History of the World in 500 Railway Journeys by Sarah Baxter

Author:Sarah Baxter
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: White Lion Publishing
Published: 2019-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

Tren Crucero’s eastbound voyage is called the Train to the Clouds, and starts in Durán, at the mouth of the Guayas River. This is the railhead for Guayaquil, Ecuador’s second city, founded by Spanish conquistador Francisco de Orellana in 1538. In the early 16th century Ecuador was ruled by the Inca, but the Spanish conquered the country in 1534, and went on to rule Ecuador for 300 years. Only a smattering of colonial-era buildings remain in Guayaquil (an earthquake in 1942 flattened many). But there’s old-school charm in the Barrio las Peñas neighbourhood, plus a lively waterfront promenade.

Guayaquil isn’t just the Tren Crucero’s beginning, it’s also where the story of Ecuadorean railways begins. The country’s first line, opened in 1873, linked Durán to the inland city of Milagro. This is the route the Tren Crucero follows on Day 1, rumbling through sugar cane, banana and pineapple plantations via Milagro to the town of Bucay. The railway first reached Bucay in 1888 but, with the Andes looming on the horizon, construction stalled. It wasn’t until 1901 that American engineer John Harman discovered a workable route forwards – via a mountainside overflown by condors, and a stretch known as the ‘Devil’s Nose’.

On Day 2, the Tren Crucero sets off along the Chanchán River to follow Harman’s audacious solution. The terrain morphs from lush cloud forest to more barren highlands as the train climbs. Then, at Sibambe Station, the train hits the vertiginous hairpins of the Devil’s Nose. Between here and the village of Alausí, the train ascends 500m (1,640ft) in just 7.5 miles (12km). After that it continues through the mountains, passing quinoa fields and grazing llamas en route to the city of Riobamba.

On Day 3 the Tren Crucero hits its highest point, 3,609m (11,840ft) Urbina Station, with bulbous Mount Chimborazo, Ecuador’s highest peak, looming to the west. This heralds the Avenue of Volcanoes, along which twenty snow-capped, sometimes smoking volcanoes stand. They’re like a ceremonial welcome, trumpeting the train’s arrival in Quito – just as they did on 25 June 1908, when the Guayaquil–Quito train completed its first run.

Founded by the Spanish in 1534 atop the ruins of an Inca city, Quito has the best-preserved historic centre of Spanish America. At its heart is the Plaza de la Independencia, a wide square edged by the whitewashed cathedral and the Government Palace. There are also many churches with rich ‘Baroque School of Quito’ interiors.

On Day 4 the Tren Crucero travels between Otavalo and Ibarra, a journey described in Chapter 3. So that’s almost every inch of Ecuadorean rail covered. Not bad given that at the start of the 21st century the network had almost ceased to exist.

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