The End of the World Train (El Tren del Fin del Mundo) or the Tierra del Fuego Southern Railway (Ferrocarril Austral Fueguino (FCAF)) is a narrow gauge railway in the province of Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, which still uses a steam locomotive. It was originally built to serve the prison in Ushuaia, in particular to transport timber. It now operates as a historic railway in Tierra del Fuego National Park. It is considered the southernmost railway in the world.
History
At the end of the 19th century, a penal colony was built on the Tierra del Fuego archipelago, the first prisoners arrived there in 1884. In 1902, the construction of a complex of buildings for service personnel began, and a railway was also built on wooden slats for transporting materials, mainly stones, sand and wood. The original pulling power of the railroad was bulls, which pulled carriages along narrow gauge tracks less than 1 m (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) wide. In 1909, the head of the colony informed the Argentine government of the need to improve the railroad, and in 1909-1910 new tracks, 600 mm (1 foot 11 5⁄8 inches) wide, were paved for the steam locomotive. This renewed railway connected the colony with the forestry and ran along the coastline to the town of Ushuaia, which was rapidly being built and developed. The railway was known as the "Train of Prisoners" (Spanish: Tren de los Presos) and delivered timber to the city, both for construction and for domestic needs.
As the surrounding forests were cleared, the railway gradually moved inland, along the valley of the Pipo River. The construction of the railway gave impetus to the expansion of the colony and the city.
In 1947, the penal colony was closed and a naval base was established in its place. Two years later, in 1949, an earthquake in Tierra del Fuego destroyed most of the road, however, the government made efforts to quickly clear the line and restore the railway connection. However, the railway line turned out to be unprofitable and in 1952 it was closed.
Revival of the road as a tourist site
In 1994, the railway was rebuilt for 500 mm (19 3⁄4 in) gauge and it started working again, although, in comparison with its prison past, in a much more luxurious form - with champagne and a restaurant. In 1995, a new steam locomotive of model 2-6-2T was purchased for the railway in Great Britain, which was named "Camila", and another, Argentine model 4-4-0, which was named "Porta". In addition to steam locomotives, three more diesel locomotives and two steam locomotives of the Garratt system were purchased for the railway. In 2006, another steam locomotive appeared on the railway, which was named "Zubeta", in honor of Hector Rodriguez Zubeta, a shipbuilder and the first popularizer of tourism in Tierra del Fuego.
On the renewed railway, trains leave from the End of the World station (about 10 km from Ushuaia Airport). The train route runs along the Pico Valley to the Toro Gorge and then to the Cascada de la Macarena station, where the train makes a 15-minute stop, during which visitors can learn more about the history and life of the Yagan tribe, the indigenous population of Tierra del Fuego, as well as climb to the observation deck site. Next, the train enters the national park, which lies in the valley between the mountains, and finally reaches the final station El Parque, from where visitors can return to the starting station by the same train or continue their tour of Tierra del Fuego.
In popular culture
The End of the World Train inspired American singer Michael Graves to write the song Train to the End of the World from his 2013 album Vagabond.
