered and completed from 1941 to RENFE where they were already providing very good services. During 1944 and 1951, 57 locomotives of the type "Mountain" 241F-numbered 2201/57, based in part on the Santa Fe locomotive, intended to haul large fast and express were introduced. They were used on the most important trains linking Madrid and Barcelona with the rest of Spain. On the 1st January 1945, saw the adoption of the law General Regulation of Labour which was created to reunite the categories of employees. Following the success of the modifications made to the Mountain Locomotive 241-4648, as directed by André Chapelon, with the dual exhaust Kylchap, and the Dabeg valves, this increased steam flow sections in the cylinders, roller bearings on coupled or increased superheater. Renfe ordered several, numbered 241-4000. The first shipment was of 4067 to 4084, delivered in 1946. The second was comprised of 4085 to 4089, and in 1947, leaving the last batch for numbered 4089-4094 in 1948. (See works of Angel Maestro and Fernando Fernández Sanz). In 1946, a General Electrification Plan which laid the foundation for the current electrification at 3000 volts was approved. In the period covering the years 1941-1944, as we have mentioned previously presidency of the RENFE was in charge of Gregorio Perez who was replaced in 1944 by Eduardo Alfonso Quintanilla who held this position until 1947, when he "passed the baton" to Burín Rafael Benjumea, The Count of Guadalhorce. On the 28th October 1948 then came the centenary of the railways in Spain. For this great occasion various events were spread over the course of one week including several ships of the Barcelona port suitable for the occasion, which was represented the best and most modern equipment of the time (locomotives were prepared, rolling stock and facilities), serving as a showcase for the achievements of Spanish railways. Trips to the nearby town of the Mataro locomotive with the same name built for the occasion, along with vintage cars, provided the climax to this event. That same year was chosen to electrify this stretch.

In the same year the General Reconstruction Plan was approved.

Thanks to His Excellency. Leganés City Council and Municipal Service File, Eukotren-Basque Railway Museum Azpeitia, Angel Maestro and Fernando Fernández Sanz.

He was the last CEO who also commissioned writing a book (actually, two volumes) in which the entire history of the Company of the Norte of the North of Spain was collected. Before becoming a director of this important railway company he was director of the port of Pasajes and at that time, as a curiosity, a founder director and the current director of the Basque Railway Museum Juanjo Olaizola, held a working relationship and friendship with their families. 12 Loco 7000 on the Basque line. Archivo Fernando Ortega

Soldiers training on the ’Imperial Line’. Women’s fashions of lat ‘40s Spain Archivo Fernando Ortega Archivo Municipal de Leganés 13 Escaping Watney’s Red Barrel By Malcolm Simister

y first visit to Spain was a package tour to Majorca in 1972 about the time Monty Python aired their devastatingly funny Watney’s Red Barrel sketch in M which they ridiculed package tours and packaged tourists. I braved an awful package at the age of 17 with my mother. (Now, immediately wipe away that picture you have just formed of me; I’m married with three grown up sons. And anyway, what’s wrong with a 17 year old going on holiday with his mum?). About half an hour after arriving at the hotel in Palma we decided that we didn’t want fish ‘n’ chips and English beer with people who complained that it wasn’t like home and that the locals didn’t speak English. To the consternation of the other packaged people we walked out of the hotel alone to explore without a tour guide. My mum, bless her, knew what would please me so using our phrasebook we accosted a local and asked him in what we fondly imagined was Spanish for the estación. Maybe he was just dumbfounded that two of these Inglesas types were wandering alone but we couldn’t make him understand and resisting the natural Englishman-abroad’s temptation to shout the question at him in English, we tried again. Success! He beamed and enthusiastically let forth a stream of instructions we couldn’t comprehend but his hand gestures were enough and we set off in the general direction of what Wikipedia tells me is now Palma Intermodal Station. I’m sure it wasn’t called that in 1972.

FEVE 3' gauge railcar and trailer at Palma station 9 November 1972

14 Suddenly, our holiday got better. There before us was the 3’ gauge Sóller Railway opened in 1912, complete with well maintained, lovely wooden electric rolling stock dating from at least 1929. Not only that but in an adjacent platform was the FEVE 3’ gauge line worked by diesel railcars that was opened to Inca in 1875 and other places north thereafter. Not having time to venture further that day, we vowed to return on the morrow and walked back into our hotel triumphant. The packaged tourists shunned us as oddballs but the occasional one broke away from the group and offered sympathy for what was obviously a strange illness we had contracted on the flight from Gatwick. Undeterred and emboldened, the next morning’s trip to Sóller was lovely, over the mountain and through beautiful countryside in bright sunshine. There were plenty of other tourists travelling on the Sóller Railway too but we didn’t see any of our packaged friends. We also saw the Sóller Tramway but didn’t take a ride on it; I forget why. Perhaps my mother reminded me that it was supposed to be her holiday as well. Next day back at Palma estación again we bought tickets to er, well, let’s just pick somewhere and see where we end up. So it was that a neat 3’ gauge, pale green FEVE diesel railcar on which we were the only tourists bounced us energetically along the double track line to Inca where we alighted. We ventured into the town where a market was in full swing. This was more like it, among the locals going about their lives, buying the stuff they needed and giving us insights into a different way of life. I bought a pair of trousers which I had to try on in a doorway around the corner, more or less hidden from view. I had them for years.

FEVE 3' gauge trailer car at Palma station 9 November 1972 15 Platforms crowded with locals at Inca as a FEVE 3' gauge railcar arrives on a Palma train. 9 November 1972

Puerto de Soller and trailer near Soller station 8 November 1972 16 Soller Railway electric locomotve and passengers boardign the coaches at Palma station 8 November 1972

Soller Railway electric locomotve and passengers boardign the coaches at Palma station 8 November 1972

17 Evidently, not enough tourists were like us and the line beyond Inca closed but, as elsewhere, happily there has been a revival and not only have closed lines beyond Inca reopened to and , as far as Inca the line is electrified at 1,500v DC overhead and the whole lot has been converted to metre gauge. TIB now operate a frequent service three times hourly to Inca, far better than I remember it being in 1972. The new Palma Metro provides further railway interest too.

I loved those little adventures, as you do when something good happens completely unexpectedly. So I’ll drink to Majorca’s railways that saved my mother and me from being completely packaged tourists, but you can bet your life it won’t be with Watney’s Red Barrel.

Soller Railway electric locomotve and passengers boardign the coaches at Palma station 8 November 1972

18 The Ferrocarril de Alicante a Denia By Rarfe Chambers

his metre gauge railway linked the two places named, and made a rather difficult end of line connection at Denia with the Ferrocarril de Carcagente a Denia. This T latter company was the first public metre gauge railway in Spain, using horse traction from 1864 until 1881. The extension from Gandia to Denia was opened in April 1884, and the railway belonged to the Compania de los Caminos de Hierro del Norte Espana, but was operated by the Estado from January 1942. Compared with this history, the Ferrocarril de Alicante a Denia was a late-coming railway, which was built by the Compania de Ferrocarriles Estrategicos y Secondarios de Alicante in 1914. It was always operated as one system, although an FC Estratigo from Villajoyosa to Denia and an FC Secundario from Alicante to Villajoyosa. I have been unable to discover what the difference is between a Strategico or a Secondario is, but the difference has been perpetuated by the initials ESA, by which the railway was known. The line was opened from Alicante to in October 1914 and from Altea to Denia in July 1915. A short extension from Alicante station to Alicante Puerto was opened in 1939. At Denia there was a connecting curve to the FC de Carcagente a Denia and the docks (very small). This curve was used from October 1959 until the closure of the Carcagente a Denia railway in 1974. There were two substantial stations in Denia, the ESA one and the Carcagente a Denia one, known as the Norte station because that railway was originally owned by the Norte de Espana Railway. From October 1959 until the final closure of the Carcagente a Denia railway two through railcars and one correo worked between Alicante and Carcagente, using the Norte station in Denia, but at least by 1962 the correo just went from Alicante to Denia and back, although two railcars in each direction went Alicante, Denia and Carcagente and back. In 1967 we saw railcars going round the connecting curve, and I think that by then the ESA station in Denia was closed, and all trains went to the Norte station. The ESA was taken over by the Estado from August 1964, passing to FEVE, the Ferrocarriles de Via Estrecha in 1965. The works and principal locomotive shed was at Alicante, and there was a small shed at Denia. There was also a turntable and a small shed at Villajoyosa, which was the end of the FC Secundario from Alicante and the beginning of the FC Estratigo from there to Denia. The turntable pit and the sned building are still there, but no longer rail connected; not required by the . The ESA had a simple locomotive stock, less interesting than the Carcagente line, with it's 4-4-0ST's by Black Hawthorn and 0-6-0T's by Haine St Pierre and Franco Belge. The ESA had just 10 2-6-0T's built in 1913 by Hanomag and Maquinista Terrestre y Maritima of Barcelona. The first ESA railcar was built in 1930 by the Societe Espanola de Construcciones Navas of Sastro, Bilbao. It came to the ESA from the Ferrocarriles de Minas de Aznacollar al Guadalquavir at an unknown date. It was a diesel mechanical car, with a driven and two carrying . In 1949/50, two railcars were home-made, petrol driven but converted to diesel in 1956. These had one driven and one carrying axle, and went about with home-made 4- trailers. In 1958 came four

19 20/06/1963 at Denia ESA loco shed, 2-6-0T no. 3 by Hanomag in 1913.

12/01/1967 at Denia, on the curve between the ESA and the CD, with ESA 2-6-0T no. 3 on the daily shunt.

20 13/01/1967 at , ESA no.10 by MTM no. 74/1913, on the down daily freight.

25/03/1967 at Benidorm, an MOP Billard type railcar without trailer, and ESA No. 3 on the daily freight.

21 Billard type cars built by the Sociedad Minero Metallurgico de Penarroya, Spain, under license from Billard. These were Estado numbers 2123/4 and 5106/7, which became FEVE property in 1965. Another railcar built by Ferrotrade came new to the ESA in 1961, number 2145. I first visited the ESA in June 1963, on the way south and west from Valencia to Huelva, with my brother Richard. We didn't stay in Denia or Alicante very long. We arrived in a Billard railcar from Carcagente at 11.30 and caught the 11.55 ESA Alicante Billard railcar, just giving time to have a look at two of the 2-6-0T's, numbers 3 and 6 on shed. The ESA used to be very careless about running numbers and maker's plates on their locomotives, but number 3 was a Hanomag and number 6 was an MTM, recorded by me as MTM 77/13, but listed in booklet SNG as 73/13. Nothing else recorded going down to Alicante, but I thought the ride was superb, if a bit bumpy, for scenery, viaducts, tunnels and sea views, before so many smart villas were built. I was next in Denia in January 1967, during my honeymoon, but I still managed to see some trains. Out hotel there was overlooking (from the back) the curve between the ESA and the CD railways. We went on a trip to Benidorm for lunch one day, by train of course. We recently found a photograph of Benidorm taken a couple of months after out lunch-time visit. At that time, the Benidorm station was a plain second class station in the orange groves outside the town. Since then Benidorm has grown into a very large resort indeed, somewhat better than it's reputation on the TV. The station has been rebuilt of course, and Benidorm is currently the place where through passengers have to change from the to the FGC train. Originally, there were many tram lines in Alicante, from the turn of the 20th century. Firstly horse-drawn tramcars, then steam until electrified in 1923. There were trams all the way to and Crevillente. The system disappeared totally by 1969. The ESA railway went on as ever, from 1910 to the present day, but is now being turned into Tram line 1; in stages starting from Alicante towards Denia. The new metropolitan trams, run by the FGV, run underground through the city centre from Luceros, near to the ADIF main station to Sangueta, and little way out from Alicante Plaza del Mar, where the line of the ESA is met. In March 1999 an experimental tram route was set up between Plaza del Mar and Albatara, extended to in 2003, where is now found modern tram depot and workshop. The line under the Sierra Grossa and into the city centre at Marq quickly followed, with the line from Marq to Luceros opened in June 2010. The underground continuation from Luceros to the main line station is started but stalled through lack of funding. There are long term plans to extend the line(s) to the airport, El Altet, Elche, Gran Alacant, , Guardamar and , all very unlikely to get funding. I recently heard of a plan for different tunnel beneath the Sierra Grossa between the city and the coast at La Albuferata. I don't know where this is compared with the existing tunnel, but it is supposed to shorten the journey to San Juan, Campillo, Benidorm and Denia. This new tunnel was dug in early 2010 apparently and went according to schedule until the sring of 2011, when it fell victim to the Regional Government's spending cuts. Although excavated the tunnel rock faces need cement cladding and a further investment of $10 million before track and electrical installations 22 08/11/1978 at Alicante ESA station, the 10.15 dep. automotor to Denia with Billard type railcar 2115 and trailer 5106.

24/12/2006 at Denia FEVE terminus, with the 19.23 arr. ex Alicante, with 2315 plus 2310 railcars by MMC/MAN in 1967 for the Santander Bilbao Railway, re-engined with Volvo engines in 1997. Note the heavy graffiti. 23 24/12/2006 at Benidorm, 1030 'Ifach' and 1032 'Montgo' stored pending refurbishment and re-introduction of the Lemon Express. Bo-Bo diesel electrics by Babcock& Wilcox/GEE in 1958. Also heavily graffitid.

06/09/2007 at Lucentum (Alicante), tram to Campello (L3) with 4212/4211, by Bombardier - Flexity Outlook trams. 24 can be put in place. The tunnel is boarded up to keep out vandals and squatters. It is said to cost $100,000 per year for maintenance, and no date hs been set by FGV for renewing work. The Sierra Grossa, underneath the Castle of Santa Barbara had been where much of the building stone for the fine Belle Epoch buildings in Alicante had been quarried. In the 19th Century, a firm called the British Refinery had 5000 metres of tunnel with fuel tanks therein, and in the Civil War (1937-46) there was a concentration camp, the Campo de los Almendros, built by the Italians, to retain 'military refugees' in Alicante. It was claimed to be the last redoubt for loyalist troops for the 2nd Republic. qThe ESA had a fairly famous tourist train called the Lemon Express, which ran from 1971 for 7 or 8 years, between Benidorm and Gata de Gorgos, where the partakers of the train ride were expected to visit a basket-making factory and various other small tourist shops. It ran on a very picturesque part of the line, and the train became famous for the amount of booze consumed by the excursionists. I never went on this train, although I have seen it parked out of use at both Benidorm and El Campello Tram Depot. The stock belonged to the FEVE/FGV, and consisted of 3 class 1000 Bo-Bo diesel electric 590 kW locomotives, built by Alsthom/SACM in 1964; the 1022 'Benacantil', 1030 'Ifach' and 1032 'Montgo'. They used various bogie carriages, originally from the old 'correo', then changed for some better ones - I know not where from. The service ran on Sundays and Bank Holidays from 1971 for 7 or 8 years, until the promoter, a British businessman went broke. Another 'ex-pat' businessman called Rudy Meyer took over running the train in 1988 and struggled on with it until 2005. He would like to get it going again, but he reckons he needs $1.5 million Euros spent on it; and the FGV have no money to spend on any refurbishment of locomotives and stock. I really doubt that it will ever happen, but it still makes the local ex-pat newspapers as a story every now and then. I was last on the line on Christmas Eve 2015 with my wife Gill. We were spending the Christmas break in Benidorm, and went to Denia for a day trip. Benidorm is, for now, still the place to change from Tram to FGV train, but they are working on the line to Denia quite actively. It was a new experience for me to be bustituted around the working site, between Altea and Calpe. Gill enjoyed the bus section, which went straight up the N332, and it gave me some views of the line which I would not normally have seen. It was very efficiently done. I suppose the railcars will soon be done away with, and sent away up North to work, if required there. I would like to see some new trams on line 1, more suitable for the distance from Alicante to Denia, but once again there is not so much money about for such things, but at least the line seems to have a secure future.

25 06/09/2007 at Creuta. A DMU from Denia with 2502/2501. ex 2301/2302, built by MAN/Euskladuna/Atiensa 1966-1973. 2502/2501 rebuilt by CAF/Babcock & Wilcox/Macosa1984 and Suncove Sunsundequi 2006. Creuta was a temporary change-over point from Tram to DMU while the track was being rebuilt.

24/12/2015 at Denia FGV station, DMU set 2511 and 2512 arrives from Calpe at 10.57. 26 26/12/2015 at Villa Joyosa, Tram to Benidorm with 4104/4154/6154, at 11.12 arrive.

24/12/2015, at Calpe. DMU 2502 arrives from Denia. 27 Expensive Ticket to Segovia By Malcolm Simister

ENFE’s standard gauge Alta Velocidad Española (AVE) line from Madrid to Leon has been engineered superbly but may be a financial white elephant R contributing to Spain’s dire financial situation. I travelled from Madrid Chamartin to Segovia Guiomar on a family day out in June 2015 when the line was only open as far as Valladolid. I really hope that the extension to Leon opened on 29 September 2015 has increased traffic on the line significantly. Our 25 minute ride was smooth, comfortable and fast, as you would expect in a four-car Class 114 EMU but the number of passengers carried on the roughly hourly frequency services hardly justifies the enormous cost of burrowing straight through the Sierra de Guadarrama in a 28 km long tunnel, the longest main line tunnel in Spain. According to Wikepedia, the 180 km-long Madrid to Vallodolid section cost €4.2 billion to build, a good part of which must have been for that tunnel alone, while the 165 km- long onward extension to Leon cost a comparatively meagre €1.6 billion. And, frankly, those costs look very low, especially compared with the estimated £43 billion-and- counting cost of Britain’s planned 540 km-long HS2. Perhaps the Spaniards regard this AVE line as a ‘nation-building’ project that is worthwhile for other than purely financial reasons but there are only so many projects that don’t produce a financial return a country can afford. A terrible example of money that seems to have been poured down the drain is the €1.1 billion Cuidad Real Central Airport 200 km south of Madrid, which initially attracted a few flights but which now sees no flights at all. That’s right, a large, almost brand new airport used by no flights at all. Zip, zilch, zero. The plane in Spain rains money mainly down the drain? Whatever its number of passengers, the Leon line is at least better than that. It leaves Madrid amidst suburban lines and after about 17 kilometres starts climbing steeply 474 metres to its summit 1,197 metres above sea level inside Guadarrama tunnel, 50 kilometres from Chamartin, from where it descends steeply to Segovia. In addition to that tunnel, the other main physical features of the line are the nine kilometre long San Pedro tunnel, and the nearly-two km-long Arroyo Valley viaduct, 32 kms from Madrid. No wonder this was not a cheap line to build. Although the line was engineered for 300 km/h running, the 4,000kW Class 114 EMUs are limited to 250 km/h but at 16.2 kW/ tonne they pack a punch. For comparison, nine-car Virgin Pendolinos on Britain’s West Coast Main Line have a power/weight ratio of 10.8 kW/tonne but the Spanish 350 km/ h Class 112 EMUs dwarf both them and the 114s with a power/weight ratio of 24.1 kW/tonne. I was only able to make rough notes of the 1130 Madrid-Segovia and the 1815 return services due to my unfamiliarity with the line and to timing in Spain generally but thanks to a line profile sourced from the Railway Performance Society I have pieced together the outline logs in the table. Coincidentally, both runs were on the same unit. I took the speeds from the speedometer in the passenger saloon which was probably accurate enough judging by the strict observance of the unit’s speed limit. There were about 200 people on the run from Madrid but that from Segovia was lightly loaded. The day was uncharacteristically wet and Madrid suffered a torrential downpour 28 A pato/duck Class 102 in ducks weather at Madrid Chamartin 11 June 2015

Class 114 EMU ready for departure at Madrid Chamartin 11 June 2015 29 in mid-morning, although the skies cleared before our train left. Similarly, Segovia was deluged in the late afternoon but the rails were dry before our train departed. You will see that the two trains achieved almost exactly the same time with very different running. On the run to Segovia speeds were comparatively sedate until inside Guadarrama tunnel while on the return train speeds were higher but a slow approach to Madrid dissipated all the gain. Both runs were comfortably inside the public schedule. However, while the train journey was less than 26 minutes, because Segovia Guiomar station is in the middle of nowhere seven kilometres from the centre of town, the connecting bus ride doubled (trebled on the way back) the journey time from central Madrid to central Segovia. But it was well worth it. Segovia boasts a stunning Roman aqueduct, beautiful old buildings lining the steep and narrow streets and for lunch we tucked into a local delicacy of cochinillo, suckling pig, delicious but slightly monotonous without veggies and initially a little confronting as a whole piglet on the dish in the centre of the table. We also discovered on our return ride from central Segovia to Guiomar station during the deluge that the bus leaked and some passengers got rather wet, but we all got soaked running from the bus to the shelter of the station building. I think the planners of Britain’s HS2 should learn from Segovia and change their plans to build stations some distance from the city centres they Date: Thu 11 June 2015 purport to serve. People travelling Unit (both runs): EMU, No. 114-05 to Birmingham, Manchester or Power & weight: 4,000kW Sheffield don’t want to be 247t; dumped on the outskirts of the Weight & kW/tonne 16.2kW/t city and have to take local transport to the centre. Indeed, Dist Location Sch Actual Speeds travelling from London to Km m m:s km/h Birmingham it may be just as fast 1130 Madrid-Segovia to take a Virgin Pendolino to 0.0 Madrid Chamartin plat 17 0.00 New Street rather than an HS2 17.0 Rail underbridge 5.56 train to Curzon Street and then a 22.3 San Pedro tunnel IN 10.51 215 bus or taxi. And whatever the 31.5 San Pedro tunnel OUT 13.22 capacity constraints of New Street 34.6 Soto de Real 14.23 222 and Manchester Piccadilly, surely 36.6 Guadarrama tunnel IN 15.00 213 the existing Sheffield, Nottingham and Derby stations would be 65.3 Guadarrama tunnel OUT 23.09 249 max preferable to Meadowhall 67.4 Segovia Guiomar plat 3 27 25.46 Interchange and East Midlands Hub (ugh!). 1815 Segovia-Madrid Whatever, I am pleased 0.0 Segovia Guiomar plat 5 0.00 that both Spain and Britain are 2.1 Guadarrama tunnel IN 2.50 171 investing in their railways and I 30.8 Guadarrama tunnel OUT 10.39 249 look forward to sampling more 32.8 Soto de Real 11.09 249 Spanish AVEs and, in due course, 35.9 San Pedro tunnel IN 11.58 249 British HS2 trains. 45.1 San Pedro tunnel OUT 14.05 250 50.4 Rail underbridge 19.05 30 67.4 Madrid Chamartin plat 17 27 25.50 Set 114-05 leaving Segovia Guiomar for Valladolid 11 June 2015

The comfortable interior of coach 6-114-605-9 in set 114-05 11 June 2015

31 Mountain loco waiting tor its stock. Foto Luque, Archivo Fernando Fernández Sanz