Imagine trains being repaired here once. This is the Antiga Oficina de Trens. Today this place is a state school. The building is well-preserved. It retains many of its original features.
Let’s step back in time. We go to Barra do Piraí in Rio de Janeiro. The year is 1891. The first section of the Barra line opens. The V. F. Sapucaí railway company built it. By 1895 the line reached Baependi. But construction stopped there.
On the other side other companies built rail sections. These ran between Santa Rita do Jacutinga and Passa-Três. The E. F. Santa Isabel do Rio Preto was one. The E. F. Pirahyense was another. And the E. F. Santana also existed. Later Sapucaí absorbed them.
These companies extended the line from Santa Rita. But they only reached Baependi in 1910. The Barra line was completed that year. It was named after Barra do Piraí. Passenger trains ran until 1942. They traveled between Barra do Piraí and Passa-Três. Passa-Três was the line’s terminal in Rio state.
Until 1961 trains ran between Santa Rita do Jacutinga and Barra do Piraí. Services continued to Bom Jardim and Santa Rita until 1970. Between Soledade and Aiuruoca trains operated until 1972. And between Aiuruoca and Bom Jardim until 1977. The tracks have now been removed.
The Rede Mineira de Viação or RMV built a new station in Barra do Piraí in 1952. It was called Oficina Velha. But there’s a history to this. The original station was at km 1 of the line. This belonged to the E. F. Santa Isabel. Sapucaí later acquired this railway.
Sapucaí planned a new workshop further from the city. Barra often flooded. It was also prone to epidemics. The change happened in 1906. The new station was built in the old Engenho Central do Rio Bonito building. This was 2 km from Sapucaí’s station in Barra.
The “old workshop” wasn’t the Engenho. The RMV moved the depot to Bom Jardim de Minas. The Engenho was demolished in 1956. Only its chimney remained. Was the “old workshop” already there in 1895? It served as the station from 1952 to 1961.
The last RMV train arrived at Nilo Peçanha Square in 1952. This was the old station of the Rede Mineira. This happened because of an agreement. The city and the national highway department agreed to suspend rail traffic in the city center. Passenger trains from Minas ended at Oficina Velha. The Oficina Velha was adapted to be the station.
There is a story about the last train journey. It was on August 17 1961. Locomotive number 414 came from Soledade de Minas. It carried railway materials and office supplies. It was due to return on September 24. But the population protested.
People put a Brazilian flag on the tracks. Many lay down on the line. They stopped the train from leaving. They wanted the Minister of Transport to intervene. They wanted the train service to continue. This protest made headlines in Rio de Janeiro. The police were called to clear the line.
People wrote letters to the President. They also wrote to the Council of Ministers. The train did not leave. It remained at Oficina Velha for 1 year and 8 months. It awaited decisions from Brasília.
Locomotive 414 left for Soledade de Minas in 1963. It never returned. Some say it was dismantled and sold for scrap. The Revista Brasileira de Geografia says the “old” workshop moved to the Engenho in 1921 not 1906. The Engenho stopped operating in 1918. Its machinery was moved to Rio de Janeiro.
Today the Antiga Oficina de Trens stands as a testament. It is a reminder of a time. It serves as a reminder of when trains connected communities. Now it is a place of learning. The Antiga Oficina de Trens continues to serve the community.