Linking-up Railheads by Coach
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Commer and Hillman Vehicles Traverse a Mountainous Route Where a Landslide Destroyed a Railway
I N the heart of the Andes, between
the Argentinian and Chilean frontiers, there is a road-transport service that must surely be unique. It has been rendered necessary as the result of the railway having been washed away in 9, disastrous flood and landslide some two years ago, which left the railheads of the respective countries separated by a gap of 105 miles. The link is now supplied by a fleet of Coirimer coaches and Hillman Twenty/ 70 cars, which run to a regular schedule, and are operated by the Compaffia International de Transportes Automovlles. They maintain a shuttle service between Mendoza and Las Vacas, transporting passengers from one quondam terminus of the Trans-Andine railway to the other, The journey is an arduous one, because the mountain track which the route traverses is rough, narrow and, in places, exceedingly steep.
The regular service leaves Mendoza at 7 a.m., so as to arrive at Las Vacas at noon. For the first 25 miles a relatively high speed can be maintained, but after that the road begins to ascend and become twisty. Soon the crossing of a gorge—" La Quebrada del Toro" (" The Bull's Gorge ")—has to be negotiated, and this occupies 90 minutes under favourable weather conditions, for the track is narrow and dangerous, and atmospheric conditions are not favourable to the engines.
The next stage is through the Valley of Uspallata to the Place of that name, and later the road follows the left bank of the Mendoza River and starts a further ascent into the mountains. Eventually La Jaula, nearly 8,000 ft.. up, is reached via a succession of road
tunnels. Steep gradients and hairpin bends continue until the beauty spot called " Paramillo de Las Vacas" is reached, and shortly afterwards Las Vacas is sighted.
From this point the Trans-Andine Railway Co.'s service operates into Chile, but in the summer it is possible to travel all the way by road vehicle, and on the subsequent stretches an alti tude of 12,500 ft. is attained. We learn that the vehicles used by the C.I.T.A. have given excellent service, and have maintained communications under most trying conditions.