Great Venezuela Railway

Origin

Friedrich Krupp AG contracted with the Venezuelan government in 1888 to build the railway in exchange for £12,800 per kilometer to be repaid at 7 percent interest. Disconto-Gesellschaft financed the project; and terms were renegotiated at £11,000 per kilometer in 1891. The railway was completed in February 1894.

Description

The railway replaced a difficult carriage road through mountainous terrain. Caracas is at an altitude of 3,000 ft and to reach Valencia the railway had to climb even higher to cross the Coastal Range. Contemporary accounts expressed great praise for the construction, which used Krupp steel railroad ties.

The Caracas terminus was adjacent to the narrow-gauge La Guaira and Caracas Railway, which operated until 1951. The Great Venezuela Railway entered the 285 m Calvario tunnel for level grade to Antímano where a 2-percent climb began to a 1227 m summit in 267 m Corozal tunnel 30 km from Caracas. From Corozal tunnel the railway required 212 Krupp steel viaducts and 84 tunnels to cover 44 km of gently descending grade across steep canyons to reach the fertile valley of Lake Valencia. The 106 m viaduct over Agua Amarillo was the longest on the line and stood 47 m above the water. The Valencia terminus was at San Blas, but the line was eventually connected to the Puerto Cabello and Valencia Railway which had its own terminus at Camoruco.

By 1922 the railway had 18 locomotives, 30 passenger cars, 68 flatcars, and 20 stock cars. Although the 4-4-4T locos could reach 70 kph, trains took 7 hours for the 179 km.

Financial difficulty

Early in the line's history it was adversely affected by political instability in Venezuela. While the line was being built there was a revolution when president Raimundo Andueza Palacio tried to extend his term of office. Krupp computed Venezuela's debt (including damages arising from the revolution) as £1,900,000. Cipriano Castro, who seized power in 1899, suspended payments to the country´s European creditors. The European powers hoped that it would be possible to install a more amenable president, but Castro remained in power which resulted in the Venezuelan crisis of 1902–1903, a naval blockade involving gunboat diplomacy.

Restoration projects

El Encanto

The summit section of the railway forms part of a recreation park called Parque El Encanto near Los Teques. (El Encanto is also the name of one of the stations). In the 21st century the government released funds to restore 7 km of track as a heritage railway. It was anticipated that this section with 7 tunnels and 5 bridges would provide visitors with a 25-minute journey from Los Lagos to El Encanto. However, it was reported in 2025 that, although some work had been done on the track, the restoration project had not been completed.

El Consejo

Remains of the railway have also been conserved further west at El Consejo, Aragua state.

References

References

1. "The Tramways of Caracas Venezuela". Allen Morrison.
2. Terán, Carmen. (2025). "La locomotora de El Encanto se resiste al abandono y al vandalismo". Avance.
3. ''The Railway News'' volume 84 (26 August 1905) p.402
4. Moore, Joseph Hampton (1907) ''With Speaker Cannon through the Tropics'' p.192
5. "THE TRAMWAYS OF VENEZUELA".
6. "La Guaira and Caracas Railway".
7. United States Department of Commerce and Labor ''Consular Reports'' issues 196-199 (1897) ''Railroads of Venezuela'' pp.470-472
8. Purl Lord Bell ''Venezuela, a Commercial and Industrial Handbook'' (1922) United States Government Printing Office p.127
9. (July 1901). "The Great Venezuelan Railway". Railway Magazine.
10. Tomz, Michael ''Enforcement by Gunboats'' Stanford University (2006) p.189
11. "Parque Recreacional El Encanto recuperará su atractivo turístico".