Ferrocarril Bédar-Garrucha

This metre-gauge mineral railway, in the Spanish province of Almería, was built around 1890 and connected the lead mines of Bédar, several miles inland, with a coastal plant at Garrucha where there was apparently a lead smelting plant and facilities for transfer of the ore to ships. These photos, taken in 1997, are of the remains of that plant, the railway having been closed for more than seventy years !!
The diagram of the Garrucha "embarcadero" at the bottom of the page, is by José Vicente Coves and appears in a currently out-of-print book on the subject "Trenes, cables y minas de Almería", written in 1994 by "GÓMEZ MARTÍNEZ, José Antonio y COVES NAVARRO, José Vicente " (I have made slight amendments for the sake of clarity in this medium and to facilitate comparison with my photos).
José Antonio Gómez tells me a new edition of the book is to be published shortly so WATCH THIS SPACE !!

As at March 2003 I believe the new book should now be in print.
These photos are small versions to conserve webspace but anybody wanting a larger copy could e-mail me.

All photographs here were taken by me and, together with the other pictures and diagrams, are presented for your information and viewing pleasure only. This page was prepared with the very welcome assistance of José Antonio Gómez and I am most grateful to him for his help, advice and information.