Skip to content
Buzzer logo

TransLink news, commentary, and behind-the-scenes stories.

Retired trolleys make their way to Mendoza

Retired trolleys make their way to Mendoza

One of our retired trolleys on a flatbed truck, arriving in Guaymallen, Argentina en route to Mendoza.
One of our retired trolleys on a flatbed truck, arriving in Guaymallen, Argentina en route to Mendoza.

Thanks to the kindness of Jorge Luis Guevara, we have pictures of our retired trolleys arriving in Argentina on Friday, Dec. 5!

(Recap for those new to the story: we sold 80 of our retired high-floor trolleys to Mendoza, Argentina. Older stories on the trolleys’ voyage to South America can be found here, here, and here.)

Jorge works for Empresa Provincial de Transportes de Mendoza (EPTM), the transit agency who bought our trolleys. He’s promised to send more photos of the buses during their journey in the Andes, too!

Retired trolleys on a flatbed truck, arriving in Mendoza!
Retired trolleys on a flatbed truck, arriving in Mendoza!

So, as far as I understand from Jorge’s email and this article from an Argentinian newspaper, the buses are currently being housed in Guaymallen, a district of Mendoza, in a yard owned by EPTM. (Dale Laird passed along the link to the newspaper article—thanks Dale!)

This is the first group of our trolleys that have reached Argentina. The trucking company is using 12 trucks to move the trolleys, which means they will do seven round trips between Chile and Argentina, and all the trolleys will finally be in Mendoza by the end of January.

Trolleys in the yard at Guaymallen.
Trolleys in the yard at Guaymallen.

The trolley numbered 2919 was the first to be unloaded on Argentine soil. Jorge says it was unloaded at 4:30 pm local time.

Trolley 2919 was the first to be unloaded in Argentina.
Trolley 2919 was the first to be unloaded in Argentina.

And Jorge got to be the first to sit in the driver’s seat of the 2919!

Hello Jorge! Our kind friend from EPTM gets in the drivers seat.
Hello Jorge! Our kind friend from EPTM gets in the drivers seat.

The article from earlier indicates that the trolleys won’t be hitting the roads until the 2009 harvest is over. The trolleys will be repaired, repainted and adapted so that they can work on the trolley system in Mendoza.

By the way, Jorge maintains a blog about the trolley system in Mendoza. Interested parties are encouraged to visit!

A trolley being towed around the yard.
A trolley being towed around the yard.

And here is a picture of the Mendoza staff aboard our buses!

EPTM staff aboard their new trolleys!
EPTM staff aboard their new trolleys!

Jorge is of course second from the left, and he says that the man in the blue shirt is Osvaldo Gonzalez, one of the first trolley enthusiasts who believed that the Vancouver trolleys could make it all the way to Argentina. But he emphasizes that Mariano Cesar Antenore and Jose Luis Moscovich of the city of Rosario were the ones who found the Flyers and made the whole project happen. (I hope I’m getting this right–apologies for any miscommunications!)

And for all of you who are really curious, Jorge also sent along maps of the trolley routes that our trolleys will be travelling along. Click here to download them.

Now, since we’re already thinking of trolley systems down South America way, I will attach a few photos sent in by David, who comments on this blog every so often. These are from the city of Valparaiso, Chile, and it’s a few shots of the trolley buses there.

A trolley in Valparaiso, Chile.
A trolley in Valparaiso, Chile.
Another trolley in Valparaiso, Chile.
Another trolley in Valparaiso, Chile.
And one more picture of a trolley in Valparaiso, Chile.
And one more picture of a trolley in Valparaiso, Chile.

Thanks David! And again, if you’d like to catch up with my earlier posts on the retired trolleys heading to Mendoza, here they are:

TransLink

Sorry, your website browser is no longer supported.

Upgrade to one of these browsers to visit translink.ca: