Ferrocarril Alcoy Gandia facts for kids
The Ferrocarril Alcoy Gandía was a railway line in Spain. It ran trains from 1892 until 1969. People also called it la chicharra (in Spanish) or xitxarra (in Valencian). These names mean "the cicada" because of the sound the trains might have made.
Contents
History of the Alcoy-Gandía Railway
Building the Railway
The company that built this railway was called the Alcoy y Gandía Rail and Harbour Co Ltd. It started in 1882 and had offices in Alcoy, Spain, and London, England.
Many English companies invested a lot of money in building railways in Spain during the late 1800s. These new railways helped to change how people traveled and how goods were moved for industries and businesses.
The main reason for building the Alcoy-Gandía railway was to help bring coal from England to Spain. This coal was needed for the growing factories and industries in the Alcoy area.
The Ravel Lucien Company was in charge of building the railway tracks and stations.
First Journey and Connections
The very first train journey on this line happened on July 18, 1892.
The Alcoy-Gandía railway also connected with another railway company. This was the Railway Company Villena to Alcoy and Yecla (V.A.Y.). They shared some train materials and facilities. This agreement was made on October 13, 1908.
The total length of the railway line was about 53.35 kilometers (about 33 miles). The height difference between Alcoy and Gandía was 530 meters (about 1,739 feet).
Railway Stations and Stops
The railway line had stations and smaller stops in several towns. These included:
- Puerto de Gandia (Gandia harbour) - 0 km
- Gandia - 3 km
- Almoines - 7 km
- Beniarjó - 9 km
- Potríes - 11 km
- Villalonga - 14 km
- Lorcha - 27 km
- Beniarrés - 34 km
- Gayanes - 37 km
- Muro de Alcoy - 43 km
- Cocentaina - 46 km
- Alcoy - 53 km
Steam Locomotives
The railway used eight steam locomotives. These trains were built by a company called Beyer, Peacock & Company in Manchester, England, between 1890 and 1891. They were 2-6-2T type locomotives.
Each locomotive was given a name. The names were taken from the stations along the railway line.
Preserved Locomotives
Today, you can still see two of these old locomotives:
- Locomotive number 2, named "Villalonga," is on display in the Al-Azraq area of Alcoy. This was where the railway line ended.
- Locomotive number 7, named "Cocentaina," is on display in Gandía.
Both of these old trains are set up so that people can easily see and photograph them.
Railway Museum
There is a museum in Almoines dedicated to the Alcoy-Gandía railway. It is run by a group called Asociación Tren Alcoy-Gandía. The current chairman is José Morales, and the current secretary is Isidro Ferrando.
See also
In Spanish: Ferrocarril Alcoy-Gandía para niños
