Today was hard, I don’t mind admitting it. Hot and hard. Distances were much longer today than they seemed on the map. The trails after the rains were treacherous and, even though it was well worth it, I’m glad to be back home. Today’s trip was to the junction (empalme) about 5.5 kms east of Alonso and about 7 kms south of Tharsis along trails that you would really need a 4×4, not a VW Golf. The 30 kms line goes from the junction north-east to La Zarza mine in Calañas over rugged terrain with steep slopes, bridges and pontoons, and was intended to transport the mineral ore to Corrales and the wharf at Huelva on the Odiel River. Amazingly this stretch of the railway took only 22 months to build.

In the photos you can see the iron bridge over the Arroyo de La Tiesa. This stream of red acid waters bleeds directly out of the Tharsis mines. The distance from the “Empalme Station” is about 4.5 kms round trip on foot, it seemed more like 45 today.

If you are interested in the history of the line I have the full report of the inauguration of extension from Tharsis to Calañas taken from the Glasgow Herald published November 8, 1887.

19th Century Huelva Today

• A day trip to Buitron Mine
• A day trip to the Zarza Mine
• A day trip to the Concepcion and San Platon Mines
• A day trip to the legendary Tharsis Mines
• A day trip to the Campanario Mine and Valverde del Camino
• A day trip to San Miguel Mines
• A day trip to the mining village of Corrales
• A day trip to the Empalme Tharsis – La Zarza