In 1900 two British-owned companies were operating railways in Patagonia; the Central of Chubut

Central of Chubut Railway

The Central Chubut Railway was a British-owned company that built and operated a gauge railway line in the Argentine province of Chubut in the Patagonia region of Argentina at the end of the nineteenth century....

metre gauge

Metre gauge

Metre gauge refers to narrow gauge railways and tramways with a track gauge of . In some African, American and Asian countries it is the main gauge. In Europe it has been used for local railways in France, Germany, and Belgium, most of which were closed down in mid 20th century. Only in Switzerland...

, , line between Puerto Madryn

Puerto Madryn

Puerto Madryn is a city in the province of Chubut in the Argentine Patagonia. It is the head town of the Viedma Department, and has about 57,571 inhabitants according to the last census in 2001....

 and Trelew

Trelew

-References:La Pasión según Trelew, Espejo de la Argentina, 1997, Editorial Planeta Argentina S.A.I.C.; Third Edition: April 2000, Buenos Aires, ISBN 950-742-859-3-External links:* * * *...

 and the Buenos Aires Great Southern

Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway

The Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway was one of the Big Four broad gauge, , British-owned companies that built and operated railway networks in Argentina...

broad gauge

Indian gauge

Indian gauge is a track gauge commonly used in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Argentina and Chile. It is also the gauge that is used on BART , in northern California.- Scotland :...

 line between Bahía Blanca

Bahía Blanca

Bahía Blanca is a city located in the south-west of the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, by the Atlantic Ocean, and seat of government of Bahía Blanca Partido. It has a population of 274,509 inhabitants according to the...

 and Neuquén

Neuquén

Neuquén is the name of the following things:* Neuquén, Argentina* Neuquén Province* Neuquén River* Neuquén Group...

. During the presidency of José Figueroa Alcorta

José Figueroa Alcorta

José Figueroa Alcorta was President of Argentina from 12 March 1906 to 12 October 1910.Figueroa Alcorta was born in Córdoba as the son of José Figueroa and Teodosia Alcorta. He was elected a National Representative for Córdoba before becoming Provincial Governor in 1895. In 1898 he returned to the...

, the Argentine

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

 government devised a plan in 1908 to populate Patagonia

Patagonia

Patagonia is a region located in Argentina and Chile, integrating the southernmost section of the Andes mountains to the southwest towards the Pacific ocean and from the east of the cordillera to the valleys it follows south through Colorado River towards Carmen de Patagones in the Atlantic Ocean...

 by constructing two additional broad gauge

Broad gauge

Broad-gauge railways use a track gauge greater than the standard gauge of .- List :For list see: List of broad gauges, by gauge and country- History :...

, , railway lines in that part of the country. The first line one was to run from San Antonio Oeste

San Antonio Oeste

San Antonio Oeste is a port city in the Argentine province of Río Negro, and head of the department of San Antonio.The town is bordered by its sister communities of San Antonio Este, to the east, and Las Grutas, to the southwest. Discovered by an expedition of the Spanish Empire in 1779, San Matías...

, in Rio Negro Territory (later to become Rio Negro Province

Río Negro Province

Río Negro is a province of Argentina, located at the northern edge of Patagonia. Neighboring provinces are from the south clockwise Chubut, Neuquén, Mendoza, La Pampa and Buenos Aires. To the east lies the Atlantic Ocean.Its capital is Viedma...

), via Valcheta

Valcheta

Valcheta is a village and municipality in Río Negro Province in Argentina, seat of government of Valcheta Department.- History :Valcheta is one of the oldest settlements in Río Negro Province...

 to Nahuel Huapi Lake

Nahuel Huapi Lake

Nahuel Huapi Lake is a lake in the lake region of northern Patagonia between the provinces of Río Negro and Neuquén, in Argentina. The lake depression consists of several glacial valleys carved out along faults and Miocene valleys that were later dammed by moraines.Nahuel Huapi lake, located...

, and the second from Puerto Deseado

Puerto Deseado

Puerto Deseado, originally called Port Desire, is a city of about 15,000 inhabitants and a fishing port in Patagonia in Santa Cruz Province of Argentina, on the estuary of the Deseado River....

 via Colonia San Martin to a junction with the first line. The second line was to have branches to Comodoro Rivadavia

Comodoro Rivadavia

Comodoro Rivadavia is a city in the Patagonian province of Chubut in southern Argentina, located on the San Jorge Gulf, an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, at the foot of the Chenque Hill. Comodoro Rivadavia is the most important city of the San Jorge Basin....

, via Sarmiento

Sarmiento, Chubut

Sarmiento is a town in the province of Chubut, Argentina. It has about 8,000 inhabitants as per the , and is the head town of the department of the same name. It is located on the so-called Central Corridor of Patagonia, in a fertile valley amidst an otherwise arid region, 140 km west from...

, to Colonia 16 de Octubre and to Buenos Aires Lake

Buenos Aires/General Carrera Lake

The Lake General Carrera or Lake Buenos Aires is a lake located in Patagonia and shared by Argentina and Chile...

.

The line from Puerto Deseado, started in 1909, was built only as far as Las Heras

Las Heras, Santa Cruz

Las Heras is a small city in the Patagonic province of Santa Cruz, Argentina. It is located 566 km north of the provincial capital Río Gallegos, and has a population of about 9,300 as per the ....

, a distance of 283 km, and a 197 km line from Comodoro Rivadavia to Sarmiento was completed. These lines came under the administration of Ferrocarriles del Estado in 1914. Meanwhile the line from San Antonio Oeste, started at the end of 1908, reached Km 217 in 1911 and Maquinchao

Maquinchao

Maquinchao is a village and municipality in Río Negro Province in Argentina.It is located in the middle of northern Patagonia, right in the steppe...

 two years later. In 1916 this line also came under the administration of Ferrocarriles del Estado, was extended to Ingeniero Jacobacci

Ingeniero Jacobacci

Ingeniero Jacobacci is a city in Río Negro Province, Argentina. It has a population of 5,719 inhabitants and was named in honor of Guido Jacobacci, the director of the railway opened in 1916 between San Antonio Oeste, on the Atlantic Ocean coast, and San Carlos de Bariloche, in the Andes...

 in 1917 and to Bariloche

San Carlos de Bariloche

San Carlos de Bariloche, usually known as Bariloche, is a city in the , situated in the foothills of the Andes on the southern shores of Nahuel Huapi Lake and is located inside Nahuel Huapi National Park...

 in 1934.

In 1946 a 402 km long narrow gauge

Narrow gauge

A narrow gauge railway is a railway that has a track gauge narrower than the of standard gauge railways. Most existing narrow gauge railways have gauges of between and .- Overview :...

, , branch line was opened from Ingeniero Jacobacci to Esquel

Esquel

According to the , the Esquel district had about 28,000 inhabitants, with one of the highest rates of growth in the province, mainly as result of the immigration of people from Buenos Aires, but also from other provinces. It has wide cement streets with sidewalks, and is clean and well maintained...

 in Chubut Province

Chubut Province

Chubut a province in the southern part of Argentina situated between the 42nd parallel south and the 46th parallel south , the Andes range separating Argentina from Chile, and the Atlantic ocean...

 and became known affectionately as La Trochita

La Trochita

La Trochita, , in English known as the Old Patagonian Express, is a narrow gauge railway in Patagonia, Argentina using steam locomotives. The nickname La Trochita means literally "The Little Narrow Gauge" in Spanish...

.