A unique historical railway wagon, over 130-years-old, was destined for the scrap heap by Portugal’s national rail company, Comboios de Portugal, so ‘Wagon J’ has ended up in Spain to be admired by museum visitors.
The Centre for Historical Studies of the Spanish Railway has helped in the rescue of the vehicle that was built in Belgium in 1885 by Usines de Morlanwelz.
Wagon JSF 50002 was used by the Minho & Douro Railway Company to transport goods between Portugal and Spain and after 1947 became part of CP’s rolling stock.
When the wagon was no longer functional, it became a nuisance - despite its clear historical value.
In 2007, Wagon J, as it is known, was saved from the scrap yard by three Portuguese friends, Paulo Alexandre, Armando Lobato and Rui Barbeiro, who paid CP €2,000 for the old wagon.
The railway enthusiasts wanted to offer the wagon to Portugal’s National Railway Museum, which was happy to receive the gift and arrange for collection from Régua.
The refurbishment of the wagon was to be carried out at EMEF, CP's Railway Equipment Maintenance Company, and paid for by the three friends but EMEF never bothered to present a budget for the work.
"At the beginning of 2018, we were surprised to receive a letter from CP stating that we had to remove Wagon J from the workshops or we would be billed €1,000-a-month for storage," Paulo Alexandre told the Público newspaper.
CP added that, "after 31 December," if the wagon was not removed from the site, it would be considered CP property, demolished and sold for scrap," adds Alexandre.
The train enthusiasts contacted the Centre for Historical Studies of the Spanish Railway which, in only two weeks, undertook to rescue the wagon and take it to Barcelona.
The wagon duly arrived at the Martorell Railway Park in Barcelona on, July 30, where it will be on display to the public after a full restoration.
CP said that the wagon was not its property and has been in the shed for more than ten years. Its renovation was not possible due to lack of "human resources available at EMEF," even though the friends were to fund the restoration.
The Spanish association of train enthusiasts, points out that the ‘Wagon J’ is, "a historical piece of very high cultural value, being one of the few survivors of its time.
Wagon JSF 50002, Companhia dos Caminhos-de-ferro do Minho e Douro
