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Brasil Madeira-Mamoré Railway Society (by kind permission of the M-MRS) 
Madeira-Mamoré Railway Society
From the Newsletter 04 November/December 2002 Current State of the Line The short seven kilometre stretch of line which was re-opened in 1982 after ten years of closure during the 1970s, has for twenty years been a popular Sunday outing for thousands of people. Using large German-built Schwartzkopf locomotives from the 1930s, three coaches clattered out of Porto Velho each Sunday, past the wooden houses on the banks of the Rio Madeira, to the picturesque waterfalls and the ‘English’ church at Santo Antônio. On the way passengers would pass the massive abandoned cemetery at Candelária where the bodies of up to four thousand foreign construction workers are interred. The M-MRS’s sister preservation group, the Amigos do Trem, has erected a twelve-metre high cross made of rail track at the entrance to the overgrown cemetery, and holds a remembrance service each November to pay homage to those English, American, Spanish, Greek, Chinese, and Afro-Caribbeans who lost their lives during the construction of the EFM-M. In December 2000 a landslip at kilometre three washed away a substantial stretch of track embankment. It has provided a new pastime for local teenagers, as the photograph from a local paper, Diário da Amazônia, on the front of this newsletter shows. However it has meant that tourist steam rides have been suspended for almost two years. The local authorities, at municipal and state levels, have not taken any action to rebuild the track despite campaigns in the local press. This Society concludes that the State of Rondônia, which has responsibility for the heritage of the EFM-M, does not have the financial resources to restore the damaged track. Critics also observe a lack of political will to act quickly to repair this tourist resource. They say the Governor and the State need to appreciate that investment in historical and cultural heritage can have an important impact on the local tourist industry, providing much needed long term growth for the State and the region. 
EFM-M Railway Station, Porto Velho, 2001 Photo-composite view looking from the top of the escarpment But the State Governor’s office in Rondônia has made a step in the right direction. This May it published details of plans to redevelop the station area on the Rio Madeira in Porto Velho. Many of the buildings date back to the original construction of 1910, and the whole site is of enormous heritage value. The architect Luiz Leite, a leading member of the Amigos do Trem, was commissioned by Governor José Bianco to draw up ideas for the redevelopment of the station and the waterfront area. The station area at present is largely abandoned. The museum is housed in the large warehouse on the riverbank, but the rest of the site is used by drug dealers and prostitutes. Unsympathetic development took place in the 1970s and 80s when concrete flower beds and seating were installed, together with a small amphitheatre. Sr Leite’s plan includes the restoration of the original buildings, the re-landscaping of the original rail tracks in the station yard, the operation of a steam heritage line through 14 kms. of the riverfront landscape using the original track bed, the installation of concealed car parking, and a passenger lift to bring visitors down the twelve metre escarpment which separates the main town from the waterfront station. Sr Leite has worked for three months to compile these plans. He is waiting to be paid by the Governor’s office for this commission, and in the meantime has suffered financially. It is a mark of his emotional involvement with the railway heritage that he is prepared to devote himself to this project. This is an ambitious project, and has been broadly accepted by politicians in Rondônia. However there appears to be no money for this capital investment. The issue of funding for daily running costs has also not been addressed. The challenge now it to ensure that a full business plan is drawn up by the authorities and sources of capital and income are firmly established. It is to be hoped that in the new political climate of Brazil in 2002 these issues are resolved for the long term be nefit of Rondônia, its residents, and the tourists who will visit in future years.
Sr Leite’s plans are an important step forward for both the Amigos do Trem and the M-MRS. However, major issues remain unresolved: funding for such a project, the conservation of paper archives and museum artefacts, the restoration of existing locomotives, and the rescue of abandoned locomotives and large artefacts along the line between Porto Velho and Gurjará-Mirim. The other area of concern is the manner in which the political authorities have cared for the EFM-M heritage from 1982 onwards. The Society is worried that basic curatorial standards have not been met. This matter is being investigated. International Press Coverage The Madeira-Mamoré Railway Society continues its campaign to publicise the line’s heritage, and the challenges of its preservation. In the last twelve months features and articles have appeared in The Museums Journal (London, England, November 2001), Society for Latin American Studies Newsletter (Edinburgh, Scotland, October 2001), Terra Magazine (São Paulo, Brazil, November 2001), Correio Brasiliense (Brasilia, Brazil, November 2001), Yorkshire Post (Leeds, England, October 2001), Royal Geographical Society Newsletter (London, England, February 2002). Public lectures have been given by the Society President, Martin Cooper, to the University of the Third Age, Leicester, and to the Huddersfield Geographical Society. An exhibition of his EFM-M photographs is to be held in Pontefract Library, Yorkshire, England, between 6 and 18 January 2003. Admission free. Open 9am-5pm Mon-Sat. A feature article is planned for a forthcoming issue of Narrow Gauge World magazine, published in Skipton, England. More details will be circulated to members in due course. M-MRS The Madeira-Mamoré Railway Society is a not-for-profit association dedicated to giving international support to the rescue, preservation, maintenance, operation and development of the Estrada de Ferro Madeira-Mamoré in Rondônia, Brazil. It works in close co-operation with its sister organisation in Porto Velho, the Amigos do Trem Madeira-Mamoré. Both associations recognise that the EFM-M represents industrial and transport heritage which is local, national and international by the nature of its creation, construction, operation and potential for the public celebration of memory.
Madeira-Mamoré Railway Society 112 Aketon Road, Castleford, WF10 5DU, England (tel) +44 (0)1977 515973 (e-mail) mmrs@efmm.net
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