The Bilbao Friends of the Railway Association and Euskotren sign an agreement to donate classic rolling stock
Euskotren, the publicly-owned company under the Basque Government’s Ministry of Sustainable Mobility and manager of the Basque Railway Museum, has entered into a donation agreement with Trenbideen Bilboko Lagunen Elkartea/Bilbao Friends of the Railway Association, to conserve rolling stock that is part of the history of the Basque Country’s railway.
The agreement was signed by the Chair of the Bilbao Friends of the Railway Association, Juan Manuel Estradé, and the Euskotren General Manager, Javier Seoane, at the Euskotren headquarters in Atxuri today (Tuesday); it envisages the donation to Euskotren of the following classic rolling stock:
• V.N. No. 6 Guipúzcoa locomotive
• VN Zfhv 1 saloon carriage
• VN Afv 1 first-class carriage
• VN Cfv 13 third-class carriage
• SB Dfh 103 brake van
The Guipúzcoa steam locomotive and the three passenger carriages are from the first stage of the Vasco Navarro (Basque-Navarre) Railway, built and run by The Anglo Vasco Navarro Railway Company Limited, for the first section open to the public between Vitoria-Gasteiz and Leintz-Gatzaga. Given the economic problems of that company, the service was taken over by the Spanish State in 1897, which would take charge of the line and ensure its completion, extension and improvements.
The Guipúzcoa was built by Société Anonyme de Saint-Léonard (Liege, Belgium) as number 920 in 1892, for a contractor involved in building the Vasco Navarro Railway. It is one of the Model 4AC, a coupled three-axle locomotive, produced by that manufacturer. It was given number 6 when it joined the fleet of the Anglo Vasco Navarro company’s rolling stock.
It was a reliable and prized locomotive, despite its small size. For a time, it was practically the only one used on the service between Vitoria-Gasteiz and Salinas. The size of the service meant that only one engine was required and the Guipúzoa was chosen for that task.
When the Vasco Navarro Railway lines were electrified and extended, the Guipúzcoa began to be used for shunting at the Vitoria-City station; it was in service for practically 70 years. It was very popular and was nicknamed ‘Teresita’ by the railway world. It was also the only remaining engine of the original Vasco Navarro fleet and was kept practically unchanged throughout its service life.
The VN Zfhv 1 saloon carriage was one of the Vasco Navarro Railway’s two two-axle saloon carriages during its initial period. As was the case of all the Vasco Navarro passenger fleet, it was built by The Ashbury Railway Co. Ltd. of Manchester (England) in 1887. Its standing meant it was not regularly used for the commercial passenger service. It was kept for special occasions and, specifically, it was the carriage for the authorities when using the railway.
The carriage is divided into two lounge areas inside, plus a vestibule with two carriage doors. It also has a service bay and a toilet. The carriage can transport a total of 14 passengers, in four one-seater armchairs and two three-seater couches, plus two two-seater chairs in the viewing deck.
The VN Afv 1 first-class carriage was the first of a lot of four first-class carriages built by The Ashbury Railway Co. Ltd. of Manchester in 1887, for the first section of the Anglo Vasco Navarro railway. They were Series Afv 1 to 4 at the railway. They came with six second-class carriages (Series B 5 to 10) and seven third-class (Series C 11 to 17) which, together with the two saloon carriages, made up the railway’s initial fleet. It is divided into three 6-seater bays, which are all the same, with vis-à-vis seating upholstered in red velvet. There is a wool carpet on the floor.
As regards the VN Cfv 13 third-class carriage, it belonged to the lot of seven third-class carriages built by The Ashbury Railway Co. Ltd. in 1887. Access is by four carriage doors that open outwards and with no inside corridor and it therefore has a running board. It has no windows, except for the ones in the doors. The carriage is divided inside into four equal spaces, each having room for eight passengers; there are no partitions and seating is vis-à-vis on wooden benches.
Finally, the SB Dfh 103 brake van is the only vehicle of those donated by the Bilbao Friends of the Railway Association to Euskoten that does not come from the Vasco Navarro Railway. In this case, it was part of the fleet of the Santander to Bilbao Railway. Specifically, a lot of six closed brake vans, Series D 101 to 106, built in Bristol (England) in 1903. The Spanish State ceded the brake van to be part of the Bilbao Friends of the Railway’s classic train back in its earliest days, to act as the service and brake van for personal belongings and luggage. It is divided inside into the brake van area with sliding doors and the Train Conductor’s department, which has separate entrances.
Pursuant to the donation agreement, the Bilbao Friends of the Railway Association has transferred the ownership of the respective classic rolling stock to Euskotren as a donation. Once delivered to Euskotren, these classic railway vehicles will be in the safekeeping of the Basque operator and protected to ensure they are appropriately conserved and protected.
The Euskotren Basque Railway Museum and its collections
The premises (Azpeitia, in Gipuzkoa) of the Basque Railway Museum run by Euskotren, the publicly-owned company under the Basque Government’s Ministry of Sustainable Mobility, boasts one of the best railway collections in Europe; it is home to many examples of the rich history of the railway in our country: engines, coaches, tools, tramways, uniforms and a whole range of elements essential for the service. Some of which were manufactured by the leading companies worldwide in countries ranging from Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Sweden, Italy, Holland, Hungary, Great Britain and the United States. Other were produced by Basque companies of the ilk of CAF, Babcock & Wilcox, Euskalduna, La Naval, Herederos de Ramón Múgica, JEZ and Mariano de Corral.
They were operated by the thousands of people in the railway sector who provided Basque citizens with the best of services, within the historical circumstances of each era.
The rolling stock is usually the star of the collections of any railway museum. Accordingly, the Basque Railway Museum has 90 classic vehicles, 70 of which have been restored and 50 in working order. Even though the majority are closely linked to the railway history of the Basque Country, many were also in service in Cantabria, Asturias, Valencia, Andalusia, Castilla-León, Catalunya, Castilla-La Mancha, Madrid, Galicia, Navarra, Aragón and Portugal.
The fast electrification of the main lines led to the steam train being taken out of service in the Basque Country early than in other regions of the Iberian Peninsula. Even so, the Euskotren Basque Railway Museum has successfully put together an interesting collection of those machines, which represent the origins of this means of transport. Specifically, it has a total of 13 steam engines, 11 of which are restored and 7 of which are in working order.
Electrically powered trains - which are undoubtedly the most characteristic of the Basque railways - are also well represented: 12 railcars and 6 locomotives, including the one built by AEG of Berlin in 1925 for the Sociedad Explotadora de Ferrocarriles y Tranvías, the owner of the railway from San Sebastián to the French Border – nicknamed the ‘Topo’; it is currently the oldest electric locomotive is the oldest in working order of the Iberian Peninsula. As regards diesel power, it has 8 locomotives and a railcar. The latter, built by Allan (Rotterdam) in 1953, was donated by Comboios de Portugal and is one of the most typical vehicles of the neighbouring country’s metric gauge.
The Museum collection also has passenger carriages, freight wagons, auxiliary vehicles and electric trams. Those trams can operate on a small section of 150 metres powered by an overhead line with 500 volts of direct current. The Basque Railway Museum also has some non-railway vehicles, including a trolleybus, a diesel steamroller from 1930, a fire engine from 1922 and a Barreiros bus from 1966.
Along with the vehicles, visitors to the Museum can enjoy other items and collections of outstanding interest, including the first Urola Railway mechanical workshop and the rail clock and Jesús Mínguez uniform collections. The Basque Railway Museum also has a document and photo archive to put the collection properly in context; along with a library to conserve the history of the railway in the Basque Country.