Campinas Railway Complex: Mogiana, Paulista and Sorocabana Railway Companies

Part 2

E.F. Paulista and Mogyana station (1915) by UnknownCentro de Memória-Unicamp

At the beginning of the XX century, Campinas already had the main railway yards in the country, large companies and dozens of stations. The main company of railroads was Mogiana Railroad Company, whose the administrative headquarters was in Campinas.

Campinas also had railroads from two other giants in the sector at the time: Paulista Railroad Company and Sorocabana Railroad. There were also Campineiro Railway Branch and Funil Agricultural Company , smaller but no less important.

Companhia Mogiana office in Campinas (Década de 1900) by UnknownCentro de Memória-Unicamp

Mogiana Railroad Company

Created in 1872 and inaugurated in 1875,  Mogiana Railroad Company  was an important railway company, headquartered in the city of Campinas and with a strong presence in the interior of the São Paulo State and in the south of the Minas Gerais State.

Platform of Cia. Mogiana de Estrada de Ferro by UnknownCentro de Memória-Unicamp

The company came to own about two thousand miles of railroad and a mass of railroad workers who influenced the configuration of working neighborhoods and rural colonies.

Guanabara Station (1938) by UnknownCentro de Memória-Unicamp

Mogiana Office (Década de 1940) by UnknownCentro de Memória-Unicamp

The Mogiana Palace served as the Company's headquarters between 1910 and 1972, when it was extinguished and constituted by the state-owned company FEPASA. With an eclectic style and neoclassical influences, the building is listed by local and state cultural heritage councils.

Mogiana workshop (Entre 1900 e 1905) by UnknownCentro de Memória-Unicamp

The workshops of the Mogiana Railroad Company were among the largest and best equipped in the country. They produce freight cars, passenger cars, steam locomotives, and other components.

Mogiana workshop, Unknown, 1900, From the collection of: Centro de Memória-Unicamp
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Mogiana workshop, Unknown, Entre 1908 e 1913, From the collection of: Centro de Memória-Unicamp
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Mogiana carpentry (Década de 1900) by UnknownCentro de Memória-Unicamp

Mogiana workshop (Década de 1900) by UnknownCentro de Memória-Unicamp

Located in Vila Industrial, the 'clock building' was inaugurated in 1903 and housed some of the workshops of the Mogiana Company. It's an important historical heritage of the city currently was revitalizated, the result of a partnership between the public and private sector.

Guanabara Station (Entre 1880 e 1918) by UnknownCentro de Memória-Unicamp

From Campinas to Amparo, the Mogiana Company inaugurated important stations that marked an era and, currently, many of them are also important historical and cultural heritage of the region. Stand out the Guanabara, Anhumas, Pedro Américo, Tanquinho and Carlos Gomes stations.

Inauguration of Cia. Paulista de Estrada de Ferro Station (Década de 1920) by Haraldo E. Souza SantosCentro de Memória-Unicamp

Paulista Railroad Company

Considered a pioneer in Campinas, the Paulista Railroad Company, designed in the 1860s, was very important both for the flow of coffee production and also for the transport of passengers.

Station of Cia Paulista de Estradas de Ferro (1890) by Frisch phCentro de Memória-Unicamp

As well as Mogiana Company, Paulista was idealized by capitalists and farmers from São Paulo in order to optimize the transport of agricultural production, since the english company São Paulo Railway, inaugurated in the late 1860s, only arrive the city of Jundiaí.

It was, therefore, necessary to expand the railroads towards the interior to the coffee farms. The Linha Tronco, or Line 1, was the first to be completed by the Company and, in 1872, the initial stretch between Jundiaí and Campinas was inaugurated.

Inauguration of the Companhia Paulista railroad station (1872) by UnknownCentro de Memória-Unicamp

Station of Cia Paulista de Estradas de Ferro (1873) by UnknownCentro de Memória-Unicamp

One of the main postcards of Campinas, the Paulista Railroad Company Station was inaugurated on August 11, 1872 and soon became the main train station in the interior of São Paulo, once established itself as an important point of interconnection by transfer.

Cia. Paulista de Estradas de Ferro workshops (1875) by UnknownCentro de Memória-Unicamp

Translation of the body of Carlos Gomes (1904) by UnknownCentro de Memória-Unicamp

Since the end of the XIX century, Campinas Station has been the scene of important political and cultural events. It was in the station that, on October 24, 1896, a crowd accompanied the arrival of the train that transported the body of maestro Carlos Gomes to his homeland.

Arrival of the body of Carlos Gomes (Outubro de 1896) by UnknownCentro de Memória-Unicamp

Arrival of Alberto Santos Dumont (1903) by UnknownCentro de Memória-Unicamp

Some years later, in 1903, the crowd was forming again in Marechal Floriano Peixoto Square to welcome the arrival of Alberto Santos Dumont in the city.

Arrival of Alberto Santos Dumont (18-09-1903) by UnknownCentro de Memória-Unicamp

FEPASA station (05-02-1995) by Amarildo CarnicelCentro de Memória-Unicamp

In 1982, Campinas Station was listed as historical and cultural heritage, and operated as a safe station until 2001. In 2002, under the management of Mayor Antônio da Costa Santos, the space was transformed into a cultural center, currently holding his name.

FEPASA station, Amarildo Carnicel, 05-1996, From the collection of: Centro de Memória-Unicamp
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FEPASA station, Amarildo Carnicel, 05-1996, From the collection of: Centro de Memória-Unicamp
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Locomotive of the Sorocabana Railroad (Década de 1900) by UnknownCentro de Memória-Unicamp

Sorocabana Railroad Company

The history of Sorocabana Company is marked by incorporations, disputes and crises. Contemporary with other transported companies, its origin is related to agricultural needs, especially of cotton producers, merchants and capitalists in the Sorocaba region.

One of the companys main accomplishments was the incorporation of Ytuana Railroad Company at the end of the 19th century, which added a huge network maintained under its administration, changing its name to Companhia União Sorocabana and Ytuana de Estradas de Ferro

Sorocabana locomotive (Década de 1900) by UnknownCentro de Memória-Unicamp

S. Paulo Railway Company locomotive (Entre 1906 e 1910) by UnknownCentro de Memória-Unicamp

However this aggravated the company's financial crisis. At the beginning of the XX century, its control passed to the governo federal, to the government of the State of São Paulo, and was finally planned for the Brazil Railway Company, changing its name to Sorocabana Railway Co.

Sorocabana station (Entre 1960 e 1969) by UnknownCentro de Memória-Unicamp

After its expansion the company experienced new crises, returning to State control in 1919 and changing its name to Sorocabana Railway, whose initials can be found on the sections that belonged to the company until they were constituted by the state-owned company FEPASA.

Report of the Commission Charged by the Government of S. Paulo and by the Directorates of the Companies Paulista and Mogyana to Study the general situation of the two companies and establish the bases for their merger, with a view to the acquisition of Estrada de Ferro Sorocabana (1904) by UnknownCentro de Memória-Unicamp

The Sorocabana’s link with the city of Campinas is part of the context of the incorporation of Ituana Railroad Company, still in the end of the XIX century, precisely in 1892.

Sorocabana Railway Station (Década de 1940) by UnknownCentro de Memória-Unicamp

After this merger, the linha-tronco that remains with Ituana Company, connecting Jundiaí to Itu, was extended to Mairinque and, finally, to Francisco Quirino, currently located in the municipality of Indaiatuba.

Cel. Correia Station (Década de 1940) by UnknownCentro de Memória-Unicamp

After that, the Campinas branch line appeared and, as from the decade of 1910s, to meet the needs of the population in both cargo and passenger transport, many stations were inaugurated: Helvétia, Descampado, Sete Quedas, Quilômetro 177 and Bonfim Station.

Sorocabana station (Década de 1940) by UnknownCentro de Memória-Unicamp

At the end of decade of 1910s, the Sorocabana rails reached the central region of Campinas and began to use the Guanabara Station, belonging to the Mogiana Railroad Company until, finally, in 1924, the company inaugurated its own station, known as Bonfim Station.

From this complex, only the deposit remains, where the Serviço de Atendimento ao Migrante, Itinerante e Mendicante (SAMIM) is currently located, located at Francisco Elisiário Avenue, 240.

To learn more, continue to Part 1 and Part 3

Credits: Story

DIRECTION
Prof. Dr. André Luiz Paulilo

ASSOCIATED DIRECTION
Dra. Maria Silvia Duarte Hadler

COORDINATION
Ana Cláudia Cermaria

CURATION AND TEXTS
Lucas Resck Menali Costa

TRANSLATION
Vitor Hugo Finatti

REALIZATION
Centro de Memória-UNICAMP

SEPTEMBER 2023

Credits: All media
The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.

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