The Morro Velho Railway (EFMV)

Anyone traveling along MG-030 toward Nova Lima may have already noticed the discreet presence of locomotives and stationary wagons in a small square beside the highway. This equipment appears to have belonged to AngloGold Ashanti Ltd., and likely served the mining company in internal operations long after the dismantling of the former Morro Velho Railway (EFMV).

1.Locomotive from the 1990s displayed in a public square in the Ouro Velho neighborhood in Nova Lima.

(Photograph taken by the author in 2018)

Similar electric locomotives to the one shown above, with the same track gauge (0.66 m), together with small passenger cars, made up the rolling stock of the Morro Velho Railway (EFMV). The railway was built by the company to transport cargo and employees to the mine. The line was established between 1913 and 1914 and connected the municipalities of Raposos and Nova Lima, also serving the population of these towns with passenger trains.

2. Passenger train with the Church of Nossa Senhora do Rosário in the background. 

(Photograph by Earl Clark published on the excellent website of Allen Morrison)

The railway began operations fully electrified along its entire length, becoming the second railway in the country to use electricity to power its trains, after the Estrada de Ferro Corcovado in Rio de Janeiro. According to an article by Ralph Giesbrecht, there is a disagreement between two sources, Stiel and Morrison on one side, and Pimenta on the other, regarding the year the line was opened. Concerning this discrepancy, researcher Allen Morrison, in an article published on his website, suggests, based on these data, that the line began operations in 1913, while the full extension of the railway was opened in 1914.

 

3. A locomotive and a passenger car in front of a shed in Nova Lima with the Church of Nossa Senhora do Rosário in the background. (Photograph by Earl Clark published on the excellent website of Allen Morrison)

The line had a gauge of 0.66 m and departed from the Raposos station, alongside the Estrada de Ferro Central do Brasil (EFCB). The station had two platforms. Beside one of them ran the Central do Brasil line, which came from Belo Horizonte toward Rio de Janeiro. On the other side, the station served the EFMV line, which continued for 9.5 km to the city of Nova Lima.

Between Raposos and Nova Lima, the railway also served a settlement called Galo, where there was a station and an arsenic factory belonging to the mining company. This railway was created to facilitate the transportation of materials and mining employees from the EFCB line to the Morro Velho mine. Although it primarily served the mining company, its trains also transported the general population on trips that took place every 40 minutes.

With the opening of a highway connecting Belo Horizonte and Nova Lima, passenger transportation on the EFMV gradually lost its importance during the 1950s and 1960s, although it continued to be operated by the company until 1964, when the service was discontinued. As the closure led to protests by employees and threats of strikes, the municipality of Nova Lima took control of the railway, which resumed operations in 1965 for another five years, exclusively as a passenger service. It was finally deactivated in 1970, when the line was completely dismantled.

4. Raposos Station between the EFMV line on the left and the EFCB line on the right.
(Photograph by Earl Clark published on the excellent website of Allen Morrison)

5. Small electric locomotive about to pull two passenger coaches, while an employee adjusts the pantograph’s contact with the overhead electrical wire. (Photograph by Earl Clark published on the excellent website of Allen Morrison)

Although there was an intention to preserve the railway line, the idea was never carried out. Today, part of the former railway bed is occupied by the AMG-150 highway. Had the line not been dismantled, it would undoubtedly be an excellent transportation alternative for the region, perhaps already featuring modern light rail vehicles (LRVs) running between Nova Lima and Raposos, and, of course, serving as a tourist attraction for the cities through which it passed.

A locomotive and a passenger car from the EFMV were preserved and can be seen at the Morro Velho Memory Center. When I tried to visit it in 2018, it was closed. I am not aware of any other preserved rolling stock.

6. Locomotive No. 16 and Car No. 27 preserved at the Morro Velho Memory Center
(photograph by Antonio Gorni, available on this website)

In 2020, I went to Nova Lima and found the exact place where the train stop once stood. I could not get closer to the precise location, but the hospital building, the twin towers of the Church of Nossa Senhora do Rosário and the round shed (maybe a roundhouse) in the background leave no doubt that the railway line ran through this area. At the time, the site was being used as a bus garage:

(Photograph 7, taken in August 2020 by the author, compared with Photograph 3)

The small shed shown in Photograph 3 is situated directly behind the first passenger car in Photograph 2. If we could go back in time, this shed would have been located approximately beyond the concrete slab on the right-hand side of Photograph 7.

Regarding the EFMV, there are three excellent references on which this article was merely based:

Giesbrecht, Ralph. Estações ferroviárias do Brasil - E.F. de Morro Velho.

Gorni, Antônio Augusto. A eletrificação nas ferrovias brasileiras - A EF Morro Velho. 

Morrison, Allen. Estrada de Ferro Morro Velho - Raposos - Nova Lima/Brazil.