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THE STORY OF THE GUADIX - BAZA SECTION FROM THE LOCAL PRESS

DATEFROM THE PRESS
07/03/1885The auction for the railway between Murcia and Granada.
22/03/1885The stations that will comprise the railway will be as follows: 1st class: Murcia, Guadix, Granada; 2nd class: Alcantarilla, Alhama de Murcia, Lorca, Baza and Iznalloz; 3rd class: Librilla, Totana, Puerto Lumbreras, Huércal Overa, Albox, Partaloa, Purchena, Lúcar, Serón, Gor, Darro, Bogarre, Deifontes and Peligros.
19/04/1885From the different reports which we have published, our regular readers know that on the 7th March last the the auction of the concession between Murcia and Granada was settled with a respectable English company.

Concerning a line of great interest for the towns of the West of the Province of Almeria, we will give some reports of the railway which we have seen published in various local papers.

The route will be straight between Murcia and Lorca with gentle inclines and relatively little building works.

From Lorca up to the Murcian boundary the countryside is more rugged up to the rivers Sangonera and Almanzora which pertain to Puerto Lumbreras. Passing Rambla de Béjar, to avoid a great undulation of the terrain there has been adopted a ramp of 1 in 58, then following the side of the said valley for 22km, to the town of Huércal Overa, a distance of 1.5km. It will continue towards the boundary between the ocean and the Mediterranean with many inclines and declines, some steep to avoid the construction of huge embankments and cuttings and to pass about 500m from the town of Albox and Partaloa; and will continue from here to the environs of Somontín and then on to Lúcar and Serón, with on its left Sulfí, Armuña and Tíjola. In this stretch there will be much construction work.

From here the track will continue on to the Baza incline, crossing important inclines such as Balax, Lay, La Molinera, Bodurria, La Clina and others, arriving at the plains between Baza and Guadix, Km 185.

Skirting the mountains up to the gorge of The Venta de Baúl, the highest point on the route, that being 1,276.26 metres (4,187ft) above sea level, then following on to the town of Gor, along the gorge of the same name, continuing on both sides and passing easier topography between Gor to the outskirts of Guadix.

Continuing through the plains of Guadix and the right banks of its river until it will cross the River Vardés twice, hence following a zig-zag and then through two small tunnels.

Initially it will rise up to the crossing of rivers Guadix and Fiñana, passing close to Benalúa, continuing along the slopes of The Mountains of Harana, the plains of Bogarre, having to pass through a tunnel near to Belerda.

Continuing in the direction of Iznalloz, whose difficult crossing will be ameliorated by crossing the river with a pontoon, rising by way of an embankment which will be 29 metres in height and cutting through some of the houses of the town.

The track will continue through the River Cubillas basin, following the wilderness of the Harana Mountains and near to Venta de Calderón, crossing twice River Cubillas after passing through the town of Delfontes, whose boundaries enter into the fertile plains of Granada. From here it will continue through the famous Granadan plains in the direction of Peligros nearly parallel to the Madrid - Granada road, it not being politic to mention the amount of work needed to build this section. The track will terminate in Las Eras de Cristo where a first class terminus will be built. The total length will be 317,843.17 metres.
09/05/1886From 'El Liberal': "It is interesting that the London press has reported on the prospectus of a company which is intending to build a great railway in the south of Spain, from Granada to Guadix and Baza and which will therefore pass through the rich and populous Almanzora Valley and passing therough Huécal but the most interesting is as follows: 'In addition to the grant from the Government of 523,000 British pounds sterling, the provincial authorities have promised the sum of 4,000,000 British pounds (some ten million reales) also to be paid in stages. According to our information, the company is called 'The Great Southern of Spain Railway', with a capital of 1,240,000 pounds sterling, represented by 125,000 shares of 10 pounds each. It is said that the company has accepted the contract for the construction of the railway in total for the amount of 2,877,000 pounds. The company offices are situated in 9 New Broad Street.'"
01/08/1903According to news from Guadix and Baza: The construction of the railway between Murcia and Granada will continue with much activity in the two extremes of the stated line. In the area of Guadix many groups of workers are involved in the construction of cuttings. In addition, they continue to work in Baúl on the bridge.
16/03/1905The company 'Los Caminos de Hierro del Sur de España' has requested payment of a grant corresponding to the completed second section of 4km between Baza and Guadix.
08/04/1905It is probable that during the next month of October it will be possible to open the section of the line between Baza and Guadix if the level of activity continues at the current rate. In a few days a ballast machine which had to lay ballast in different sections of the line from Baza will come by road from Lorca and be used for other sections up to Baúl Station. Additionally, a start will be made on the stations of Freila, Zújar, Baúl, Gor and Hernán Valle, placing them very close to their respective towns.
01/06/1906It is only a few days since the laying of the track was started on the route from Baza and in spite of the numerous problems that they have experienced which have complicated the starting of these works, they have actually finished three kilometres of track. It is important to praise the contractor who overcame a thousand difficulties in the means of transport and who started the works of laying 40,000 sleepers of excellent quality. It is probable that the ballast laying machine will finish the section between Baza and Guadix.
16/08/1905An Almerian market observer has said that, as someone who has worked on the Baza Guadix line and is knowldgeable in railway construction, the line will not be finished by the end of the year, nor in September which they have promised various times.
16/12/1905At the end of this month of January the Compañia de los Caminos de Hierro del Sur de España will inaugurate the public service of the railway between Baza and Guadix, and for this reason they have orders to finish the construction of Granada Station with all speed. There will be festivals in both Baza and Guadix to celebrate the opening of the line.
01/01/1906The locomotive has already passed over the River Grado Bridge, the magnificent construction on Km 6 of the line between Guadix and Baza, which is formed by a span of 40m in height and with four arches formed of elegant stonework. Apart from the problems of the Gor Viaduct, this line would have been inaugurated as we have said recently, in this month of January.
01/02/1906According to our esteemed colleague the maritime representative, it has been necessary to delay the opening of the Baza to Guadix section of the railway, the last part of the Murcia to Granada railway, until April or May due to the fact that one of the pillars of the important Gor Viaduct has subsided by 40cm. The said works are for the construction of a new pillar with footings of 15 metres, 8 more than the base that has subsided. This supposes that the will be a cost of 300,000 pesetas to the company as well as the loss of valuable time which they have over time tried to save. They have entrusted the works to Señor Bota, head of Tracks and Works of the line.
08/02/1906According to what we read from our colleague, a few days ago, after they finished the excavation of the old pillar, they dug visibly very deeply until they reached the necessary solid ground. The works that they have executed, according to what one can see in the chaos of the construction, that they have use all of the state of the art rules and all security at every move. The continuing works in all of the line continue with huge activity in spite of the terrible cold that we experience in this area, and now the locomotive has arrived at Gor Station. It seems that there is a plan to inaugurate the line at the end of this month and in this case there will have to be a changeover at some 4km.
08/07/1906The inauguration of this railway will have to be delayed by a year as a consequence of the fact that it is practically impossible to resolve the problemas of the Gor Viaduct and that it will be necessay to build a new bridge approximately 1km up river. The experts in terrain and the engineers consider this to be the best solution as the pillars of the viaduct don't have the ability to support the viaduct as a result of the movement of the land where they are built. This modification represents for the company a loss of some million pesetas, as a result of the works performed on the abandoned supports and in addition the construction of 2km of new track and a new bridge which will be half as long as the old viaduct and the same width. Aware of the time loss that the setback has caused, it is essential that the works are finished as soon as possible.
01/09/1906As a result of the disaster of Gor, the inauguration of the train service will be limited to the section between Baza and Baúl because as has been affirmed by the national press there will not be a railway in any condition to open a public service.
08/11/1906It seems that the technician of railways has found the track, including the Gor section, satisfactory and approved and so the line can be opened to public service.
01/12/1906Inauguration of the section between Guadix and Gor. From the 19th of this month it has been verified that the section of track between Guadix and Baza between Guadix and Gor will be opened to the public, both express and local services. The stations of the inaugurated section will be Gor, Hernán Valle and Guadix. Between Gor and Hernán Valle is a section of 6 metres and from here to Guadix, 12 km, a total length of 18km. The rest of the line will be finished very soon and when they reconstruct the viaduct at Gor the will start inaugurate the whole section.
24/03/1907The Third Division of the Technical Inspection and Administration of Railways has informed the Civil Governor of Granada that they have authorized the inauguration of the section of track between Guadix and Baza of the Murcia to Granada line.


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