The Tramways of BY
Go to Part 1: Introduction, Urban Lines Part 3: Plantation Railways Part 4: The Last 50 Years Part 5: Bibliography
Part 2: Intercity Lines
In addition to the urban tramway systems in Mérida, Progreso and other cities [see Part 1], there were numerous rural tram lines that ran between towns: "Se explotan tranvías vecinales que unen a poblaciones entre si y con Mérida, así como entre aquellas y fincas de campo, no habiendo ninguna cabecera de municipio aislada de esta red o de la ferrocarrilera del Estado" [López, 1910: see BIBLIOGRAPHY]. There are detailed lists of these lines in the Anuario Estadístico of 1907, the Handbook of Mexico issued by British Naval Intelligence [!] in 1919, and the Enciclopedia Yucatanense published in 1947 [see BIBLIOGRAPHY]. The Anuario counted 135 "ferrocarriles foráneos". The Enciclopedia says there were 172 "tranvías rurales" using 1,535 km of track - in addition to 3,000 km of Decauville track operated by the plantations [see below]. There were at least seven lines radiating from Mérida. One of them was the Empresa Zaldívar, which ran southwest to Umán and Hunucmá and also operated services around Chocholá, San Bernardo and Maxcanú [see map]. One of the latter lines ran into Campeche state. Most of these routes used conventional tram cars similar to those that ran on the streets of Mérida and Progreso. Most of them also used the same 914 mm / 3 ft track gauge. Here are three vehicles built for the Zaldívar company in 1902 by Laclede Car Co. in St. Louis, Missouri [col. AM]:
Tranvía Zaldívar also purchased equipment from J. G. Brill and other manufacturers. The model below was built for an unidentified "Private Iron Way" in Mexico by Arthur Koppel AG in Berlin, Germany [col. AM]:
Other companies that operated out of Mérida were the Tranvía Augusto Peón, which ran to Hunucmá via Caucel, Tranvía Mercedes from Caucel to Hobonyá, Tranvía de Mérida a Yaxché, Tranvía de Mérida a Tahdzibichén, Tranvía de Mérida a San Marcos Nocó, Tranvía Agrícola, and the Compañía Agrícola de Dzidzilché - a 23 km line which used an unusual 777 mm / 30.3 in track gauge [see map]. From Motul, 45 km northeast of Mérida, Tranvías Vecinales had 44 km of track running in several directions. Tranvías Telchac, north of there, ran to Dzemul and the Gulf coast; it purchased numerous Brill cars between 1905 and 1910. Tranvía Vecinal de Yucatán ran trams in two districts, around Conkal west of Motul, and from Cacalchén to Hoctún and Xocchel. There were many other lines, some quite long. A route from Acanceh to Tekit [see map] measured more than 40 km / 25 mi . In El Verdadero Yucatán, published in 1910, author Alfonso López extols the "buena vía y excelentes coches" on both tramway routes between Mérida and Hunucmá. He also praises the "magnfíico tranvía con elegantes, seguros y cómodos coches y vías irreprochables" of the Motul-Telchac region. But he was not fond of the lines around Tixkokob: "Los rieles y durmientes piden renuevo y los vehículos están destartelados, ofreciendo riesgo y peligros a los pasajeros y ninguna comodidad." After the Mérida tram system closed in 1930 [see Part 1], its gasoline-powered vehicles were sold to the interurban lines, where they ran into the 1940s. Regrettably, no pictures have been found that show any of Yucatán's intercity tramways in operation.
Go to Part 1: Introduction, Urban Lines Part 3: Plantation Railways Part 4: The Last 50 Years Part 5: Bibliography
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