Tomás Santa Coloma

Tucked away in the vast expanse of the Pampas, lies the sleepy rural town of Tomás Santa Coloma. This unassuming spot, nestled within Manzanares, a locality in the Partido del Pilar of Buenos Aires Province, holds a unique story. Tomás Santa Coloma isn’t just a name on a map. It’s a tribute to a man, a landowner who passed away in 1923, his legacy etched into the landscape he once owned. The heart of Tomás Santa Coloma beats beside a small, abandoned railway stop, a silent testament to the area’s rich history. This stop, also named Tomás Santa Coloma, sits just a stone’s throw from Provincial Route 6 and a mere kilometer from National Route 8. Its proximity to Fátima and Manzanares paints a picture of a connected past, a time when the railway was the lifeblood of these rural communities. The now-abandoned railway stop whispers tales of a bygone era. Built in the 19th century, it originally served the bustling Bancalari Mill, located on the San Miguel Estate across the Luján River. A Decauville train once chugged back and forth between the estate and the station, a miniature marvel of engineering ferrying goods across the landscape. The station itself was constructed by the Buenos Aires Central Railway (F.C.C.B.A), specifically to facilitate the mill’s operations. In 1888, the Buenos Aires and Pacific Railway (F.C.B.A.P) extended its tracks towards Buenos Aires, encountering the pre-existing Decauville line. Negotiations and compromises led to the construction of Manzanares Station at the terminus of the Decauville line. This marked a turning point for Tomás Santa Coloma, the beginning of its decline as the railway traffic shifted. Today, the remnants of the loading docks at Manzanares still stand as a stark reminder of this transition. As of 2021, the branch line to Rojas lay abandoned, a forgotten thread in the tapestry of Argentine railway history. However, a spark of hope flickered as local residents initiated efforts to clear a small section of the tracks, a testament to the enduring spirit of Tomás Santa Coloma.