The largest of all the railways is the Buenos Aires Great Southern. Formed in 1862 to take over a Buenos Aires State line of 71 miles, which was opened in 1865, it has gradually extended over the Province and beyond, and now has 2,745 miles of line and is also the richest railway company in the country. The capital is about forty million sterling, and for ten years interest at the rate of 7 per cent. has been paid upon the ordinary stock. It has the great advantage over all competitors in serving nothing but rich country, and practically all its points are within 200 miles of the ports of Buenos Aires or Bahia Blanca. The policy of the Great Southern, while financially sound, has been one of remarkable enterprise, and the distant future has always been kept in view. Money has been spent lavishly with the object of obtaining all strategical points and access into promising country. At Bahia Blanca a large steel mole and grain wharf have been constructed, with the best machinery for loading and unloading, and accommodation for fourteen ocean steamers. Control has also been obtained of a dock company at La Plata, as well as an important interest in the Buenos Aires Southern Dock Company, where accommodation is provided for twenty steamers. Nothing has been left undone in the way of providing docking facilities, and the rolling stock is in excellent condition and great abundance. This is necessary for grain-carrying lines, because their goods traffic comes with a rush at one time. Congress has sanctioned the construction of additional lines of 1,176 miles, chiefly in the region of the Rios Colorado and Negro. As the irrigation schemes will make this a rich grain district, the railway may look for large traffic increases. In the future there will be strong competition in the Province of Buenos Aires from several French and State lines, but the history of Argentine railway development has been largely the record of the absorption by a great line of its smaller competitors, and the position of the Great Southern is now so strong and its extensions have been so judiciously planned, that its continued prosperity may be confidently predicted. It works the Buenos Aires Midland and the Buenos Aires, Ensenada, and South Coast.
The Buenos Aires and Pacific Railway looms more largely in the view of the world than its neighbours, and its history presents so many features of interest that it deserves to be described in somewhat fuller detail. Although its present mileage (2,712) is very nearly as large as that of the Great Southern, it is not an old line. The Company was formed in 1882 to construct a broad-gauge line from Mercedes to Villa Mercedes, and this was soon extended to the City of Buenos Aires, which became the headquarters. This, however, was insufficient scope for the enterprising Company, and in 1904 control was obtained over the Bahia Blanca and North-Western Railway, which now has a length of 665 miles, and thus an immense step in advance was taken by securing a terminus at a town which will probably be the chief grain port in South America. Four years earlier a similar, though less important, step was taken to compete with another rival by taking over the Villa Maria and Rufino Railway. This was a short section from the town of Villa Maria between Cordoba and Rosario to Rufino on its own main line, and thus the Buenos Aires Pacific was in a position to make terms with its northern rivals. But a still more important extension than either of the above was to follow. The Argentine Great Western ran from Villa Mercedes to Mendoza, and had also branches to San Rafael, San Juan, and other small places. Thus it had a monopoly of the wine traffic, which is very valuable in itself and doubly so because it comes on at a season in the year when it does not interfere with other traffic. This line has a mileage of 500 miles, and gross receipts of about a million sterling. For a long time the Argentine Great Western stood out, but was in 1907 induced to give way on somewhat extravagant terms, and thus the enterprising Company was not far from its goal of being a real Pacific Railway. In fact, there was included in this deal an arrangement which practically assured this result, for the Great Western had already taken over the Argentine Transandine, which thus became a part of the Buenos Aires Pacific system. This is a small line of 111 miles of metre gauge, which runs from Mendoza to the Chilian frontier, where it joins the Chilian lines at Las Cuevas. Here a great tunnel has been completed under the Andes, and it will be open for traffic by the time this book is published. The magnificent system is the admiration of the whole world. The Buenos Aires and Pacific is the only line in South America which has established through communication between the Atlantic and Pacific, and up to Mendoza the line is well laid, and it carries passengers speedily and with all possible comfort. But it has had to pay for its footing and the expense of acquiring sections, which are valuable rather as rounding off its own system and preventing encroachments by other companies, has been enormous, and it has been obliged to make repeated applications for capital in the London market. The traffic with Valparaiso, although the extension is a showy scheme, is not likely to pay for many years, and the difficulty of running trains through winter blizzards and snowdrifts will be considerable. The heavy expenditure has had a temporary effect, and the stock has experienced a heavy fall during the last few months. But the Company has placed itself in a position where it has little to fear from competition and where it can secure the full advantages from the future development of Argentina. This railway may be considered one of the most magnificent commercial enterprises in South America.
RAILWAY STATION, BUENOS AIRES GREAT SOUTHERN RAILWAY.
The Central Argentine is one of the most prosperous of railways. It has the largest gross receipts and makes the most profit per mile and it is also of very long standing. It began in 1864 with a line from Rosario to Cordoba and for a long time met with severe competition from the Buenos Aires and Rosario line, which worked practically the same districts, but in 1902 an amalgamation was effected. But the Mitre Law has been unfavourable to it, and for some years the Government insisted that the two lines should continue to be worked separately, and it was only last year that their complete union was sanctioned. Rosario is the centre of the system, and here the Company owns extensive dockyards, and lines run both to Tucuman and Cordoba. A port, Villa Constitucion, within 32 miles of Rosario, is also being developed, but competition is feared from Santa Fé, where very large extensions are being made, and although the Central Argentine has access to that port, a French company is in a better position for taking advantage of the facilities. In fact, the line is exposed to very severe competition from two French companies, the Cordoba Central, the Buenos Aires Central, and the Rosario and Western, a light railway, but it is large and wealthy and should have little to fear. It has an enormous grain traffic, but it serves the older and more settled districts, and therefore cannot hope to increase its traffic in the immediate future as rapidly as some of the pioneer railways. However, it has been pointed out in another chapter that the development of the Gran Chaco and extensions into Paraguay and Brazil must ultimately vastly add to the wealth and importance of Rosario and hence to that of the Central Argentine. But this is a matter of the distant future. The Central Argentine pursues a conservative policy in finance and has for many years paid 6 per cent. on the ordinary stock. It is in a very sound position, a most comfortable line, and the management is highly efficient. The length of line is 2,392 miles.
There are two competing lines which serve the eastern river district adjacent to Uruguay, namely, the Entre Rios and the Argentine North-Eastern. Both have a gauge of 4 feet 8½ inches. The Entre Rios is a short line of only 656 miles, but it is of some importance on account of its ferry service which connects Zarate with Ibicuy on the left bank of the Parana. The railway then runs north to the important town of Parana, which is the headquarters. No dividend has yet been paid on the ordinary stock, and the cumulative preference is somewhat in arrears, for the district is mainly pastoral and that part of the line which was taken over from the Provincial Government in 1891 is badly laid, but when Entre Rios becomes a large grain-producing region the prospects of the Company will improve, and already it does a good trade in supplying Buenos Aires with fruit and vegetables, while the management is economical. Of its traffic some 17 per cent. is live stock, 15 wheat, and 11 linseed.
The North-Eastern, which has 510 miles of railway, should be assured of a prosperous future, for Posadas, the northern headquarters, is now connected with Asuncion by the Paraguay Central Railway and will get much benefit from the development of that hitherto secluded country. It is still a pioneer line running through swamps and forests and country which is to a great extent unpopulated, and the goods which it carries consist chiefly of cattle and their products. The swampy nature of the country entails considerable expense in construction, but the Company pays a strict regard to economy, and the capitalisation per mile is only £8,680. Since June 30, 1907, the working expenses have been cut down from 65.10 to 57.17 per cent. Although the prospects of this line are fair they would undoubtedly be better if an amalgamation could be effected with the Entre Rios, for the district does not yet possess sufficient traffic for two competing lines. The scheme has long been under consideration, and as the policy of amalgamation has been carried on so extensively in recent years it may be that it will eventually be accomplished.
A small railway of 167 miles, under Argentine management, should here be mentioned. It runs westward from the capital to Rojas, and there is also a very important branch of 27 miles which runs to Zarate and connects with the Entre Rios system by a train ferry. In 1906 this Company took over the Tramway Rural à Vapor from Messrs. Lacroze Bros. The line has a gauge of 4 feet 8½ inches. The Company owns valuable property in Buenos Aires and has a terminal station at the suburb of Chacarita, and it serves a profitable district and is also a link with the Argentine Mesopotamia, but it has been obliged to make heavy outlays upon the permanent way. The line was originally a light railway and therefore in indifferent condition for heavy traffic. The ordinary share capital of the Company, which is exclusively held in Argentina, has been increased to over a million sterling. There were issued also in 1907 £600,000 4½ per cent. First Mortgage Debentures to extend the line from Salto to Rojas. This was subscribed in London. It is a good property.