Camoruco railway station

The Camoruco railway terminus (Spanish: Estación Camoruco del Ferrocarril) in Valencia, Venezuela, is a rare survival of a 19th century railway station in the South America country. The building is also known as the Rectorado of the University of Carabobo. When the railway line closed in the 1950s, the station was transferred to the University of Carabobo which converted it for administrative use.[1]

Camoruco station

Antigua Estación Camoruco del Ferrocarril
Former terminus of the Puerto Cabello and Valencia railway
The former station is now part of the University of Carabobo
LocationValencia, Venezuela
Owned by(currently) University of Carabobo
Construction
Structure typeLimited use of cast iron
History
Opened1888
Closed1959

Location

Camoruco is a suburb of Valencia 3 km from the city centre. While the railway line was in operation, there was a tram service from the station to the Plaza Bolivar in the centre. Initially the trams were horse-drawn.[2]

Architecture

The building respects Spanish Colonial tradition, although the structure was advanced for its time in making use of cast iron imported from England,[3] Traditional materials were also used.

  • Colonial architecture, as in this courtyard at Coro, presents a parallel with the railway station
  • The Casa del Congreso de Angostura, an 18th century building in Ciudad Bolívar

History

Guzman Blanco, the president of Venezuela, gave a concession to a British company to build a railway between Valencia and the Caribbean coast at Puerto Cabello. The 55 km route of the Puerto Cabello and Valencia railway crossed a range of mountains.[4] The railway was inaugurated in 1888. The railway was known locally as the English railway, distinguishing it from the Great Venezuela Railway, a slightly later German-built line.[note 1] However, the Puerto Cabello Valencia line was not the only British-built railway in the country, and the line from Caracas to La Guaira was also known as the English railway.

The railway was nationalised in 1916.[5] Rail transport in Venezuela was neglected and went into a major decline from the 1950s, with bus and road transport taking its place.

Revival of rail

In the 21st century a metro system opened in Valencia as a north-south route passing near the old terminus. One of the stations is called Francisco de Mirando (Rectorado).[6] The metro system is planned to connect to a new railway line to the coast at an interchange in Naguanagua Municipality.

Notes
  1. Both lines used the same gauge and they were eventually connected at Valencia.
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References
  1. Delgado, Y; Manama, L (2007). "Ferrocarril Venezolano: Mirando el pasado y presente" [Venezuelan railway] (PDF) (in Spanish). Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 April 2019. Retrieved 2019-04-14.
  2. Morrison, A. "Map of Valencia". Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  3. Silva, M. "Foreign Iron in Venezuelan Architecture" (PDF). Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  4. "Valencia (Venezuela)" . Encyclopædia Britannica. 27 (11th ed.). 1911.
  5. "El Ferrocarril Inglés" [The English Railroad]. Notitarde (in Spanish). 24 April 2018.
  6. Laguna (2018). "Enfermeras de Carabobo protestan en estación del Rectorado del Metro" [Carabobo nurses protest at the Rectorate Metro station] (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 20 July 2018.

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