This was one of the more successful of the mining ventures in Almeria, mainly because it had better planning and better investment. A line ran (see map) from mines in the mountains of the Sierra Alhamilla in the parish of Lucainena to the coast at Agua Amarga.
A consortium, the Mining Company of the Sierra Alhamilla (CMSA) was formed to exploit the mineral deposits there. It consisted of a number of mining engineers, managers and venture capitalists. These had already formed or belonged to successful companies in the Basque region of Spain. At least one of them, Juan Luis Lecoq, was involved with the construction of the GSSR. Another, Herman Borner appears in the stories of the Baños and Almagrera lines. However, after disagreements over money, Borner was dismissed from the CMSA.
The mines being some 30 km from the sea (the only practical long distance route in those days), either an aerial cable or a railway was needed. Given the terrain, a cable was easier but it was a long way and reliability could be a problem so a railway was chosen.
There were several possible routes, all of them involving steep gorges. The one chosen went just to the left of the small village of Agua Amarga, which means bitter water, a reflection of the quality of that liquid from the wells there.
In 1895 a Royal Order granted the concession for a railway for 99 years. Work started and the line was completed in 1896. At the same time it was found that the iron ore contained iron carbonate. This would have to be burnt off in what are known as calcination ovens.
In 1898 the upper line was extended. At the same time an inclined plane was constructed and later on, another one. Also, two calcination ovens were built and an inclined plane built to connect with them.
The ore was, as was common, available at first by open cast workings. These were soon exhausted and tunnels and galleries were built. Work started at the upper levels and gradually came down as the seams were exhausted, having in many cases yielded over a million tons of ore. In 1900 more work was carried out as mining progressed down the mountain . A 1,500 ton hopper was built next to Lucainena Station capable of moving 1,000 tons of mineral per day.
A network of narrow gauge lines appeared as well as various inclined planes. As mining expanded, so did this network until it was some 5 km long. The number of inclined planes rose to eight. Inside the mines mules (and men) hauled the wagons. To get from the mine entrance to the ovens then the main line depended on the mine’s location. At the higher level there were linking lines, some operated by steam locos. Others used inclined or level planes operated by electric or steam motors. As work moved down the hillside, old lines and planes were dismantled and new ones built. However the plane from the calcination ovens remained throughout.
Dug out of the pit face - carried in esparto baskets to the internal mine line - loaded onto a wagon - taken along a mine track by mule - taken along an outside track by steam engine, possibly also down an inclined plane - Put into a calcination oven - heated - taken out and washed - loaded onto another inclined plane wagon - taken to the main line and loaded onto trucks - taken to Agua Amarga - put onto another inclined plane and loaded into a hopper - taken out of the hopper and loaded into another wagon - pushed by hand to the pier - tipped down a chute into the ship’s hold!
And this does not include any operations at the destination!
The company made good progress and paid regular dividends until WW1. The early 1920s saw a price crash in ore (see my book on the GSSR) which caused many to go under and seriously damaged the CMSA. The huge hoppers at Agua Amarga (see below) were full because no-one wanted to buy. The company made a loss for the first time. There was a short recovery but like the GSSR, it was a downward path to closure which eventually came in 1942.
Here were located the mines, a station, workshops, stores, a steam electricity generator (later diesel), the management office and hoppers. Among the station buildings were the maintenance workshops, forge, boiler repair, inspection pit, and store. Little remains today except the company house (centre), now a workshop and the chimney of what may have been the steam-driven power station.The workshops and sheds were to the front and left of the picture as were the various sidings.
Looking from the station towards the mines, only trackways are visible. The initial workings were at the top of the mountain to the left. The ore came down on a huge inclined plane, called the Burrucho plane. It reached the line somewhere in the middle distance of the picture, passing in front of the white house that can just be seen centre left on a rise. Later ore came down a different plane straight ahead. A tower can be seen in the distance, behind the small white building.
The manager's house still stands behind the station. Today it is used as a training school.
The Burrucho inclined plane went straight up the mountain to the top where the initial workings were. Note the white house referred to in the previous picture. When the workings wer moved half-way down the mountain, the top half of the plane was abandoned and a new station built which can still be seen.
Looking at Burrucho from the side, shows the left hand side of the mountain. At the top are the remains of the loading area and, to the right remnants of the first workings. These were open cast mines.
This is a close-up of the top of the inclined plane. A narrow gauge line ran along the top of the mountain and fed the plane. The tunnel was a culvert. To the left are the ruins of a building.
Further along the mountain top were the workings. They were reached by a series of railway lines and short inclined planes. The workings eventually extended well to the right of the picture.
The most outstanding sight today is the row of calcination ovens. Here, the ore was heated to drive off impurities before being shipped.
Starting at Lucainena station the line passed over a road via a level crossing. This, like many of the time, used chains but later had them replaced by counterweighted barriers. The line started by following the Alias Rambla (AKA the Lucainenea Rambla) on the right hand side. There were a number of small rivers which were crossed by bridges.
After a while the route crossed the rambla by near Los Olvillos. After some level crossings and underpasses it arrived at Peralejos station.
Shortly before crossing the rambla again the line entered a 100 m tunnel, the only one on the line. Here the line left the rambla and headed out towards the Nijar plain.
In a couple of kilometres the line crossed the main road to Almeria (now the motorway) near to Venta del Pobre. The next station was here, called Camarillas (now destroyed and covered by a factory).
At this point the gradient became very gentle as it crossed the Nijar Plain. There was one more station before Agua Amarga, at the hamlet of La Palmerosa.
I haven't yet found the exact location of La Palmerosa station, but this must be near as it is opposite La Palmerosa farm. A bridge crosses the Rambla La Palmerosa here. The view from the bridge leads back towards Lucainena.
Four views of the trackway from La Palmerosa towards Agua Amarga. The line crosses several embankments and cuttings here.
Nearer to Agua Amarga the line took a wide sweep to keep the gradient slight. On the left, Agua Amarga is in the distance. On the right the sweep of the track is seen, with the flat top of Mesa Roldan in the distance.
For the final approach to Agua Amarga the line was flat as can be seen from this picture of the trackway just before it reaches the Cargadero (behind). The distant view is of the Sierra Alhamilla where Lucainena is situated some 30 km away (by rail).
These were built by taking advantage of the Calareno barranco which sloped down from the Nijar Palain to the sea. Enormous deposits were built in its interior. They were conical and had a capacity of 45,000 tons. There were also auxiliary deposits built underground on the right-hand slopes, see picture below.
In the upper part of the workings, some 80m above sea level, the main line finished. At the top, the line split. One branch continued on the level along the edge of the barranco. Its purpose was to fill the auxiliary underground hoppers via the small branches to the train's left. It also connected with an inclined plane that went down to Agua Amarga (Shown as "oil store" in the picture). This plane brought coal for the ovens, wood for heating, machinery, foodstuff and other essential goods for the miners. It was all brought from ships moored near to the coast. At the bottom were fuel oil stores for the Lucainena generator.
The second branch continued down the barranco by means of a 231m inclined plane. It dropped 40m and operated in successive sets of six wagons, three loaded going down and three empty going up.
At the foot of the plane, lines branched out, some linked with the underground deposit, while others fed, via metal bridges, the main hoppers. Mineral was taken from the auxiliary hoppers to the main ones by wagons pushed by six or seven men, since there were no engines at the bottom of the inclined plane.
Under the main hoppers were access tunnels, in which were 600mm lines. Wagons were filled with ore, then moved, again by hand, to the pier. The distance was 166m. Four arms went to the main hopper and one to the exterior.
The last part of the journey by land was across a great metal bridge. This was an inverted (rails on top) cantilever bridge that extended 70m over the sea and 14m above it. It was built by Miravalles who constructed cantilever bridges all over Spain (see the Bedar and Almagrera lines). The bridge carried four lines, two out and two back. At the end were chutes, which discharged the ore directly into the hold of the ship.
Along the top are the ruins of the harbour-master’s house, the telephone exchange and various offices.
This is a view of showing the path of the inclined plane leading to the main hoppers. Above is the side of the barranco along which the track to the auxilliary hoppers and the Agua Amarga ran. Some of the ruined buildings can be seen as can the wall of one of the auxilliary hoppers.
Various views of the main hoppers.
Entrance to one of the Auxilliary hoppers and the trackway leading to it.
Exit from the main hopper showing path of 600mm trackway and the end of the 600mm line where the support for the cantilever bridge can still be seen.
Like the GSSR, water was a big problem due to impurities causing blockages in the boiler tubes. However the CMSA had the advantage that it had more engines than operationally required, so it could afford to have half the fleet undergoing maintenance and half in operation.
The line had two types of steam engine, 040s for mine work and 064 or 062s for the main line.
The first two were built by Sachsische Maschinenfabrik of Chemnitz. They were called Gracia and Visto respectively and were sent to the CMSA at Lucainena. They seem to have disappeared without trace early on.
The other 040s were constructed by Sharp-Stewart of Glasgow. In 1895/6 they were given the names Manuela and El Negro. They later were sent to Setares mine (Cantabria).
The British firm Nasmyth Wilson built the first three engines, called Lucainena, Nijar and Agua Amarga in 1895. The construction numbers were 464-466. They had two large side tanks that extended right to the front of the engine. The cabin was large and contained a coal bunker at the rear. Since there were no turntables on the line, the engines always operated the same way – pointing towards Lucainena. So when travelling with loaded wagons by travelling backwards they acted like 460’s or 260’s.
In 1896 the fleet was augmented by a new engine from Hasslet, works number 659. It was of type 062T and given the name Carboneras (a nearby fishing town).
The history of this engine did not finish with the closure of the Lucainena line. It went to the Hulleras de Riosa Society of Asturia. Here it towed coal from the mines near to La Foz to the washing area of La Pereda. It was scrapped before the closure of this line in 1970.
I found reference to the Hunslet engine’s final destination in a document on the web by R S Fraser.
(During the course of two weeks’ wanderings in Northern Spain during June 1962 the writer and his two friends, Geoff Hooper and Peter Pearce, discovered many industrial railways of varying gauges previously unknown to British enthusiasts.)
“Standing out of use in a siding we found a Henschel 0-4-0 side tank and an outside-framed Hunslet 0-6-2 side tank (659 of 1896), the latter being supplied originally to the Sierra Alhamilla line in Southern Spain.”
The following is a translation from part of a Spanish site on the Riosa mine in Northern Spain. It also deals with the Hunslet machine.
“This locomotive, of type 062 T, was built by Hunslet Engines in 1896 for the mining railroad of Lucainena de las Torres, to Agua Amarga, in Almería. It arrived at La Pereda at the end of the fifties, although is unknown if it saw service on another line between the closure of the Lucainena line and then. It was a very large locomotive, weighed 27 tons in service, and the last one to arrive at this line. In its initial operations it was called Carboneras but in Riosa it was known as Mariona. It used Walschaerts gearing.
It was a machine too wide for 750 mm gauge, which caused it to overturn frequently; however, its size permitted it to develop a great power. It had an exterior frame and the wheels were stable with exterior counterweights. Its original cabin was modified to allow for the tunnels that had reduced clearance.
When it arrived it underwent a complete overhaul. The cab was rebuilt to take account of the height of the tunnels. However it had adhesion problems because the wheel bands had worn with use the use and the wheels slipped. The problem was solved with new bands. It was an older machine than the others and looked it.”
An additional 062 was added in 1902. This was built in Scotland by Sharp-Stewart, who built the 040’s. This was bought because of the increase in traffic caused by the exploitation of new seams.
The works number of the Sharp was 4,924. It was bigger and more powerful than the rest of the fleet. In fact this extra size caused problems because it tended to widen the tracks on bends. It was named Perelejos after the second station on the line. Later the name was changed to Rivas after one of the directors of the company. During the final years of the line it was used infrequently due to its weight. However it was known to have pulled a 40 wagon train, twice that of normal trains. It was painted in the same colours as the 064’s (red and black). The driving wheels had a diameter of just under 0.8m.
As might be expected most of the stock comprised ore wagons. They were fairly basic, box shaped, with openings at the end rather than the side, thus they always had to face the same way for discharging at Agua Amarga. They were painted red and carried the CMSA emblem on the side. The company had over 150 of them. Because the main line, the loading bay lines and the mining lines were all the same gauge (750 mm), the wagons could be used almost anywhere.
There were a couple of passenger coaches. One was for staff, the other was used to go to bullfights.
All the rolling stock had a single central buffer.
The railway also had a platform wagon that was used on occasions for special merchandise.
The final stretch of line from the Agua Amarga hoppers to the cantilever pier was, however, different. The gauge was 600 mm and the trucks, manually operated, all had hand brakes.
Reference. Trenes cables y minas de Almería. In Spanish by José Antonio Gómes Martinez and José Vicente Coves Navarro.
Nasmyth Wilson and Co by John Cantrell gives the history of the company that built three of the engines.